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Machine-made ice cream cones invented in P-town
THIS TIME OF year, the burden of all the serious arguments and disagreements left over from Thanksgiving dinner melt deliciously into a far more cong…
5 months ago
‘Bucket of Blood’ saloon a relic of the shanghaing era
East Portland's White Eagle Saloon has a colorful past. Over the years, it's been local headquarters for the Polish Resistance, a rough watering hole…
5 months, 1 week ago
Dynamite used to be a regular part of Oregon life
Just a few dozen years ago, nearly anyone in Oregon could easily get all the high explosives he or she might want — if not by buying it, then by mixi…
5 months, 1 week ago
Did Sir Francis Drake visit Oregon in 1579?
Let's face it: No one actually knows where the famous English privateer and explorer spent the summer, and his notes, upon his return, were deliberat…
5 months, 1 week ago
Quest for legendary mine actually led to real riches
As a historical account, the Lost Blue Bucket Mine story is, to put it mildly, questionable. But there can be no denying the impact it has had as a l…
5 months, 1 week ago
“Bear Grylls of the 1910s” had something to prove
Joe Knowles' wilderness-survival demonstration had been a huge success, and made him famous. But he'd been dogged by rumors that he cheated. Now, a c…
5 months, 1 week ago
Even as a boy, Erector Set inventor larger than life
A.C. Gilbert was a practicing magician good enough to astonish Hermann the Great at age 7, a world-record-holding athlete at age 17, and a born sales…
5 months, 1 week ago
How Oregon’s own ‘anti-Grinch’ saved Christmas
When Salem native Alfred Carlton Gilbert, inventor of the Erector Set, learned that government officials were going to cancel Christmas with their “B…
5 months, 1 week ago
Cali Gold Rush started by failed Oregon farmer
Had James Marshall stayed in Oregon for one more month, he likely never would have left; instead, he headed south and found gold. And the discovery l…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Lighthouse built 18 days too late for ship’s sailors
The construction crew had knocked off work for the night, and outside the building the blustery January weather raged. Then, over the roar of wind an…
5 months, 2 weeks ago