Offbeat Oregon History podcast

‘Drunk tweet’ led to fistfight with Dr. John McLoughlin Feb 21, 2025

EARLIER THIS YEAR, as you may remember, country music singer Zach Bryan had a few too many alcoholic beverages before pulling out his phone and opening “X,” the app formerly known as Twitter. “Eagles > Chiefs,” he tweeted tipsily. “Kanye > Taylor. Who’s with me?” It’s not clear exactly what Bryan intended — most likely he was joke-trolling the Taylor Swift fan community, which, as he realized the next morning when he awakened with a penitent headache and looked at his phone, is about as good an idea as sneaking up behind a sleeping grizzly bear for the old “popping a paper bag” prank. A few days of red-faced apologies later, Bryan deleted his Twitter account, explaining that he’d decided it was too tempting for him, especially after a few beers. “It gets me in trouble too much,” he wrote, on an Instagram post. “Don’t drink and tweet! Don’t drink and tweet!” This seems to have done the trick; the kerfuffle faded quickly away. Probably that’s because Bryan’s last line rang like a bell. Nearly everyone who has a social media account and is not an absolute teetotaler has had the experience of waking up the next morning after a friend’s birthday party and discovering that he has embarrassed himself with a late-night Facebook post that seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but ... The first drunk tweet in Oregon history didn’t end nearly so benignly. Maybe it would have, if Twitter had been a thing in March of 1838 when, fortified with a nice zesty jolt of French brandy, the Rev. Herbert Beaver took quill pen in hand and sat down to compose it; but, then again, maybe not. Now, I have to confess that I have no hard evidence that Beaver was drunk when he belted out his handwritten “tweet.” But, one of the unintended consequences of the tweet, much later, would be the publishing of Beaver’s household liquor consumption, which was absolutely heroic. I figure a fellow who burns through the alcoholic equivalent of 17 “fifths” of Jack Daniels every month probably can be assumed to be no stranger to the whole “Dutch courage” thing, when sitting down to write an angry letter.... (Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory; 1830s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2411d.herbert-beavers-drunk-tweets-677.509.html)

Mysterious skeletons of Crater Lake National Park Feb 20, 2025

Oregon's only national park is a surprisingly dangerous place, and a number of people have died there. Several of these left only bones behind to help us understand what caused their death. (Crater Lake, Klamath County; 1940s, 1970s, 1980s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1309e-skeletons-of-crater-lake.html)

Astoria man set out to do something nice for his wife, ended up inventing cable TV Feb 19, 2025

The nearest TV station was in Seattle. But Ed Parsons figured out he could catch a very weak signal on top of a building in town. All he had to do was figure out how to boost the signal without boosting the noise as well, and ... the rest was history. (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1109c-astoria-man-invents-cable-tv-as-favor-for-wife.html)

Murderers roamed valley desperate for an alibi Feb 18, 2025

Claude Branton and Courtland Green had left Condon with a wealthy rancher and murdered him on the way. Only then did they realize how bad it would look to show up at their destination without him ... (McKenzie Valley, Deschutes and Lane County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see URLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGE)

Bootlegger’s liquor run left car drenched in blood Feb 17, 2025

Russell Hecker borrowed a friend’s car to make a quick liquor run. He brought it back 12 hours late and dripping with blood — and there was no sign of the man he’d gone on the run with the previous night. (Multnomah, Clackamas, and Linn County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1610d.murder-of-bootlegger-frank-bowker-414.html)

“Traitorous” librarian’s crime: Not lending money to government Feb 14, 2025

All she wanted to do was not finance the killing that was going on in war-torn Europe. But in the war-crazed atmosphere of Portland during World War 1, pacifism was tantamount to high treason. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1918) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1805c.traitor-louise-hunt-wouldnt-buy-war-bonds-496.html)

Rescue of 49 made tug crew the toast of the coast Feb 13, 2025

Dead in the water and drifting toward Peacock Spit in a gale, passengers and crew of the steam schooner Washington thought they were goners. But then out of the mist and spray came Buck Bailey's tugboat ... (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1510c.tatoosh-rescues-steam-schooner.361.html)

Central Oregon’s own “Angel of Death”? Feb 12, 2025

“Professor” Ray V.B. Jackson just happened to be on hand, playing the role of helpful witness, at almost every high-profile murder scene in Lake and Harney counties. What were the odds? (Near Lakeview, Lake and Harney County; 1900s, 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1109b-ray-jackson-central-oregons-angel-of-death.html)

Schoolteacher Ray Jackson may have been a serial killer Feb 11, 2025

It's hard to believe, but in 1902 the school district put a convicted felon, fresh from serving hard time at the state pen, in charge of its grade-school kids. But the forgery and robbery he was convicted of may have been the least of his crimes. (Silver Lake, Lake County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1109a-silver-lake-schoolteacher-possible-serial-killer.html)

How Andy Warhol ‘punk’d’ two Oregon colleges Feb 10, 2025

For the art students and pop-culture aficionados lined up, the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see and meet the “Peter Pan of Pop Art” turned out to be merely a chance to be the butt of one of his irreverent pranks. (Lane and Yamhill County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1610c.andy-warhol-punks-oregon-413.html)

Uncle Sam’s camels never quite caught on in Oregon Feb 07, 2025

IN THE EARLY 1980s, on Stark Street in Southeast Portland, there was an aging Hudson Oil Co. gas station that never seemed to get much business. It had an appearance reminiscent of a Kmart store three years ago, like a neglected outpost of a once-huge nationwide business that was slowly fading away — which was in fact the case. Hudson Oil Co., at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, had about 300 gas stations in 36 states, plus an oil refinery. It was owned and managed by an oil tycoon named Mary Hudson, a remarkable woman who founded the business in 1933 when she was just 21 years old. She launched it by borrowing $200 from her father and using it to open a gas station in Kansas City. At her peak, Hudson was one of only three women on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in the U.S. At her downfall in 1982, she was convicted of felony theft for tweaking her company’s gas pumps to short-change customers, a desperate move made to try to stave off bankruptcy after her company got caught unprepared for a sudden glut on the crude-oil market. But probably the most interesting thing about the Stark Street Hudson station was the giant wall mural on its side. The left side of the mural showed two big Arabian camels with packsaddles on them towering over a miner-49er-type guy pitching a little pup-tent camp; the right side was taken up with a large colorful map of the U.S. with the words “36 States” printed over the top of it. “First it was camels in the west,” reads the type over the picture. “Now HUDSON serves you best!” As advertising, this mural was a bit of a mixed bag. It did attract attention, but mostly it was the wrong kind. Most people who looked at it probably wondered how a company could have gotten big enough to be in 36 states without learning what kind of animals cowboys and miner-49ers used. Mules, yes; horses, sure; but — camels? Well, as it turns out, camels did have a role to play in the American West. They started out strong, and hopes were high that they would be a great addition to the frontier transportation infrastructure; but then their number-one booster disgraced himself by doing something super illegal, and the camels kind of fell out of favor in the West and faded away. Come to think of it, maybe it’s not such a bad analogy for Hudson Oil Co. after all.... (Oregon outback; 1850s, 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2411c_camels-in-old-oregon-676.508.html)

Space-age whalers help grow fur coats, put a man on the moon Feb 06, 2025

Few people know a small whaling venture was launched in Astoria in 1961 — seeking whale oil for the space program and whale meat to feed to hungry minks. But breakthroughs in synthetic oil made whale oil unnecessary, and they stopped. (Hammond, Clatsop County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1108a2-astoria-whaling-operation-was-helping-with-space-program.html)

Oregon embraced Carnegie Libraries like no other state Feb 05, 2025

Of the 32 towns in Oregon offered a grant to build a library, not one failed to raise its matching money; no other state was as successful. Today, the distinctive looking split-level edifices are architectural treasures in their communities. (Statewide; 1900s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1109d-carnegie-libraries-in-oregon.html)

Shevlin was Oregon’s own wandering timber town Feb 04, 2025

The little logging-company town, owned by the Shevlin-Hixon Company of Bend, was fully portable. When the timber was all gone from an area, the company simply loaded the houses on railroad flatcars and moved on. (Shevlin, Deschutes and Lake county; 1920s, 1930s, 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1308d-shevlin-oregons-wandering-timber-town.html)

Gold Rush driver One-Eyed Charley had a secret Feb 03, 2025

Only after the body was handed over to the undertaker did the truth come out: The roughest, toughest, most skillful “whip” on the West Coast was not what he appeared to be. (Siskiyou Pass, Jackson County; 1850s, 1860s, 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1610b.legendary-one-eyed-charley-412.html)

Watching bugs in a stump led to modern chainsaw Jan 31, 2025

Logger, watching 'timber worms' chew through a log, wondered, 'How do they do that?' So he took some home, figured it out, and invented the modern chisel-toothed cutting chain. (Tillamook County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1809b.joe-cox-invents-bug-inspired-chainsaw-512.html)

First real portable chainsaw invented in Oregon Jan 30, 2025

Joe Wolf invented it for loggers, but they wanted nothing to do with his electric saw. Luckily for Joe, the construction and shipbuilding industry loved it. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1809a.wolf-electric-chainsaw-511.html)

Ship sailed across two miles of sandy beach, rescued itself Jan 29, 2025

Stranded four-masted schooner North Bend, the last sailing ship ever built in Oregon, was stranded on Peacock Spit; it worked its way through and, a little over a year later, launched itself in Baker Bay on the other side. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1108d-last-sailing-ship-crossed-a-beach-relaunched.html)

Murderer shocked when ‘unwritten law’ plea fails Jan 28, 2025

R. Thomas Dickerson, after gunning down the chief witness in his wife's upcoming suit for divorce, clearly expected the jury to buy his claim that the man was a “home-wrecker” and deserved what he got. He miscalculated. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s)(For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1510a.dickerson-UnLaw.html)

The Barlow Family and their walnut trees; also, some twin-sister hijinks (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. Clyde B. Huntley) Jan 27, 2025

NOTE: This will be the last of these oral-history readings until at least summer. If you have been enjoying them, please reach out and let me know. — This one is writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with the great-granddaughter of old Sam Barlow — he of the Barlow Road. They discuss a famous avenue of black walnuts, which are probably the progenitor-trees of every black walnut in the state today; and some twin-sisters hijinks that took place on a riverboat, and changed the destiny of an entire pioneer family. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001993/ )

Pendleton Underground was like a secret town below the ground Jan 24, 2025

SOMETIME IN 1922, a letter came in to the city of Pendleton. Enclosed with it was a bill for $45 — for a set of new Goodyear tires. It seemed the letter writer had come to Pendleton for the annual Pendleton Round-Up and had lost both front tires to the city’s downtown potholes. Pendleton’s potholes were famous, both for their size and for their intractability. They seemed hungry; one filled them up and a few weeks later they were empty again, as if some night-stalking gravel thief had scooped it all out. It wasn’t until the 1970s and 1980s, when some of Pendleton’s most intractable roadbeds got a complete rebuild, that road crews realized what the problem had been: Tunnels. The town was honeycombed with them, running a few feet below the ground level, connecting the basements and sidewalk vaults downtown with various other places nearby. And, that’s how the Pendleton Underground was rediscovered. (Pendleton, Umatilla County; 1890s, 1900s 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2410d1001e_PendletonUnderground-673.059.html)

Corvallis veterans heroes of two different Civil Wars Jan 23, 2025

The farmer was a former Union general; the pastor, an ex-Rebel soldier who once faced his forces on a battlefield. But in Corvallis, they traded enmity for friendship, and blue-vs.-gray for Beavers-vs.-Ducks. (Corvallis, Benton County; 1890s, 1900s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1510b.bell-thorp-civil-war-story.360.html)

Klondike Kate and the Case of the Fake Kitty-Kate Katfight Jan 22, 2025

There is a persistent myth that the 'real Klondike Kate' was a female Mountie named Kate Ryan, and that Kate Rockwell, the dancer, stole her name and reputation. It's a bogus charge, but the real story of Klondike Kate, the Belle of Dawson who later took up a land claim near Brothers and became known as Aunt Kate of Farewell Bend, is way more interesting than the myth. (Brothers, Deschutes County; 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2403d-1108b.klondike-kate-katfight-1of2-137.641.html)

Unwritten Law cases were not always moral failures Jan 21, 2025

A Linn County case with a strong element of self-defense, and a Malheur County child-abuse travesty that ended with a shotgun blast, were called Unwritten Law triumphs in the newspapers — but there were differences. (Linn and Malheur County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1509d.powell-n-brown-UnLaw.html)

Ghost stories, superstitions, and Methodist camp revivals in frontier Oregon (WPA oral-history interview with Gertrude Balch Ingalls, 2 of 2) Jan 20, 2025

Part 2 of 2: WPA writer William Haight's oral history interview with Gertrude Balch Ingalls, sister of legendary frontier Columbia Gorge writer Frederic Balch (author of The Bridge of the Gods, and probably the first really important author in Oregon history) recalling ghost stories, common superstitions of frontier folk, and some personal memories of attending weeks-long camp revival meetings. (For the transcript, as well as a good bit of additional content such as song lyrics and original poetry by Frederic Balch, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001941/ )

Gov. Martin’s 'gestapo' goons played dirty, but luckily they were mostly incompetent (Part 3 of 3) Jan 17, 2025

One-term governor had a team of secret agents working for him, trying to subvert labor unions and ferret out communists; but most of their efforts seemed to end up scoring points for the “other team.” (Salem, Marion County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1601a.charles-martin-part3.272.html)

Gov. Martin, Oregon's own Dr. Doom, tried to run state like an Army base (Part 2 of 3) Jan 16, 2025

The retired major general campaigned as a New Deal Democrat, but dropped the mask almost immediately; seeing every hint of opposition as an existential threat to democracy, he reacted to criticism like a junta dictator. (Salem, Marion County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1512d.charles-martin-part2.html)

Martin was Oregon’s own would-be fascist dictator Jan 15, 2025

REMEMBER GENERAL JACK D. Ripper, the character from the 1964 movie “Dr. Strangelove; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”? Can you imagine what might have happened if General Ripper had been elected governor? For Oregonians, just a few years ago, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. In 1934, voters elected a retired major general named Charles Henry Martin — known to the soldiers assigned to his care during the First World War as “Old Iron Pants.” And although Martin isn’t known to have gone on any anti-fluoridation rants or spluttered about “precious bodily fluids,” his political style was more than a little reminiscent of Ripper’s … and, of course, it’s not a work of fiction. “If things come to a crisis,” he wrote to a sympathetic fellow military man in 1937, while discussing the likelihood of a Communist takeover in America, “there are enough strong men left in the country to handle it properly. … The Italians wouldn’t submit; they organized their blackshirts. The Germans wouldn’t submit, so they had their brownshirts and Hitler. I don’t believe Americans will submit.” Left unmentioned in this remark was any suggestion for who might play the role of the American “strong man” analogous to Mussolini or Hitler, but it seemed clear that he felt himself to be up to the challenge if called upon to do so. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1512c.charles-martin-fascist-dictator-part1-370.html)

Private manhunt ended in cold-blood assassination — and widespread public approval (Unwritten Law Files, Case #2) Jan 14, 2025

IT WAS A little after 6 a.m. on June 14, 1907. Dawn was just brightening the decks of the passenger steamer Alliance, docked at the pier in Astoria, when John Bowlsby saw his prey step aboard. He fingered the big .44 in his pocket and tried to stay out of sight, waiting for a chance to make his move. His chance came almost immediately. The marked man was moving away from the crowd of people, and soon he stood in a spot where Bowlsby felt he could get in a good shot without risking hitting any bystanders. Carefully he steadied the big revolver against the side of a deckhouse — and pulled the trigger. Bowlsby’s target, a fellow North Bend man named Cleve Jennings, died in a hospital eight hours later. Meanwhile, with his head held high, a triumphant John Bowlsby quietly submitted to arrest and handed over his revolver. Hard as it is for a modern person to believe, this cold-blooded assassination met with widespread approval. It was about as close to a pure example of “The Unwritten Law” in action as Oregon would ever see. “It was the outcome of one man alienating the affections of another man’s wife and was the result of a manhunt in which the hunter finally found his game,” wrote the Morning Oregonian’s Astoria correspondent the next day. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1509a.bowlsby-jennings-UnLaw-355.html)

A hardshell-Methodist childhood in frontier Oregon (WPA oral-history interview with Gertrude Balch Ingalls, 1 of 2) Jan 13, 2025

Part 1 of 2: WPA writer William Haight's oral history interview with Gertrude Balch Ingalls, sister of legendary frontier Columbia Gorge writer Frederic Balch (author of The Bridge of the Gods; no known relation to Danford Balch, btw) including details of a childhood in a strict Methodist home, featuring frequent tent revival meetings and such. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001941/ )

Jane Barnes was Oregon country’s first ‘adventuress’ Jan 10, 2025

ONE OF THE more interesting things about Oregon history is how much of a role “colorful characters” played in it. Until a few dozen years ago, historians didn’t much like talking about the contributions of prostitutes, swindlers, shanghaiers and other underworld characters to Oregon’s history, preferring to talk about brave pioneers and clean-living homesteaders and noble missionaries and such. So it’s no surprise that the name and identity of the first woman of European extraction to set foot in the Oregon territory has gone mostly unremarked. Her name was Jane Barnes, and she was, in every sense of the word, an adventuress. That she made it into the historical record at all is a real testament to what an interesting person she must have been. (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1810s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2409e.jane-barnes-adventuress-669.507.html)

Keeping Terrible Tilly lit was dangerous and costly Jan 09, 2025

QUITE OFTEN, DURING his precious days of shore leave, lighthouse keeper James Gibbs Jr. would meet people who envied him his job. “Must be nice,” they would say, “to have such a cushy government job. Relaxing at the coast, surrounded by scenic beauty, nothing to do but trim wicks and make sure nothing breaks ….” It’s tempting to wonder how long such critics would have lasted on Tillamook Rock Light, where Gibbs was stationed at the time. When the lighthouse closed for good in 1957, only one person had ever been killed on it — British master mason John Trewaves, who slipped off the rock in 1879 while scouting the site for the lighthouse. But the number of people who, at some time while on the rock, sincerely believed they were about to die — that number is considerably larger. In fact, it’s probably very close to 100 percent of everyone who ever set foot on the tiny island. Conditions there were frequently terrifying. (Tillamook Rock, Clatsop County; 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1511b.storms-on-tillamook-rock-364.html)

Builders were hard to hire for scary lighthouse job Jan 08, 2025

THE EIGHT STRANGERS must have been a little puzzled when they arrived in Astoria, in the fall of 1878. They’d been brought in at considerable expense from far away by the U.S. Lighthouse Board to work on a new lighthouse construction project. But now that they were finally here, they weren’t even allowed to go into town for a drink. They were whisked away, across the river onto the lonesome wilds of the Washington Territory, and put up in an empty lightkeeper’s house at Cape Disappointment. So, where was the lighthouse they’d been hired to work on? All they knew was that it was on a small, rocky island. But where? More than three weeks dragged by. Finally, when the seas were relatively calm, the revenue cutter Thomas Corwin arrived to take them to the job site. And an hour or so later, their eyes widened with horror as they beheld what they’d signed up to build. Staring at the tiny speck of granite jutting out of the flying spray and foam, the workers now understood why their employer had been so secretive — and why it had been necessary to recruit them from far-distant cities that had never heard of Tillamook Rock.... (Tillamook Rock, Clatsop County; 1870s, 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1511a.building-tillamook-rock-363.html)

Tillamook Rock lighthouse ‘ghost’ greeted keeper on his first night Jan 07, 2025

ON ONE GRIM winter morning, near the end of the Second World War, a young Coast Guard seaman named James A. Gibbs, Jr., was looking apprehensively out over an angry sea from the rail of the 52-foot motor lifeboat Triumph. Far out over the field of towering pyramid-shaped waves, a tiny speck was just coming into view — his destination. “Tillamook Rock,” the boatswain muttered, as a seasick Gibbs silently fought to hang onto his breakfast. “I wouldn’t take that duty on a bet.” Gibbs might not have either, but he didn’t have much choice. That tiny, lonely speck in the middle of an angry gray ocean was his new duty station: Tillamook Rock, a half-acre hunk of granite with a lighthouse perched dubiously upon its crest in the middle of the open sea, known to the initiated as “Terrible Tilly.” In his book, written many years later, Gibbs referred to Tillamook Rock as a “pint-size Alcatraz,” and indeed, his transfer there had a lot in common with a prison sentence. It was widely known that assignments to Tillamook Rock were given as a punishment for troublemakers, and Gibbs fit that profile pretty well. His record with the Coast Guard was, as he puts it, “checkered.”... (Tillamook Rock, Clatsop County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1510d.tillamook-rock-ghost-goose-362.html)

Life among the early Chinese workers in Eastern Oregon (WPA oral-history interview with A.L. Veazie) Jan 06, 2025

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Portland attorney A.L. Veazie, who grew up in Polk County in the late 1800s, recalling what life was like with the Chinese laborers who were working on railroads and other worksites. Not all his recollections are flattering, but they're not super surprising given that the Chinese were nearly all young, socially ostracized peasant men in a foreign land. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001990/ )

Schooner sailed 120 miles in a gale, full of water Jan 03, 2025

FROM THE MID-1800s through the runup to the Second World War, lumber schooners were a familiar sight in all Oregon seaports. These were small, simple cargo ships, with shallow drafts so that they could fit across small river bars and in and out of the “doghole” ports of northern California and southern Oregon. In many of these ports, lumber from local sawmills was actually loaded onto the ships with a block and tackle, dangling from something like a zipline, while the crew fought to hold the ship steady in the swells and breakers. And the ships, when they headed out fully loaded on their way to San Francisco or San Diego, sometimes had so little freeboard and such a tall deck load that it looked like any little wave could just swamp them or roll them over. Starting in the late 1880s, operators started putting steam engines in lumber schooners, which made the tall masts unnecessary; by the First World War nearly the entire fleet had converted to these “steam schooners.” (Since a schooner is by definition a sailing ship, the later mast-free ones weren’t really schooners; but the name stuck.) Steam schooners were a big improvement, particularly with respect to safety. Winds in river bars and bays are notoriously fickle, and plenty of lumber schooners ended up on the rocks when the breeze died at the last minute, or blew onto the beach when caught in a gale. Sometimes, when that happened, the sailors got lucky; and sometimes they didn’t. All in all, it was a very dangerous way to make a living. But there was one key mitigating factor for sailors in lumber schooners: As long as they were carrying a load, they always knew their ships would never sink. The cargo would always keep them afloat. Plenty of sailors ended up owing their lives to that fact, since one of the first things that always seemed to happen when the weather got really nasty was that the lifeboats would all get carried away by boarding seas. Among those lucky survivors were most of the crew of the Frank W. Howe.... (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1804d.frank-w-howe-lumber-schooner-shipwreck-492.html)

When the “Dark Strangler” stalked the streets of Stumptown Jan 02, 2025

One of America's first known serial killers, Earle Leonard Nelson preyed on landladies, killing them while they were showing him real estate. By the time he was hanged, he'd slain at least 21 women — including four in Portland. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1309d-dark-strangler-earle-nelson.html)

Picture-show murder case quickly turned sordid Jan 01, 2025

The “good guy” was a petty swindler. The “wronged woman” was a prostitute and bigamist. And the “innocent victim” was a serial philanderer. By the time the “bad guy” was caught, everybody in Portland just wanted to forget the whole thing. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1509c.bradley-gittings-part2-UnLaw-357.html)

Cop-killer case helped end mania for Unwritten Law (Part 1 of 2) Dec 31, 2024

What started out looking like a clean-cut morality play, with a hero, a villain, an innocent victim and a bereaved widow — at Christmastime no less! — quickly turned into a tale of remarkable sordidness as the truth slowly emerged. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1509b.bradley-gittings-part1-UnLaw-356.html)

Old Baptist circuit rider remembers preaching in a railroad chapel car (WPA oral-history interview with Rev. W.C. Driver) Dec 30, 2024

WPA writer William C. Haight's oral history interview with Rev. W.C. Driver, talking about his early life as a Baptist circuit preacher and the railroad chapel car — a Pullman coach kitted out as a church — that he was assigned to for 12 years. He and his wife lived in the car, and various trains would pull it from town to town. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001938/ )

Lost Soldiers’ Mine could be worth $400 a bucket Dec 27, 2024

According to legend, six soldiers scouting a road stumbled across a fabulously rich ledge of gold-threaded quartz. Is it real? Is it still out there somewhere? Well, maybe ... (Cow Creek, Douglas County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/21-12.lost-soldiers-mine-coquille-604.html)

Train robbery turned into onboard gunfight with cop Dec 26, 2024

These three desperados couldn't seem to catch a break. First they robbed the wrong train; then it turned out to contain a dangerously competent lawman behind a big six-shooter; and finally, someone stole their getaway car. (Meacham, Umatilla County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1309c-meadors-gang-train-robbery.html)

The Valsetz Star and its famous 9-year-old editor Dec 25, 2024

Fourth-grader Dorothy Anne Hobson decided her tiny timber town needed a newspaper, so she launched the Valsetz Star. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and Shirley Temple were among her subscribers. (Valsetz, Polk County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1309a-valsetz-star-and-dorothy-hobson.html)

Man hailed as a hero for murdering his sister’s ex Dec 24, 2024

UNWRITTEN LAW FILES, Episode 1: Orlando Murray's trial had something for everyone: Sex, revenge, vigilante action, a Fallen Woman, drunkenness, hysteria, the insane asylum, and even lawyers getting in fistfights. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1508e.orlando-murray-UnLaw-354.html)

Part 2: Memories of a Yamhill County pioneer and newspaper editress's daughter (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. J.M. Lawrence) Dec 23, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with the granddaughter of Yamhill County's first sheriff, and daughter of the editress of Oregon City Seminary's school newspaper, The Magnolia. This is Part 2 of 2, comprising primarily a reading of excerpts from The Magnolia. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001980/ )

Portuguese treasure story unlikely, but possible Dec 20, 2024

Stories about buried treasure are very seldom completely untrue. Many of the wildest flight of golden fantasy started out, hundreds or thousands of augmented and embellished retellings ago, as true stories. Maybe that’s why people love them so much: One gets to speculating about just how much truth has survived, and if any of that fantasy gold might just be still out there waiting to be discovered.... One particular tale from the Indians of the northern Oregon coast is especially tantalizing in that way, because it’s so close to its source. The old treasure hunter who recounted it to author Ruby El Hult in 1958 had it directly from the grandson of the man who originally (according to the story) buried the loot. (Nehalem Bay, Tillamook County; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/21-11.portuguese-gold-legend-nehalem-603.html)

'and kissed his cold lips passionately': The tawdriest love triangle ever Dec 19, 2024

Lulu Reynolds was having a torrid affair with her music teacher. Her husband was an ex-Cavalry scout who carried a .38 in his jacket pocket. It wasn't the kind of thing that usually ends well. It didn't. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1308c-reynolds-love-triangle-kissing-the-corpse.html)

Shipwreck ended Astoria’s bid to be “Nantucket of the West Coast” Dec 18, 2024

When the treacherous bar claimed a fully-loaded whaling ship, its owner chalked it up as a very expensive lesson learned, and gave up on its plan to hunt whales out of the Oregon seaport. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1108a1-shipwreck-ends-astorias-bid-to-be-nantucket-of-west-coast.html)

Unwritten Law was like an informal ‘license to kill’ — but only for men Dec 17, 2024

For a couple decades around the turn of the last century, if a murderer could convince a jury that his victim had been a “home-wrecker,” he could expect to be not only acquitted, but lionized as a brave and noble domestic hero. (Statewide; 1890s, 1900s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1508d.unwritten-law-353.html)

Memories of a Yamhill County pioneer and newspaper editress's daughter (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. J.M. Lawrence) Dec 16, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with the granddaughter of Yamhill County's first sheriff, and daughter of the editress of Oregon City Seminary's school newspaper, the Magnolia. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001980/ )

Lynch-mob murders started reign of the Prineville Vigilantes (Christmas bonus episode) Dec 15, 2024

In 1882, a land dispute escalated to violence — and then led to a lynch mob taking justice into its own hands. For two years afterward, the members of that lynch mob stayed active, forming a shadow government in the Prineville area enforced by masked riders with drawn guns and ready ropes ... and for a year or two, Prineville was the murder capital of Oregon. This is the story of how that happened ... and how the Vigilantes were defeated. (Prineville, Crook County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2408c-1211d.prineville-vigilantes-663.199.html)

Oregon’s wagon-road land swindle made headlines Dec 13, 2024

A FEW YEARS after Oregon became a state, some of its leaders participated in what might actually have been the biggest non-Indian-related land-grab swindle in U.S. history. It resulted in more than 1.5 million acres of the best Oregon land — land that belonged to all Americans — getting essentially stolen by a few small gangs of well-connected thieves. It happened a few years after the Civil War. At that time, Oregon was mostly public land, or so the government claimed. But, of course, that “public land” was still in the process of being hijacked from the Indian tribes, which were still fighting to try to hang onto it.... (Central Oregon; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see URLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGE)

1890s march on D.C. involved hijacking trains Dec 12, 2024

Despite the best efforts of an overzealous federal marshal, the whole episode ended in nothing more than a stern lecture from the bench for 424 unemployed members of “Coxey's Army,” who tried to “borrow” an eastbound train. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1309b-coxeys-armys-march-on-washington.html)

Life of Sacagawea’s mountain-man son a tantalizing mystery Dec 11, 2024

Jean-Baptiste “Pomp” Charbonneau, the baby born to Sacagawea during the Lewis and Clark expedition, is one of the most important figures in Oregon history — but we know almost nothing of his life. (Jordan Valley, Malheur County; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1107d-life-of-sacagaweas-mountain-man-son-charbonneau-tantalizing-mystery.html)

Range-war feud ended with ‘murder by masked assassins’ Dec 10, 2024

Even today, after 135 years, the lawless era of vigilantes and rustlers and six-gun justice meted out by “Judge Lynch” is evoked by the words on an old Klamath Falls tombstone: “Murdered by Masked Assassins, June 24, 1882.” (Linkville, Klamath County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1609d.calavan-laws-feud-masked-assassins.410.html)

Seth and Sophronia Lewelling, Milwaukie's original power couple (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. H. Ledding) Dec 09, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Mr. and Mrs. Herman Ledding (we are never given Mrs. L's name), talking about Mrs. Ledding's mother and stepfather: Seth and Sophronia Lewelling, respectively the most famous nurseryman in Oregon history and the proprietress of its most influential literary salon. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001981/ )

Astoria is rich in legends of lost gold and treasure Dec 06, 2024

THE CITY AND environs of Astoria strike most visitors as the kind of place where pirate loot might be stashed away. Certainly it seems to have struck Steven Spielberg that way, back in the early 1980s, when the legendary pirate-treasure film The Goonies was being shot. But the town may actually have come by this impression honestly. There are still a few stories about hidden treasure in and around Astoria -- not counting the silver-screen “Goon Docks” story of “One-Eyed Willy.” And who knows? One or two of them may actually be true. (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1890s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/21-10.astoria-treasure-legends-602.html)

Ship, moored at dock, suddenly cracked in half Dec 05, 2024

The combination of bitter cold air and relatively warm river water acted on the S.S. Schenechtady's brittle welded-steel plates like boiling water poured into a cold Mason jar. The results were similar, but on a massive scale. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1606c.schenectady-cracked-ship-396.html)

Mariner’s eerie dream predicted shipmates’ deaths Dec 04, 2024

In his spooky nightmare, first mate of the German barque Mimi saw seaweed covering all but three shipmates; the next day, all but three drowned in one of Oregon's worst-ever salvage disasters. (Near Nehalem River, Tillamook County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see URLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGE)

Fish wheels a legacy of Columbia’s salmon days Dec 03, 2024

As the fishery collapsed, canneries on the upper river near Cascade Locks and gillnet fishermen on the lower river near Astoria blamed one another; both were right, but the biggest culprit was Grand Coulee Dam. (Columbia, Multnomah, Hood River, Wasco County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1609b.fish-wheels-and-gillnetters-408.html)

The old violin maker's story (WPA oral-history interview with Robert Robinson) Dec 02, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Robert Robinson, master violin maker and repairer, talking about his memories of the professional musicians of Portland in the late 1800s. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001994/ )

OSU’s world-record laying hen sparked a 'fowl' feud with eugenics enthusiast Nov 29, 2024

OCTOBER OF 1913 was a triumphant time for Professor James Dryden, the poultry specialist at Oregon State University (or Oregon Agricultural College, as it was then called). His name was in newspapers nationwide, in glowing tribute after glowing tribute to his success. One of his experiment-station hens had just shattered the world record for egg production with a stunning 303 eggs in a year. There was, however, one exception to the “glowing tribute” pattern in newspaper coverage of Dr. Dryden’s work. That would be the weekly Cottage Grove Leader. “In our opinion, Prof. Dryden is impracticable, out of harmony with the country’s best and most successful poultry breeders, is discouraging the great and growing poultry industry of the state and is therefore out of place at the head of the Department of Poultry Husbandry in our great educational and experimental institution, the Oregon Agricultural College,” the Leader’s editor raged, in the Oct. 28 issue. “We would suggest, in conclusion, that he tender his resignation.” What was the Leader's objection to Prof. Dryden and his accomplishment? Not to get too clickbait-y, but seriously, it will leave you shaking your head in baffled disgust when you hear it. (Corvallis, Benton County; 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/21-09.prof-dryden-and-the-chicken-war-601.html)

Did Oregon’s notorious supervillain-politician actually save the world from Nazi nukes? Nov 28, 2024

Governor Charles Henry “Iron Pants” Martin may have saved the world from a Nazi nuclear holocaust by outplaying President Roosevelt, essentially forcing him to finance a hydroelectric dam that he thought was superfluous. (Bonneville, Multnomah County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1609a.bonneville-wins-ww2-407.html)

Little-known hero of Silver Lake fire died saving dozens of lives Nov 27, 2024

When the packed community center caught fire, Lucinda Schroder ran back inside and blocked the door open with her body, enabling dozens who otherwise would have been pinned and crushed against the closed door to escape. (Silver Lake, Lake County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1107b-schroder-hero-of-silver-lake-fire-died-saving-lives.html)

‘Graveyard of the Pacific’ was not easily tamed Nov 26, 2024

The century-long quest to make the Columbia River Bar reasonably safe got off to a rough start in 1853, when the ship bringing construction materials for its first lighthouse became one of its early victims. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1608d.taming-the-bar.405.html)

Horses and horse racing in VERY early Portland (WPA oral-history interview with J.J. Kadderly) Nov 25, 2024

WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with tinsmith and horse enthusiast J.J. Kadderly, who arrived in Portland in 1876 and set up a store there. 'I bet I've sold more cookstoves to brides and grooms than anyone in this town,' he boasted. He also has a lot to say about his favorite hobby, racing horses. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001969/ )

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)

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