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PODCAST

Offbeat Oregon History podcast

www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com)

A daily (5-day-a-week) podcast feed of true Oregon stories -- of heroes and rascals, of shipwrecks and lost gold. Stories of shanghaied sailors and Skid Road bordellos and pirates and robbers and unsolved mysteries. An exploding whale, a couple shockingly scary cults, a 19th-century serial killer, several very naughty ladies, a handful of solid-brass con artists and some of the dumbest bad guys in the history of the universe. From the archives of the Offbeat Oregon History syndicated newspaper

history places & travel

All Episodes

00:11:26

In 1880s, salmon were the “most dangerous catch”

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/13

Fishermen working in heavy 24-foot boats at the mouth of the Columbia kept getting sucked out onto the bar and drowning in its massive breakers. Their odds of not surviving a season were as high as 1 in 15. (Astoria, Clatsop County; 1880s, 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1206d-most-dangerous-catch-salmon-on-columbia-river-bar.html )

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00:09:35

Bunco Kelley, Coyote of P-town waterfront legend

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/10

Is there any truth to the stories of shanghaiings of the cigar-store Indian and of the dozens of dead guys found in the basement of the funeral parlor next door to the “Snug Harbor Saloon”? Well ... maybe. But then again ... yeah, no. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1407c.bunco-kelley-part2-the-myths.html)

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00:10:49

Oregon’s most notorious shanghaier: Bunco Kelley

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/09

He was Portland's most notorious bad guy, with his fingers in everything from shanghaiing sailors to smuggling opium. But ironically, when he was finally sent to prison, it was for a murder he clearly didn't commit. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1407b.bunco-kelley-part1-the-facts.html)

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00:09:13

How Oregon almost lost public access to beaches

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/08

After a beachfront landowner discovered a loophole in the law and fenced off “his” beach, other oceanfront property owners were eager to follow suit. Governor Tom McCall was determined to stop them, and this is how he did it. (Cannon Beach, Clatsop County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see URLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGEURLOFWEBPAGE)

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00:08:18

Giant skeleton hinted at legend of pirate treasure

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/07

Neighbors wondered if the eight-foot-tall corpse found by developer at what today is YWCA Camp Westwind was evidence that an old Native American legend of a pirate ship is true; if so, there might actually be booty buried there, some say. (Cascade Head, Lincoln County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1204e-giant-skeleton-evidence-of-pirate-treasure-legend.html)

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00:08:46

The mysterious demise of the S.S. South Coast

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/06

Historic steam schooner vanished on a calm night in 1930, leaving lifeboats and debris floating in the water — but no bodies, alive or dead. Was it a violent micro-storm? A “seaquake”? A boiler explosion? We'll never really know. (Gold Beach, Curry County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1206b-mysterious-disappearance-of-steamer-south-coast.html.html)

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00:14:20

Writer Stewart Holbrook embodied the spirit of...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/03

Ninety-eight years ago, in a logging camp deep in the forests of British Columbia, a logger in a funny hat walked up to a big stump, an ax in his hand. Taking off the hat — it was a battered bowler, an old-fashioned dandy’s hat even in 1923 — he laid it on the stump, set a nail in it, and drove it in. Then he turned and walked away. Probably he walked straight to the logging locomotive for his last ride into town. Nailing the hat to the stump was a symbolic act — Stewart H. Holbrook was quitting

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00:08:49

Fort Rock’s Reub Long’s tall tales were legendary

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/02

Oregon was once known as a place full of “great liars” — tellers of tales so tall they'd cause every pair of pants in the room to spontaneously burst into flame. Central Oregon storyteller Reub Long could hold his own with the best of them. (Fort Rock, Lake County; 1930s, 1940s, 1950s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1209a-reub-long-great-oregon-storyteller.html)

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00:11:28

Pixieland, the essence of Oregon midcentury culture

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/11/01

Jerry and Lu Parks envisioned a “fairy-tale history of Oregon” in the form of an amusement park. What they created was a rich cultural artifact, and a treasured childhood memory for a generation of Oregonians. (Otis and Lincoln City, Lincoln County; 1960s, 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1709c.pixieland-old-oregon-cultural-artifact-461.html)

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00:08:42

Tiny town’s police chief was later executed for murder

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/31

At the pay the city of Sandy was offering, Otto Austin Loel was the only man willing to take the job. He didn't turn out to be much of a bargain ... but it wouldn't be until years later that the town learned how much worse he could have been. (Sandy, Clackamas County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1506a.sandy-police-chief-executed-for-murder-342.html)

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00:07:53

How ‘FBI’s Most Wanted’ gangster was busted in Beaverton

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/30

The mild-mannered drywall contractor turned out to be a notorious gangster after an article in the Morning Oregonian published his mugshots; he was wanted for the murder of three family members. (Beaverton, Washington County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1505e.holden-fbi-most-wanted-caught-341.html)

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00:08:46

Portland mansion was once home of starvation cult

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/27

The motto of Kate Ann Williams' cult was “Pray and be Cured,” and adherents went on rigorous 40-day fasts that occasionally killed them. The cult disappeared after its leader, who was Mayor George Williams' wife, starved herself to death. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1204d-kate-williams-starvation-cult.html)

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00:09:32

Oregon man’s wife killed his SCOTUS appointment

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/26

Senate committee went from a solid consensus to confirm George H. Williams, to a firm determination not to, in just one week. The cause? Most believed it was because of the arrogant attitude of Mrs. Williams toward the senators' wives. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1204c-williams-scotus-confirmation-scotched-by-wife.html)

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00:06:51

Grand Ronde Valley was Oregon Trail’s eden, used-oxen...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/25

The Grande Ronde Valley was a little pocket of temperate, well-watered land, tucked into some of the most inhospitable territory on the trail, was a real lifesaver for many an emigrant. But, that didn't stop them from griping about the prices they were charged .... (Near LaGrande, Union County; 1840s, 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1709b.grande-ronde-valley-used-oxen-dealership-460.html)

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00:10:44

Bike business in Portland was ruined by ... prostitutes?

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/24

“World's Greatest Trick Rider” sold more than 50,000 bicycles in an age when bikes were the cutting edge of transportation technology; Oregon women loved them — until they started getting mistaken for hookers on the prowl ... could this be the true orgin of 'bicycle face'? (Portland, Multnomah County; 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1409a.303.fred-merrill-bicycle-king.html)

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00:09:01

Brutal ‘Oregon Boot’ made our state prison infamous

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/23

Named after the warden who invented it, the “Gardner Shackle” eventually caused serious musculoskeletal damage; many former inmates limped for the rest of their lives as a result of habitually wearing one. (Salem, Marion County; 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1403b.oregon-boot-cruel-unusual-punishment.html)

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00:10:34

Bob Straub stopped plan to put highway on the beach

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/20

State treasurer Straub was a regular visitor to the state park through which the highway department wished to route the main Oregon Coast arterial. He took one look at the department's plans — and declared war. (Nestucca Spit, Tillamook County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1708b.bob-straub-saves-nestucca-spit-456.html)

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00:08:55

Mountain town of Bourne was home of a magnificent...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/19

Though home to some productive mines, the Blue Mountain boomtown made much of its money working the suckers back east; then its head honcho disappeared into the night with the money, hours ahead of the law. (Bourne, Baker County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1011a-gold-mining-swindle-left-bourne-a-ghost-town.html)

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00:09:23

‘Unwritten Law’ no help for bro-in-law’s murderer

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/18

“Amsterdam Jack” Murray claimed it was all a misunderstanding, but the jury obviously suspected he'd intended to murder his wife's brother all along; then the appeals court learned he was a bigamist to boot. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1709d.john-murray-murders-brother-in-law-462.html)

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00:07:10

Getting trapped in ship’s wreckage saved mariner's life

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2023/10/17

George May was in an impossible situation, trapped in the upside-down hull of his ship, waiting for death. But then the ship washed ashore, the tide receded, and he lived to tell the story of the wreck of the M/V Oshkosh. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1204a-mariner-survives-shipwreck-by-being-trapped-inside.html)

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633 results

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