When Chuck Olson saw the world's tallest barber pole during a barbershop music convention in 1973, he knew he could do better. At 40 feet tall, the pole in San Antonio inspired Olson to top it and earn the title for Oregon.
"I thought if treeless Texas could put up the world's tallest barber pole, we out here should be able to do better than that," he said.
Back home, organizers were preparing for an international barbershop contest to be held in Portland -- the perfect chance to debut the novelty.
A local lumber company gave Olson and his fellow barbershop singers an 80-foot pole, and the group started adding signature red, white and blue stripes.
They placed a giant Styrofoam ball at the top of the pole, raised it in front of Portland's Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and smashed a bottle of hair tonic in celebration. At 73 feet finished height, the pole earned a Guinness World Record certificate.
After the Portland competition, though, the pole was without a home.
"We thought Ballad Town USA might be the perfect place to put it," Olson said, and with the help of a Forest Grove utility company and a volunteer trucker, the pole was planted at Lincoln Park, where it remains.
