Offbeat Oregon: Oregon called out California papers' UFO stories in 1890s
“Fake News” — meaning the kind that’s simply made up by a creative thinker sitting at a keyboard and pondering what will drive the most clicks — is having a moment just now. Offbeat ...
Offbeat Oregon: Oregon was JFK's make-or-break state in '60 primary
As the 1960 Democratic presidential primary neared, Sen. John F. Kennedy was looking at Oregon with increasing apprehension. At that time, Oregon was the first Western state to hold a mandatory primary ...
Offbeat Oregon: Abigail Scott Duniway thought she'd be remembered for novels
Abigail Scott Duniway is a name that’s very familiar to most Oregon history buffs. She was a pioneer, a journalist, a newspaper editor, and a tireless advocate for women’s suffrage. All of ...
Offbeat Oregon: “Paint your Wagon” meets “Perry Mason,” but playing for keeps
Exactly 155 years ago today, Deputy Frank McDaniels returned home in Canyon City after a long and grueling manhunt. McDaniels was exhausted. But he’d gotten his man. He had murder suspect Berry ...
Offbeat Oregon: Librarian’s crime: Failure to lend money to government
On April 12, 1918, Oregonians opened their newspapers to learn that there was a traitor in their midst. “PORTLAND LIBRARIAN RADICAL IN DECLARING LOYALTY TO KAISER!” shrieked the Salem ...
Offbeat Oregon: Deadwood Dick's far-fetched adventures
Between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the 20th Century, the most popular form of fictional entertainment in America was dime novels. Dime novels were cheap paperback novelettes printed ...
Offbeat Oregon: 'Unwritten Law' couldn't help man when he murdered his in-laws, too
Alfred Lester Belding may have intended to try to claim the protection of the “Unwritten Law” when he made his plans for revenge. But, reviewing the historical record, it seems more likely ...
Offbeat Oregon: Murderers mess with wrong woman
It was after 10 p.m. on a Thursday night, and Multnomah County District Attorney George Chamberlain was dressing for bed when the telephone rang. He seized the receiver. “Who’s there?” ...
Offbeat Oregon: Getting shipwrecked and nearly killed was luckiest break of man’s life
March 19, 1896, was probably the best, luckiest, and all-around most wonderful day of William Begg’s long and happy life. But it sure didn’t look that way at the time. In fact, as he ...
Offbeat Oregon: Mayor Baker’s theater defined Portland culture for decades
Most modern Oregonians interested in Portland history don’t quite know what to make of George L. Baker. Baker served longer in the office of Mayor of Portland than anyone ever has, before or since. ...
Offbeat Oregon: Anarchist newspaper editors jailed for publishing 'naughty' articles
The editors and writers of Anarchist-Communist newspaper The Firebrand, published in Portland and distributed nationwide from 1895 to 1897, surely expected to get some resistance from the establishment. ...
Offbeat Oregon: Albany man’s efforts to ‘ruin’ his ex-girlfriend ended badly for him
Albany man’s determination to “ruin” his ex-girlfriend ended badly for him On Nov. 4, 1885, a 27-year-old man was strolling down an Albany street with an attractive 20-year-old brunette. ...
Offbeat Oregon: Convicted murderer faked catatonia for two years to avoid gallows
Charles Fiester really, really didn’t want to die. Fair enough; most of us don’t. His wife, Nancy, hadn’t wanted to die either; but she’d been trying to leave their 30-year marriage ...
Offbeat Oregon: Was the legendary gold-and-turquoise city of Quivira located on the Oregon Coast?
In the late 1530s, Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza of the Spanish colony of Mexico started hearing rumors of a string of rich, gold-encrusted cities far to the north. Of course, no 1500s Spanish colonial administrator ...
Offbeat Oregon: Was Joe Drake a murderer, or just an innocent patsy?
On April 1, 1884, an event occurred that probably should have tipped 25-year-old woodcutter Joseph Drake off that bad things were coming his way: His neighbor, David Swartz, filed for divorce ...
