[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2009-03-11

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1.  Pulitzer Prize winner to keynote Extravaganza
2.  Plans for new Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site progress
3.  Corvallis, Eugene buildings added to National Register
4.  Presentations scheduled for Astoria, Madras


PULITZER PRIZE WINNER TO KEYNOTE EXTRAVAGANZA

Native American scholar, author and poet N. Scott Momaday is scheduled
to present the keynote address April 17 at the Northwest History and
Heritage Extravaganza.  Momaday has been referred to as *the dean of
American Indian writers.* He crafts * in language and imagery *
majestic landscapes of a sacred culture.

Momaday has strong interests in Native American art and oral tradition.
His books have been translated into seven languages. He is the first
Native American to be awarded the Pulitzer for his novel "House Made of
Dawn." He was given the 2007 National Medal of Arts for *introducing
millions worldwide to the essence of Native American culture.* His
other awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship and the *Mondello,*
Italy*s highest literary honor. His other works include The Way to
Rainy Mountain, The Names: A Memoir, The Ancient Child and a new
collection, Three Plays, which celebrates Kiowa history and culture.

Momaday's presentation is made possible by the Oregon Council for the
Humanities, the Oregon Commission for the Arts, the Oregon Historical
Society, the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, and the Oregon
Heritage Commission, using contributions made to the Oregon Cultural
Trust.

The Northwest History and Heritage Extravaganza, includes the 2009
Oregon Heritage Conference, the Pacific Northwest History Conference and
the annual meetings of the Northwest Archivists and the Northwest Oral
History Association. It will take place April 15-18 in Portland.

Complete Extravaganza information, including details about the
conference content, registration and lodging, is available at
http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/OHC/Conference.shtml


PLANS FOR NEW IWETEMLAYKIN STATE HERITAGE SITE PROGRESS

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department*s (OPRD) plan to open the
new Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site, formerly known as the Marr Ranch
property, in 2009 is moving ahead with a recent boost from Wallowa
County.

An approval for conditional use of the 62-acre property south of Joseph
was received from the Wallowa County Planning Commission Feb. 24. An
OPRD public hearing on an Oregon Administrative Rule adoption for the
site*s master plan is coming next. The hearing is scheduled March 25
in Enterprise. A full draft of the plan is on the OPRD website
(<http://egov.oregon.gov/OPRD>; click on Planning, then on Marr Ranch
Property under Master Draft Plans).

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission approved Iwetemlaykin
(pronounced *ee weh TEMM lye kinn*) State Heritage Site as the
park*s official name during a Jan. 29 meeting, honoring a request
from the Confedeated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Nez
Perce Tribe, and Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The
name, which translates to *at the edge of the lake,* commemorates
the traditional Indian reference to the Wallowa Lake basin area.
Regarded by the tribes as sacred ground, the park land overlooks a
grassland moraine north of Wallowa Lake.

Northeast District Manager Jim Hutton said OPRD will begin work this
year on an interpretive plan for the heritage site, which many
historians consider the starting point of the Nee-Me-Poo National
Historic Trail. Themes in the plan will focus on the land*s importance
to the tribes, interpret its natural history and recognize its more
recent use as a ranch under several owners.

Wallowa County and the Oregon Department of Transportation are working
with OPRD on the design of trails, a trailhead, restrooms and highway
access for the site. OPRD*s lottery-supported Facility Investment
Program is funding the $280,000 project. Construction is due to be
completed by September.

*We*re grateful for the interest and support of our master plan
advisory committee,* said OPRD Planning Manager Kathy Schutt. *This
effort has been, and will continue to be, a partnership between our
department and local governments, the tribes, the National Parks Service
and interested local citizens.* 


CORVALLIS, EUGENE BUILDINGS ADDED TO NATIONAL REGISTER

The Whiteside Theatre in Corvallis and South Eugene*s Boyer House
have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Constructed in 1922 by brothers Samuel and George Whiteside in the
heart of Corvallis*s commercial core, the Whiteside Theatre was listed
in the National Register of Historic Places for its distinctive design
as a movie palace in the Italian Renaissance style of architecture.
Designed to seat over 1,100 patrons when it opened, the Whiteside
Theatre reflected national trends in both architecture and entertainment
for a movie palace at the time, including the use of triple-inset arched
windows on the building*s front facade and ornate interior decoration.
Although the theatre suffered two fires during its early years, the
Whiteside family continued operation of the theatre until 1985. The only
major alteration made to the building, a large neon marquee, was added
in 1950.

Constructed in 1927 in the South University Neighborhood, the Clarence
and Ethel Boyer House was listed in the National Register as a striking
example of the Georgian Colonial Revival style of architecture in
Eugene. Although in a neighborhood with other Colonial Revival houses,
the Boyer House embodies the Georgian Colonial Revival style with its
accentuated front door, symmetrical brick facade, paired double-hung
windows, steep roof, and tall chimneys. Supposedly reminiscent of the
Governor*s Palace at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, the Boyer
House is an important architectural representation of the history of
residential growth and construction in Eugene during the 1920s.

More information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings
is online at www.oregonheritage.org (click on *National Register* at
left of page). 


PRESENTATIONS SCHEDULED FOR ASTORIA, MADRAS

ASTORIA: Roger Fletcher, the author of "Drift Boats and River Dories,"
will speak about the topic at 2:30 p.m. March 28 at the Columbia River
Maritime Museum, 1792 Marine Drive.  Fletcher will discuss vessel
performance characteristics and the story of their recovery. He will
highlight his presentation with old film footage of the early boats at
work.

His book is a history of the river pioneers who designed, built, and
used the early river dories and their successive incarnations. With
marine illustrator Sam Manning*s drawings, the book documents the
traditional free-form method of drift boat construction and provides
sufficient detail to model ten boats to scale or build them full size. 
For more information, phone 503.325.2323 or contact clinton at crmm.org  

MADRAS: Robert Boyd, the curator of Western history at The High Desert
Museum, will speaker on Central Oregon ranches and ranching at  the 2009
Annual Jefferson County Historical Society Dinner on April 4 at the
Senior Center, 860 SW Madison St. The social hour is at 5:30 p.m. and
dinner at 6:30 p.m.

At 2 p.m. April 25 in the County Library's Rodriguez Annex, a program
on "Pioneers of the North Unit Irrigation District," honoring the first
generations of 
irrigated farmers on the North Unit, 1946-1956, and remembering the way
it was when "the water came."

For further information about these events, contact Jarold Ramsey,
jwr1937 at madras.net, or (541) 475-5390.
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which can be contacted at heritage.info at state.or.us