Offbeat Oregon History podcast

Oregon’s biggest uranium mine found by a hobbyist Nov 22, 2024

During the go-go years of the uranium-mining rush of the early 1950s, the character of the uranium prospector became iconic. He was basically the gold-seeking “miner 49er” updated for the atomic age: in lieu of a mule, he rode an Army-surplus Jeep; in place of pick and gold pan, he carried a Geiger counter and ultraviolet flashlight. So it’s ironic but maybe not surprising that Oregon’s biggest uranium strike was made by an everyday rockhound - a guy who didn’t even own a Geiger counter. (Lakeview, Lake County; 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/22-04.white-king-lucky-lass-uranium-mines-608.html)

Former Albany newsman saved Crater Lake as park Nov 21, 2024

He couldn't claim all the credit for it, although he sometimes tried; and his attitude toward Native Americans was unfortunate. But those who love Crater Lake, in large part, have William Gladstone Steel to thank for it. (Crater Lake, Klamath County; 1880s, 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1609cT.crater-lake-will-steel-409.html)

The wreck of the Glenesslin: Insurance fraud, or just drunken incompetence? Nov 20, 2024

Windjammer still holds a world speed record for sailing ships, but by the time of her demise, had been losing money for years; the age of steam had made her obsolete. So when she sailed onto the rocks, insurance adjusters smelled a rat. (Neahkahnie Mountain, Tillamook County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1107a-glenesslin-wreck-insurance-fraud-or-drunken-incompetence.html)

Wartime Japanese balloon-bomb damage was bad enough, but could have been worse Nov 19, 2024

Loaded with ordinance and launched by the thousands on the jet-stream currents, the weapons were a much bigger threat to American citizens than most now realize — and one of them probably started the 1945 Tillamook Burn. (Salmonberry River, Tillamook County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1608cT.balloon-bombs.405.html)

The Cason family's experience on the Oregon Trail (WPA oral-history interview with Sara B. Wrenn) Nov 18, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Mrs. Annie Cason Lee, reminiscing about her family's Oregon Trail journey and some of the adventures and misadventures that befell them upon arrival ... including a rather priceless anecdote about her father, Hilary Cason, getting in a vicious fistfight with the owner of the Stark Street Ferry on his way to church! (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001961/ )

Centennial celebration crowned Oregon’s age of innocence Nov 15, 2024

ONE OF THE real privileges of being a lifelong Oregonian of a certain, er, vintage, is the opportunity to have seen this state in its golden age — roughly, 1946 through 1980 — through a child’s eyes. The basic style and culture of the Beaver State have changed a lot over the last 50 years. And, for the most part, it’s changed for the better ... but not entirely. Sociologists would say this change was the transition from a “modernist” culture — proud, conformist, and optimistic about the future — to a “postmodernist” culture — self-critical, eclectic, and neutral or pessimistic about the future. (Statewide; 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2408b-0902c_OregonGoldenAge-Centennial-662.html)

First youth symphony in U.S. came out of Oregon’s high desert Nov 14, 2024

Every youth orchestra in America today can trace its ancestry back to the a tiny, dusty town in Eastern Oregon, and one gifted, visionary violin teacher named Mary Dodge, founder of the Sagebrush Symphony. (Burns, Harney County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1108c-sagebrush-symphony-first-youth-orchestra-in-us.html)

Legendary gold-field bandits’ stolen loot still hasn’t been found Nov 13, 2024

According to legend, the Triskett Gang underestimated the citizens of Sailors' Diggins, which became a fatal error when they went on a shooting spree downtown. But the $75,000 they stole (if true) has never been recovered. (Waldo, Josephine County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1106d-gold-field-bandits-loot-has-never-been-found.html)

Supreme Court: Slavery OK, but only for sailors Nov 12, 2024

Four mariners on the sailing ship Arago, in Astoria, tried to quit and were tracked down by police and forced to return to work, like runaway slaves. When they sued, the Supreme Court issued an astonishing ruling against them. (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1607c.slavery-ok-for-sailors-says-scotus.400.html)

The maritime adventures and subsequent retirement of 'Uncle Jimmy Bates' (Part 2 of 2-part WPA oral-history interview with Frances Looney Cornell) Nov 11, 2024

The story of a young lad swept up in the romance of the sea — his maritime adventures and determination to settle down to a quiet retirement far away from home, in the Willamette Valley. From WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Frances Looney Cornell. This is part 2 of a 2-part reading of this oral history file. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001970/ )

Chautauquas: 'Most American' thing was basically summer camp for grown-ups Nov 08, 2024

IN THE DECADES before the First World War, an organization called Chautauqua arose that was something like a summer camp for grown-ups. People would take vacation time and travel to the Chautauqua center and stay there in tents, either brought from home or rented on site, for a week, or two weeks, or even longer. There, they’d take classes, attend lectures, listen to band concerts, play baseball, and generally try to make up for the previous year’s intellectual deprivation. In Chautauqua’s heyday there were a number of these centers across the country, and President Theodore Roosevelt famously declared them to be “the most American thing about America.” And the biggest one west of the Rockies was in Gladstone, Oregon. (Gladstone, Clackamas County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/22-03.chautauqua-in-oregon-607.html)

Oregon’s world-famous exploding whale, on the beach near Florence! Nov 07, 2024

The highway engineer in charge of getting rid of a big stinky dead whale on the beach miscalculated the amount of dynamite he would need. The result was a spectacular event that has become a true Oregon legend. NOTE: The 24th anniversary of this spectacular event is coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024! (Florence, Lane County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1608bT.exploding-whale.404.html)

Tired of watching mariners die, lighthouse keeper started a rescue service Nov 06, 2024

After finding a battered lifeboat washed up on shore from a fatal shipwreck, Joel Munson made it his life's mission to use it to start a life-saving service. Today, his creation soldiers on, as part of the U.S. Coast Guard. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1856s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1106c-joel-munson-founded-lifesaving-service.html)

Lucky escapes from the ‘Graveyard of Ships’ Nov 05, 2024

When a sailing ship found itself in trouble in the legendary “graveyard of ships,” there was nothing left to do but count the bodies. But every now and then, a vessel would slip out of the icy grip of the bar to sail on. Here are a few such stories. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1870s, 1880s, 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1508c.escape-from-columbia-bar-352.html)

Stories of earliest Oregon Trail crossings and life around Jefferson (WPA oral-history interview with Frances Looney Cornell) Nov 04, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Frances Looney Cornell, whose family was on one of the very first wagon trains to arrive in the Willamette Valley from back east. This is part 1 of a 2-part reading of this oral history file. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001970/ )

Lost-cabin treasure tales tantalize gold seekers Nov 01, 2024

LOST OR ABANDONED cabins pop up so often in legends of missing gold mines and buried treasure that they are almost a cliché. Most of them follow a clear pattern or formula — in fact, all lost-treasure stories do: The seeker stumbles across the treasure while doing something else; he is called away for some reason; and he can never find his way back, despite devoting years to fruitless searching. There may not be a more faithful example of that pattern than the story of the lost cabin of Steamboat Mountain.... (Applegate River, Jackson County; 1850s, 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/22-02.lost-cabin-gold-stories-606.html)

‘Christmas Ship’ could have used Santa’s help to navigate Oct 31, 2024

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's shiny nose would have been the only light showing on the Oregon Coast after the Pearl Harbor attack; unable to see its position, the ship piled onto the beach at full steam. (Hammond, Clatsop County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1608a.christmas-shipwreck-mauna-ala.403.html)

Legendary Oregon wrestler got pinned by a real-estate dream Oct 30, 2024

Olympic gold medalist and OSU legend Robin Reed might have been the best wrestler of all time; throughout his 20-plus-year career he was never once pinned. But his plan for the "Delake Rod and Gun Club" was more than he could pull off. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1920s - Lincoln City, Lincoln County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1106b-robin-reed-delake-rod-gun-club.html)

Six picnickers fell victim to Japanese balloon bomb Oct 29, 2024

Lunching in the woods after church during World War II, hundreds of miles from the sea, Elyse Mitchell and four kids from church were killed in the blast. But, hoping to deny the Japanese knowledge of their “victory,” the newspapers kept it quiet. (Bly, Klamath County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1508b.bly-balloon-bombing.351.html)

The legendary Tabitha Brown of Forest Grove, founder of Pacific University (go Boxers) (Part 2 of 2; WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. H.A. Lewis) Oct 28, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's 1939 oral history interview with Mrs. H.A. Lewis, granddaughter of the legendary Tabitha Moffat Brown, officially named the Mother of Oregon by the state Legislature in 1987, talking about her life and experiences in Oregon after her arrival in 1847. This is Part 1 of 2 parts; it will be continued next Monday. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001985/ )

Truck bombings doomed newspaper unions’ cause Oct 25, 2024

But the strike enabled Oregon Journal's trustees to sell the paper, in defiance of its former owner's direct bequest, to the owners of the Oregonian; the result was an outsider-owned daily-newspaper monopoly that continues to this day. (Oregon City, Clackamas County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1607e.stereotyper-strike-part2.html)

His cheating heart cost Oregon journalism dearly Oct 24, 2024

Was the shooting of Donald Newhouse the action of a union thug, related to the strike at the Oregonian and Journal? Or was it a cuckolded husband taking revenge in a case of mistaken identity? Either way, it changed everything. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1607d.stereotyper-strike-part1.html)

The wreck of the U.S.S. Shark: Navy’s loss was Cannon Beach’s gain Oct 23, 2024

The captain's desperate haste to get out to sea, combined with a terrible decision to cross the bar on the ebb, resulted in disaster — and the ship's stranded armaments resulted in a name for the town of Cannon Beach. (Cannon Beach, Clatsop County; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1508a.shark-shipwreck-part2.html)

U.S.S. Shark doomed by skipper’s fear of desertion Oct 22, 2024

As sailors melted away to take advantage of the opportunities in the new Oregon country, their captain sweated bullets; they could not be replaced. But his haste to get back out to sea while he still could set the stage for disaster. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1507d.shark-shipwreck-part1.html)

The legendary Tabitha Brown of Forest Grove, founder of Pacific University (go Boxers) (Part 1 of 2; WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. H.A. Lewis) Oct 21, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's 1939 oral history interview with Mrs. H.A. Lewis, granddaughter of the legendary Tabitha Moffat Brown, officially named the Mother of Oregon by the state Legislature in 1987, talking about her life and experiences in Oregon after her arrival in 1847. This is Part 1 of 2 parts; it will be continued next Monday. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001985/ )

Victor Strode: Oregon’s own real-life Tom Swift Oct 18, 2024

ON THE MORNING of April 23, 1936, the city of Portland was proudly preparing to launch its new harbor-patrol and first-aid boat, the Jack Luihn. It was a big moment for the city. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York City was in town and had been invited to attend. Reporters were on hand, and photographers snapping pictures. And the boat’s inventor was there — it was his moment of triumph. His wife stood ready with a bottle of champagne for the christening. The boat itself was a remarkably strange-looking thing. It looked almost as much like an airplane as a boat, like something out of a Buck Rogers comic. Nothing like it had ever plied the waters of Portland Harbor ... or, most likely, ever would again. THE JACK LUIHN was the brainchild of a Portland attorney, aviator, promoter, and inventor named Victor Wiegand Strode. Strode was a fascinating man. Looking over his life, his career is reminiscent of the early life of Howard Hughes — before he became insane, of course. And he really does give Thomas Slate, the Alsea-born inventor of all-metal steam-powered airships, some serious competition for the title of “The Nicola Tesla of Oregon.” For my money, he’s best described as a real-life Tom Swift....(Portland Harbor, Multnomah County; 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2407d-1209d.victor-strode-aerohydrocraft.html)

Oregon was only state with race-exclusion policy Oct 17, 2024

In a country divided between slave states and free states just before the Civil War, Oregon was the only example of a third alternative: it was neither. (Statewide; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1308b-exclusion-law-marred-early-oregon-history.html)

Blimp squadron was first line of defense against enemy subs, balloon bombs Oct 16, 2024

Massive K-series airships were housed in the largest clear-span wood buildings in the world, near Tillamook; one burned in 1992, while the other houses the Tillamook Air Museum today. (Tillamook County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1105d-blimp-squadron-first-defense-against-submarines-balloon-bombs.html)

Oregon’s Atomic-age ‘gold rush’: Uranium mining Oct 15, 2024

As the Cold War spun up, federal government guarantees sent thousands of Geiger Counter-packing prospectors in Army surplus Jeeps scrambling across Oregon's Outback, hoping to make their fortunes mining “A-metal.” (Central and Eastern Oregon; 1940s, 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1507c.uranium-mining-gold-rush-348.html)

1939, and the Livin' is Easy (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. John James) Oct 14, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's short but interesting oral history interview with Mrs. John James of Lake Oswego, talking about the difference between life in her childhood versus the then-modern world. Hot and cold running water felt like a miracle the first time she experienced it! (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001972/ )

‘Shoestring railroad’ beat the mighty Southern Pacific in race to Coos Bay Oct 11, 2024

Very few people outside Coos County, and probably not that many inside it, know what a big deal Coos Bay is. It’s the biggest deepwater harbor on the Northwest coast — that is, between San Francisco and Puget Sound. And it’s far safer than Portland or Astoria, tucked as they are behind the “Graveyard of the Pacific” at the mouth of the Columbia. So, one has to wonder why it had no railroad connection to the outside world until 1916 — more than 30 years after Portland got one. There have to have been some theories and speculations about that among the residents and business leaders in the towns of Coos Bay (then called Marshfield) and North Bend. Especially after, in the early 1900s, the Southern Pacific railroad suddenly stopped work on a feeder line that it had claimed would link to Coos Bay through Drain. The subtext here seemed pretty obvious to Marshfield and North Bend business leaders: Business interests in Portland were eager to prevent Coos Bay from coming on line as a direct competitor. And since Portland and Salem were where most of the state’s political power was concentrated, what they wanted they generally got. That suspicion would grow even stronger after William J. Wilsey started promoting his planned railroad line, circa 1909. But, that one would not turn out to be a bluff; and despite the best efforts of Harriman+Co., it would turn out to be a rare case in which the tiny upstart wins. (Eugene and Coos Bay, Lane and Coos County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/22-01.coos-bay-railroad-fight-605.html)

“Holy roller” cult ended with murder, suicide, insanity Oct 10, 2024

Bride of Christ cult sought perfect righeousness, Christ-like simplicity and total humility. In practice, though, it spawned nothing but misery and madness, and a legal precedent for “honor killings.” (Waldport, Lincoln County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1106a-bride-of-christ-holy-rollers-in-corvallis-ending.html)

The real story of the Corvallis “naked ladies cult”: How it began (part 1 of 2) Oct 09, 2024

Preacher Edmund Creffield's Bride of Christ Church broke up families, sanctioned adultery and inspired deadly violence in the early 20th Century. Ironically, its practitioners' goal was perfect holiness and godliness. (Corvallis, Benton County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1105e-bride-of-christ-holy-rollers-in-corvallis-beginning.html)

Rookie robber turned out to be Joaquin Miller’s son Oct 08, 2024

Young Henry Miller, rejected by his illustrious father, turned to a life of crime, but he turned out not to be very good at it. For his part, the ever-classy Joaquin took to claiming Harry was not really his son. (Coquille, Coos County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1507b.black-sheep-of-joaquin-miller-family.347.html)

Crossing the Oregon Trail and teaching in a pioneer schoolhouse (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. J.R. Bean) Oct 07, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Mrs. J.R. Bean, and some excerpts from the reminiscences of one of her in-laws, James Meikle Sharp, who crossed the country on an Oregon Trail wagon train and secured a teacher's certificate in his new Oregon home. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001963/ )

Who needed enemies with friends like AC Edmunds? Oct 04, 2024

Abraham Coryell Edmunds, throughout his several careers in Oregon and California, was almost like a cartoon — a larger-than-life loser in the vein of Wile E. Coyote, with a little Carrie Nation mixed in along with a whole lot of Don Quixote. Nor were his “own-goals” minor affairs. A.C. Edmunds was almost singlehandedly responsible for the demise of the early Universalist Church in California, the temporary collapse of the Universalist congregation in Portland, and for the sudden death of the temperance and women’s suffrage movements in Oregon in 1874. Before he got involved, Oregon was on track to become the first state in which women could vote. His efforts to help make that happen set the process back almost 40 years. ... (Multnomah and Lane County; 1860s, 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/20-01.ac-edmunds-temperance-own-goalie.html)

Prohibition-era Oregon was a bootlegger’s paradise Oct 03, 2024

Oregon went 'dry' in 1914, so by the time the Volstead Act passed in 1919, Beaver State bootleggers were already seasoned professionals. So when the rest of the West Coast needed them, Oregon's 'midnight entrepreneurs' were ready to roll. (Statewide; 1910s, 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1308a-rumrunners-moonshiners-and-speakeasies.html)

Crew of shipwrecked schooner rescued — by a railroad train Oct 02, 2024

A small construction engine was being used to build the South Jetty, to protect the mouth of the Columbia River for ships, when one off-course four-masted schooner crashed into it — so construction crews chugged to the rescue. (Hammond, Clatsop County; 1910s; Offbeat Oregon History column by Finn J.D. John, 15 May 2011) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1105c-railroad-train-rescues-shipwrecked-schooners-crew.html)

Sudden storm caught big freighter ship at worst possible moment Oct 01, 2024

Not since before the Civil War had so many mariners drowned in a shipwreck on the Columbia River bar; as hurricane-driven breakers tore the big ship to pieces, all the would-be rescuers could do was watch in horror. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1507a.shipwreck-iowa-worst-of-1900s-346.html)

Life in a Wild West frontier mining town (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. Neil Niven, chronicler of life in Granite, pt. 3 of 3) Sep 30, 2024

This is the third and final part of WPA writer William Haight's oral history interview with Mrs. Neil Niven (Haight doesn't give us her first name or maiden name). Mrs. Niven came to the wild Oregon hard-rock mining boomtown of Granite as a schoolteacher, later served as its newspaper's editor, and throughout her time there she was a close and occasionally sarcastic observer of its wild, violent, rootin'-tootin' culture. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001942/ )

Everyone had a motive to frame this innocent man (3 of 3) Sep 27, 2024

The railroad, the local police agencies, and the U.S. War Department all desperately wanted to prosecute somebody, anybody, just not the young Marine who almost certainly was young Martha Brinson James' actual killer. (Albany, Linn County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1607b.war-bride-murder-3.399.html)

Top suspect became star witness in ‘railroad job’ (2 of 3) Sep 26, 2024

Apparently desperate to avoid charging a uniformed U.S. Marine with the crime, prosecutors sought a scapegoat to pin the murder of Martha James on. They found one, and they had to work really hard to make it stick ... but they got it done. (Albany, Linn County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1607a.war-bride-murder-2.398.html)

Bloody train-car murder led to a real ‘railroad job’ (Part 1 of 3) Sep 25, 2024

Local authorities were stumped; the entire nation was watching, and the most likely suspect, a uniformed U.S. Marine, was already being hailed a a heroic would-be-rescuer in the press. So they went looking for a patsy to pin the crime on ....(Albany, Linn County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1606d.war-bride-murder-1.397.html)

Fatal crashes made 1933 a rough year for aviators Sep 24, 2024

A Ford Trimotor crashed on takeoff in Eugene, and a twin-engined Boeing crashed into the west hills of Portland, within 11 months of each other. Miraculously, there were survivors in both events. (Lane and Multnomah County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1712e.1933-a-bad-year-for-plane-crashes-476.html)

Life in a Wild West frontier mining town (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. Neil Niven, chronicler of life in Granite, pt. 2 of 3) Sep 23, 2024

This is Part Two of WPA writer William Haight's oral history interview with Mrs. Neil Niven (Haight doesn't give us her first name or maiden name). Mrs. Niven came to the wild Oregon hard-rock mining boomtown of Granite as a schoolteacher, later served as its newspaper's editor, and throughout her time there she was a close and occasionally sarcastic observer of its wild, violent, rootin'-tootin' culture. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001942/ )

Ship’s sinking may have saved the lives of its crew Sep 20, 2024

Whatever happened to the S.S. Drexel Victory as she steamed across the Columbia River Bar that day sent her to the bottom in little more than an hour, but everyone survived. Had it happened during a storm in mid-Pacific, though ... (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1606b.drexel-victory-lucky-sinking-395.html)

Racketeers, corrupt union men battled over pinball Sep 19, 2024

Many people today don't realize that in the 1950s, pinball had a bad reputation as a gambler's game and was as illegal as one-armed bandits. In Portland, shady underworld characters supplied Oregonians with plenty of both. (Portland, Multnomah and Clackamas County; 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1307d-pinball-wars-elkins-vs-teamsters.html)

Prineville: The Oregon town that refused to die Sep 18, 2024

Many Oregon towns, when bypassed by the railroad, withered into tiny hamlets — but one of them built its own railroad instead. It's still in business today, and it's the oldest continuously operating municipal short line in the U.S. (Prineville, Crook County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/0905b_h114.prineville-railroad.html)

Lessons from Christmas crash still save lives today Sep 17, 2024

The pilot got so caught up in trying to figure out what was wrong with the landing gear, the plane ran out of fuel — while the flight crew bit their tongues for fear of being insubordinate. A new crew management system was the response. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1712d.united-flight-173-almost-miracle-plane-crash-475.html)

Life in a Wild West frontier mining town (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. Neil Niven, chronicler of life in Granite, pt. 1 of 3) Sep 16, 2024

WPA writer William Haight's oral history interview with Mrs. Neil Niven (Haight doesn't give us her first name or maiden name). Mrs. Niven came to the wild Oregon hard-rock mining boomtown of Granite as a schoolteacher, later served as its newspaper's editor, and throughout her time there she was a close and occasionally sarcastic observer of its wild, violent, rootin'-tootin' culture. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001942/ )

Hathaway Jones claimed to be world’s greatest liar Sep 13, 2024

IN THE 1920s and 1930s, if you lived in the rocky wilderness along the upper Rogue River, or the mountainous area known as the Oregon Craggies, you lived in one of the most remote patches of the state. There were no roads, only mule paths. Most folks didn’t make it into town more than once or twice a year. It was a 40-mile hike for most of them out to Gold Beach, or inland to the railroad station at West Fork, a tiny outpost that’s now a ghost town near the forks of Cow Creek. But there was a mailman who came by every week or two with catalogs, packages, letters, and news from the outside world. The arrival of that mailman would be a big event. Actually, the arrival of any visitor was a big event in that remote place. Tools would be put down, coffee would be put on the woodstove if it wasn’t already hot, and the mailman would be invited to sit down and rest ... and talk. (Agness and Illahe, Curry County; 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2406b.hathaway-jones-countrys-biggest-liar.html)

Early Portland man’s wake worked — he woke right up Sep 12, 2024

Two boys, asked to watch over the deceased on a dark and windy night in the 1890s, got the fright of their young lives ... when the 'corpse' started making noises in the other room. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/0908b_h122.WakeWorks.html)

Oregon marked its first 100 years with a $2.6 million party Sep 11, 2024

Centennial bash in 1959 was a huge event; state had been gearing up for three years. By contrast, 2009's Sesquicentennial was a mild, understated affair. By the way, this will be the last time this very-old article (first published in February 2009) is published — it has been re-written and thoroughly updated, and the new one is scheduled to appear in this podcast feed on Nov. 15. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/0902c_h102.state-centennial.html)

State’s worst plane crash is also its most mysterious Sep 10, 2024

West Coast Airlines Flight 956 was a brand-new DC-9; the airline literally bought it on Monday and crashed it on Saturday. It hit a mountain while flying calmly along, 5,000 feet too low. But, no one has been able to figure out why. (Welches, Clackamas County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1712c.oregons-worst-plane-crash-mystery-474.html)

Abigail Scott Duniway's party on the Oregon Trail (WPA oral-history interview with Jean Slauson) Sep 09, 2024

When WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn interviewed Miss Jean Slauson of Lake Grove in January 1939, Miss Slauson gave Ms. Wrenn a hand-written treatise to transcribe, written by her great-aunt, Harriet Scott Palmer; it was a description of Ms. Palmer's experience crossing the plains on the Oregon Trail with the party that included Abigail Scott Duniway and Harvey Scott. This is that document. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001975/ )

Heaven’s Gate UFO cult started at Waldport hotel Sep 06, 2024

Two decades later, the cult, now named “Heaven's Gate,” would make national headlines by committing mass suicide in hopes that a UFO hiding behind Comet Hale-Bopp would carry their spirits away to Planet Heaven. (Waldport, Lincoln County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1606a.heavens-gate-ufo-cult-394.html)

Oregon's contribution to space program nothing to sneeze at Sep 05, 2024

An Oregon astronaut holds the record for time spent in space. Another peformed the first unscheduled spacewalk. And a third was a participant in NASA's first public love triangle. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1005a_Astronauts.htm)

The rowdy-but-golden past of almost-ghost-town Granite Sep 04, 2024

Not long ago, the former gold-mining Blue Mountain boomtown was an incorporated city of one; it's grown 2,800 percent since. (Granite, Grant County; 1870s, 1880s, 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/0905d_h105.granite-ghost-town.html)

Klamath Falls airport had unusual run of bad luck Sep 03, 2024

In the past 75 years, there have been only four lethal commercial-airliner crashes in Oregon. By an odd statistical fluke, two of those happened to planes flying out of the airport in Klamath Falls. (Klamath Falls, Klamath County; 1960s, 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1712b.klamath-falls-plane-crash-capitol-473.html)

The everyday life of a pioneer woman (WPA oral-history transcript) Sep 02, 2024

When WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn interviewed Miss Jean Slauson of Lake Grove in January 1939, Miss Slauson gave Ms. Wrenn a hand-written treatise to transcribe, written by her great-aunt, Catherine A. Coburn. This is that document. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001975/ )

Albany woman should be in Swindlers Hall of Fame Aug 30, 2024

Talented actress could dilate a pupil at will, dislocate joints, fake broken ribs and get her gums to bleed on demand. She was so good, railroad claims agents actually formed a national association just to share info about her scams. (Salem, Marion County; 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1605e.maud-johnson-queen-o-fakirs-393.html)

When steamboats exploded on the upper Willamette Aug 29, 2024

When the steamboat Gazelle reached the dock, the man in charge of its steam boilers leaped ashore and ran like a man being chased by demons. A few seconds later, the Gazelle exploded, killing 20 people. (Canemah, Clackamas County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1307c-boiler-explosions-in-willamette-steamboats.html)

“Hermit of the Craggies” went from acorns and roots to prison food Aug 28, 2024

Convinced his only neighbor was out to get him, solitary trapper and paranoid former prospector “Crazy Hugo” ambushed him with a rifle; the state prison became his retirement home. (Agness, Curry County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1105b-crazy-hugo-hermit-of-craggies.html)

Hawaii-bound airliner out of PDX ditched in open sea Aug 27, 2024

Lessons learned in the crash ended up saving countless lives in subsequent at-sea ditchings, but those lessons came at a price: Four people died, including the co-pilot who had saved everyone's life. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1712a.pan-am-845-ditching-off-coos-bay-472.html)

Pioneer and Oregon Trail folkways of women (WPA oral-history interview with Miss Jean Slauson) Aug 26, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Miss Jean Slauson of Oswego and two of her young cousins, sharing some of their family stories, oral and written. Part 1 of 3 parts. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001975/ )

As demagogue's empire collapsed, he plotted a guerilla insurrection (Part 3 of 3) Aug 23, 2024

The “Jackson County Rebellion” faded away after political boss Llewellyn Banks shot a policeman with a .30-06 during an attempted warrant service. Coverage of the whole debacle won the Medford Mail-Tribune a Pulitzer Prize. (Medford, Jackson County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1605d.jackson-co-rebellion-part3-392.html)

Jackson County Rebellion: The plotters come to power in rigged election (Part 2 of 3) Aug 22, 2024

For leaders of the “Good Government Congress,” the Great Depression was a golden opportunity to crystallize popular bewilderment into hatred that could be used to grab for power. And it worked ... too well, as it turned out. (Medford, Jackson County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1605c.jackson-county-rebellion-part2-391.html)

‘Jackson County rebellion’ started as newspaper fight (Part 1 of 3) Aug 21, 2024

An autocratic populist from southern California, arriving in Medford in a flashy Cadillac, managed to position himself as a leader of the poor and disenfranchised. The results would rock the county, and the state, to the core. (Medford, Jackson County; 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1605b.llewellyn-banks-murder-boss-390.html)

Murderer blew PDX-bound airliner up for mom’s insurance Aug 20, 2024

Jack Graham had planned for the airliner to explode over the Wyoming mountains; but the plane got out late, and the bomb went off a few minutes after takeoff — while he sat with his wife and son in an airport cafe. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1711d.united-629-dynamited-on-flight-to-pdx-471.html)

Life in the 'Fizzle No. 13' gold mine (WPA oral-history interview with Carl Hentz) Aug 19, 2024

WPA writer William C. Haight's oral history interview with gold miner Carl Hentz, talking about gold mining lore. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001947/ )

KGW Order of Hoot Owls changed U.S. radio history Aug 16, 2024

In 1923 when Oregon’s KGW Radio launched the world’s first radio variety show, it became almost a nationwide sensation within just a few months. At its peak, it had listeners in all but four U.S. states along with the territories of Alaska and Hawaii, as well as most of Canada and Mexico. All three of the U.S. Presidents who served in office during its run — Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover — were at least occasional listeners. The show was called The Hoot Owls, and it may actually have been the single most influential radio program of all time. It showed the industry the possibilities of a semi-scripted radio variety show, and it launched the career of Mel Blanc, the voice of most of the Looney Tunes characters. And yet because early radio wasn’t able to be recorded, all we have left of The Hoot Owls today is a handful of scripts and a songbook. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/24-06.kgw-order-of-hoot-owls-on-the-air-649.html)

Oregon’s Harry Lane was a real hero of World War I Aug 15, 2024

As his countrymen and colleagues succumbed to the enthusiasm and propaganda for joining the conflict, only Senator Lane and a handful of other lawmakers kept their wits. But Lane paid dearly for his commitment to sanity. (Sellwood, Multnomah County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1307b-harry-lane-war-hero.html)

Coast Guard’s dramatic rescue saved ship — for Stalin’s most notorious gulag Aug 14, 2024

Norwegian freighter got off course, piled onto Peacock Spit; a cutter pulled it off, and motor lifeboat crews rescued its crew, and the wallowing ship was pulled to port and repaired. A happy ending? Well, not for the Russians, it wasn't. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1105a-coast-guard-rescued-future-soviet-gulag-ship.html)

Neighbors’ gunfight left three dead, one hanged Aug 13, 2024

Although nearly everyone agreed the Mache family had had it coming, evidence at the scene convinced the sheriff that Kelsay Porter had ambushed them in cold blood, and the jury sentenced him to swing for it. But the neighbors characterized the whole affair as a railroad job. (Pine Valley, Union and Baker County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1711c.kelsey-porter-vigilante-killings-470.html)

Portland physician-druggist made history with telegraph 'hobby'(WPA oral-history interview with Ross Plummer) Aug 12, 2024

WPA writer Andrew C. Sherbert's oral history interview with old Portland pharmacist Ross Plummer, discussing Ross's father — pioneering physician, druggist and telegraphy expert O.P.S. Plummer, who helped Western Union connect Portland to the line and had the first telephone in the Beaver State. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001952/ )

Albany man ran Oregon’s first fake-Viagara scam Aug 09, 2024

Local swindler's anti-impotence scam brought him and his company to national attention; but it wasn't until he added a quack birth-control remedy to his line that he was busted and jailed for his fraud. (Albany, Linn County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1605a.swindlers-edward-f-lee-viagra-spammer-389.html)

McCarty Gang’s story: ‘Bonanza’ meets ‘Unforgiven’ Aug 08, 2024

After homesteading some of the West's best cattle country, the family could have been wealthy squires like TV's Cartwright family; instead, they gave it all up for a series of outlaw enterprises that left some broke and others dead. (Harney, Wallowa, and Baker County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1307a-mccarty-gang-bonanza-gone-wrong.html)

Gallon House covered bridge: Ground Zero in battle over booze Aug 07, 2024

The historic structure, halfway between “dry” Silverton and “wet” Mt. Angel, became a meeting place for the thirsty — and a symbol of Oregon's strange relationship with good ol' Demon Rum. (Silverton, Marion County; 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1104d-gallon-house-bridge-symbol-of-oregon-battle-over-booze.html)

Crater Lake car chase ended like a Clancy novel Aug 06, 2024

An East German man, running from the law in a stolen Volvo full of guns and fake IDs, apparently dropped the hand grenade he was preparing to throw at the pursuing officer and was unable to retrieve it in time. (Crater Lake, Klamath County; 1980s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1711b.merzejuskis-blows-self-up-at-crater-lake-469.html)

Old-time square dance culture (WPA oral-history interview with George Gibby) Aug 05, 2024

WPA writer Andrew Sherbert's oral history interview with Catholic Sentinel printshop editor George Gibby in December 1938, in which Mr. Gibby fills him in on the state of frontier-community dancing and how it differed from 'modern' (as of 1938) dancing. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001953/ )

Frontier swindlers: The medicine hucksters Aug 02, 2024

The basic idea: Mix a few dramatic ingredients like whiskey, red pepper and opium; stick a label on it; hawk it on streetcorners as a universal medicine; and leave town before the suckers can get wise. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1870s, 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1604d.swindlers-medicine-shows-388.html)

Chemawa School: An Oregon cultural treasure Aug 01, 2024

Created to stifle Indian culture, the oldest surviving Native American boarding school has done the opposite — and it's fortunate for Oregon's cultural heritage that it has. (Salem, Marion County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1212d-chemawa-boarding-school-cultural-treasure.html)

Amateur pirates’ bumbling plan didn’t work out as they’d hoped Jul 31, 2024

Two liquored-up Navy deserters planned to seize control of a passenger liner, drive it onto the beach and steal away into the night with three tons of gold. It's probably safe to say they didn't think their plan through very well. (Off Winchester Bay, Douglas County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1104c-amateur-pirates-bumbling-scheme-didnt-work-out.html)

Was Lewis O’Neil a murderer, or did he just take the rap for one? Jul 30, 2024

Everyone in Ashland knew Amanda McDaniel and Lewis O'Neil were having a little affair; so, when Amanda's husband turned up murdered with O'Neil's shotgun, it seemed obvious what had happened. But ... was it? (Ashland, Jackson County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1711a.lewis-mcdaniel-murdered-but-by-whom-468.html)

Early settlement in Milwaukie (WPA oral-history interview with Harvey Starkweather, Part 2 of 2) Jul 29, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Harvey Starkweather, a garrulous old fellow who grew up surrounded by Oregon Trail pioneers in and around Milwaukie. (Part 2 of 2)(For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001988/ )

How they avoided dying of dysentery on Oregon Trail Jul 26, 2024

In the first half of the 1800s, mainstream medical doctors were not very trusted; travelers on the Oregon Trail relied more on herbal remedies or cold water. (1840s, 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1604c.medicine-oregon-trail-387.html)

Jim Turk: shanghaiier, drunkard, millionaire Jul 25, 2024

The old Portland shanghai scene's 'original gangster' was a mysterious character. Did he really inherit a huge fortune? If not, where did the money come from? Stagecoach robbery? Piracy on the high seas? Anything was possible .... (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1212c-jim-turk-the-shanghaiing-millionaire.html)

Only sitting U.S. Senator killed in battle was from Oregon … sort of Jul 24, 2024

Edward Dickinson Baker's personal connection with President Lincoln and formidable people skills made him a powerful force; had he not been killed, he might well have become president. Without his influence, Oregon would likely have sided with the South. (Offbeat Oregon History column by Finn J.D. John, 10 Apr 2011) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1104b-edward-baker-only-sitting-senator-killed-in-action.html)

State’s aggressiveness cost Yachats its beach access Jul 23, 2024

Eager to get started on Smelt Sands Park, the state forcibly vacated Lane County's right-of-way on its 804 Road along the beach, and beachfront property owners quickly fenced it off. It took a 10-year legal battle to fix the problem. (Yachats, Lane County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1710e.yachats-804-road-offbeat-oregon-origin-story-467.html)

Early settlement in Milwaukie (WPA oral-history interview with Harvey Starkweather, Part 1 of 2) Jul 22, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Harvey Starkweather, a garrulous old fellow who grew up surrounded by Oregon Trail pioneers in and around Milwaukie. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001988/ )

Great Women of Oregon History, Pt. II: The ‘firsts' Jul 19, 2024

Not many people know it, but Oregon had U.S. history's first female governor (in 1909), first female sworn police officer (in 1908) and first female stagecoach driver (in the 1860s). (Statewide; 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1604b.great-women-part2-386.html)

Abigail Scott Duniway isn’t only great woman of Oregon history Jul 18, 2024

Other pioneering Oregonians worthy of having bridges and mountains named after them include attorney Mary G. Leonard, historian Frances Fuller Victor and physician Bethenia Owens-Adair. (Statewide, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s; part 1 of 2) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1604a.great-women-part1.385.html)

Bungling burglars skunked in Corvallis courthouse job Jul 17, 2024

Perhaps thinking the Benton County Treasurer would have treasure in his office, they blew the safe with dynamite — and were disappointed. A month later, having left pawnshop claim stubs lying around camp, they were incarcerated. (Corvallis, Benton County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1104a-bungling-burglars-skunked-in-corvallis-courthouse-job.html)

Brutal ax murder could not have been more sordid Jul 16, 2024

Richard Marple likely would have been acquitted for lack of hard evidence if he'd been able to keep his mouth shut. But, maybe he figured there was nothing he could do to keep folks from eventually learning his family's dark secret. (Lafayette, Yamhill County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1710d.marple-the-triple-ax-murderer-466.html)

Memories of Meadowbrook, and the Molalla Indians (WPA oral-history interview with Ernest P. Elliott) Jul 15, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Ernest P. Elliott, grandson of the man who homesteaded Meadowbrook (just northeast of Molalla). (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001983/ )

Laurel Hill was Oregon Trail’s ‘final boss battle’ Jul 12, 2024

THE OREGON TRAIL has been called the world’s longest graveyard. It’s a 2,000-mile road that averages one buried body every 80 yards. Out of the 350,000 emigrants that traveled along it, one out of every 10 died along the way. There were lots of ways to kick the bucket on the Trail. Blood poisoning was a popular way to go — in those pre-antibiotic days, a minor scratch from a wagon fastener or prick from a thornbush could quickly go septic. And accidents — people getting run over by a wagon wheel, stepped on by an ox, or falling off the wagon and landing badly — were also common. So it’s actually pretty ironic that the worst part of the whole trail was, in terms of body count, relatively benign compared with the rest. That hasn’t prevented some great ghost stories from developing around it, though. I’m talking about the dreaded half mile of 60-degree slope on southwest side of Mount Hood known as Laurel Hill. (Near Rhododendron, Clackamas County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/24-05.barlow-road-laurel-hill-647.html)

Larry Sullivan’s notorious P-town shanghaiing cartel Jul 11, 2024

The legendary Portland “boarding master” sparked an international incident when he figured out how to shake the ship captains down, foiling their plan to stiff their sailors for the journey's wages. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1301a-larry-sullivans-shanghaiing-syndicate.html)

Larry Sullivan: Boxer, con artist, shanghaier, baller Jul 10, 2024

A prizefighter with a great head for business, friends in high places and absolutely no conscience, Larry Sullivan organized Portland's shanghaiiers into a cartel — causing international notoriety for Portland. (Part 1 of 2) (Portland, Astoria; Multnomah and Clatsop county; 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1212e-larry-sullivan-shanghaiing-legend.html)

Little-known resort a hit with stars, mobsters alike Jul 09, 2024

After making a fortune pushing patent-medicine tablets, Roy Currier cashed out and used the money to build a tidy, discreet little fishing resort on Tenmile Creek — with gourmet cuisine, great fishing, and a little illegal gambling action. (Lakeside, Coos County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1710c.curriers-village-lakeside-movie-stars-n-mobsters-465.html)

A Walking Tour of Miss Mertie's Basement Museum (WPA oral-history interview with Miss Mertie Stevens) Jul 08, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview, in January 1939, with a persnickety collector/hoarder of historical artifacts named Miss Mertie Stevens, including some Oregon Trail objects dating back to 1842! As a side note, writer Sara Wrenn does not seem to have liked Miss Mertie very much. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001977/ )

Riverboats on Willamette towed barns, fetched fish Jul 05, 2024

The Willamette River was running high and wild on the morning of Feb. 5, 1890, as Alden and Arthur Graham set out from Oregon City in their sternwheel riverboat for the daily run to Portland. They arrived in Portland in what must have been record time, dodging logs and small floating buildings along the way, and promptly canceled the return trip. It was just too dangerous to even try charging into the teeth of all the fast-moving debris. But after they arrived, they learned that theirs was the only riverboat between Willamette Falls and the Portland bridges — and there were some things floating down the river that could potentially damage or even destroy those bridges. So, back out into the torrent they went, to the rescue. (Oregon City, Clackamas County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1912e.steamboat-culture-graham-line.html)

For teenage sailor, visit to Portland ended in a life sentence Jul 04, 2024

Like the hero of an 1800s “cautionary tale,” 17-year-old Joseph Swards stepped off the ship, fell in with bad company, got caught up in a robbery that went horribly wrong — and in the end was lucky he wasn't hanged. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1212b-young-adventurers-visit-to-portland-ended-in-prison.html)

Roseburg’s ‘Champagne Riot’ was probably not what you think Jul 03, 2024

The year after the Civil War ended, the partisans of North and South still clung to their resentments in Douglas County. On Christmas Day, those hard feelings broke out in a knock-down-drag-out that left two men dead. (Roseburg, Douglas County; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1412d.319.champagne-riot-civil-war-battle.html)

Tall talker from The Dalles was Oregon's own 'International Murderer o' Mystery' Jul 02, 2024

He called himself James Cook, and spoke with an English accent. But when asked about his past, he spun fanciful and ever-changing stories full of world travels, tiger hunts, shanghaiings and the like; he went to his death a total enigma. (The Dalles, Wasco County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1710b.john-cook-international-murderer-of-mystery-464.html)

Ben Holladay, Abigail Scott Duniway were old friends of hers (WPA oral-history interview with Minerva Thessing) Jul 01, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Minerva Thessing. Ms. Thessing grew up near Milwaukie in the 1860s and was friends with some of Oregon's most famous pioneer characters, from Ben Holladay to Abigail Scott Duniway. She also seems to have had a knack for psychic matters. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001996/ )

West Coast was the Detroit of fishboat engines Jun 28, 2024

The engines that went into these old-school boats were slow, heavy, primitive, and built in one of several factories in San Francisco. In fact, until the mid-1930s San Francisco Bay was the Detroit of the marine-engine industry; the Union Gas Engine Company, est. 1885, was one of the very first manufacturers of gasoline engines of any kind in the U.S. (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1880-1920) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1912d.west-coast-fishboat-engines.html)

How the Prineville Vigilantes were defeated without a shot Jun 27, 2024

Crook County citizens finally decided they'd had enough of the secretive lynchings and killings; they banded together and defeated the gang of masked riders without a single shot being fired. (Prineville, Crook County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1212a-prineville-vigilantes-defeated-without-a-shot.html)

Lynching kicked off scary vigilante era in Prineville Jun 26, 2024

In Crook County, the early 1880s were like something out of a Louis L'Amour novel: Masked riders galloping around by night, dispensing what they saw as justice. It all started with the lynching of an innocent man. (Part 1 of 2) (Prineville, Crook County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1211d-lynching-kicked-off-vigilante-rule-in-prineville.html)

To return to sea, ship had to ‘sail’ through the woods Jun 25, 2024

After Columbia Lightship broke its lines and drifted ashore, the salvage bid was won by a house-moving company from Portland — which, rather than trying to pull the stranded ship off the beach, built a road, trucked it over the peninsula, and launched it in Baker Bay. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1710a.lightship-saved-by-house-movers-463.html)

The fortune-telling mind reader's story (WPA oral-history interview with 'Miss Smith') Jun 24, 2024

WPA writer William C. Haight's 1939 oral history interview with a fascinating fortune-teller he identified only as 'Miss Smith,' in her tea-room business in Portland's Carlton Hotel. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001945/ )

Storied editor lost feud with Oregon’s first woman doc Jun 21, 2024

On any list of Oregon “firsts,” there’s one name that almost never pops up - Dr. Adaline M. Weed. Which is understandable, because although Dr. Weed was the first female physician in the Oregon Territory, she was not a “regular” doctor – she was a hydropathist, a practitioner of “water cure.” Maybe that's why, today, when asked who the Oregon Territory’s first female physician was, most people who think they know the answer (including, until just last week, me!) will say, “Bethenia Owens-Adair, in 1874” — and be wrong. (Salem, Marion County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1912c.dr-adeline-weed.html)

Horrifying asylum poison mix-up left dozens dead Jun 20, 2024

Sent downstairs to fetch a pan of powdered milk, a kitchen assistant at the Oregon State Hospital dipped his scoop into the wrong bin — and brought back six pounds of roach poison. It was mixed into the eggs and fed to 467 people. (Salem, Marion County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1211c-asylum-kitchen-mixup-killed-hundreds-with-scrambled-eggs.html)

West Coast’s first novel was a torrid page-turner Jun 19, 2024

She had a record of uninhibited and acerbic writing; she was preparing what appeared to be a super-racy tell-all memoir; and she had just secured a divorce from a prominent community member about whom they’d all heard some pretty tantalizing rumors. What was not to like? (French Prairie, Marion County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1909d.margaret-bailey-oregons-first-authoress-2of2-566.html)

Oregon’s literary legacy built on “true confession” Jun 18, 2024

MARGARET JEWETT BAILEY WAS not only Oregon’s first author of novel-length fiction, she was also the West Coast’s first published female author, and its first female newspaper journalist. She was also one of the most colorful characters of a remarkably colorful age. She could be absolutely savage when she felt the situation called for it ... and, in fairness, it has to be admitted that her situation seemed to call for it rather a lot. (French Prairie, Marion County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1909c.margaret-bailey-oregons-first-authoress-1of2-565.html)

He's been workin' on the railroad, all the livelong day (WPA oral-history interview with Joseph Stangler, former railroad worker) Jun 17, 2024

WPA writer William C. Haight's oral history interview with Joseph Stangler, a 62-year-old veteran of James J. Hill's railroad building workcrews who was reinventing himself as a concrete artist. This oral history is a fascinating glimpse into the life and work of one of the wandering workmen who lived a hobo-ish lifestyle, riding the rails and working odd jobs, in the last decade or two of the 19th century. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001949/ )

Governor’s kindness led to fatal consequences Jun 14, 2024

AS EVERY SENSIBLE person knows, there is pretty much no such thing as being “cruel to be kind.” Sometimes it does work the other way around, though. Every now and then you run across a story in which someone did something that was intended as a kindness, but turned out to be anything but. Such a case happened in the office of Oregon Governor Oswald West, sometime in 1912. It had to do with a little shooting scrape that Z.H. Stroud, an acquaintance of West’s, had gotten into in the little frontier town of Harney City, where he was the town marshal. Reading between the lines of the story, it’s clear that the governor’s well-intentioned intervention was probably the worst thing that could have happened to Marshal Stroud, and precipitated the closest thing Oregon history has to Arizona’s famous O.K. Corral gunfight. Which, as I’m sure you’ve gathered, the lawman lost.... (Harney City, Harney County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/24-04a.1107e_os-west-pardons-gunfighter-marshal.html)

Pioneer Courthouse square once the site of landmark hotel Jun 13, 2024

The grand monument to the Gilded Age was a municipal architectural treasure and hosted U.S. presidents, but was razed in the 1950s to make way for a parking garage; all that remains is a wrought-iron rail. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1211b-pioneer-courthouse-square-once-palatial-hotel.html)

Oregon governor nearly became President; lucky for us, he didn’t Jun 12, 2024

New York schemers sought to have former Oregon governor and Senator Joseph Lane named President. Had they succeeded, the Civil War likely would have been the North seceding from the South, and possibly an independent Pacific Republic in the West. (Salem, Marion County; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1412c.318.president-joseph-lane.html)

Horse racing, and fixing races, were wildly popular Jun 11, 2024

THERE’S NOT A WHOLE LOT going on these days in the Eastern Oregon community of Jordan Valley (pop. 181). But 100 years ago, this tiny, remote hamlet was home to a racetrack that may have been the fastest in the Northwest. (Jordan Valley, Malheur County; 1890s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1909b.horse-racing-jordan-valley-homer-davenport-564.html)

Life in 1880s Salem and Portland, a banker's-eye view (WPA oral-history interview with Cyrus Woodworth) Jun 10, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Cyrus Woodworth, a retired banker and former telegrapher living in Salem and Portland from the 1870s to the 1930s. He actually organized one of the first car races, a match between two 'merry Oldsmobile'-era horseless carriages that reached a top speed of 18 miles an hour. This also includes an account of an actual tar-and-feathering incident! (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001962 )

Man’s theft of widow’s home too much for jury Jun 07, 2024

ESPECIALLY IN THE LATE 1800s, the Oregon frontier was no stranger to acts of judicial lynching – where the local legal system was corrupted to provide cover for murder. What’s more unusual, though, was an 1852 event that amounted to judicial cattle rustling. The cattle that the Benton County courts rustled belonged to a woman named Letitia Carson, and she was the widow of a recently naturalized Irishman named David Carson — or, rather, she would have been David’s widow, if the two of them had been allowed to marry. But they weren’t, because Letitia Carson was black, and a former slave — born in Kentucky in the late 1810s. The other factor that makes this episode of judicial rustling unusual is that Letitia took the thieves to court — and won. Twice. (Corvallis, Benton County; 1850s, 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1912b.letitia-carson-fought-racist-neighbor-in-court.html)

Boozy generosity turned tables for Prineville Nine Jun 06, 2024

Wall Street financial wizard Thomas Lawson happened to be in town and betting on Prineville. With Silver Lake up 9-0 halfway through, he knew just what to do: Buy the other team a round of drinks ... or two, or three .... (Prineville, Crook County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1211a-thomas-lawson-mccall-boozy-baseball-fixer.html)

Timber baron made Coos Bay a shipbuilding capitol Jun 05, 2024

Asa Mead Simpson came out West for the Gold Rush, but he soon learned there was more money in the timber that blanketed its hills than would ever be scratched out of its rapidly dwindling gold mines. (North Bend, Coos County; 1850s, 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1412b.317.asa-simpsons-empire.html)

Kiwanda dory fleet launch straight into the surf Jun 04, 2024

“No one seems to know how the present Kiwanda dory evolved,” wrote Portland Oregonian wildlife editor Don Helm in a 1968 article, “but it revolutionized the sport and made Pacific City the dory capital of the world.” (Pacific City, Tillamook County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1909a.cape-kiwanda-dories-563.html)

Hard-rock mining in north Baker County (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. Kitty Gray) Jun 03, 2024

WPA writer Manly Banister's oral history interview with Mrs. Kitty Gray. Mrs. Gray was involved in management of several hard-rock mines during the go-go years of Baker County company gold mining in the first quarter of the 20th century, especially in and around Cornucopia, and offered a lot of insights into the rough and dangerous life of a hard-rock miner back then. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001928/ )

How Abe Tichner hustled rubes at 1870s county fair May 31, 2024

The gregarious young entrepreneur usually cleared $2,500 – that’s the equivalent of $57,000 in modern currency – on each county fair. His profit margin hovered around 92 percent. How did he do it? By selling cheap cigars — wrapped in an expensive story. (Portland, Multnomah and Washington County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1912a.abe-tichner-frontier-portland-hustler.html)

John H. Mitchell, Oregon’s own Snidely Whiplash May 30, 2024

John Hipple dumped his family, changed his name and moved West. A dozen years and a few easy-money real-estate swindles later, he was a hugely successful railroad-and-timber lawyer and a U.S. Senator. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s, 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1210e-john-mitchell-oregons-snidely-whiplash.html)

Shouldn’t Oregon’s official language be Chinook? May 29, 2024

Sure, most people speak English. But there’s an older language whose roots run far deeper in Oregon’s culture and history, and it’s one that nearly every Oregonian knows a word or two of. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1411d.314.chinook-jargon.html)

Bad climbers kept getting stuck on Haystack Rock May 28, 2024

It was a notoriously difficult climb, especially on the descent; but the 'idiots climbing Haystack Rock' dynamic didn't become a serious issue until after the helicopter was invented, and climbers started demanding that they be rescued. When they were, the propwash blew all the baby birds out of their nests and into the sea ... something had to be done — so, something was. (Cannon Beach, Clatsop County; 1950s, 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1908d.haystack-rock-climbers-required-constant-rescue-562.html)

Rural life in the Willamette Valley in the 1870s (WPA oral-history interview with Nettie Spencer) May 27, 2024

'When I asked Miss Spencer about her ancestors she exhibited a tree full of monkeys and said that they were the first one," writes WPA writer Walker Winslow in his oral history interview with Nettie Spencer, which he conducted in 1938 — a little over a decade after the famous 'Scopes Monkey Trial.' Spencer went on to give a wonderful description of frontier life in the Willamette Valley in the years after the Civil War. (For the transcript, see www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001960/ )

Mayors Lee, Schrunk set mid-century P-town tone May 24, 2024

The history of Portland mayors in the 20th century largely comes down to the story of the struggle of progressive reformers against various forms of corruption and vice. Put that way, it sounds like a clean morality play: good vs. evil. But it’s a bit more complicated than that. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1911d.portland-mayors-part3of3.html)

In 1880s Portland, at least one mayor paid to play May 23, 2024

When Dr. James Chapman was elected mayor of Portland in 1882, it was his third non-consecutive stint as P-town’s top executive. His previous two mayoralties had been relatively unremarkable. This one, his third and final stint, would be different. Things started out reasonably well, although a careful newspaper reader at the time might have detected some odd occurrences as Chapman began his term of office. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1911c.portland-mayors-part2of3.html)

Frontier Portland mayors could be drama queens May 22, 2024

Over the years, the city of Portland has had its share of controversy and drama in the Mayor’s office. At times, the political tableaux in the top job in Oregon’s biggest town have ripened into scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a Vaudeville act. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1860s, 1870s, 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1911b.portland-mayors-part1of3.html)

Lonely Oregon boy grew up to be a comics legend May 21, 2024

Sometime in April of 1960, a shy, retiring, hard-of-hearing comic-book artist named Carl Barks got a letter at his quiet suburban home. When he opened it, he found that it was a letter from a stranger named John Spicer. And to his astonishment, he found that it was — a fan letter. “Believe it or not, I have been planning this letter for about four or five years,” Spicer wrote. “I have been kept from doing so for the simple reason that I knew not your name or address. I tried several times, however, but all were in vain.” Spicer’s letter was how Barks found out that he was, and had been for at least a decade, a legend — and the most popular comic-book artist in the world. And at first he refused to believe it. Wary of some trick, or a prankster pretending to be a fan to humiliate him, he hesitated to engage with it. But then he decided, why not? And that’s how the world started to learn, for the first time, who Walt Disney’s elusive, anonymous “Good Duck Artist” was.... (Merrill, Klamath County; 1910s, 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/24-03a.carl-barks-the-duck-man.html)

Early songs and ballads, and memories of Homer Davenport (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. Cora Ayers Jamerson) May 20, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Cora Ayers Jamerson, a 'small, alert gray-haired' widow and retired schoolteacher and apartment-house superintendent, in her neat but cluttered apartment in 1938. Mrs. Jamerson talked about the songs and ballads folks liked to sing in 1880s Portland. Her brother, John Ayers, was, she says, the man who invented the cigar-shaped seagoing log rafts that lumber magnate Simon Benson made famous. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001968/ )

Eugene’s first college died after president’s gunfight May 17, 2024

Columbia College, atop College Hill in Eugene, was founded just before the Civil War. It closed after pro-slavery board members took over, and its president skipped town while under indictment for attempted murder; but while it lasted, it gave Eugene a taste for the college-town life that led directly to the founding of the University of Oregon 15 years later. (Eugene, Lane County; 1850s, 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1908c.columbia-college-gunfighter-president-561.html)

‘Harmonial Brotherhood’ free-love cult was a disaster May 16, 2024

The catastrophic failure of several of the Utopian cult's articles of faith — especially on matters of diet and health care — had doomed the community to misery and sickness before it even got a start. (Central America; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1412a.luelling-love-cult-part2.316.html)

Oregon nursery industry founder’s ‘Free Love’ cult May 15, 2024

Former devout Quaker Henderson Luelling developed some odd beliefs in late middle age, founded a cult called “Harmonial Brotherhood,” and led his followers into the Central American wilderness. It did not go well. (Milwaukie, Clackamas County; 1840s, 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1411e.315.luelling-love-cult-part1.html)

‘Miner 29ers’ beat the Depression with gold pan May 14, 2024

When the Great Depression hit, many Oregonians decided to head for mining claims. The life of a gold miner was rustic and tough, but in an age of bread lines and 'hoovervilles,' it beat the alternative. (Southern and Central Oregon; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1908b.gold-rush-of-1933-560.html)

Life around Oswego Lake, and square dancing (WPA oral-history interview with C.T. Dickinson) May 13, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with pioneer Oswego resident C.T. Dickinson, recalling how the land was when the lake was thick with fish and ducks and people were thin on the land. Dickinson also served as a square-dance caller, so if you're yearning for some traumatic memories of elementary-school P.E. class, you won't want to miss this one. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001967/ )

Skill, stout shipbuilding kept wreck fatality-free May 10, 2024

Really, the only reason the U.S.S. Peacock didn’t break into pieces and drown all hands within hours of slamming into the sand was that it was a United States Navy ship. That meant it was crewed by some of the best-trained sailors in the world, and built solidly enough for iron shot to bounce off its sides. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1911a.peacock-spit-shipwreck.html)

Guild Lake was P-town’s water wonderland May 09, 2024

The hordes of awestruck visitors who admired the scenery at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition would have been shocked if they'd known the beautiful little lake would be gone in 20 years — filled in for industrial lands. Not a trace remains. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1210d-guilds-lake-portlands-water-wonderland.html)

Wreck of the U.S. Grant: A weird historical mystery May 08, 2024

The little riverboat came loose from its moorings during a storm and floated downriver and onto the deadly bar with the owners aboard. How could such a thing have happened? Did someone do it on purpose? (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1411c.313.us-grant-suspicious-shipwreck.html)

Politicians’ plan for Army to seize gold mines foiled May 07, 2024

Some Eastern politicians had a plan for paying down Civil War debt: Send in the Army, with the aid of foreign troops, and seize all the productive gold-mining operations in the West. Luckily, a Nevada Senator had a plan to pre-empt it. (Washington, D.C.; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1908a.origins-of-american-mining-law-559.html)

What riding the transcontinental railroad was like (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. Hortense Watkins) May 06, 2024

When we get the story of early-day Oregon emigrants' journeys, usually they involve covered wagons. This is a story of a lady who came to Oregon on the newly built transcontinental railway, which she did the same year the connection was finished: 1883. This is WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Mrs. Hortense Watkins, a widow and Portland resident, in 1938 -- 50 years after her journey. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001979/ )

Oregon’s first murder defendant saved by wife May 03, 2024

It was the first murder trial ever held in the Oregon Territory. The prosecution alleged that Nimrod O’Kelley was a land pirate who had invented an imaginary wife in order to fraudulently claim extra land, and that he had murdered Jeremiah Mahoney to prevent losing it, and to intimidate his other neighbors so that none would challenge him. But when the 'imaginary' wife arrived, everything changed. (Marysville/Corvallis, Benton County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1910d.nimrod-okelly-murder.html)

Mysterious skeletons of Oregon history: If only these bones could talk ... May 02, 2024

Sometimes the silent bones of the long dead almost seem to want to tell their stories ... but, of course, they can't.There are a few stories of skeletal remains found in Oregon whose secrets will probably never be known. (Scio, Ochoco National Forest, Peters Creek Sink) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1210c-mysterious-skeletons-of-oregon-history.html)

Nutty 1890s governor gave state two Thanksgivings May 01, 2024

In 1893, famously irascible governor Sylvester Pennoyer made a mistake on the date of Turkey Day in a speech. But then, instead of admitting his error, he defiantly doubled down on it. (Salem, Marion County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1411b.312.pennoyers-thanksgiving.html)

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