[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2005-10-05

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1.  Three groups receive national preservation awards
2.  Register now for the Cultural Summit
3.  Grants available for NAGPRA efforts
4.  Trace The Trail starts Oregon journey events Oct. 16


THREE GROUPS RECEIVE NATIONAL PRESERVATION AWARDS

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has included three Oregon organizations among its 22 winners of the 2005 National Preservation Awards. They include the Umpqua Community Develop Corp. of Roseburg,  the Bosco-Milligan Foundation or Portland, and the Oregon Department of Transportation for its Historic Bridge Program.

The National Preservation Awards are annually bestowed on individuals, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and corporations whose skill and determination have given new meaning to their communities through preservation of our architectural and cultural heritage. These efforts include citizen attempts to save and maintain important landmarks; companies and craftsmen whose work restores the richness of the past; the vision of public officials who support preservation projects and legislation in their communities; and educators and journalists who help Americans understand the value of preservation. 

In 2001, Umpqua CDC acquired the 90-year-old Grand Hotel, which had once been a focal point in downtown Roseburg. Putting the long-vacant building back in use was a challenge, especially when its sagging core had to be raised a full six inches.  Today, the renovated Grand provides 37 apartments for low- and moderate-income residents. The rebirth of the Grand spurred additional reinvestment that links downtown to the Mill Pine Historic District, where Umpqua has renovated 25 older houses. The City of Roseburg has contracted with Umpqua to develop a master plan for redevelopment of the city’s long-neglected waterfront. In addition, the CDC is turning a vacant school into a community center in the nearby town of Oakland, and tackling the rehabilitation of another historic hotel for commercial space and 29 affordable housing units in the community of North Bend

The Bosco-Milligan Foundation was founded by two self-taught craftsmen who envisioned a place for people to learn about preserving historic buildings. Alarmed by the number of landmarks falling to the wrecking ball, Jerry Bosco and Ben Milligan, owners of a restoration business, started salvaging irreplaceable pieces of countless historic structures in the Portland area. Over a 25-year period, the partners amassed a collection of architectural artifacts – otherwise destined for landfills – totaling 40,000 square feet. In 1987, Bosco and Milligan, both terminally ill and anxious to find a permanent place for these artifacts, established the Bosco-Milligan Foundation.  Today, the Architectural Heritage Center is a reality and the Foundation’s education programs have served nearly 37,000 people through 192 programs. The center contains exhibit space, classrooms, a workshop, various collections, storage and a research library with rare volumes that date back to 1880. 

In the 1980s, the Oregon Department of Transportation recognized that many historic bridges along the Oregon Coast Highway, the Historic Columbia River Highway, and in the Portland metropolitan area were deteriorating in ways that conventional methods could not control. Eventually, the spectacular beauty of the McCullough Bridge and the fear that it would be lost to corrosion damage compelled ODOT to make a fundamental change in its approach to historic bridges. The department identified more than 1,000 pre-1941 bridges through a comprehensive inventory of its older bridges, and deemed 145 eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. As a result of the study, ODOT began to restore, rather than replace, these bridges. The agency took a dramatic step forward in historic bridge preservation by developing and employing state-of-the-art methods to halt the ocean-induced damage to these structures, restoring them to their original condition, and defending them from future corrosion damage. The program was extended inland. The work continues with a program to preserve the pre-World War I steel trusses and reinforced-concrete bridges that are a part of the Columbia River Highway National Historic Landmark District and bridges along the Willamette River in Portland. 

For more information about the awards, visit www.nthp.org


REGISTER NOW FOR THE CULTURAL TRUST SUMMIT

The Oregon Cultural Trust will convene the 2005 statewide Cultural Summit for arts, heritage and humanities leaders, supporters, and advocates on Oct. 21 at the Portland Art Museum.  The day-long summit will include keynote speakers, advocacy forums, informative break-out sessions, networking opportunities, and in depth information on how cultural organizations can utilize the Oregon Cultural Trust as a tool for their own fund raising and development needs.

Early registration is encouraged. Register on-line at www.regonline.com/82713

"We are excited to hold an event that celebrates the Trust's accomplishments over the past three years and demonstrates how culture is making a difference in all areas of Oregon," said Trust Manager Jim Cox.  The summit will include: updates on the Oregon Cultural Trust; luncheon and keynote speaker Ben Cameron of the Theatre Communications Group; break-out sessions on topics ranging from cultural advocacy, cultural tourism, development and marketing and others; in-depth information on how cultural organizations can use the Oregon Cultural Trust as a tool for fund raising and development purposes; a forum on best practices for members of Oregon's county and tribal cultural coalitions; opportunities to experience the newly installed galleries of the Mark Wing of the Portland Art Museum as well as exhibits at the Oregon Historical Society; and a closing event at the Oregon Historical Society.

The summit will be held from 9 a.m.-6 p.m at the Portland Art Museum, Mark Wing [formerly the North Wing],  1219 SW Park Ave., Portland. There is a registration fee. More information about the Oregon Cultural Trust is available at www.culturaltrust.org


GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR NAGPRA EFFORTS

The National Park Service invites proposals for Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) grants. NAGPRA is a federal law passed in 1990 that provides a process for museums and federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items -- human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony -- to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations. 

The NAGPRA program administers grants that can assist Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages and corporations, Native Hawaiian organizations, and museums in carrying out projects associated with NAGPRA compliance. Two types of grants are available: consultation/documentation and repatriation. 

To learn more, visit http://www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra/grants. For more information, call Michelle Joan Wilkinson at (202) 354-2203, email NAGPRA_Grants at nps.gov, or write: 
National NAGPRA Program Grants, National Park Service, 1201 Eye St., NW,  (8th Floor) 2253 , Washington, DC 20005 


TRACE THE TRAIL STARTS OREGON JOURNEY EVENTS OCT. 16

“Trace the Trail”, which ties nearly to the day the arrival of the Lewis and Clark expedition 200 years ago, is scheduled for the morning of Oct. 16. This unique event will be held at Hat Rock State Park, located nine miles east of Umatilla on Highway 730.

The day begins at 8 a.m. with a launching ceremony for a flotilla of canoes and kayaks traveling by water to Irrigon. Members of the Northwest Discovery Water Trail Steering Committee will lead the flotilla. Leaders from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will send the flotilla on its way.

A Living History Village will be open from 8:30 a.m. to Noon. The village will replicate rendezvous scenes during the era of Lewis & Clark. Programming, coordinated by the Oregon 
Parks and Recreation Department, will focus on the significant roles the early fur traders and trappers had on Lewis and Clark’s journey. As in a traditional rendezvous, tribal members will participate, representing the key role area tribes played in the success of the Corp of Discovery’s journey through the region.

Visitors will also have an opportunity to take guided hikes along the Umatilla County Lewis & Clark Commemorative Trail. Hikes will leave the park at regular intervals. Those interested in hiking should plan to check in at the information table. They should also bring water, snacks and dress for the weather.

Following the events of the morning, people are encouraged to travel to Irrigon where they can join the Morrow County Heritage Day festivities. At 2 p.m. participants can watch the flotilla disembark at Irrigon’s Riverfront Park.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are sponsors of "Trace the Trail." Umatilla County Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Steering Committee and the Northwest Discovery Water Trail Steering Committee are event hosts. For more information contact Kathy Ferge at 541/376-8251.
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Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission, which can be contacted at heritage.info at state.or.us