Podcast Episodes available on IPFS
Japanese shipwrecks on coast predate Columbus
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - January 04, 2024 14:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsThe case of John Ottoson (ne Otokichi) in 1832 illustrates what can happen: Blown off to sea by a gale, he and his comrades rode the Kuroshio Current to Washington State — much to the astonishment of Dr. John McLoughlin. (Oregon Coast; 1830s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/...
Mislabeled wood alcohol killed 28 Portland hobos
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - January 03, 2024 14:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsThe alcoholic derelicts of on Burnside Street knew they could count on denatured alcohol for a cheap-but-nasty buzz; it might make them sick, but it wouldn't kill them. But then, one day, it did. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1404c.poiso...
Did ‘Vortex I’ prevent riots in downtown Portland?
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 29, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsOn that tense late-August weekend, tens of thousands of young people enjoyed themselves at McIver Park, while the much-dreaded riots failed to materialize. Was there a connection? Many voters thought so. (McIver Park, Clackamas County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/...
McCall expected ‘Vortex I’ to cost him re-election
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 28, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsWhen McCall green-lighted the plan to distract potential street rioters with a week-long music festival, he fully expected to lose his job for it — whether it worked or not. (Salem, Marion County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1406b.290.vortex-part2-the-family.html)
Riot at PSU set the stage for ‘Governor’s Pot Party’
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 27, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsTo Governor Tom McCall, it looked like Portland was about to explode, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it ... until two long-haired young people came to his chief of staff with a very unusual plan. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.c...
NASA’s ‘Moon Trees’ have roots in Oregon forest fire
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 26, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsAstronaut Stuart Roosa had a special relationship with the U.S. Forest Service, and when it was his turn to go to the moon, he proposed a science experiment. You can see the results towering over Peavy Hall at Oregon State University today. (Cape Canaveral, Florida; 1970s) (For text and pictures,...
Childhood tree-planting memories for thousands
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 22, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsFor decades after the Tillamook Burn, classes of schoolchildren were bused out to help replant. Today, thousands of Oregonians, on trips to the beach, can point to a thriving patch of forest and say, “We planted those trees.” (Tillamook, Yamhill, Washington county; 1950s, 1960s, 1970s) (For text ...
Tillamook Burn ‘blew up’ with shocking speed
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 21, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsQuick action by state forester Lynn Cronemiller prevented the devastating forest fire from claiming hundreds of lives when a furnace-stoking wind blew in from Eastern Oregon, flogging the fire toward the sea. (Washington, Yamhill, Tillamook County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbe...
Tillamook Burn sprang from loggers’ bad gamble
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 20, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsA hard-pressed crew tried to snake just a few more logs out before quitting for the day, hoping nothing would go wrong in the tinder-dry forest. Unfortunately, something did. (Forest Grove, Washington County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1407d.tillamook-burn-1933-o...
Rosecrans rescue one of Coast Guard’s finest hours
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 14, 2023 14:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsTwo motor lifeboat crews went out on the bar to save three surviving sailors. Both boats went to the bottom of the sea — but not a man was lost on either crew, and all the survivors were rescued. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/150...
Pioneer Chinese doc was a city treasure in John Day
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - December 12, 2023 14:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsSettlers in John Day in the late 1800s learned the healer of Kam Wah Chung could cure diseases others couldn't; all his patients survived the fatal Spanish Flu epidemic in 1919. (John Day, Grant County; 1880s, 1890s, 1900s. 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1406d.doc-ha...
Did L. Ron Hubbard battle Japanese subs off Astoria?
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - November 20, 2023 14:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsPulp writer and religious figure L. Ron Hubbard figures prominently in the most spectacular story of action against “Japanese submarines” in Oregon waters. It's called, with tongue firmly in cheek, the “Battle of Cape Lookout.” (Off Cannon Beach, Clatsop County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see...
‘Ship of Romance and Death’ met a dramatic end
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - November 14, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsThe Melanope's maritime career started with a witch's curse. But her most dramatic story was the torrid, doomed love affair its skipper carried on with the heiress who bought the ship so she could be with him as he sailed it. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see...
Pixieland, the essence of Oregon midcentury culture
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - November 01, 2023 14:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsJerry and Lu Parks envisioned a “fairy-tale history of Oregon” in the form of an amusement park. What they created was a rich cultural artifact, and a treasured childhood memory for a generation of Oregonians. (Otis and Lincoln City, Lincoln County; 1960s, 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https...
Bob Straub stopped plan to put highway on the beach
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - October 20, 2023 14:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsState treasurer Straub was a regular visitor to the state park through which the highway department wished to route the main Oregon Coast arterial. He took one look at the department's plans — and declared war. (Nestucca Spit, Tillamook County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeator...
Mountain town of Bourne was home of a magnificent swindle
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - October 19, 2023 14:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsThough home to some productive mines, the Blue Mountain boomtown made much of its money working the suckers back east; then its head honcho disappeared into the night with the money, hours ahead of the law. (Bourne, Baker County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1011a-...
For Oregon pioneer family, highway robbers were lifesavers
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - September 20, 2023 14:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsTwo armed men who apparently came to rob travelers helped pull them over the pass instead after discovering there were six children in the wagon. (McKenzie Pass, Lane and Deschutes County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1002a_Robbers.html)
Frontier murder was even darker than it appeared
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - September 05, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsWhen first reported, it looked like a simple murder-suicide. But it quickly became clear that it was something far more sinister — and the motives of the killer were uglier and more sordid than anyone had thought possible. (Brownsville, Linn County; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offb...
Historic lighthouse saved by a nonexistent ghost
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - September 04, 2023 14:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsBut did Lischen M. Miller create the story of Muriel Trevenard, the mysterious young woman who came to Newport in the 1870s and vanished ... or did she merely write down a story that locals whispered to each other on stormy nights? (Newport, Lincoln County; 1870s, 1890s, 1940s) (For text and pic...
Bing cherry has roots on Oregon Trail
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 31, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsWorld's most popular cherry was bred by pioneer nurseryman who brought its progenitors in a wagon across the Oregon Trail, with Native Americans' help. (Oregon Trail; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1001b_Lewellings.htm)
The world’s smallest natural harbor used to be even smaller
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 29, 2023 14:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsThe tiny coastal town of Depoe Bay was once known for the oldest privately owned aquarium in U.S.; today it’s a popular place for stormwatchers. (Depoe Bay, Lincoln County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1012c_depoe-bay-worlds-smallest-harbor.html)
Steam excursion train line is now a new bike path
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 24, 2023 14:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsUntil the 1980s, you could ride the "Blue Goose" up the Row River past where "Stand By Me" was shot, near Cottage Grove.. Today, it's a 15.6-mile bike trail. (Near Cottage Grove, Lane County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1003d_BlueGoose.html)
After 80 years, Oregon Vortex still keeps experts guessing
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 23, 2023 14:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsWater seems to run uphill, and people's height appears to change from one end of a plank to another. Is it a fantastic optical illusion, or a mysterious force? Opinions vary. (Gold Hill, Jackson County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1002d_OregonVortex.html)
America’s first highway rest area had marble walls
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 22, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsLegendary Crown Point Vista House looks out over the Columbia River and was the highlight of the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway — built when roadbuilding was as much an art as a science. (Crown Point, Multnomah County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1012b-crown-point...
Schemers’ plans to exploit Multnomah Falls failed
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 14, 2023 14:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsOriginal owners of the falls tried for years to log it, but the steamship and railroad moguls were making a lot of money on excursion trips, so they blocked the scheme, preserving the falls for today's park. (Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah County; 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https...
Dispute over reservation land lasted a century
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 10, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsWarm Springs Indians struggled from 1871 to 1972 to get back a piece of land taken as a result of a survey everyone admitted was in error. (Warm Springs Reservation, Umatilla County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1002c_McQuinnStrip.html)
Bits of 1926 Hollywood train wreck are still in Row River
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 09, 2023 14:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsThe movie was 'The General,' starring Buster Keaton; in the scene, a real locomotive is crashed through a real burning bridge into the river, at a cost (in 2010 dollars) of more than half a million dollars. (Cottage Grove, Lane County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/...
Did this tiny, soggy, scary road save Oregon's public beaches?
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - August 01, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsUntil Highway 101 was built in the 1930s, the beach was Arch Cape’s only road to the outside world — a fact that was Exhibit A in Governor Oswald West’s plan to save the beaches. (Arch Cape, Clatsop County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1011e-tiny-scary-hug-point-ro...
Portland Trail Blazers’ fate hung on extra-long bathroom break
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - July 18, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsPromoter Harry Glickman was late getting to the key meeting, so Baltimore Bullets basketball team owner Abe Pollin stalled for time by waiting in the bathroom until he arrived. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1011b_trail-blazers-fate-hung-...
Family camped unnoticed in downtown Portland — for 4 years
Offbeat Oregon History podcast - July 06, 2023 14:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 160 ratingsWhy is there 5,000 acres of near-wilderness at the heart of Oregon's largest city? Because nobody could develop it — although many tried. So, all the land reverted back to the city for unpaid taxes, and the city turned it into Forest Park. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1940s) (For text and picture...
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