Heroes and rascals, shipwrecks and lost gold

Welcome to Offbeat Oregon History, a public-history resource for the state we love. This is our anchor page. From here, you can directly access ...

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<< older: 2012 articles | newer >>


No.	Date:	Headline	Thumbnail	Area
224	March 3, 2013	Early anti-prostitution crusade was an embarrassing fizzle Well-meaning church congregations banded together to offer "wayward girls and fallen women" a place to get away from their profession — but it turned out most of them didn't really want to leave it. At least, not in the middle of the busy season. *To play podcast version:*		•Portland
223	Feb. 24, 2013	A deadly maritime concert of timidity and incompetence The wreck of the steamship Czarina: A cascade of bad decisions by nearly everyone involved resulted in the worst possible outcome: 23 mariners slowly dying in the surf as friends and family members watched from the beach. *To play podcast version:*		•Coos Bay spit
222	Feb. 17, 2013	“Camp Castaway” was an inconvenient miracle Feeling lucky to be alive, the soldiers and sailors of the shipwrecked schooner Captain Lincoln got busy salvaging everything off their stranded ship. But then the Army had a problem: How were they going to retrieve it? *To play podcast version:*		•Coos Bay, Horsfall Beach
221	Feb. 9, 2013	First public execution in Portland still surrounded with mystery Danford Balch got drunk and shotgunned his new son-in-law on the deck of the Stark Street Ferry. Official records tell part of the story. But the real story can only be guessed at — and some of the guesses are sinister indeed. *To play podcast version:*		•Portland, East Portland, Albina
220	Feb. 2, 2013	Mill owner's fight with city sparked anti-Japanese riot It's an event remembered with some shame in Oregon: A group of innocent, terrified men and women found themselves at the mercy of an angry mob, pawns in a power struggle between a mill owner and a group of townspeople. *To play podcast version:*		•Toledo
219	Jan. 27, 2013	Radical Wobblies found support among Oregon loggers Industrial Workers of the World union grew strong in the woods just before the First World War broke out — and the U.S. Army had to teach soldiers to cut timber to get the industry moving again. *To play podcast version:*		•Toledo-Yaquina Bay area, Lincoln County
218	Jan. 20, 2013	In Great War, Allies flew planes made of Oregon spruce Famous First World War aircraft were made of spruce, and one of the most important sources of the strategic wood was the town of Toledo on the northern Oregon coast. *To play podcast version:*		•Toledo-Yaquina Bay area, Lincoln County
217	Jan. 13, 2013	Gun-toting “Oregon Wildcat” was America’s first “shock jock” Robert Gordon Duncan was the first radio broadcaster ever to be sent to prison for cursing on the air. For the first six months of 1930, the entire city was riveted to his radio show, wondering who he'd slander next. To play podcast version:		•Portland
216	Jan. 6, 2013	Larry Sullivan's internationally notorious shanghaiing syndicate The legendary Portland and Astoria “boarding master” sparked several international incidents when he figured out how to shake the ship captains down, foiling their plan to stiff their sailors for the journey's wages. (Part 2 of 2) To play podcast version:		•Portland, Astoria

<< older: 2012 articles | newer >>

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Heroes and rascals, shipwrecks and lost gold

No.

Date:

Headline

Thumbnail

Area

224

March 3, 2013

Well-meaning church congregations banded together to offer "wayward girls and fallen women" a place to get away from their profession — but it turned out most of them didn't really want to leave it. At least, not in the middle of the busy season.

To play podcast version:

•Portland

223

Feb. 24, 2013

The wreck of the steamship Czarina: A cascade of bad decisions by nearly everyone involved resulted in the worst possible outcome: 23 mariners slowly dying in the surf as friends and family members watched from the beach.

To play podcast version:

•Coos Bay spit

222

Feb. 17, 2013

Feeling lucky to be alive, the soldiers and sailors of the shipwrecked schooner Captain Lincoln got busy salvaging everything off their stranded ship. But then the Army had a problem: How were they going to retrieve it?

To play podcast version:

•Coos Bay, Horsfall Beach

221

Feb. 9, 2013

Danford Balch got drunk and shotgunned his new son-in-law on the deck of the Stark Street Ferry. Official records tell part of the story. But the real story can only be guessed at — and some of the guesses are sinister indeed.

To play podcast version:

•Portland, East Portland, Albina

220

Feb. 2, 2013

It's an event remembered with some shame in Oregon: A group of innocent, terrified men and women found themselves at the mercy of an angry mob, pawns in a power struggle between a mill owner and a group of townspeople.

To play podcast version:

•Toledo

219

Jan. 27, 2013

Industrial Workers of the World union grew strong in the woods just before the First World War broke out — and the U.S. Army had to teach soldiers to cut timber to get the industry moving again.

To play podcast version:

•Toledo-Yaquina Bay area, Lincoln County

218

Jan. 20, 2013

Famous First World War aircraft were made of spruce, and one of the most important sources of the strategic wood was the town of Toledo on the northern Oregon coast.

To play podcast version:

•Toledo-Yaquina Bay area, Lincoln County

217

Jan. 13, 2013

Robert Gordon Duncan was the first radio broadcaster ever to be sent to prison for cursing on the air. For the first six months of 1930, the entire city was riveted to his radio show, wondering who he'd slander next.

To play podcast version:

•Portland

216

Jan. 6, 2013

The legendary Portland and Astoria “boarding master” sparked several international incidents when he figured out how to shake the ship captains down, foiling their plan to stiff their sailors for the journey's wages. (Part 2 of 2)

To play podcast version:

•Portland, Astoria

Feb. 24,
2013

Feb. 17,
2013

Feb. 9,
2013

Feb. 2,
2013

Jan. 27,
2013

Jan. 20,
2013

Jan. 13,
2013

Jan. 6,
2013