Offbeat Oregon: Law’s operations in frontier Oregon were rough and not always ready
If ever there was a great time and place in which to be a criminal, it was the frontier Oregon Territory. Offbeat Oregon Finn J.D. John, an instructor at OSU, writes about unusual and little-known ...
Offbeat Oregon: Battleship U.S.S. Oregon was lost in Pearl Harbor attack – sort of
Dec. 7, 1941, was a bad day for American battleships. Offbeat Oregon Finn J.D. John, an instructor at OSU, writes about unusual and little-known aspects of Oregon history.
Offbeat Oregon: Madam’s sidekicks proved very bad at corpse disposal
On the morning of Nov. 25, 1881, two men were walking to work along Portland’s North End waterfront when they saw something incongruous in the river, just off the foot of Everett Street. Offbeat ...
Offbeat Oregon: Portland bordello madam was real-life femme fatale
One of the most enduring and appealing tropes in popular fiction is the “femme fatale,” like Brigid O’Shaughnessy in Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon.” Offbeat ...
Offbeat Oregon: Oregon’s first published novel a torrid page-turner
Early in the summer of 1854, an advertisement appeared in the Portland Oregonian — a tantalizingly feisty one, from an author braced for combat and essentially inviting the world to “bring ...
Offbeat Oregon: Oregon’s literary legacy is built on a “True Confession” novel
In the world of literary works, there is a definite hierarchy. It’s occupied at the high end by the kind of subtle and masterful works that get raved about by New York book reviewers and ...
Offbeat Oregon: Horse racing, and horse-race fixing, used to be wildly popular
Horse racing is a sport largely faded from the scene in Oregon. There’s still an active community, and plenty of money changes hands at racetracks — but it’s more or less a niche ...
Offbeat Oregon: No fishing fleet quite like the dories of Pacific City
The Cape Kiwanda dory fleet of Pacific City Offbeat Oregon Finn J.D. John, an instructor at OSU, writes about unusual and little-known aspects of Oregon history.
Offbeat Oregon: Haystack Rock once drew daredevil climbers
One could think of late June and early July of 1968 in Cannon Beach as the Summer of the Dead Baby Birds. Offbeat Oregon Finn J.D. John, an instructor at OSU, writes about unusual and little-known ...
Offbeat Oregon: Higher education got off to rough start in Eugene
The University of Oregon, as most alumni can tell you, was founded in 1876 as the flagship of Oregon’s university system. Offbeat Oregon Finn J.D. John, an instructor at OSU, ...
Offbeat Oregon: Mining claim was a decent spot to wait out Depression
It was, most historians agree, the nadir of the Great Depression. The entire country had gone from singing “Happy Days are Here Again” to “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” in a few ...
Offbeat Oregon: New law foiled plan to seize mines by force
In the years that followed the American Civil War, the federal government was gasping for cash. Offbeat Oregon Finn J.D. John, an instructor at OSU, writes about unusual and little-known ...
Offbeat Oregon: Prospectors chasing rumors pass up a fortune — twice
It was the spring of 1862, and prospector William C. Aldred had been in the gold fields of California since the Gold Rush first broke out — about a dozen years. And he’d hit just enough ...
Offbeat Oregon: Bootlegger trap was huge – but expensive – success
“Lobster trap for bootleggers” was a huge but wildly expensive success Offbeat Oregon Finn J.D. John, an instructor at OSU, writes about unusual and little-known aspects ...
Offbeat Oregon: Was legend of the Bridge of the Gods true? Probably
In the opening scene of “The Warlord of Mars,” Edgar Rice Burroughs’ third “John Carter of Mars” book, the hero is paddling up the great River Iss as it flows out ...
