Offbeat Oregon History podcast

The most famous con artist of the Old West started in Portland, then traveled throughout the state working the “marks” with his signature swindle. Fifteen years later, an Oregonian shot him in a gun fight in Skagway. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1705d.soapy-smiths-oregon-story-445.html)

Is there anything to the story of the Native American man who came out of the woods every few years with a snuff can full of gold dust? Maybe. (McKenzie River valley; 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1001d_GoldSnuff.htm)

College professor's forensic investigation fingered the DeAutremont Brothers in the brutal robbery; after a years-long manhunt, and more than 2 million “wanted” posters, they were caught. But we still don't know the full story. (Siskiyou Pass, Jackson County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1701b.part2-deautremont-train-rob-manhunt-425.html)

After several other attempts to get into the crime business didn't work out for them, the DeAutremont brothers came up with a plan to rob a train at the summit of the Siskiyous. It did not go well — for anyone involved. (Siskiyou Pass, Jackson County; 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1701a.part1-deautremont-train-rob-robbery-424.html)

Lebanon man lived a quiet, respectable life after the Civil War, but back in his youth he was a member of Olney's Detachment of the Oregon Cavalry — a Union Army outfit nicknamed “Olney's Forty Thieves.” (Lebanon, Linn County; 1860s, 1940s, 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1111c-black-sheep-of-union-army-last-oregon-vet.html)

The conditions were too rough even for the legendary Coast Guard 36-foot motor lifeboat to make it through the breakers, so a fisherman brought them ashore two by two in his rowboat. (Port Orford, Curry County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1112d-dory-fisherman-rescues-shipwrecked-sailors.html)

Frontier Oregon's favorite game of chance was a “banking” game that's little played today. That's because the only way to make money as a faro banker is to cheat ... and cheat they did. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s, 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1312c-faro-crooked-gamblers-dream-game.html)

Desperate for some ready cash after his steamer wrecked on the beach, the would-be magnate hastily built a “railroad to nowhere” over Santiam Pass in an attempt to swindle the federal government. It probably would have worked, but ... (Newport, Lincoln County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1703a.hogg-railroad-yaquina-433.html)

Summer Lake, Abert Lake and Goose Lake were once all part of a vast network of seas surrounded by lush vegetation. In dry years they can evaporate completely — which led to some confusion on the Applegate Trail one year. (Lake County) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1701c.alkali-abert-goose-lakes-426.html)

LATE ONE SPRING evening in 1917, a man named A.L. Sauvie was trying to sleep, and not having much success. The problem was his downstairs neighbor, who had gotten roaring drunk and was now verbally abusing, and physically beating, his wife. Complicating the situation even further was the fact that the downstairs neighbor was Sauvie’s landlord. He was renting an upstairs room in the Clackamas Tavern, just outside Oregon City. The Clackamas claimed to specialize in chicken dinners, but its real claim to secretive fame was as a speakeasy. Prohibition had started early in Oregon. Also, the wife-beating owner of the Clackamas was about as close to royalty as old Portland’s liquor industry had. His name was August Erickson — the former owner of the legendary Erickson’s Saloon, on Burnside downtown. (Portland, Multnomah and Clackamas county; 1880s, 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2506b.august-erickson-cautionary-tale-701.520.html)

One of the 20th Century’s most influential show-biz men, the Jacksonville native was a Beaver who made it big; he worked on Disney projects and Popeye cartoons and delighted kids as the first Bozo the Clown. (Jacksonville, Jackson County; 1900s, 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1310b-pinto-colvig-pioneer-animator-showbiz-legend.html)

The nationally notorious “Oregon Style” of newspapering involved vicious personal attacks and a take-no-prisoners style of cutting invective; but it was ink being spilled, not blood. That is, until one day in downtown Roseburg ... (Roseburg, Douglas County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1306e-bud-thompson-gunfighting-newsman.html)

His teachers may not have appreciated Mel Blanc's humor and talents, but Portland radio listeners sure did — and later, so did generations of Bugs Bunny fans. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1910s, 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1112c-voice-of-looney-toons-mel-blanc.html)

If it's true, the 11-ton space rock is still out there — and worth over $300 million. But the guy who says he found it was in financial trouble, and many geologists today suspect he made the whole thing up. (Port Orford, Curry County; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1112b-port-orford-meteorite-hoax-or-is-it-real.html)

A recording of an on-air conversation with Bill Lundun and Gerry Snyder of the Wake Up Call on Eugene's KPNW Radio AM 1120. Topic: James Lotan's path from political fixer, to state party president, to drug-smuggling kingpin. (For the full story, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2408a-1202d.james-lotan-opium-king-661.161.html)

There were, so far as we know, no survivors. But when the upside-down hulk drifted ashore, it was 200 miles off course — and there was no sign of the 40-pound keg of gold it had been carrying. What happened? Nobody knows. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1112a-missing-gold-makes-mystery-shipwreck-sinister.html)

Shorty Davis was a popular sheepman who one day in 1900 disappeared ... and no one has ever seen a sign of him since. Virtually everyone suspects foul play. (Prineville, Crook County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1901b.shorty-davis-coldest-cold-case-mystery-530.html)

It was no 'Heaven's Gate' -- 'The Way West' was more like the 'Ishtar' of the late 1960s. It was spectacularly and expensively shot on location in Oregon, but plans to celebrate its release here foundered in a tidal wave of scathing reviews. (Lane, Deschutes and Lake counties; 1966) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1901a.way-west-movie-spectacular-flop-529.html)

They pedaled their bicycles from Portland to Astoria, snuck aboard a wrecked ocean liner, and spent the night marooned on board, with breakers crashing all around them. (Peacock Spit, Pacific County (Wash.); 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1812d.admiral-benson-shipwreck-summer-vacation.html)

The city business leaders hoped the Shakespeare Festival would do OK, but just in case it tanked, they insisted that it share the stage with a series of prizefights. The boxing matches bombed badly; luckily, the Shakespeare plays did not. (Ashland, Josephine County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1704a.shakespeare-festival-vs-boxing.html)

Among musicians and fans of old-time string-band music, Benjamin Franklin Jarrell is basically royalty. As a member of one of the most influential bands from the golden age of old-time music — DaCosta Woltz’s Southern Broadcasters — old Ben helped preserve that classic Appalachian-mountain style of fiddle-and-banjo string bands. His son, Thomas Jefferson “Tommy” Jarrell, is maybe the most influential old-time fiddle player even today, 40 years after his death. In Oregon, though, in the years of Ben’s youth, he was a different kind of royalty. The newspapers called him “The King of the Moonshiners.” And by all accounts, anyone lucky enough to acquire a quart or two of his product had to agree that the title was his.... (Umatilla and Clatsop county; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2506a.ben-jarrell-king-of-moonshiners-700.519.html)

For more than 40 years, amateurs and pros alike have put forward dozens of theories, many quite plausible and backed with some evidence. But the story seems destined to remain a delicious historical mystery. (Statewide; 1970s, 1980s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1306d-db-cooper-part4-the-theories.html)

The hunt for the man who called himself Dan Cooper started just hours after he disappeared into the night sky with a bag of $20 bills tied to his waist. Did he get away? Did anyone find him? The search continues to this day. (Part 3 of 4 parts) (Portland, Multnomah County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1306c-db-cooper-part-3-the-hunt.html)

After demanding four parachutes and a knapsack of $20 bills, the legendary anonymous skyjacker disappeared into the night sky over southwest Washington with $200,000 — touching off a massive manhunt. (Part 2 of 4 parts) (Columbia River, Multnomah County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1306b-db-cooper-part-2-the-getaway.html)

History's only unsolved hijacking drama started at Portland International Airport when a nondescript man calling himself 'Dan Cooper' stepped aboard a Boeing 727 bound for Seattle. (Part 1 of a 4-part series) (Portland, Multnomah County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1306a-db-cooper-part-1-the-skyjacking.html)

A recording of an on-air conversation with Bill Lundun and Gerry Snyder of the Wake Up Call on Eugene's KPNW Radio AM 1120. Topic: The wonderful tall tales of Hathaway Jones, the legendary Rogue River Wilderness mailman who almost everyone agrees was Oregon's all-time greatest liar/storytller! (For the full story, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2406b.hathaway-jones-countrys-biggest-liar.html)

Ame died in 1874, more than 10 years after President Abraham Lincoln set her free. So, why does her gravestone still identify her as a slave? We'll probably never know. (Corvallis, Benton County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1110c-civil-war-didnt-end-slavery-for-oregon-woman-named-ame.html)

When the mercury dropped below 20 degrees for six weeks, a six-inch layer of ice formed on many Willamette Valley lakes — and locals took up ice skating. And five years earlier, it got so cold, a newly built steamship actually cracked in half. (Willamette Valley; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1705c.ice-skating-cottage-grove-lake-444.html)

Young cowboy David Tucker wanted a share of the loot so he could marry his sweetheart; after he got out of prison, he worked for decades to earn back the trust of both her and their community. (Joseph, Wallowa County; 1890s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1305d-former-bank-robber-named-vp-of-bank-he-robbed.html)

In the mid-1870s, a fast-talking East Coast hustler teamed up with a famous half-Native Indian scout to cash in on his fame with a line of dodgy faux-Indian patent remedies — and the Oregon Indian Medicine Co. was born. (Warm Springs Indian Reservation; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1812c.ka-ton-ka-donald-mckay-warm-springs-indian-medicine.html)

Forest Grove drugstore responded to city's ban on recreational alcohol by adopting the 'marijuana dispensary' model for medicinal booze, and opening a blind pig in the back. The city fathers were not amused, but when they tried to crack down, things did not go as they'd planned ... (Forest Grove, Washington County; 180s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1812b.drugstore-saloon-fight-forest-grove.html)

BY EARLY 1941, the U.S. Army knew it was about to get sucked into at least one of the wars that were already raging around the world. The Selective Service and Training Act had passed the previous fall, and already young American men were being drafted into the Army, swelling its ranks with green recruits. Sooner or not much later they’d be in combat, fighting for their lives. There was no time to be lost — those combat noobs had to be trained and hardened and prepared so that they would have as good a chance as possible when thrown into the fight. With that in mind, the Army started looking for suitable locations for a combat-training campus between Portland and San Francisco on the West Coast. It would need to be about 65,000 acres and, in addition to the usual building sites and gunnery ranges, it would have to include geography similar to the sites where the fighting was expected to happen: rolling hills, steep slopes, swampy terrain, thick forests, and something approximating jungle foliage. Moving very fast — after all, new conscripts were coming in all the time — the Army settled on two prospective sites: one near Eugene, and one just north of Corvallis. The Corvallis site won the toss — there were fewer residents to be displaced, and the railroad and highway infrastructure was more developed. That was in June 1941. By the end of that year, the funds were allocated and the plans drawn up, and nine months later Oregon’s second largest city had spring into being out of the swampy ground. (Camp Adair, Benton County; 1940s, 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2505b1004d.camp-adair-699.071.html)

Back when the Mazama Club formed, with membership open only to those who had climbed old Wy’East, standing on top of the mountain meant more than it does today. Just 35 years earlier, fire had been belching out of it. (Wy'East, Hood River and Clackamas County) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1705b.mount-hood-active-volcano-443.html)

At the scene of a notorious double-murder of young lovers Larry Peyton and Beverly Allan, police paid little attention to Edward W. Edwards and soon eliminated him as a suspect. But if they'd dug a little bit deeper ... (Portland, Multnomah County; 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1305a-peyton-allan-murders-manwiththehook.html)

Twenty years after he tried to light the surrounding forests on fire, Japanese pilot Nobuo Fujita returned to Brookings as an honored guest and presented the town with his family's Samurai sword. (Brookings, Curry County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1305c-japanese-pilot-fujita-friendship-with-brookings.html)

After World War II started, submariner and pilot Nobuo Fujita hatched an idea: Use his tiny, rickety submarine-launched seaplane to attack an enemy 5,000 miles away from the nearest aircraft carrier. (Brookings, Curry County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1305b-fujita-bombs-oregon.html)

A recording of a June 2024 on-air conversation with Bill Lundun and Gerry Snyder of the Wake Up Call on Eugene's KPNW Radio AM 1120. Topic: 'Bobbie the Wonder Dog's' 2,500-mile odyssey. Lost in Illinois, the affable collie crossed the Rocky Mountains on foot in the dead of winter, making friends along the way and causing a sensation upon his arrival home again. (For the full story, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2406a-1101a.silverton-bobbie-the-wonder-dog-104.652.html)

THERE WAS NO reason why the U.S. Marshal should spend the night on board the cramped, smelly little freight schooner he was in charge of. After all, the ship was anchored in a semi-civilized town — Steilacoom, near Tacoma in the Washington territory — and there were several decent hotels there. The next day he’d have a few hours’ cruise to Seattle, where the ship would be sold to pay the debts of its owner, Captain James “Jemmy” Jones — who was, by a happy coincidence, locked up in a jailhouse over 100 miles away. Or so he thought. Actually he was much closer. In fact, as the marshal stepped off the deck of the little freighter and walked off toward his comfy hotel bed, there is a pretty good chance Jemmy Jones actually waved a cheerful goodbye to him as he left. THE WHOLE SITUATION stemmed from a near-death experience Jemmy and his crew had had the previous year, while crossing over the dreaded Columbia River Bar in his ship.... (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2503e1110b.jemmy-jones-rascally-captain-695.143.html)