Offbeat Oregon History podcast

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Schooner crew locked in a race with fiery death Oct 15, 2026

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Below decks, a chemical fire burned freely through the hold of the Challenger; above deck, her crew worked desperately in a hurricane windstorm to find a port they could put into before the fire broke through the deck. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1602a.challengers-race-with-time-and-fire-377.html)

A deadly marine concert of timidity, incompetence Oct 14, 2026

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The wreck of the steamship Czarina: A cascade of bad decisions by nearly everyone involved resulted in the worst possible outcome: 23 mariners slowly dying in the surf as friends and family members watched from the beach. (Coos Bay Spit, Coos County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1302d-czarina-shipwreck-tragic-concert-of-incompetence.html)

Union squabbles were part of life on the waterfront Oct 13, 2026

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Every few years, in the early 1900s, burly and hard-fisted dock workers got into a battle of wills with the autocratic sea-captains who ran the shipping companies. Most of the time, the dock workers got the worst of it. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s, 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1303e-union-squabbles-on-portland-waterfront.html)

Davy Crockett in Oregon? Yes, but only in ‘tall tales’ Oct 12, 2026

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In the tall tales of 1840s almanacs, the “King of the Wild Frontier” had a lively interest in the Beaver State. But he did get a few of his facts wrong! (Statewide; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1801c.davy-crockett-tall-tales-about-oregon-479.html)

Was legendary city of Quivira on Oregon Coast? Oct 09, 2026

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Native Americans told Coronado there was a fabulous gold-and-turquoise city called Quivira just to the east - or was it the north? All he found were Indian villages. But, was there a real city behind the legend? More specifically, was that city near Port Orford? (Port Orford, Curry County; 1540s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1802d.legendary-city-of-quivira-on-oregon-coast-484.html)

Skipper’s refusal to leave ship angered rescuers Oct 08, 2026

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At great personal risk, Coast Guardsmen had to rescue the skipper twice, because he insisted on staying aboard the stranded steamship to defend its cargo from marauding salvagers. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1601e.shipwreck-laurel-stubborn-captain-376.html)

“Camp Castaway” was an inconvenient miracle Oct 07, 2026

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Feeling lucky to be alive, the soldiers and sailors of the shipwrecked schooner Captain Lincoln got busy salvaging everything off their stranded ship. But then the Army had a problem: How were they going to retrieve it? (Coos Bay Spit, Coos County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1302c-shipwreck-camp-castaway-inconvenient-miracle.html)

Bridge-building scandal aroused Portlanders’ fury Oct 06, 2026

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Crafty county commissioners tried to rig the bidding so their favorite bid, padded to the tune of half a million 1924 dollars, would win —but they didn't move quite fast enough. Three months later, they'd all been thrown out of office. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1303d-bridge-scandal-aroused-fury-of-1920s-portland.html)

State government was ‘decapitated’ by crash Oct 05, 2026

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When it came out just after the war, the Beechcraft Bonanza was the hottest private plane in the sky — a sleek, speedy, fuel-efficient hot rod. But it was very easy for a novice to get in deadly trouble flying one. (Rural south Lake County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1801a.earl-snell-plane-crash-bonanza-477.html)

Rancher saved pioneer aviator's life on a stormy night Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

WHEN RALPH GROVE heard the airplane engine droning outside, he knew exactly what that meant. It was the middle of the night, and some stormy weather was coming in. Nobody would be out flying on a night like this unless he was in serious trouble. He lit a lantern and hurried out to the shed... (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2406d-1103c.ted-barbers-night-flight-115.655.html)

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