[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2007-03-08

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1. Presentations slated at Champoeg, The Dalles, and Portland
2. 'Stregthening the Fabric' is Heritage Conference theme
3. Gill starts as coordinator for historic cemeteries
4.  Concert, spinning wheels set for Aurora area


PRESENTATIONS SLATED AT CHAMPOEG, THE DALLES, PORTLAND

Heritage presentations will be made March 10 in several Oregon cities.

The Civilian Conservation Corps' impact on the landscape of Oregon
state parks will be discussed at 10 a.m. at the Architectural Heritage
Center, 701 SE Grand Ave., Portland. Mark Davision, a landscape
architect with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, will review
his findings about the federal public works program that resulted in
rustic lodges, bathrooms and picnic shelters in the parks, and other
impacts on park landscapes. For information and registration, visit
http://www.visitahc.org/educationprograms.html 

The Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society will listen at 1:30 p.m. to a
presentation by Karen Polehn of Polehn of Polehn Farms.  She will speak
on the history of the Wasco County Farm Bureau and share her Farm Bureau
scrapbooks. The presentation will take place in the lower level meeting
room of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles.  The
Discovery Center can be reached by exiting I-84  at  Exit 82 and
following the road signs to that facility.   For further information
contact Helen Dixon at 541-354-3244 in Hood River or Sandy Bisset at
541-298-1240.  

Barbara Bernstein, an award-winning public radio documentarian, will
present at 2 p.m. "Rivers That Were" at Champoeg State Heritage Area.
This free public program, funded by the Oregon Council for the
Humanities and sponsored by Friends of Historic Champoeg, explains the
interconnectivity of the entire watershed.  Through lecture, discussion,
audio clips and a slide show, Bernstein will recreate the landscapes,
wildlife and cultures that once flourished throughout the Columbia River
Basin. Friends of Historic Champoeg is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to interpreting and sharing the natural and cultural history
of Champoeg State Heritage Area.  This event is free with the purchase
of a parking permit.  For more information, contact Kim at 503-678-1649
or kim at champoeg.org.


'STRENGTHENING THE FABRIC' IS HERITAGE CONFERENCE THEME

The 2007 Oregon Heritage Conference will take place May 3-5 in
Pendleton with a theme of "Strengthening the Fabric of Oregon
Heritage."
 
"Pendleton has a sense of history and heritage so palpable, you can
feel it on the streets," said one recent visitor, professor Donald Snow.
The 2007 Oregon Heritage Conference will capture that sense with
workshops, walking tours, speakers, seminars and meetings at heritage
sites in and around Pendleton and at the conference hotel.
 
The  Umatilla County Historical Society and its Heritage Station
Museum, along with the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, are helping to
plan conference activities. The Oregon Museums Association has joined
the Oregon Heritage Commission in sponsoring the conference, with
assistance from the Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries, the State
Historic Preservation Office, the Northwest Archivists, the State
Historic Records Advisory Board, the Oregon Cultural Trust, and the
Northwest Oral History Association.
 
There will be workshops on oral history, archives and archives
management, and historic cemetery care. There will be presentations and
panels on grants and grantwriting, the Main Street community
re-development program, heritage product marketing, and other heritage
topics. The Friday evening banquet will include the presentation of the
first Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards.
 
Further details on the conference, including the conference hotel, will
be posted at the conference website. If you are interested in making a
presentation at the conference or assisting in other ways, contact Kyle
Jansson at 503-986-0673 or heritage.info at state.or.us 


GILL STARTS AS COORDINATOR OF HISTORIC CEMETERIES

Kuri Gill has started work as the Historic Cemeteries Program
Coordinator with the Heritage Programs Division of Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department. She is looking forward to working with the Oregon
Commission on Historic Cemeteries, ORPD staff and the public to preserve
and enhance Oregon*s historic cemeteries. 

Gill grew up in Oregon, traveling in around the state. She is familiar
with regional history and credits her early travels with her interest in
heritage preservation. She holds a Master*s Degree in Museum Studies
from California State University, Chico. She began her Oregon museum
career at Linn County Historical Museum, in Brownsville. For the last
six years, she served as Curator and Education Coordinator at Mission
Mill Museum in Salem where she gained experience in building and
structure preservation. 

She hopes to create an immediate and long range plan for the program
including continuing to document historic cemeteries and to provide
useful, quality resources for those who are preserving, interpreting and
promoting historic cemeteries. The next Oregon Commission on Historic
Cemeteries meeting will take place on March 23 in Salem. For information
or input, contact Kuri at Kuri.Gill at state.or.us or (503) 986-0685.


CONCERT, SPINNING WHEELS SET FOR AURORA AREA

An Aurora Colony Historical Society brass band will present a concert
March 25 of music created more than 100 years ago by members of the
Aurora Colony.  This music was recently re-discovered, and the
historical society has been working hard to preserve this music as part
of Oregon*s heritage.  The historical society wants to have this music
in Oregon*s schools and community bands in time for Oregon*s 150th
birthday celebration.  The Aurora Colony Brass Band's performance,
including musicians from the Oregon Symphony, will conducted by Dr. John
Richards.

The concert begins at 2 p.m. at the Butteville Community Church, 10858
Arndt Road NE, Butteville.  To reserve tickets or get additional
information, call 503-678-5754, or email info at auroracolonymuseum.com
This project is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Heritage
Commission.
 
The 25th Annual Antique Spinning Wheel Showcase will feature over 30
working antique spinning wheels exhibited by their owners March 10-11 at
the Old Aurora Colony Museum, Second and Liberty streets, Aurora.  These
wheels are all in working condition.  The spinner working at each wheel
will be dressed in period costume and will be available to tell the
story of their wheel. The showcase will take place 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday.
 
Live animals will be on display in the Museum*s tie shed.  Coffee and
cookies will be served in the 1869 Steinbach Log Cabin.
 
The Aurora Colony Handspinners* Guild and The Aurora Colony Historical
Society sponsor the 25th Annual Spinning Wheel Showcase.  For more
information, call Kathy Putnam at 503-238-0096.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission,
which can be contacted at heritage.info at state.or.us