Rooted in Tradition
by Brad McMullen, OFN GSA and Folklore graduate student Riki Saltzman and OFN’s Brad McMullen joined folklorist Douglas Manger in Deschutes and Crook Counties to do fieldwork between May 20th and 22nd. Over the weekend, we were able to meet several different tradition bearers and visit a few different cultural sites to give us a… Continue reading Folklore Fieldwork in Deschutes and Crook Counties
by Bruno Seraphin, Folklore Graduate Student McKenzie River Fishing Guide and storyteller Robin Alexander relayed this story to me. The central character here is a fellow who lived by the McKenzie in the late 1800’s and claimed to be the “real” Huckleberry Finn from Mark Twain’s famous book. There are a number of outlandish… Continue reading A McKenzie River Legend
by Adrienne Decker, Folklore Graduate Student On May Day, two fisherpoets arrived in Eugene to introduce our community to songs, stories, and poems about the lives of the men and women working in the commercial fishing industry. Jon Broderick and Jay Speakman, both organizers of the annual FisherPoets Gathering, lead a poetry workshop and evening… Continue reading Two Fisher Poets in Eugene
by Adrienne Decker, Folklore Graduate Student While many in Western Oregon don’t often have much opportunity to venture east of the Cascades, the high desert of Oregon is full of a rich cultural and historical heritage that should be of interest to our local lovers of artistic and homesteading traditions. As we learned on our… Continue reading Folklife Survey of Southeastern Oregon: Harney and Malheur Counties
by Julie Meyer, Folklore Graduate Student On a drizzly Thursday afternoon in March, I threw my camping gear into my car and headed north towards Port Townsend, Washington, with my dog and my recorder in tow. During the long car ride I could feel the adrenaline of conducting my first solo fieldwork expedition motivating me.Only… Continue reading Words Washed in with the Tide: FisherPoet Fieldwork in Port Townsend
Oregon Folklife Network staff members attended concurrent conferences from April 10-13: The Western States Folklore Society Conference and the Association of Western States Folklorists Conference. Both conferences this year were held at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. OFN Graduate Research Fellow (GRF) Em Knott, along with fellow graduate students Adrienne Decker and Julie Meyer,… Continue reading OFN Represents at Western States Folklore Conferences
The McKenzie River Guides Association hosted a dutch oven cook-off on April 19th. The annual event happens just before the beginning of guiding season, and started years ago as a way for all the guides to come together to get their boats inspected. Over the years the tradition evolved into a fun (and delicious) community… Continue reading McKenzie River Folklife
Oregon Folklife Network presents an interactive arts workshop followed by an evening of entertainment with Fisher Poets, Jon Broderick and Jay Speakman, at Cozmic Pizza in Eugene on Thursday, May 1. Workshop at 4; Performance at 7pm. Come learn more about one of Oregon’s unique occupations on May 1, and celebrate May Day – a… Continue reading Don’t Miss Fisher Poetry in Eugene!
by Douglas Manger, contracted folklorist More results from our ongoing Survey of Oregon’s Southern counties!Ontario, Oregon has an unusually high concentration of Japanese-Americans. During WWII, some of the Japanese and Japanese Americans placed in the internment camps were released to work the agricultural harvests. That’s how many came to the Ontario area. Key Ontario leaders… Continue reading Japan Nite Obon Festival in Ontario, Oregon
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, students and mentees of George Wasson. More on his life and work: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/registerguard/obituary.aspx?n=george-bundy-wasson&pid=170305600