[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2009-03-31

Tue Mar 31 16:58:11 PDT 2009

In this issue:
1.  Recycling firm given heritage stewardship honor
2.  Maritime museum hires Johnson as director
3.  Lighthouses, lifesaving and vaudeville set for Astoria
4.  AASLH schedules Portland workshop
5.  Sewing academy slated for Baker City

RECYCLING FIRM GIVEN HERITAGE STEWARDSHIP HONOR

When several cemetery items were brought into Cascade Metal Recycling
in Grants Pass a year ago, one of the company*s owners, Lynn Roemer,
contacted police. When a police investigation into the items went
nowhere, the items continued to sit and wait at the recycling facility.

But Roemer didn*t sit still. Instead, she contacted the Oregon
Commission on Historic Cemeteries to locate the cemetery where the
marker belonged. For her extra effort, the Oregon State Historic
Preservation Office has given Roemer a Heritage Stewardship Recognition
Certificate.

*This was the first time I have heard from a scrap metal company
looking to return items to a cemetery,* said Kuri Gill, the historic
cemeteries program coordinator.

Gill referred Roemer to Jean Boling, a local historian and writer who
is the local cemetery expert at the Josephine County Historical Society.
Using burial records and photographs, she has confirmed the items were
from Laurel Cemetery. Boling is in communication with the Laurel
Cemetery and the police to resolve the legal issues and get the items
back in place

*Cascade Recycling really deserves this award for its extra
effort,* stated Boling, noting that with limited funding and time
police can*t always track down answers.

Added Kendell Phillips, a Cave Junction resident who serves on the
Oregon Commission for Historic Cemeteries, *Cascade Metal Recycling
really has set an example for other companies to follow. It is a true
friend to our local cemeteries.*

The Heritage Stewardship Recognition Program was initiated by Heritage
Programs of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to raise the
profile of Oregonians who go the extra mile in protecting the state*s
heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office is one of several
agencies located within the Heritage Programs Division.

The Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries is part of Heritage
Programs of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and is mandated with
the recording of the state*s historic cemeteries.  For more
information visit www.oregonheritage.org or contact Kuri Gill at
Kuri.Gill at state.or.us and (503) 986-0685.

MARITIME MUSEUM HIRES JOHNSON AS DIRECTOR

The Columbia River Maritime Museum announced today that Samuel E.
Johnson of Seattle has accepted the position as the museum's new
executive director.  Johnson succeeds Jerry Ostermiller who retired in
2008. Johnson will assume the leadership of the museum in May.

Johnson received his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has served as
the executive director for the Oregon Field Office of the Nature
Conservancy. Johnson has served as the director of external affairs at
the Oregon Historical Society and was the director of planned giving for
the Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation. An international
lecturer, Johnson graduated from the Museum Management Program at
Colonial Williamsburg.

In recent years Johnson has been building and restoring boats and
teaching bronze foundry classes at the Center for Wooden Boats, the San
Francisco National Maritime Museum, the RiversWest Small Craft Center in
Portland, the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, Maine, Mystic Seaport
Museum and the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, N.Y.

The museum has also named David A. Pearson as deputy director. Pearson
has been with the museum for 14 years.

LIGHTHOUSES, LIFE-SAVING AND VAUDEVILLE SET FOR ASTORIA

Shipwreck and lighthouse enthusiasts will find two authors and related
family day activities April 4 at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in
Astoria. That evening, a vaudeville event will take place at the Liberty
Theater.

Bill Hanable, the author of Lighthouse and Life Saving on
Washington*s Outer Coast, will present a 30 minute slide
presentation at 11:30 a.m. on light station preservation and
interpretation. He will show the efforts being made to preserve the
lighthouses at Kilauea, Hawaii and Grays Harbor, Wash., and talk about
the plight of lighthouses in Oregon. Hanable is managing director of
Northwest Heritage Consultants. At 2:30 p.m., Dave Pinyerd will present
the history of the U.S. Life-Saving Service on the Oregon Coast. The
Life-Saving Service was the precursor to the Coast Guard. The Service
arrived on Oregon*s shores in 1878. Pinyerd is on the board of the
U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association, where he focuses on
preserving the artifacts and stories of the early Coast Guard on the
West Coast.

The Liberty Theater will re-shoot a photograph showing lines of people
at its 1925 opening at 6:10 p.m. The public is invited to join the
photograph. The re-shooting precedes a vaudeville show at 7 p.m. For
more information, visit http://www.liberty-theater.org/

AASLH SCHEDULES PORTLAND WORKSHOP

The American Association for State and Local History will present a
workshop on exhibit makeovers May 14-15 at the Oregon Historical
Society.

Interpretive exhibits bring objects, images, and ideas to life for
visitors through storytelling, diverse presentation media, and learning
opportunities that engage multiple intelligences. In this workshop based
on the book "Exhibit Makeovers: A Do-It-Yourself Workbook for Small
Museums", participants will learn the basics of exhibit planning,
organization, text writing, and design. Drawing on resources of the
Oregon Historical Society, working hands-on in small groups, they will
experiment with ways to make exhibit content meaningful and memorable
for visitors. 

For more information and registration, visit 
www.aaslh.org/workshop.htm or call 615-320-3203.

SEWING ACADEMY SLATED FOR BAKER CITY

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is hosting
historic costuming expert Elizabeth Stewart Clark*s *Sewing
Academy*. The seminar style workshop is
scheduled April 3-5 in Baker City. The Sewing Academy is a weekend of
lectures, visuals, interesting displays, discussion, demonstrations,
hands-on instruction, and take-home materials on women*s clothing from
1840-1866. This workshop is designed for anybody who has an interest in
learning about, wearing and/or making historical clothing.  The workshop
is sponsored by Trail Tenders, Inc.

For registration, lodging information and fees, contact Brianna
Candelaria, at 541-523-1843 at the National Historic Oregon Trail
Interpretive Center.
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Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission,
which invites you to attend the Northwest History and Heritage
Extravaganza April 15-18 in Portland. Information is available at
http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/OHC/Conference.shtml