Offbeat Oregon History podcast

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All-metal steam-powered zeppelin: Could it work? Aug 20, 2026

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If so, the Linn County lad might have revolutionized air travel. But a launch-day disaster ruined his prototype, the Great Depression scared off all his investors, and the Hindenburg disaster ended the era of airship travel. (Linn and Benton county; 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1602c.pt2-slate-metal-airship-inventor-379.html)

Alsea lad became ‘The Nikola Tesla of Oregon’ Aug 19, 2026

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Thomas B. Slate first invented the commercial production process for making dry ice, then took his new-made fortune and used it to re-imagine airship travel in an almost unbelievably “steampunk” way. (Alsea, Benton County; 1900s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1602b.slate-metal-airship-inventor-part1.378.html)

I-25 submarine gave Oregon its first wartime bombardment Aug 18, 2026

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The big sub was a key part of Oregon history; it fired on Battery Russell in June 1942, tried to light a forest fire with its on-board airplane that September, and sank several merchant ships. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2401d-1101e.i25-bombards-fort-stevens-108.632.html)

Japanese sub blasted its way into Oregon history Aug 17, 2026

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IN LATE AUGUST 1943, the crew of the destroyer U.S.S. Patterson scrambled to battle stations off the coast of what is now Vanatu, near Australia. The sonar operator had picked up the signature of a big Japanese submarine submerging close by. The Patterson steamed into battle, depth charges rolling off the deck and lighting up the sea below. Then, on the final depth-charge barrage, a deep undersea explosion could be heard, bigger than any depth charge. Oil and air bubbles boiled to the surface. The Patterson had found its mark. After that day, the most important submarine in the history of the state of Oregon — the Imperial Japanese Navy’s I-25 — was never heard from again. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2401d-1101e.i25-bombards-fort-stevens-108.632.html)

Japanese shipwrecks on coast predate Columbus Aug 14, 2026

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The case of John Ottoson (ne Otokichi) in 1832 illustrates what can happen: Blown off to sea by a gale, he and his comrades rode the Kuroshio Current to Washington State — much to the astonishment of Dr. John McLoughlin. (Oregon Coast; 1830s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1404d.japanese-junks-blown-across-to-oregon.html)

‘Automo-bubble’ a part of Deschutes railroad war Aug 13, 2026

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Upon his arrival in The Dalles in 1909 in quest of a job on the railroad, 19-year-old Jim Morrell was met by a friend — probably the one who’d told him there was work to be had. Morrell’s friend staked him to a meal and a flophouse bunk, and the next day he wasted no time in seeking out J.D. Porter, who with his brother Johnson Porter ran the construction company that had the Northern Pacific (James J. Hill) contract. Porter’s first question after Morrell introduced himself was straight and to the point: “Do you know how to skin a bubble?” he asked. (The Dalles, Wasco County; 1900s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/23-11.automo-bubbling-in-a-railroad-war-627.html)

Gun-toting ‘Wildcat’ was nation’s first ‘shock jock’ Aug 12, 2026

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Robert Gordon Duncan was the first radio broadcaster ever to be sent to prison for cursing on the air. For the first six months of 1930, the entire city was riveted to his radio show, wondering who he'd slander next. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1301b-oregon-wildcat-was-early-shock-jock.html)

Portland’s Pioneer Square pitched as ‘crystal palace’ Aug 11, 2026

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Mayor Frank Ivancie, Pioneer Courthouse Square’s most intransigent opponent, gleefully declared the project “dead” in a 1982 speech. In doing so, he accidentally galvanized the citizen group that would prove him wrong. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1960s, 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1405c.pioneer-courthouse-square.html)

Mountain town of Bourne was home of a magnificent swindle Aug 10, 2026

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Though home to some productive mines, the Blue Mountain boomtown made much of its money working the suckers back east; then its head honcho disappeared into the night with the money, hours ahead of the law. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1011a-gold-mining-swindle-left-bourne-a-ghost-town.html)

History happenings at OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY in Portland, next few months Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

This is a new Saturday morning feature on the Offbeat Oregon podcast! A quick run-down of the fun things that are happening at local historical museums around the state. We're starting out with "the big one" — the Oregon Historical Society in Portland. There's a fantastic archaeology panel talk, a free-admission "block party" in September, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning Presidential historian on the menu! (Links to all of them are on https://ohs.org/events. By the way, cover art for this episode shows OPB Producer Christie Goshe and archaeologist Chelsea Rose.)

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