November 17 Episode.
What could the State Fair, the Linn County Pioneer Picnic, the Happy Canyon Pageant & Wild West Show, the Scandinavian Festival, and the Fourth of July Pet Parade possibly have in common? Well, other than people and fun, of course. They are all designated as Oregon Heritage Traditions! To date, there are fourteen such illustrious events so designated. This just goes to show that history can be fun and entertaining, too.   

Some time back, we received a press release announcing that the Happy Canyon Pageant & Wild West Show, part of the Pendleton Round-Up since 1916, had been designated an "Oregon Heritage Tradition." Somehow, we had never heard of this designation in our years in historic preservation, so, of course, we had to check it out. We contacted the folks at the Heritage Division of Oregon State Parks who offered to send Katie Henry, their Cultural Outreach specialist, to educate us on this relatively new program.
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Katie advised that to be nominated, the event has to have run continuously for at least 50 years, be associated with people, places, events and activities that characterize the heritage of the state, demonstrates an appeal to the broad public, has a distinguished public profile and reputation, provides participatory activities, and adds to the livability and identity of the state.  The Oregon Heritage Commission bestows the designation after reviewing applications submitted from events across the state.

Let's highlight a few of these Heritage Traditions.  The Linn County Pioneer Picnic, held in Brownsville, began in 1887 as a reunion for pioneers who arrived in the area before January 1855. The three-day event has become a quintessential small town fair, bringing back generations of folks who share the memories of the pioneers and a time when gathering to have fun and fellowship meant taking time to connect with your neighbors in person, complete with parades, talent shows, class and family reunions, and a logging jamboree showcasing traditional logging skills.  

The Happy Canyon Pageant/Wild West Show began in 1916 as evening entertainment for Pendleton Round-Up attendees. At first just a Wild West Show, it later expanded to include cultural performers from the local tribes of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla. The Pendleton Round-Up began in 1910 and continues to be one of the largest events of western traditions.

The "Festival That Saved A Town", the Scandinavian Festival began in 1961 as a way to bring people and commerce back to the small town of Junction City once the new I-5 Freeway detoured traffic away from its main street, Highway 99. Although it has grown into one of the largest ethnic festivals on the west coast, it continues its tradition of honoring the hard-working Danes and other Scandinavians who settled the town by hosting Scandinavian and Bavarian dance and instrumental groups, demonstrating old-country crafts, and offering conversational groups to practice the mother tongues of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Heritage Traditions are a valued part of our Oregon character. Many area towns have long-time celebrations.  We were surprised to learn that Mt. Angel's Octoberfest, Portland's Rose Festival, and McMinnville's Turkeyrama were not yet designated, although all have been operating for at least 50 years.  Perhaps it's time for your town to nominate your historic special event. The staff at the Heritage Division/Oregon State Parks are ready to help you.  For more information on Heritage Traditions, visit their website.

November 3, 2016 Episode.

Did you know we had barracks full of young men in Oregon way before World War II?  I was surprised to learn just how many young men came to Oregon as part of the Depression-era work program known as the Civilian Conservation Corps--or CCC. Alan Maul, the coordinator of the Oregon HIstory Forest Center, shared this information, and more, when he talked with us today. He shared that the CCC was the younger-sister program to the more well-known Works Progress Administration (WPA) that provided work for experienced tradesmen who worked on the construction of many public structures: Crater Lake Lodge, Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway and its Crown Point information center, as well as local buildings such as the West Salem City Hall. 

Alan, a lifelong Salemite who worked for the Department of Forestry until retirement in 2005, advised that renovation at the agency's Salem campus lead him to propose moving a small historic building across the creek to be placed next to the State Fire Marshall's office, a National Register historic property, where it would become the Forest History Center. Following retirement, he became the coordinator of this small museum gem which chronicles Oregon's forest industry.  He went on to explain that the March 1933 CCC program was put in place to provide work in various conservation genres for young men, aged 18 to 28, who came from all over America to Army-like camps throughout the western United States. The varied work projects were managed by various state and federal agencies; the Forestry Department, the Parks Department, Soil & Water Conservation Districts, etc.  

In Oregon, our first CCC boys arrived in late June 1933 to work on projects like building and maintaining trails, clearing brush around fire lookout towers, and landscaping work around the larger WPA projects.  However the great Tillamook Burn happened in August 1933, so the first work these mainly midwest boys set to was wildland fire-fighting! Not quite what they had signed up for, we suspect. ​

CCC camps were located throughout Oregon, with each camp housing 100-200 young men. During the nine years of the program's operation, 70-80,000 young men came to work in Oregon. in eastern Oregon, the young men worked mostly on water and soil conservation projects. In western Oregon, the camps focused on firefighting, trail construction, and grounds work for the larger WPA projects like Timberline Lodge, Crater Lake Lodge and the Oregon Caves National Monument.  Closer to Salem, two camps were located in the Silver Creek Falls area where they undertook construction of the lodge at Silver Creek Falls State Park, along with the bridges and trails weaving through the waterfalls on which thousands of us have hiked in the ensuing years.

The Forest History Center is what I like to call a "pocket museum", a small organizational gem housing wonderfully informative displays whose advertising is generally by word of mouth. Before you head over, be sure to check out their website for their current hours of operation. If you have information or artifacts you'd like to donate, they ask that you email them first. Email to [email protected].