A MAIL CARRIER’S RESILIENCE

A MAIL CARRIER’S RESILIENCE

Perhaps resilience can best describe how pioneers met with their everyday challenges and experiences. Such was the case for mail carriers in the Siuslaw Valley during the early1900’s. They were fearless individuals who traversed rough trails often during severe...
JAMES OSCAR RICH, A Railroad Tragedy

JAMES OSCAR RICH, A Railroad Tragedy

The attempt to reveal stories that touch our lives and connect us to history begins and ends with research. Along the way, it’s the discovery through research that we gain a sense of those bygone days and what life was like for the people who lived it. Our Museum’s...
FLOOR LOOM

FLOOR LOOM

A FLOOR LOOM DEMONSTRATION On the second floor in Jean’s Sewing Room, I was recently introduced to a 1951 wooden floor loom. To the unfamiliar, (such as myself), it commands attention as the largest display in the room. Each of the 528 parallel warp threads are...
NORTH FORK CHEESE FACTORY

NORTH FORK CHEESE FACTORY

CHEESE, PLEASE Sometimes it can be the one thing or experience that makes all the difference. Such can be said in the case of Jesse Lee Houghton, who found his calling in cheese. In 1890, at 20 years old with an eighth-grade education, he found work as a helper in a...
DAVID L. MUNSELL

DAVID L. MUNSELL

Popular Munsel Lake and Munsel Creek are named after an early settler to the Siuslaw area. David Munsell (often spelled Munsel) was born in 1824 in Ohio and is said to have crossed the plains in 1847. Records show he spent time on a donation claim on the Clatsop...
A 1952 RHODY PRINCESS AND HER PRINCE

A 1952 RHODY PRINCESS AND HER PRINCE

  JOYCE AND WILLIE WORNSTAFF With the upcoming 117th year of the Rhododendron celebration, it was an ideal time to visit and chat with a 1952 Rhody Princess. At first, the thought for this story was to capture the experience of becoming a Rhody Princess. However, soon...