Offbeat Oregon History podcast

www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com)
  • 4.8 (177)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY
Offbeat Oregon History podcast

The Offbeat Oregon History Podcast is a daily service from the Offbeat Oregon History newspaper column. Each weekday morning, a strange-but-true story from Oregon's history from the archives of the column is uploaded. An exploding whale, a few shockingly scary cults, a 19th-century serial killer, several very naughty ladies, a handful of solid-brass con artists and some of the dumbest bad guys in the history of the universe. Source citations are included with the text version on the Web site at https://offbeatoregon.com.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Seth and Sophronia Lewelling, Milwaukie's original power couple (WPA oral-history interview with Mrs. H. Ledding)

    WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Mr. and Mrs. Herman Ledding (we are never given Mrs. L's name), talking about Mrs. Ledding's mother and stepfather: Seth and Sophronia Lewelling, respectively the most famous nurseryman in Oregon history and the proprietress of its most influential literary salon. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001981/ )

    17 min

  2. 4 DAYS AGO

    Astoria is rich in legends of lost gold and treasure

    THE CITY AND environs of Astoria strike most visitors as the kind of place where pirate loot might be stashed away. Certainly it seems to have struck Steven Spielberg that way, back in the early 1980s, when the legendary pirate-treasure film The Goonies was being shot. But the town may actually have come by this impression honestly. There are still a few stories about hidden treasure in and around Astoria -- not counting the silver-screen “Goon Docks” story of “One-Eyed Willy.” And who knows? One or two of them may actually be true. (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1890s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/21-10.astoria-treasure-legends-602.html)

    10 min

  3. 5 DAYS AGO

    Ship, moored at dock, suddenly cracked in half

    The combination of bitter cold air and relatively warm river water acted on the S.S. Schenechtady's brittle welded-steel plates like boiling water poured into a cold Mason jar. The results were similar, but on a massive scale. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1606c.schenectady-cracked-ship-396.html)

    10 min

  4. 6 DAYS AGO

    Mariner’s eerie dream predicted shipmates’ deaths

    In his spooky nightmare, first mate of the German barque Mimi saw seaweed covering all but three shipmates; the next day, all but three drowned in one of Oregon's worst-ever salvage disasters. (Near Nehalem River, Tillamook County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see URLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGE)

    11 min

  5. DEC 3

    Fish wheels a legacy of Columbia’s salmon days

    As the fishery collapsed, canneries on the upper river near Cascade Locks and gillnet fishermen on the lower river near Astoria blamed one another; both were right, but the biggest culprit was Grand Coulee Dam. (Columbia, Multnomah, Hood River, Wasco County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1609b.fish-wheels-and-gillnetters-408.html)

    10 min

  6. DEC 2

    The old violin maker's story (WPA oral-history interview with Robert Robinson)

    WPA writer Sara B. Wrenn's oral history interview with Robert Robinson, master violin maker and repairer, talking about his memories of the professional musicians of Portland in the late 1800s. (For the transcript, see https://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh001994/ )

    13 min

  7. NOV 29

    OSU’s world-record laying hen sparked a 'fowl' feud with eugenics enthusiast

    OCTOBER OF 1913 was a triumphant time for Professor James Dryden, the poultry specialist at Oregon State University (or Oregon Agricultural College, as it was then called). His name was in newspapers nationwide, in glowing tribute after glowing tribute to his success. One of his experiment-station hens had just shattered the world record for egg production with a stunning 303 eggs in a year. There was, however, one exception to the “glowing tribute” pattern in newspaper coverage of Dr. Dryden’s work. That would be the weekly Cottage Grove Leader. “In our opinion, Prof. Dryden is impracticable, out of harmony with the country’s best and most successful poultry breeders, is discouraging the great and growing poultry industry of the state and is therefore out of place at the head of the Department of Poultry Husbandry in our great educational and experimental institution, the Oregon Agricultural College,” the Leader’s editor raged, in the Oct. 28 issue. “We would suggest, in conclusion, that he tender his resignation.” What was the Leader's objection to Prof. Dryden and his accomplishment? Not to get too clickbait-y, but seriously, it will leave you shaking your head in baffled disgust when you hear it. (Corvallis, Benton County; 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/21-09.prof-dryden-and-the-chicken-war-601.html)

    19 min

  8. NOV 28

    Did Oregon’s notorious supervillain-politician actually save the world from Nazi nukes?

    Governor Charles Henry “Iron Pants” Martin may have saved the world from a Nazi nuclear holocaust by outplaying President Roosevelt, essentially forcing him to finance a hydroelectric dam that he thought was superfluous. (Bonneville, Multnomah County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1609a.bonneville-wins-ww2-407.html)

    11 min
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4.8
out of 5
177 Ratings

About

The Offbeat Oregon History Podcast is a daily service from the Offbeat Oregon History newspaper column. Each weekday morning, a strange-but-true story from Oregon's history from the archives of the column is uploaded. An exploding whale, a few shockingly scary cults, a 19th-century serial killer, several very naughty ladies, a handful of solid-brass con artists and some of the dumbest bad guys in the history of the universe. Source citations are included with the text version on the Web site at https://offbeatoregon.com.

Information

  • Creator
    www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com)
  • Years Active
    2011 - 2024
  • Episodes
    157
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (all commercial use OK)
  • Show Website
    Offbeat Oregon History podcast

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