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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

00:10:03

Bunco Kelley, Coyote ofP-town waterfront legend

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/04/10

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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00:09:59

Oregon’s most notorious shanghaier: Bunco Kelley

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/04/09

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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00:09:11

Legendary ‘Chief Bigfoot’ elusive as, well, Bigfoot

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/04/08

1860s Bannock leader disappeared as mysteriously as he appeared, leaving behind nothing but frontier folklore and a trail of 17-inch-long moccasin prints; a probably-untrue rumor claims Nampa, Idaho, was named after him. (Malheur County; 1850s, 1860s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1409b.304.chief-bigfoot-legend.html)

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00:11:20

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

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/04/07

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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00:09:26

Steamer wrecked by future Costa Rica admiral

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/04/06

Ashamed to show his face in Astoria after causing the loss of the biggest passenger liner on the West Coast, Thomas Doig slunk away to South America and remade himself as a military man. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1870s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1408c.300.great-republic-wreck.html)

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00:11:07

Frankie Baker found a home, and some peace, in Oregon

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/04/03

Sometime in 1915, a 40-year-old Black woman named Frankie Baker stepped off the train at Portland’s Union Station. She had come to stay; Oregon would be her home for the rest of her life.At that time, Portland had a a reputation as a good place to hide out when you were on the lam. It was far off the beaten path; but the town had all the cultural perquisites of civilization, or most of them anyway. Plus, the people of Oregon had a reputation for minding their own business. So a lot of people who

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00:09:34

‘Johnny’s’ Frankie lived in Portland, hiding from...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/04/02

THE STORY TOLD in “Frankie and Johnny” is very well known — the song has been covered by at least 250 recording artists over the last 120 years. Mae West made it her theme song. Elvis Presley’s recording earned him a gold record. Originally a ragtime piece, it’s been adopted into jazz (Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck …), country (Johnny Cash, Doc Watson, Jimmie Rogers …), blues (Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, Mississippi Joe Callicott …), rock-and-roll (Jerry Lee Lewis, Van Morrison,

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00:09:13

Charming gentleman by day, robber-poet by night

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/04/01

Charles “Black Bart” Bolton's neighbors in San Francisco thought his money came from ownership in gold mines. It turned out it came from furtive excursions northward to rob stagecoaches in Oregon and northern California. (Siskiyou Pass, Jackson County; 1880s, 1890s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1401d.black-bart-gentleman-stage-robber-poet.html)

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00:10:40

Rosecrans rescue one of Coast Guard’s finest hours

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/31

Two motor lifeboat crews went out on the bar to save three surviving sailors. Both boats went to the bottom of the sea — but not a man was lost on either crew, and all the survivors were rescued. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1506d.CursedShips-RosecransRescue.html)

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00:10:01

Cursed or not, Rosecranswas one unlucky ship

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/30

The big oil tanker had weathered two major catastrophes in the previous year — a stranding and a colossal fire. But for 33 doomed crew members, the third time would be the charm — or, rather, the hex. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1506c.cursed-ships-rosecrans-344.html)

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00:08:46

Town’s police chief was later executed for murder

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/27

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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00:08:51

Rooftop stunt made local aero-daredevil famous

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/26

“This is an age of do-it-first,” said Silas Christofferson, and proceeded to launch his spindly kite-like “aeroplane” from the roof of a downtown hotel — making aviation history in the heart of Oregon's biggest town. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1408e.302.silas-christofferson-portland-hero-aviator.html)

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00:08:18

Giant skeleton hinted atlegend of pirate treasure

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/25

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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00:08:38

Mass murderer honored in courthouse monument

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/24

75 years ago, without realizing who he was, Wallowa County included Bruce “Blue” Evans — leader of the gang that massacred dozens of innocent Chinese miners back in 1887 — on a plaque commemorating its earliest white settlers. (Enterprise, Wallowa County; 1880s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1204b-monument-mass-murderer-chinese-miners.html)

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00:08:11

‘Ship of Romance and Death’ met a dramatic end

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/23

The Melanope's maritime career started with a witch's curse. But her most dramatic story was the torrid, doomed love affair its skipper carried on with the heiress who bought the ship so she could be with him as he sailed it. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1900s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1506b.cursed-ships-melanope-343.html)

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00:10:53

Prison break happened during “conjugal visit”

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/20

By far the most embarrassing jailbreak in state history happened when a murderer simply walked out the back door of a Motel 6 during an unsupervised “date” with a woman officials thought was his fiancee. (Salem, Marion County; 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1207c-carl-cletus-bowles-jailbreak-during-conjugal-visit.html)

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00:07:45

Portland lost world’s biggest log cabin in 1964 fire

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/19

Ancient electrical wiring ignited Portland's legendary Forestry Building, a structure made of massive, flawless old-growth logs that had been built for the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1960s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1206c-forestry-building-biggest-log-cabin-burned.html)

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00:08:56

The mysterious demise of the S.S. South Coast

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/18

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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00:08:24

Horrific 'Trunk Murders' made headlines nationwide...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/17

Ruth Judd was in a fierce argument with her friends Annie Leroi and Sammy Samuelson. Furious, she stood up to go. She took her drink cup to drop it off in the kitchen sink. When she got there — well, something happened. Something involving a kitchen knife, a Colt .25 automatic, and possibly another, larger-caliber pistol... (Phoenix, Arizona; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/21-03.trunk-murders-anne-leroi-595.html)

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00:08:49

Locals drawn into 1930s’ most notorious murder (Part...

Offbeat Oregon History podcast ·

2026/03/16

OREGON DIVORCEE AGNES Anne “Annie” LeRoi arrived in Phoenix in the first few months of 1931 with her best friend and roommate, schoolteacher Hedvig “Sammy” Samuelson. They were climate refugees: Sammy had tuberculosis, and at the time the only cure for “consumption” was a dry climate and rest.Back then, many patients with TB waited until they were so far gone that the climate couldn’t save them; essentially, they moved to Arizona to die. Sammy wasn’t one of them; her case was mild. But, although

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675 results

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