History Programs Coming to Central Oregon Coast

Published 05/25/2010

(Newport, Oregon) – Two new features are coming to the history museums in Newport, one about the fishing history and legacy of the area, and the other a lecture about writing about history.

“The Newport Fishing Project,” a multi-media exhibit, will open at 2 to 6 p.m., Saturday, June 5 at the site of the proposed Pacific Maritime and Heritage Center, 333 SE Bay Blvd. The exhibit also will be open from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 6; Saturday, June 12, and Sunday, June 13. The exhibit features photographs and audio and video works, and brings together commercial fishing experiences, both past and present.

University of Oregon folklore student Al Bersch, photographer Leslie Grant, and sound artist Nina Pessin-Whedbee are coordinating the project in partnership with the Lincoln County Historical Society and area fishers.

As part of the exhibit, an audio installation overlooking Yaquina Bay will include oral histories from the Lincoln County Maritime Heritage Project mixed with stories from Newport fishers recorded in 2009 and 2010. Several concurrent slide shows will feature snapshots from fishers’ personal collections, a series of photographs of boat cabins from the Newport fleet, and selections from the Historical Society archives, including Jim Heron’s portraits of Newport fishers and boats.

“We want to focus not only on fishing but also on the creative work fishermen do and have done to tell their stories,” Pessin-Whedbee, said. “And the idea is to create a collage of these stories so people can connect the pieces in their own way.”

The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Historical Society at 541-265-7509.

John Baker, author and management specialist, will present a program titled, “Writing History: The Process” at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 19 at the Carriage House of the Lincoln County Historical Society. Baker will define the process he used to design a method for the research and writing of the book “Camp Adair: The Story of a WWII Cantonment.” For three years during WWII, Camp Adair was Oregon’s second largest city and was the site for training over 100,000 solders who went off to Europe and the Pacific areas of combat.

Baker will discuss the prerequisites for writing history including a love of history and a love of language and writing. He will explain the detective process, how to tell the story, and writing techniques. He also will talk about publishing options for writers of history, including self publishing.

“In some ways the process never ends,” Baker said. “People continued to contact me after the book was written, and I have published several editions with added information.” Sales of “Camp Adair” are nearing 5,000.

Baker, who has published three books of poetry and a management primer, lives in Newport. He is currently working on a book focusing on vignettes with a moral. Baker was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota. His family moved to Oregon in 1939, going from Portland to Salem that year. He received his public schooling in Salem, his bachelor of science and masters of fine arts degrees from the University of Oregon, and his doctorate from Oregon State University. He has taught high school and college.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Historical Society at 541-265-7509.

The Lincoln County Historical Society, which includes the Burrows House and Log Cabin museums, is located at 545 SW Ninth Street in Newport. The museums are free and open to the public. The Burrows House Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Log Cabin Museum is open Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Lincoln County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history of Lincoln County.

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