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Private Notes
In 1981, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a spiritual leader from India, and thousands of his disciples moved to Wasco and Jefferson Counties. On what had been the Big Muddy Ranch, the “sannyasins” set out to build a new city, a utopian community in the desert -- Rajneeshpuram. Thousands of people from around the world gathered here to celebrate life. They worked hard and transformed the landscape. And more than a few hoped to spend the rest of their days at this place. But by 1986, they were gone.
Until 1912, Oregon women lived by men’s law. They had few legal rights with little power to improve their lives or communities. That changed when women won the right to vote.
For decades, Oregon women worked to get the vote with no success. Then, just after the turn of the twentieth century, a younger generation of women burst onto the scene. They challenged traditional society by taking on male roles and demanding change.
They came from different backgrounds, and often had different agendas. But the diversity of the movement allowed more women to become engaged in their own communities. Their experiences empowered them as they gained valuable experience in leadership, politics and civic involvement.
Together they won the vote for Oregon women, and went on to help implement social change that dramatically altered the lives of women and children, and improved working conditions for all Americans.
This era of women’s mobilization changed Oregon, and ultimately, the country.
Tom McCall, Oregon’s chief executive from 1967 to 1975, may go down in history as the state’s most productive governor. He was certainly the most interesting.
Nearly forty years after he left office and thirty years after his death, Oregon Governor Tom McCall remains one of the state’s most renowned political figures. He envisioned a quality of environment and life unique to Oregon, and he worked relentlessly to protect those values.
A longtime journalist, McCall understood story-telling. He knew how to convey an idea in ways people would understand and remember. He was good at theatrics. And he made things happen.
McCall’s bold achievements set a new standard for the rest of the nation: The Beach Bill and the Bottle Bill, the SB100 land-use law, the Willamette River cleanup and the reinvention of Portland’s waterfront — all of these emerged from the McCall years.
More than any other single person, Tom McCall helped shape the “Oregon” that we know today.
Thousands of forgotten glass plate negatives from the turn of the twentieth century bring new insight to rural Oregon’s frontier history.
