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Champion of the Columbia River Highway, founder of Maryhill Museum and the father of the Peace Arch in Blaine Washington, Sam Hill is one of Oregon's most important and legendary figures.
The story of the controversial Oregon newspaper editor, writer and suffragist who rose from ordinary beginnings to become a nationally famed champion of women's rights.
Bill Bowerman is considered one of the greatest track coaches the world has ever known. In his 24 years at the University of Oregon he won four NCAA team championships and coached 33 Olympians. Using archival materials and interviews with family and former students, Oregon Experience looks at the remarkable life of this legendary coach and co-founder of NIKE.
Reuben A. Long was a horseman, rancher and philosopher, as well as one of Eastern Oregon's most colorful characters. Many of his recollections wound up in a book called "The Oregon Desert" (Caxton Press, 1964). In the spirit of that book, this program looks back at the places, events and people Reub Long wrote about and features several interviews with local folks who knew him.
William Gladstone Steel is considered the "Father of Crater Lake National Park" and was instrumental in preserving the Cascade Range Reserve. His efforts lead to millions of acres of protected forestlands and watersheds, but he was also an opportunistic entrepreneur who pushed for roads and development. Complex and controversial, he dedicated his life to the mountains of Oregon.
World War II created a huge demand for American farm products. But the war also caused vast numbers of farm workers to abandon the fields, either to join the military or to seek work in the cities. The solution would be a unique contract-worker agreement between the United States and Mexico -- The Bracero Program.
Beatrice Morrow Cannady was a leading African-American civil rights activist in Portland during the early part of the 20th century. As a newspaper publisher and lawyer, she challenged racial prejudice and discrimination at a time when the Ku Klux Klan was rising to power.
The Second World War brought major changes — economic, social and demographic — to the state of Oregon. The war years also left profound impressions on the individuals who lived through them, whether in military service or on the home front. "Oregon at War" is a one-hour special that explores both the big picture and the personal stories of Oregon and Oregonians during World War II.
In 1852, beer came to the Northwest quenching the thirsts of loggers, miners, fisherman and farmers. Today Portland is the beer capital of the world. The story of the industry through compelling and amusing anecdotes of the Oregon beer community. “Beervana” was a phrase coined in Oregon to describe the burgeoning craft beer movement that had taken hold here in the 1980s. And indeed, it’s an apt description, as those who are actively involved in the beer community think of it a near-religious experience to make and enjoy well-made brew. But Beervana also describes the transcendent union of climate and environment which makes Oregon the home to great hops growing and affords the brewmasters the highest quality water. These forces made it possible for early immigrant braumeisters to come to this place and succeed making a product that legions of thirsty workers would enjoy as they shaped the place we now call home.
Governor Tom McCall signed The Beach Bill in 1967, forever granting the public recreational access to Oregon's beaches. But the landmark legislation almost died in committee. This is a story of vision and passion to preserve the beaches of Oregon for generations to come.
As a young West Point graduate, Charles Erskine Scott Wood fought in the tragic Nez Perce War of 1877. And he’s credited with recording Chief Joseph’s famous surrender speech. Artist, writer, civic leader and prominent Portland attorney CES Wood left a lasting legacy. Charles Erskine Scott Wood was a true Renaissance man whose life and career bridged the 19th & 20th Centuries. As a young West Point graduate, Lt. Wood traveled west, first to engage in Alaskan adventures, then to fight in the tragic Nez Perce War of 1877. The heart of this program tells the story of Wood’s experiences in that campaign, his role in recording Chief Joseph’s famous speech at war’s end, and his subsequent friendship with Joseph, a friendship that continues to this day between the Wood family and the Nez Perce Tribe. After leaving the U.S. Army and obtaining a law degree, C.E.S. Wood settled in Portland and became a larger than life figure in the life of the young city. Poet, essayist, painter, patron of the arts, civic leader, free speech advocate and defender of radical activists, Wood also played a key role in creating some of Portland’s major institutions, such as the first library and the Portland Art Museum. Subsequently, Wood and Sara Bard Field, a poet and suffragist who would become his second wife, moved to the San Francisco Bay area, where they influenced many notable Americans. During the height of his career, Wood was a national figure, yet he left his most significant legacy in Portland.
The people of Baker City knew him as a successful businessman and his home town’s most active booster. But few realized just how successful “Mr. Baker” had been. This is a story of ambition and achievement and one ordinary man’s relationship with the small town he loved. Leo Adler is not a key figure in the overall history of Oregon. But in one small area of the state, his name is very well known and his impact has been substantial. Leo was a successful Baker City businessman, whose 98-year lifetime spanned the 20th century. He was born there, near the Idaho border and far from most other places in Oregon. He lived there all his life and died there in 1993. He was a self-made millionaire. He earned his fortune in the magazine business. As one of the top distributors in the Western U.S., Leo Adler was probably better-known in Chicago and New York publishing circles than in many Pacific Northwest cities, much closer to home. In Baker City, he was a high-profile local character, a prominent philanthropist and the most energetic and effective booster the town has ever known. Local people called him “Mr. Baker,” though only after his death did they learn what a champion of Baker he really was. Leo Adler left an astonishing financial legacy to the people of his community. Initially endowed with his gift of $22 million, the Leo Adler Foundation annually administers generous tuition grants to hundreds of young people. And it aggressively doles out a diverse range of community-improvement grants. What makes this foundation distinctive is that these many millions of dollars go almost exclusively to the people of Baker County, population 18,000. The endowment itself continues to grow – already surpassing $30 million – even as it is actively tapped for these grants. And Leo Adler’s appreciation for his hometown will enhance education, social services and community-building for many, many decades to come.
Today, active and diverse art scenes flourish throughout Oregon. Our state’s art-friendly reputation extends nationally and beyond. But all this has been a long time in the making. “The Art Makers,” a new episode of OPB’s Oregon Experience series, explores the art and the artists that paved the way. Modern art is an old story in Oregon — about 100 years old, by some accounts. Today, the arts are alive and seemingly everywhere. The state boasts thousands of accomplished artists and hundreds of art galleries — about 80 in Portland alone. Publications tout the big city’s “exploding” art scene, and even small towns now have their own gallery walks, studio-tour weekends and seasonal art fairs. But not too many years ago, touring Portland’s art galleries on “First Thursdays” would have been unimaginable. For starters, Portland had few – if any – galleries. Few artists were able to sell their work. And most of the best-known artists in the state were a small group affiliated with the Portland Museum Art School. “The Art Makers” presents a story rich with wonderful paintings and colorful characters. These include: Harry Wentz, who encouraged countless students to paint traditional subjects with fresh, modernistic techniques; C.S. Price, who evolved his painting into uncharted expressionist and abstract territory; and Louis Bunce, whose bold mural for the Portland Airport opened a hornet’s nest of public opinion. “The Art Makers” also features interviews with painters Lucinda Parker, George Johanson, Jack McLarty and the late Mike Russo. Dozens of archival photos and nearly 150 older paintings help tell their stories. And it all leads up to the arts in present-day Oregon, which surely owe much of their vitality to those “oldtimers” and the art they made. The producers of “The Art Makers” are especially grateful to The Portland Art Museum and The Hallie Ford Museum of Art, whose generous help made this program possi
On April 1, 1908 Lola G. Baldwin was sworn in “to perform police service” for Portland, Oregon and became the nation’s first policewoman. As Superintendent of the new Women’s Protective Division, Detective Baldwin crusaded for the moral and physical welfare of young, single working women. Her goal was to prevent them from being lured into lives of prostitution and crime by offering positive alternatives and by making the city safe. But early 20th century Portland was rampant with vice and corruption, and ragtime America was shaking traditional values apart. Baldwin and her officers policed environments they believed bred corruption including the many amusement parks, dance halls and saloons around town. Other cities around the country, including Tacoma and Seattle, were watching Portland’s experiment with women police and invited Baldwin to help them organize their own women’s protective divisions. Policewoman Baldwin was instrumental in developing new preventive strategies in the community that influence policing policies to this day. Even after she retired in 1922, she continued to lobby for equal benefits for women police officers everywhere. April 1, 2008 marked the 100th Anniversary of the hiring of Lola Baldwin as America’s first policewoman. To honor Detective Baldwin’s achievements, Portland Mayor Tom Potter proclaimed April 1, 2008 as Lola Greene Baldwin Centennial Day.
2008 is the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Today its work is still enjoyed in parks and forests around the state. Through interviews with former enrollees, and historic film and pictures, the program tells the story of the CCC in Oregon. Five days after his 1933 inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called an emergency session of Congress to install one of his most popular New Deal programs – the Conservation Civilian Corps. It was known as the CCC. The program targeted unemployed young men, veterans and American Indians hard hit by the Great Depression. The CCC boys, as they were called, were required to send a portion of their wages home to their parents. The boys also received free education, healthcare and job training. Throughout its nine-year existence, the program put millions to work on federal and state land for the ‘prevention of forest fires, floods, and soil erosion, plant, pest, and disease control.’ Nationwide, enrollees planted three billion trees and came to be known as the Tree Army. Oregon hosted dozens of CCC camps all over the state. Enrollees fought fires on the Tillamook Burns, helped build ski areas on Mt Hood, built telephone and electrical wires, and improved farm lands. Today, Oregonians continue to enjoy the CCC legacy at parks and forests around the state.
The beauty and magic of the Columbia River Gorge has attracted photographers for more than 150 years. The River They Saw chronicles the history of the Gorge with rarely seen images crafted by Carleton Watkins, Sarah Ladd, Benjamin Gifford, Al Monner and many others. These early photographers left a stunning visual legacy through images still considered among the greatest landscape photos ever made.
The Lewis & Clark Expedition was a pivotal moment in American history. But the story of York, a slave to William Clark and comrade on this journey, has been obscured by omission and stereotype. Searching for York paints a portrait of this unofficial member of the Corps of Discovery as it discusses the ways in which history is written.
In 1923, a Missouri lumber company built a town in northeastern Oregon named Maxville. Hundreds of loggers left Arkansas and Mississippi to live and work there. Many brought their families, and many were African Americans. While the town has long since disappeared, the Maxville story is still unfolding. The Logger’s Daughter follows Gwen Trice, an African-American woman who was born and raised in Eastern Oregon, as she sets out to explore her family’s past. Large timber harvests require many workers. Logging camps were once common in the Oregon woods. But few of those camps housed whole families. Maxville did, and that fact alone made the town distinctive. Maxville was built in 1923, almost overnight, by the Bowman-Hicks Lumber Company near Wallowa in eastern Oregon. The Maxville workers came mostly from the deep South, recruited by the company from its operations in Arkansass and Mississippi. But what made Maxville unique was that 50 to 60 of its citizens were African-American. It was home to the only segregated school in Oregon. Maxville’s black residents lived in a group of houses across the tracks from the white residents. Yet the local lore says that conflicts across racial lines were few and friendships many. Maxville was officially closed in the early 1930s, though a few loggers and their families stayed on for another dozen years. Altogether, most of what happened there during the town’s short existence is not well-known. A black woman from La Grande, Gwen Trice, never knew much about her father’s early years in Oregon. She only recently learned that he had left Arkansas in the 1920s with his father to live and work in this place called Maxville. A couple of years ago, Gwen set out with a tape recorder and a video camera to learn more about Maxville. Yet her gathering of oral histories took some unexpected turns as she became immersed in a much wider community. The Logger’s Daughter portrays the story of that community, its
In 1859, Oregon became the 33rd state in the Union. Road to Statehood celebrates Oregon’s 150th birthday by exploring the lives of Native peoples already living here, the mountain men and fur trappers who came for adventure and wealth, and the pioneers who brought their hopes and prejudices with them over the Oregon Trail.
In the late 1800s, thousands of Chinese miners came to Eastern Oregon in search of gold. Among them were two men - Ing “Doc” Hay and Lung On - who opened a store and herbal apothecary called Kam Wah Chung. Though originally catering to their fellow Chinese, over time these two men attended to the medical needs of many, becoming highly regarded members of the community. The discovery of gold brought thousands of Chinese to eastern Oregon in the late 1880s – including herbal doctor Ing Hay and businessman Lung On. These two men practiced medicine and operated a general store at Kam Wah Chung & Co. in John Day for more than sixty years. You’ll meet people from the region who remember the two men, explore the history of the Chinese who helped build the West and visit Kam Wah Chung – The Golden Flower of Prosperity. Today the recently restored building is an Oregon treasure – and a National Historic Landmark filled with thousands of herbs, artifacts and the memories of two men who called it home.
From Razor clam souffle’ to her famous currant teacakes — Mary Beard loved to cook, and always with the freshest seasonal ingredients. Her son James embraced his mother’s passion for food. And even as the proclaimed “dean of American cookery” later moved away and traveled the world, James Beard would forever champion Oregon as a food-lover’s paradise. Today, good food has become a movement. “Fresh and local” is the mantra of cooks throughout the Pacific Northwest. Yet many have forgotten the name of the man, the native Oregonian, who may have started it all: James Beard. From an early age, he had a passion for good food. During his life, Beard authored 22 cookbooks, wrote a long-running newspaper column and hosted the first-ever television cooking show. He preached a message of quality ingredients, simply prepared. And he would change the way Americans think about food. Beard was born in Portland in 1903 and lived his first twenty-plus years in Oregon, spending summers on the coast in Gearhart. Throughout his life, Beard had a gift: an extremely good sense of taste. He could remember flavors much like a person with a photographic memory recalls images. Fortunately for him, he grew up in a world of excellent food. His mother was an accomplished cook and used only the finest, freshest ingredients, bought from the farmers who grew it. Good local seafood was plentiful in Portland, as well. And between her and the family’s Chinese cook, the Beard home served some of the best meals in town. Beard lived most of his adult life in New York City where people in the food world proclaimed him “the dean of American cookery.” Yet Beard forever championed Oregon as a food-lover’s paradise. James Beard passed away in 1985 and his ashes were scattered in the ocean off Gearhart. Looking back, his friend Julia Child summed up his contributions to the food world: “In the beginning, was Beard.”
Few other cities in the world have water as pure and as well-protected as Portland. For nearly 115 years, an ingenious, gravity-fed system has delivered mountain rainwater from an isolated river called the Bull Run. Yet the rich history of Portland’s water supply has unfolded largely unbeknownst to the people it serves.
The Portland Youth Philharmonic is America's first youth orchestra. But the story of the PYP begins in Burns where a violinist named Mary Dodge shared her love of music with the local children. As their talent emerged, Dodge formed a children's orchestra called the Sagebrush Symphony that captivated audiences statewide.
In the summer of 1970, some tens of thousands of people converged in rural Clackamas County for an event called Vortex 1. This “biodegradable festival of life” celebrated freedom -- freedom from violence, from drug laws and from clothes. It also served as an elaborate ploy to lure young people away from Portland. And to this day, Vortex remains America’s only large-scale rock festival ever sponsored by a Republican governor.
In 1920, Oregon’s Opal Whiteley was the center of international controversy. Her childhood diary was called a work of genius, until readers discovered hidden clues to a mystery that has not been solved to this day. Was Oregon the home of a kidnapped French Princess? Who was Opal Whiteley? To this day there is no clear answer. Her life and her writing remains a mystery. At the turn of the century, Opal grew up literally barefoot and dirt poor in Oregon’s logging camps. From an early age she stood out. She seemed to be a child prodigy with an encyclopedic knowledge of nature. She collected and labeled thousands of specimens of plants and insects, and as a young teenager gave lectures to her classmates and the community. By the time she was seventeen years old, she had gained national attention and she was touring the state as a religious leader. But it was a childhood diary that gained her international fame. As a young woman she published a diary she said she had written when she was about 6-years old. In it, she described the lumber camps as a child’s fairyland. The diary quickly became a best seller and some called it a work of genius. Others called it a fraud. The diary held clues that Opal had been kidnapped as a child and was really the daughter of a French prince. Within a year the diary was out of print. Opal never returned to Oregon and seemed to disappear. Today the diary has been rediscovered and is in print all over the world. But the mystery of Opal remains unsolved.
In 1946 the field of electronics was exploding. Radiomen Howard Vollum and Jack Murdock were home from the War and decided to start their own business. The company was Tektronix. The product? An indispensable piece of test equipment that engineers couldn’t work without. In The Spirit of Tek you’ll meet some of the people who built a unique company that changed the world. Four young entrepreneurs decided to start an electronics company in Portland, Oregon. It was the right idea at the right time. Howard Vollum was fresh from the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Jack Murdock was home from the Coast Guard. Both were radiomen eager to build new careers. Along with fellow “Coastie” Miles Tippery and accountant Glenn McDowell, they decided to start their own business and signed incorporation papers in December 1945. They named their company Tektronix.
Also called consumption or “wasting disease,” tuberculosis once ran rampant in America. It still claims 8 million lives a year worldwide. Oregon led the Northwest in the fight against TB in the early 1900s. Yet even then, and until the advent of modern antibiotics, most treatments remained crude and ineffective. OREGON EXPERIENCE explores the historical impact of TB in Oregon. “If we all searched our family histories, we would find that at some point, we have all been touched by the tragic disease tuberculosis. Jay D. Kravitz, M.D., OHSU Global Health Center Tuberculosis. Consumption. White Plague. Ancient Egyptian king Tutankamen died of it. So did a long list of other well-known historical characters: from Frederic Chopin to Stephen Foster; Eleanor Roosevelt and Ho Chi Mihn; Sarah Bernhardt and W.C. Fields and many more. American singer Jimmie Rodgers recorded “T.B. Blues” before succumbing to the sickness himself. Tuberculosis has plagued humanity for a long, long time. And in many parts of the world, TB still reigns as one of the deadliest of all diseases. Today, in the Pacific Northwest, tuberculosis may not be an everyday word. But many Oregonians remember when it was. As recently as the 1950s and 650s, children lined up at school for TB skin tests. Mobile x-ray trucks parked at offices and factories to administer chest x-rays to workers. Over the years, untold numbers of Oregonians developed active tuberculosis disease, and thousands tried to recuperate in one of the state’s public sanitoriums. But many — perhaps even most - died from the disease, because until the 1950s, tuberculosis had no cure. Oregon was the first Western state to build a public TB hospital and was, for a long time, the epicenter of TB surgery in the Pacific Northwest, because until 1946, Portland had the region’s only medical school. Two Portland doctors, brothers Ray and Ralph Maston, achieved national recognition for their open-chest procedures
The Pendleton Round-Up will celebrate its centennial this Fall. Dedicated volunteers, tribal involvement and thrill-a-minute entertainment have made the Round-Up one of the oldest and most prestigious rodeos in the world. Oregon Experience looks back at the first hundred years of Round-Up!
In 1959, Washington ranchers Don and June Mulford decided to try what everybody said couldn't be done -- ride the entire length of the 2,400 mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada in one year. It would prove to be the adventure of a lifetime. Armed with a movie and slide camera they documented life on the trail and captured surprises along the way. A Ride to Remember showcases their stunning photography and will delight viewers with memories still fresh after fifty years.
Oregon once had one of the country's most extensive streetcar systems in the country. Streetcars provided cheap, comfortable public transportation - before there were automobiles. Streetcar lines formed the streets and neighborhoods that shaped our cities, providing a foundation for the modern streetcar revival.
Oysters are unusual little creatures, and they've played a distinctive role in Pacific Northwest history. As Euro-Americans settled this region, the native oyster became one of the first natural resources to be exploited on a large scale — and one of the first to be depleted. The oyster business spawned the creation of several coastal communities and precipitated the demise of a vast Indian reservation. Yet the oysters themselves and the colorful oystermen who farm them have contributed many unacknowledged environmental benefits, as well.
Linus Pauling is considered one of the greatest chemists of the 20th century. A brilliant scientist and humanitarian he made revolutionary discoveries in chemistry, physics, molecular biology and medicine; then used his international fame and popularity to promote world peace. Targeted by the FBI and labeled a Communist during the height of the Cold War, Linus Pauling is the only person in history to win two unshared Nobel Prizes.
In 1911, a small liberal arts college was launched in Portland, Oregon with its sole mission to promote the life of the mind. Founded by a prominent minister and brought to life by a visionary young upstart president, Reed College soon became a well-regarded institution of higher learning nationally but also something of a lightning rod for criticism locally. This is the history of a college confronting wide-ranging public opinion even as it strives to live up to its founders’ ideals.
The Modoc War of 1872 to 1873 was one of the costliest American Indian wars in U.S. history, considering the number of people involved. For nearly seven months, a handful of Modoc Indian warriors and their families held off hundreds of U.S. Army soldiers. The war is largely forgotten to most of the nation, but at the time of the conflict, the story made headlines from London to San Francisco. People were enthralled as one of the last real-life, Wild-West battles unfolded on the American frontier.
Wayne Morse served four terms (1945–1969) in the US Senate. He represented Oregon with brilliance and bravado and followed a vision of “principle above politics.” He could be quick to criticize, and he rankled many opponents. But he wrote and sponsored legislation that was well ahead of its time. Morse also warned of an American war in Vietnam — a full decade before an incident in the Gulf of Tonkin formally started it. He was one of just two members of Congress to vote against it. And for the rest of his career, Morse led a national outcry to end the war and bring the troops home.
In the 1960s, a new breed of pioneers began arriving in Oregon’s Willamette Valley determined to grow Vitis vinifera, the fine wine grapes of Europe. They were told it couldn’t be done and were amply warned that Western Oregon was too cold and wet for vinifera to flourish. But they came anyway with a dream of producing fine premium wines – in particular Pinot noir, made from the delicate red grape of Burgundy, France. The pioneers’ risky experiment would create a new industry in Oregon and change the world of wine forever.
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.
Shot on location, the program tells the story of the early history of Hanford largely through the words of people who worked there during World War II and during Hanford’s expansion during the Cold War years. Viewers will also see early archival film shot at Hanford and remarkable photographs taken over the years. In addition, viewers will go inside B-reactor – the first full-scale nuclear reactor in the world, now being preserved as a National Historic Landmark.
From shanghaied sailors to opium dens, Portland’s illicit past is legendary. But how much of it is true? Portland Noir examines Old Town’s sordid history.
Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962) and Sometimes a Great Notion (1964), was one of the best-known authors to ever emerge from Oregon. Airing January 20 at 9 p.m.
A new Oregon Experience examines an Oregon man’s lifelong search for America’s first people.
Southern Oregon and Northern California make up the mythical State of Jefferson. The “state” is the product of local lore, regional identity, and pride for its residents. It remains a symbol of an enduring rural-urban divide. Now, some are working to make it the 51st official state.
Founded in 1811 by wealthy fur baron John Jacob Astor, Astoria is the oldest United States settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. Learn more about the multifaceted history of this city and where those two centuries of activity have brought Astoria today.
Lift Ev’ry Voice explores Portland’s African-American history with a focus on the turbulent 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s. At the time, issues surrounding urban renewal, school desegregation and brittle police relations were exploding both nationally and locally.
Chronicles Oregon’s most infamous train holdup, and examines the myths and mysteries still associated with the case. On October 11, 1923, three brothers tried to rob a Southern Pacific train as it made its way over the Siskiyou Summit of Southern Oregon. Before it was all over four men would be dead, and three brothers on the run. The incident would be the basis of movies, songs, comic books and even trading cards.
This one-hour episode explores the origins and the evolution of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival – how one man's vision for a holiday event grew to become the economic mainstay of the city of Ashland and a major presence in American Theater.
Oregon's Jewish pioneers were among the region's first settlers. Arriving with the gold miners, they came for a better life away from persecution. In the process, they helped build the businesses and civic organizations that shaped the state.
Frontier preacher and pioneer geologist, Thomas Condon was the first to recognize the scientific significance of The John Day Fossil Beds. He would devote his life to teaching and educating others about Oregon's ancient past.
"Jazz Town" examines the vibrant, post-World War II eruption of music and nightlife in North and Northeast Portland. A colorful and significant chapter in the city's cultural narrative, this short-lived period is largely unknown to many Oregonians. Produced by Eric Cain and edited by Bruce Barrow
At age 85, Portland's Darcelle is the nation's oldest performing drag queen, and operates what is thought to be the country's longest running drag revue. Throughout her long career she has been a part of revolutionary change within the LGBT community. Today, Walter Cole, as Darcelle XV, remains Portland's iconic Drag Queen.
During the early 1940s, Vanport, Oregon was the second largest city in the state. But on a Sunday afternoon in May 1948, it disappeared completely - destroyed by a catastrophic flood.
Chinese immigrants were instrumental in building the West, but they faced unprecedented legalized discrimination and violence. In 1887, a gang of Wallowa County men killed as many a 34 Chinese gold miners along the Snake River. For over a century the murders were covered up, and no one was held accountable. Today, the massacre at Hells Canyon is finally acknowledged.
Hundreds of books exist about the Lewis and Clark expedition and the decades of pioneers who followed them West. But even today, most Oregonians don't know much about the people who had settled here centuries before "the settlers" came. "Broken Treaties" introduces viewers to the tribes of our state and explores a thread of the Oregon story that hasn't been told very well over the years.
Nearly 50 years after the end of combat operations in Vietnam. Oregon Experience explores the stories of a wide variety of people, from combat veterans, nurses and support personnel, to anti-war protestors and outspoken political leaders, grieving family members and today's Vietnamese community– all deeply affected by the events of those times.
At one time, the largest landowner in North America was the Hudson's Bay Company, a vast British trading enterprise. In the early 1800s, Fort Vancouver served as the HBC headquarters in the Oregon Country employing hundreds of people from over 35 different ethnic groups. This unique, vibrant, multicultural community prevailed for more than 20 years.
This year, Oregon State University celebrates its 150th anniversary Oregon's only Land Grant University. Since 1868, its mission has been to be a school for the people of the state, offering research, outreach, and instruction to residents in every county.
Long before Oregon became a state, black people were in the Far West. Some were brought to the region as slaves, but many others arrived as freemen looking for a new life. They opened boarding houses and stores, worked farms and mined for gold. But as more white settlers arrived over the Oregon Trail, the newcomers passed discriminatory laws to keep blacks out.
By the 1920s Oregon had well-established Japanese American communities in Portland and Hood River. Immigrant pioneers managed businesses, thriving farms and orchards with their American-born children. Pearl Harbor changed everything.
“Fern Hobbs and the Snake River Showdown” weaves together the story of a governor’s crusade, a lawless town in the wilds of Eastern Oregon and a young woman pioneering her own path in life.
Twenty years ago, the last resident left Fairview. When it closed in 2000 amid lawsuits and investigations, it was one of the largest and oldest institutions of its kind in the nation. For nearly 100 years, Fairview was Oregon's primary institution for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For many residents, it was the only home they ever knew. For others, it was a living hell.
In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan drew tens of thousands of members across Oregon. The group infiltrated local communities and influenced politics Why was this hate group once so prevalent throughout the state?
On May 9, 1934 more than 12,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association walked off the job from Bellingham to San Diego. They demanded better working conditions, union recognition and a coastwide contract. The strike would cripple shipping and paralyze commerce for nearly three months. Despite violent clashes up and down the coast, solidarity bound the longshoremen together
