LONGVIEW — About a year after accepting donation of the Lelooska totem poles at the Port of Kalama, the commissioners Wednesday approved a contract with the Lelooska Foundation to restore the aging landmarks.
The contract is for a not-to-exceed amount of $500 per linear foot, said Eric Yakovich, economic development director, at the port’s Wednesday meeting. It’s unclear how long the work will take.
The tallest of the poles was taken down in September 2018 because engineers found it was dangerously decayed. Three shorter poles remain standing at Marine Park.
The contract also includes the Lelooska Campfire totem pole previously displayed on Broadway in Longview. Chief Lelooska (Don Smith) carved the pole in 1961 for the Camp Fire Council, which gave it to the city.
In February, the Longview City Council voted to take down the deteriorating pole and give it to the Port of Kalama. When it was taken down, crews took it directly to the Lelooska Foundation in Ariel for restoration.
The port will take down the other three poles and bring them to the Lelooska Foundation for work one at a time, Yakovich said. Work on the 140-foot pole will be done at the port because it’s not structurally sound enough to travel, he said.
Restoration work will likely include drying, rot removal, filling of cracks, carving structural fill, weatherizing, repainting and re-erecting, according to the port.
The commissioners also approved a personal services contract with Lelooska’s brother Chief Tsungani (Fearon Smith) to carve two six-foot figures for $12,000 apiece to place in port’s amphitheater.
The overall total for both contracts is not to exceed $176,000.
Lelooska carved the poles displayed at the port in the early 1960s. The 140-foot pole was commissioned by William Wineberg for display at the World’s Fair but was not completed. The poles lay on the ground for several years before a local effort to finish the job and erect them at Marine Park in 1974.
About a year ago, eight members of the Wineberg estate donated the poles to the port, which had been leasing them for $1 per year since the were erected.
