Our Valley 2013

Fables of the Reconstruction

An old argument among historians centered on what used to be known as the great man theory of history versus what we might call the right-place-at-the-right-time theory.
20 miles, going the long way

In 1978, Karen Smith took a temporary job managing the Bear Creek Greenway. The little trail then ran about three miles, much of it under the freeway viaduct in Medford.
Full Speed Ahead

In Brammo's evolution from sports-car manufacturer to electric-motorcycle pioneer, the missing link stands on the second floor of the company's Ashland headquarters.
The Drive To Succeed

There came a moment when Sid DeBoer took a long look in the mirror.
Jump-Start for an Industry

In those early days of the last century, the smell of horses filled the Medford air. Each morning, saddles were cinched, wagons hitched, and when anyone talked about horsepower, that's exactly what they meant.
River man

In 1915, a 19-year-old commercial gillnetter named Glen Wooldridge got perhaps the wildest of his wild hairs when he decided to become the first person to float a boat down the impenetrable Rogue River from Grants Pass to the Pacific Ocean.
Hook, Line & Drifter

After spending the first three months of 1971 cutting and welding the first aluminum driftboat in his Medford shop, fishing guide Willie Illingworth launched it into the Rogue River for a maiden voyage that would change Northwest history.
A River Runs Into It

"Before completion of Lost Creek Dam," said Oregon Sen. Mark Hatfield at the dam and lake's 1978 dedication, "the Rogue River's character was either drought or flood."
Legal Hook

Some 157 miles of the Rogue River flows freely again because of Bob Hunter.
A Voice For The Wilderness

When Julie Norman had a chance to bend the ears of the seven most powerful politicians in the nation concerning the forest environment, she didn't mince words.