[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2008-09-16

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1.  Coast Guard gives Ostermiller its highest award
2.  Columbia history group to host talks
3.  House-reading event to take place in Newport
4.  Geer farm to host history evenings


COAST GUARD GIVES OSTERMILLER ITS HIGHEST AWARD

The U.S. Coast Guard has given Columbia River Maritime Museum executive
director Jerry Ostermiller its highest civilian honors aside from
life-saving awards.  Vice Admiral Vivien Crea, vice commandant of the
Coast Guard and the highest ranking woman in U.S. military history,
presented Ostermiller the Distinguished Public Service Award in Astoria
last week.

The award recognizes Ostermiller for his support of local Coast Guard
units and his efforts to preserve and promote the agency's national
heritage. "His personal touch shines through in exceptional displays
that honor the Coast Guard," said Capt. Peter Troedsson, commander of
Coast Guard Group Astoria. The award also credits Ostermiller's
leadership in developing a high-quality maritime museum in the Pacific
Northwest.

Ostermiller, a former member of the Oregon Heritage Commission, is also
a past president of the Council of American Maritime Museums.


COLUMBIA HISTORY GROUP TO HOST TALKS

The Center for Columbia River History will feature speakers Sept. 18 in
Kennewick and Sept. 24 in Vancouver.

"Drowned Towns: Inundating Hover, Washington and Detroit, Oregon, 1953"
will be presented at 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at the East Benton County
Historical Society. Robert Reinhardt, the center's 2007 Castles Fellow,
will talk about how Hover residents reacted to the destruction of their
community in the late 1940s, and compare the community response to that
of the citizens of Detroit, another inundated town of the same era.  Out
of these stories Reinhardt contributes a better understanding of Cold
War culture, community, and the fates of these two drowned towns, long
hidden under dark reservoir waters. Photographs, paintings, and other
images will supplement the lecture. 

At 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24, the Center for Columbia River History will host
writer Jack Nisbet as he presents an illustrated talk about the historic
Columbia River Country. The presentation, **A Well-Dressed Man
Leaped Ashore*: Tracking culture and place through David Thompson*s
Eyes,* will be held on the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. 
Nisbet is the author of "Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson
across Western North America." The talk will take place at E.B. Hamilton
Hall, Red Cross Building, at 605 Barnes Road on the Vancouver National
Historic Reserve.

For more information, contact program manager Donna Sinclair at
360-258-3289 or info at ccrh.org or www.ccrh.org 


HOUSE-READING EVENT TO TAKE PLACE IN NEWPORT

Diana Coogle will explore "Reading Houses: What Architecture Tells Us
About Ourselves," at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Carriage House in
Newport. The free program will be part of the annual meeting of the
Lincoln County Historical Society. 

Coogle has been a commentator for Jefferson Public Radio since she
began broadcasting in 1981. Her first book of collected commentaries,
"Fire from the Dragon*s Tongue", was a finalist in the 1999 Oregon Book
Awards. She has also taught writing at the University of Oregon, Rogue
Community College, and Gothenburg University in Sweden.

The Lincoln County Historical Society, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history of the
central coast, administers the Burrows House and Log Cabin museums, at
545 SW Ninth St.  For more information, call 541-265-7509.


GEER FARM TO HOST HISTORY EVENINGS

The GeerCrest Foundation Historic GeerCrest Farm, near Silverton, will
offer an evening of history at the Historic GeerCrest Farm near
Silverton with a traditional home cooked meal on Sept. 20 and Sept. 27. 
GeerCrest Farm, founded in 1847 remains in the original family.  It was
home to the first native born Oregon governor (T.T.
Geer 1899-1903) and Silverton's own Homer Davenport.  The 1851 farm
house and 1880 stone fruit cellar are on the National Register of
Historic Places and the 'Riding
Whip Tree' out front is an Oregon Heritage Tree.  The evening will
feature an introductory talk about the farm's history, a farm tour, the
dinner, and a speaker after dinner.  For reservations, call Erika Toler
at (503) 873-3406 or e-mail erika-ursula at earthlink.net.
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