View full sizeHarvey the rabbit is a landmark along Tualatin Valley Highway in Aloha. The first time I drove down Tualatin Valley Highway through Aloha, I nearly wrecked my car trying to hold my camera out the window to snap a picture of Harvey the Rabbit. While Portland
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,
, the old White Stag / Made in Oregon / Portland, Oregon sign -- Aloha has only Harvey, a 23-foot-tall bunny
.
Harvey's been receiving love letters since the 1980s, but these days, he also accepts salutations in the modern way.
is easily Aloha's most active (non-Oregonian, of course) Internet presence. Harvey's 6,212 fans sometimes talk directly to him: "Rock on Harvey, its been a long time since I've seen you," one user writes. "Gonna be driving in to Hillsboro this weekend and I'm gonna have to make a stop to show you off to my daughter-n-law. See you soon." Others share memories of passing by him: "Harvey the Bunny is one of the things I grew up with. Every time I go down T.V. Hwy I love to see what he's holding. Maybe a Christmas tree? Maybe it's Easter time."
Apparently I'm not the only one swerving to the side of the highway, hoping to snag a picture of the icon. Harvey's fans have posted dozens of photographs of him. In them, he wears a Blazers jersey or holds a pumpkin.
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Though most people leave him happy, or at least nostalgic, comments, a few of his "fans" have written that Harvey creeps them out. I've never found him creepy, but his Facebook profile does have one small, unsettling note: The only thing Harvey "likes" is "A Serial Killer's Christmas."
If you want to see Harvey yourself, drive through Aloha. Harvey's outside the
at
. You could even use the time (and the summer weather) to drop by the store and maybe buy that boat you've always been wanting.
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