Ashland Mills celebrates a peaceful Christmas in 1859
When Oregon became a state in 1859, Ashland Mills — today’s Ashland, Ore. — had a lumber mill and a flour mill and only a scattering of homes on donated land claims.There was no church, but the town...
View ArticleAs It Was: Hilt robbery netted $150 and a $1,500 diamond ring
Victor Eugene “Slim” Warrens knew how to run a profitable saloon and he was fond of diamonds. He didn’t take kindly to being robbed.On Saturday night, Nov. 16, 1912, when two masked robbers entered...
View ArticleRogue Valley women formed Colony Club in 1911
The orchardists of Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley had their men’s club in Medford. The women gathered at the Nash Hotel until they formed their own Colony Club in 1911.After meeting in several...
View ArticleCrater Lake's Munson Valley named after ill-fated physician
The Crater Lake National Park headquarters is nestled in a deep depression known as Munson Valley. Other features of the park include Munson Springs, Munson Creek, Munson Point and Munson Ridge, all...
View ArticleOnly the name persists of Persists, Ore.
In 1883, William and Irene Willits homesteaded nearly 500 acres in the mountains above Elk Creek in Jackson County, Oregon. They had both been teachers, but liked the idea of living far from their...
View ArticleRogue Valley got a white Christmas
A contributing writer for the As It Was radio series, Luana Corbin, recalls that as a child growing up in the Rogue Valley she had always wished for a white Christmas. Each year as the holiday grew...
View ArticleAs It Was: Barns and troughs served as 1880's billboards
Barns and watering troughs served as billboards in the 1880s, proof that advertising was as much a part of life in those days as railroading and road building.Advertising crews traveled stage roads in...
View ArticleWoman describes six-day road trip to California in 1922
Sixty-nine years after it happened, Marjorie H. Gardner described a road trip in 1922 from Eugene, Oregon, to San Francisco, California. Her family drove a Willys-Overland automobile and a Hupmobile,...
View ArticleEarly maps show towns that no longer exist
On the wall of the 1912 Sunset Schoolhouse in Fort Rock, Ore., is an Oregon map from the 1920s. It shows the major towns of Ashland and Medford along the Oregon and California Railroad line through the...
View ArticleEven detractors at times praised Joaquin Miller's work
Many critics of the flamboyant Western dress and extravagant poetry of Joaquin Miller have also recognized his enthusiasm and contribution to Western literature.A contemporary detractor, author Ambrose...
View ArticleInner Peace: Be mindful and meditate
The ultimate value of life depends uponawareness and the power of contemplation.— AristotleAs you read these words, take a deep breath and begin to notice the sensations as you exhale. Feel the air as...
View ArticleSpirituality found in cleaning up
As a teenager and even into my mid-20s my bedroom typically looked like a tornado had hit it. Shirts and pants lay in sad, crumpled heaps. Shoes and socks were separated from their matching...
View ArticleStudying the past to understand the future
Spirituality and religion are important to American life; 97 percent of adults claim one, the other or both. Scholars define spirituality as a generalized belief in a transcendent or emergent...
View ArticleInner Peace: I trust you, Karim Sulayman
Here we are: Christmas Eve and Hanukkah 2016. For seven years this column has focused on peace, inner and outer; open mindedness in a tolerant, judgment-free zone where many contributors have shared...
View ArticleThe art of giving thanks in the new year
‘Tis the season of friends, family, pumpkins, nog, a new year, giving and feasting. I call it the "High Holidays." I’ve been at many a holiday table when before the meal we went around the table and...
View ArticleInner Peace: Bearing witness to a divine presence
Recently I was asked an intriguing question: “ How does Divine presence show up in your life?" The veil between this existence and the hereafter becomes most transparent for me when I accompany one who...
View ArticleInner Peace: The insidious nature of marginalization
There are many polarizing issues in our society. They deal with politics, religion, abortion etc. The result of these intractable views has led to human discomfort and tragedy. These conflicts are in...
View ArticleTrue righteousness (peacefulness and love) and true patriotism
Believing that one’s political views are the only correct ones is being righteous. When one feels the need to convince others that this is the only correct viewpoint, it is arrogance.Therefore, two...
View ArticleNext time, reach for the music
Many people know that listening to music can lower blood pressure, slow heart rate, deepen breathing, lessen pain, reduce stress and generally improve one’s sense of well-being. Such documentary films...
View ArticleActivating the inner spirit leads to true freedom
I want you to imagine two apples — one is sour and the other is sweet. They both have seeds in the middle which represents core beliefs. You came on this planet to learn and become smarter, learning to...
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