Oregon150

The McGee-Wilcox Family 1853-1864 of Douglas County, Oregon

Pat Kennedy
Douglas county OR

by Pat Wilcox-Kennedy
Medford, OR
On Tuesday, 15 March 1859, at 4:30 in the morning, the steamer Brother Jonathan arrived from San Francisco bringing the news of the admission of Oregon as a state of the Union. The bill for admission of the state had passed Congress and received the signature of the President Buchanan, on [...]

War Work on the Oregon Coast in 1943

Jayne Walters Latvala
Seaside, Oregon

The following excerpt is from a letter written by Oregon State College alumna, Jayne Walters Latvala, to Elaine Kollins Sewell, editor of the Oregon State Yank. This letter is part of the Oregon State Yank Collection in the Oregon State University Archives.

Seaside, Oregon
24 November 1943
Dear Elaine–
From my typing, you’re probably wondering what kind of [...]

Mrs. Klein’s Class Celebrates Oregon’s 100th Birthday

Toni Nelson
Portland, Multnomah County

by Toni Nelson
Vancouver, WA

This photo shows the class of Mrs. Klein who taught a split grade 3-4 class at James John Elementary School in Portland Public Schools. As part of the centennial celebration, we studied Oregon’s history, made paper bonnets (see one tacked to the board), and dressed in pioneer clothing to the best [...]

Mabel’s Journal

Alison Mae Lasher
Oregon

MABEL’S JOURNAL
A short story by Alison Mae Lasher, age 10, inspired by the diaries of her great-
grandmother’s aunt, Mabel F. O’Brian, who immigrated to Oregon in 1892.
February 12, 1892, Leon, Kansas
Dear Journal,
Pa got home from Oregon. It’s a wonderful land. Ma said, “I suppose we have to
pack. We’re going west.” I’m excited to go on [...]

How My Family Came to Oregon

Linnea Wittekind
Tillamook, OR

Linnea Wittekind
My ancestor/great-great-great-great-grandpa James Fremont Reheer moved with his wife and 10 children to Oregon from Kansas in April, 1887. They first arrived in Portland by train and stayed until October, 1887, when the lure of trees caused them to move to Tillamook, Oregon. That next summer (1888), they decided that they would go 25 [...]