[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2011-02-09

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1.  Cemetery, revitalization specialist to speak at Heritage
Conference
2.  Sterling fellowship applications due March 15
3.  State committee to make recommendations in Springfield
4.  Railroad's centennial arrival to be celebrated in central Oregon
5.  Events to mark state's 152nd anniversary


CEMETERY, REVITALIZATION SPECIALIST TO SPEAK AT HERITAGE CONFERENCE

"Thinking Outside the Fence: A Guide to Sustainable Historic Cemetery
Management" will be a featured talk at the Oregon Heritage Conference
which takes place April 7-9 in Astoria.

The talk will be given by John Bry who focuses his efforts on  historic
cemetery and revitalization issues. He currently is the executive
director of the Noble County Visitors Bureau in his native state of
Indiana. In 2010, he launched the first statewide historic cemetery tour
trail called the Tombstone Trail in Indiana, and advises on historic
cemetery projects in New York and Pennsylvania. He holds a bachelor's
degree in historic preservation from Southeast Missouri State
University, and is a nationally certified Downtown Revitalization
Professional. He has been involved in various downtown revitalization
and heritage tourism efforts around the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic States
for 20 years as a manager, consultant and trainer.  

His presentation will focus on five key steps for historic cemeteries
to balance in the development of a sustainable approach that addresses
the challenges and opportunities for preserving historic cemeteries both
inside, and outside, the fence.  

The Oregon Heritage Conference will be attended by community leaders,
staff and volunteers from historical societies, museums, historic
cemeteries, ethnic organizations, schools, historic preservation
commissions, humanities groups, the tourism industry, economic
development, history buffs and professional historians, youth, and
local, tribal, state and federal governments.

For more information about the conference, visit its website at
http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/OHC/Conference.shtml 

You can also keep up with the latest conference developments on its
Facebook page at  
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Oregon-Heritage-Conference/194597583890959
 You can look at the page whether you have your own Facebook page or
not. If you are a Facebook member, you can be notified of the latest
developments by clicking the page's "Like" button.
 

STERLING FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 15

The Sterling Fellowships in Pacific Northwest History at the Oregon
Historical Society in Portland have been established through an
endowment, made possible by the family of Donald J. Sterling, Jr., to
encourage original, scholarly, interpretive research in the Oregon
Historical Society Research Library. The Society offers two Fellowships
each year-a Senior Fellowship ($2,500), which is open to all applicants,
and a Graduate Research Fellowship ($2,000), which is restricted to
candidates for advanced degrees.

Due to insufficient funds, the Fellowship has not been granted in
recent years. It will be granted on a truncated timeline in 2011 and
return to the annual schedule in 2012. Applications are due March 15,
2011. Visit http://www.ohs.org/research/fellowship.cfm for more
information.


STATE COMMITTEE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS IN SPRINGFIELD

Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation will
consider nominations to the National Register of Historic Places in a
meeting beginning at 1 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Springfield City Hall
Library, 225 5th St., Springfield

The Committee will review proposed nominations for individual
properties in the communities of Rogue River, Klamath Falls, Eugene and
Springfield. A meeting agenda and digital copies of all nominations to
be considered are available at
http://www.oregonheritage.org/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/nrhp_sachphome.shtml 

Nominations recommended by the SACHP go to the National Park Service,
which maintains the Register under the authority of the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Members of the committee hold
credentials in many historic preservation-related fields.

The meeting site is accessible to people with disabilities. Special
accommodations for the meeting may be made by calling (503) 986-0690. 


RAILROAD's CENTENNIAL ARRIVAL TO BE CELEBRATED IN CENTRAL OREGON

On Feb. 15, 1911, a big Great Northern locomotive appeared just west of
Madras in the mouth of Willow Creek Canyon, pulling two passenger cars
full of dignitaries in homburgs and top coats. James J. Hill’s
“Oregon Trunk Railway” had arrived, victorious, at the end  of
its celebrated “race” up the  Deschutes River canyon against Edward
Harriman’s “Oregon/Washington Railway and Navigation  Co.”
construction crew; and crowds from all over Central Oregon converged in
Madras to celebrate “Railroad Day” with speeches, music, a parade,
and a great barbecue feast.

A century later, on Saturday Feb. 19, the Madras Centennial Group, in
collaboration with the cities of Metolius and Culver, will celebrate
“Railroad Day” with a mid-morning on-site “re-creation” of
the first OT train’s arrival, and then a reception and meal at the
historic Oregon Trunk Depot in Metolius.  The public is invited to both
events.

The morning’s program will begin at 10:30 a.m., west of Madras, at
the intersection of Canyon Road in Willow Creek canyon and the Willow
Creek walking trail—the exact spot where Locomotive No. 702 stopped in
1911 under a huge arch proclaiming “Welcome—Madras the Gateway to
Central Oregon.”  In front of a facsimile of the arch,  band music and
brief re-enactments of 1911 speeches will be followed by a dedication of
the site of a “Madras Railroad Day” historical marker. Vintage cars
from the “Model T Bums” car club will be on hand to help recreate
the sights and sounds of the original “Railroad Day.”

At 12:30 p.m., the celebration will continue in the historic 1911
Oregon Trunk Depot in Metolius. The Depot, owned and administered by the
City of Metolius as a community hall and museum, is the only unaltered 
OT depot still open to the public, and is full of authentic  railroad
paraphernalia.  After welcomes from the mayors of Madras, Metolius, and
Culver, and the Burlington Northern, a barbecue lunch will be served,
and there will be a display of historic local railroad photos by Madras
photographer Ole Hedlund, railroad-oriented music by  The Brewer Family
; and a brief skit on “How Jim Hill Visited  Madras,” performed by
the Madras Centennial Players.

The day-long celebration will mark the formal end of the Madras and
Culver centennial years, and the beginning of Metolius’s centennial.
For more information, contact the Madras/Jefferson Co. Chamber of
Commerce at 541-475-2350.


EVENTS TO MARK STATE's 152nd ANNIVERSARY

President James Buchanan put his signature on the Oregon Statehood Bill
on Feb. 14, 1859, and celebrations of that event will take place in
Oregon this week.

The Oregon Historical Society in Portland will host a free birthday
celebration from noon-5 p.m. Feb. 13. Representatives from the Oregon
Northwest Black Pioneers will be available to talk about their current
exhibit. In addition, at 2 p.m., interim executive director Kerry
Tymchuk will speak on presidential humor in a talk entitled "Laughing
All The Way to the White House." At 2:45 p.m., OHS will serve birthday
cake and yogurt -- while supplies last. For more information, visit
www.ohs.org 

On Feb. 14, the Oregon State Capitol Foundation will host its
traditional birthday celebration at 1 p.m. in the Galleria of the State
Capitol. The Foundation and OHS will unveil at 3:30 p.m. in the Galleria
a new exhibit showcasing "Oregon's Landmark Legislation."
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Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission,
which can be contacted at heritage.info at state.or.us