Oregon Books

Fred Lockley's compilation of interviews with Northwest pioneer men gives a rare glimpse and frequently humorous twist into the lives of those who participated in the westward expansion during the mid-1800's.

As a compliation of oral history, it gives a picture of the western territories (California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho) from those who emigrated on the Oregon Trail. Outlaws, lynchings, gambling, indian skimishes, military operations, economics, gold mines, disease and life on the trail are all part of these unedited stories.

While told from a pioneer perspective, the stories themselves clearly outline the conflicts that arose in the struggle for land, culture and natural resources that ensued during the migration.

This book would be a great supplement to the teaching of this period of history. Many of the stories contain events that could be used by teachers or parents to facilitate discussion of current world events.

We read the book to our grade school boys and had no difficulty keeping their attention, which speaks volumes for the book!

Overall, an entertaining read!

This was a fun read with lots of accurate historical information. The pictures are fascinating and if you know the area you will find it very enjoyable.

Mallett's local history on the migration to and settlement of the Gresham, Oregon area. Spans the 1850's into the 1970's. Families such as Powell, Brown, Cathey, Akin, Duvall, Hall, Metzger, Johnson, Sherwood, and Hessell are discussed. Trade paperback, over 50 illustrations.

Once again, these diaries and letters of the "Covered Wagon Women" series detail the extraordinary stamina of early day pioneers traveling the Oregon Trail.
The year 1852 not only had the heaviest trail traffic westward, but it was also rife with hundreds of human cholera deaths. As Parthenia Blank solemnly relates, "it makes it seem very gloomy to us to see so many of the emigrants buried on the plains". At the end of her journey, Martha Read had counted 750 graves, "but I suppose that a small part, for there were so many campt off from the road and buried their dead".
Life on the trail also took its toll on livestock. Martha Read further notes the tally of "600 dead cattle and 50 horses" from "hollow horn"(anthrax), alkali water, poisonous plants, "want of good care", little food, lack of foot care, etc.
Even in the early stages while crossing the Iowa River, Polly Coon is quoted as saying, "What a brittle thread has life and how uncertain that another moment is ours" after witnessing three men drowning during the river fording.
Seventeen year old Abigail Jane Scott's lengthy diary is complete not only of daily routines, observations of the countryside and the many hardships associated with trail life, but also the vivid and harrowing descriptions of the deaths of her mother and brother during the journey. She further says, "If it wasn't for hope, the heart would fail".
Editing by Dr. Kenneth Holmes and David Duniway brilliant. Introduction by Dr. Ruth Moynihan excellent.

As a child, my favorite books (read over and over again) were the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In so many ways, this series reminds me of how much I enjoyed experiencing their journeys. The covered wagon women series, is of course on an adult level; but in many ways similar to the Little House experience. Although there are certainly hard times upon the "covered wagon women" with unknown disease and death visible all around them, finding safe water and adequate food, the books are so enlightening as the authors of the journals all are so positive and driven to find a new better place along the Oregon trail and out West. How brave they were to leave everything behind to head to a world no one had experienced. For any of you other former Laura Ingalls fans, and for anyone else fascinated about the women of the west, I would very highly recommend this series.

Coyote in Love has to be one of the best books! It has the most colorful, vibrant, beautiful pictures! The Indian legend of Crater Lake is so interesting because not only is Crater Lake the most beautiful place on the earth, but it is the most mysterious and legendary area! This is a must for any person even interested in Crater Lake or Indians legneds!

Jarold Ramsey's painstakingly compiled and edited collection of Coyote tales is a remarkable text for both the general reader and for college-level literature and folklore courses. The text is divided into coyote tales collected from the native tribes of six distinct geographic regions within the present-day state of Oregon. The tales are brief and compelling, and each section begins with a scholarly note and reproduced archival photographs and sketches.

For folklorists and college profs and students, each tale has its Thompson Folk-Index of Motif Lit. reference categories listed in a considerable Notes section at the end of the text.

By virtually every criterion, this is an excellent text.

Now in its 40th anniversary edition, The Creel: Mckenzie River by The Fly Fishers Club of Oregon is an invaluable and "user friendly" guide for anglers aspiring to the joys of flyfishing for trout in the great McKenzie stream of the state of Oregon. Black-and-white photographs, anecdotes, memoirs, tips for avid fishers, and more make The Creel: McKenzie River an indispensable, enthusiastically recommended resource to create and enjoy a vivid and distinctive flyfishing experience.

I am mainly familiar with the routes near Portland. The author describes routes on logging roads, marked blue diamond routes thru the woods (often a hiking trail in summer), or unmarked cross country routes in some places, and places to try your Telly turn in others. There are "maps" of the area, which do not replace topo maps. There also some black & white photos. It does not cover major mountain climbing with ski descent, except to warn about the difficulty in doing St Helens. He mentions those few areas with higher avalanche danger, other areas avalanches are rarer, particularly when the general avalanche danger is low.

There maybe some problem keeping this statewide book update.

This book is a cute little romance novel. It is better than most romance novels that are boring. This has a better and more interesting atmosphere.