SmokeJumpers parachute out of planes into wilderness areas to fight fires that are hard to reach with ground equipment. The SmokeJump Base - also known as The Gobi - in Cave Junction, Oregon was established to fight fires caused by Japanese incendiary bombs that hit the west coast during WWII and was active through the late 1980s. Meet Gary Buck, who jumped out of Gobi Base beginning in the 1960s and hear about the courage and strength and fellowship that make up this unique profession.
Stories of mills, mines, forests, and fields: Southern Oregon’s landscape, economy, and demographics have changed significantly since the donation land claims of the mid-1800s. Thanks to grants from the Oregon Heritage Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Southern Oregon University has been collecting the oral histories and photographs of heritage families and publishing these to the Southern Oregon Digital Archives.
Green Side Up was a reforestation crew that planted the Pacific Northwest after the 1970s and 1980s clear cuts. Green Side Up brought cash into the Takilma Commune that otherwise existed by barter. It was a remarkable time when hippies hit the hills with hoedads and axes. Robert Hirning negotiated the contracts for Green Side Up and was front and center.
Stories of mills, mines, forests, and fields: Southern Oregon’s landscape, economy, and demographics have changed significantly since the donation land claims of the mid-1800s. Thanks to grants from the Oregon Heritage Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Southern Oregon University has been collecting the oral histories and photographs of heritage families and publishing these to the Southern Oregon Digital Archives.
The Applegate was a heated battleground in the late 1990s as environmentalists, loggers and the Forest Service all tried to exert their influence. It took people like Chris Bratt, a card carrying carpenter's union member to help folks talk through the issues, find new ways of solving problems and find consensus. Chris Bratt was a big part of the Applegate Partnership.
Stories of mills, mines, forests, and fields: Southern Oregon’s landscape, economy, and demographics have changed significantly since the donation land claims of the mid-1800s. Thanks to grants from the Oregon Heritage Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Southern Oregon University has been collecting the oral histories and photographs of heritage families and publishing these to the Southern Oregon Digital Archives.
Pounds and pounds of gold came out of Sterling Creek Mine in the late 1990s, nuggets as big as your fist. Glenn Wadstein conceived of a sand and gravel operation that was efficient, productive and profitable, and restored the land after extraction. You'll see the equipment that Wadstein designed, the fruits of his labors, and hear some remarkable stories about what might seem unimaginable today.
Stories of mills, mines, forests, and fields: Southern Oregon’s landscape, economy, and demographics have changed significantly since the donation land claims of the mid-1800s. Thanks to grants from the Oregon Heritage Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Southern Oregon University has been collecting the oral histories and photographs of heritage families and publishing these to the Southern Oregon Digital Archives.
