Connecting the Present to the Past: History Here, Eugene

As traffic streams by along West 11th in Eugene, four brick workers from the J. Marsh Martin brickyard silently observe the bustle from their poster adhered to a metal utility box. Three feet wide by four-and-a-half feet tall, the poster is basically a large photograph with a brief description of the people and places within …

Stand By Me: 30th Anniversary

In June of 1985 a young film director trying to prove himself brought four unknown child actors and an entire film crew to Eugene. For seven weeks they stayed at the Hilton, first to give acting classes to the young actors, and then to film on location, an adaptation of Stephen King’s novella, “The Body.” …

Yesterday’s Adventure: Book Review

I admit, I am addicted to books. While computers and the internet are definitely good friends, my true love is a good book. So, it is no surprise that the other day, when I realized I was going to have some free time on my hands, I stopped by the library for a book. In just a …

Ahoy Matey! Tall Ships in Coos Bay

The sound of cannon fire ricocheted off the building behind us while the smell of gun powder drifted across the bay. The two ships, each at full mast, maneuvered through the water, one taking a tight turn and firing again. Once the boom subsided, I could hear the crew shouting orders and the mateys yelling …

History Lost: The Alex Cooley House

You may have read in the newspapers last week that there was a fire in an abandoned house here in Cottage Grove. What the reports failed to mention is that the house was almost 150 years old and was built by an early settler to Cottage Grove, Alex Cooley, and his family. What burned was …

Prune Hill Historical

Prune Hill is about seven miles east of Saginaw and is the site of the first Booth Kelly Sawmill. I'll be up-front at the start of this post, I'm not a mill historian or knowledgeable about Booth Kelly. However I do like great pictures that tell a story. Earlier this summer, when searching for historical information about …

Lund Park: Historical Brice Creek

Lund Park along Brice Creek was a busy place last weekend. The campground seemed full and campers stretched out along the creek in unofficial campsites. People with young children frolicked in the creek, and others -- like us -- were using it to access hiking trails. Over 100 years ago Lund Park was busy with a different type of activity, …

4 Spirits Distillery: Corvallis

Walking into the door of the 4 Spirits Distillery tasting room is a lot like walking into a small museum, and there is a lot of history tied into this little distillery, from the location of the tasting room to its name. It is hard to know where to start, but we’ll begin with the …

Hinsdale Rhododendron Garden: Reedsport

Earlier this month we headed to Reedsport to experience something new, the O.H. Hinsdale Rhododendron Garden. Located 3 miles east of Reedsport on Highway 38, the garden is currently being restored by a joint partnership between the BLM and the “Friends of Hinsdale Garden.” This hidden treasure was a labor of love for one man, …

The “Bohemia Nugget” and Historic Oregon Newspapers

One of the joys of doing this blog is digging around for tidbits of information that other people are not writing about. I am an extensive user of our local libraries as well as the internet. And, while the internet is full of information, across millions of websites, the accuracy of that information always needs …