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All Episodes

Offbeat Oregon History podcast — 200 episodes

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Title
1

Uncle Dave's Incredible Shrinking Horse Story — and an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ...

2

The legendary lies and tall tales of Reub Long (2 of 2)

3

Rancher Reub Long, the legendary Sage of Fort Rock (1 of 2)

4

War-games campaign blanketed Central Oregon

5

Camp Adair hardened recruits with combat training — and poison oak (Part 2 of 2)

6

Oregon's second-largest city was built in six months (Part 1 of 2)

7

Before news “crusade,” milk was killing babies

8

Quest for lost gold mine led to 12,000-acre jewel

9

Did L. Ron Hubbard battle Japanese subs off Astoria?

10

‘Desperado’ became P-town’s first police chief

11

Busting out of the joint was job for a safecracker

12

Rusty derelict turned out to be Liberty Ship lifeboat

13

How Oregon almost lost public access to beaches

14

Childhood tree-planting memories for thousands

15

Tillamook Burn ‘blew up’ with shocking speed

16

Tillamook Burn sprang from loggers’ bad gamble

17

Bunco Kelley, Coyote of P-town waterfront legend

18

Oregon’s most notorious shanghaier: Bunco Kelley

19

Legendary ‘Chief Bigfoot’ elusive as, well, Bigfoot

20

In 1880s, salmon were the “most dangerous catch”

21

Steamer wrecked by future Costa Rica admiral

22

Frankie Baker found a home, and some peace, in Oregon

23

‘Johnny’s’ Frankie lived in Portland, hiding from "her song"

24

Charming gentleman by day, robber-poet by night

25

Rosecrans rescue one of Coast Guard’s finest hours

26

Cursed or not, Rosecrans was one unlucky ship

27

Town’s police chief was later executed for murder

28

Rooftop stunt made local aero-daredevil famous

29

Giant skeleton hinted at legend of pirate treasure

30

Mass murderer honored in courthouse monument

31

‘Ship of Romance and Death’ met a dramatic end

32

Prison break happened during “conjugal visit”

33

Portland lost world’s biggest log cabin in 1964 fire

34

The mysterious demise of the S.S. South Coast

35

Horrific 'Trunk Murders' made headlines nationwide (Part 2 of 2)

36

Locals drawn into 1930s’ most notorious murder (Part 1 of 2)

37

Oregon’s Doolittle raiders and their startling stories (3 of 3)

38

The Oregonians who flew over Tokyo with Doolittle (2 of 3)

39

Famous ‘Doolittle Raid’ roots in Pendleton air base (1 of 3)

40

Mona Bell was like Annie Oakley with an edge

41

Columbia River was a wild, frothy, dangerous place once

42

Storm-tossed ships shared a double date with destiny

43

“Roaring 20s” murder solved by cop’s diligence

44

Oregon’s highest, smallest city once had its jail stolen

45

Miracle saved sailors from death on Columbia bar

46

Historic lighthouse saved by a nonexistent ghost ... but was she, really?

47

Heppner's devastation brought out heroism in face of watery death (2 of 2)

48

Worst natural flash flood in U.S. history struck here (Part 1 of 2)

49

Mount Angel Abbey owes grandeur to colorful monk

50

‘Unwritten Law’ no help for man who murdered his wife's brother

51

Frontier murder was even darker than it appeared

52

Pixieland and Oregon's midcentury culture

53

‘Daredevil Al’ Fossett was Evel Knievel of the ’20s

54

West’s first female lawyer: A legal Mother Teresa?

55

Pioneering “lady lawyer” deserved a better legacy

56

Acquitted murder suspect became first ‘lady lawyer’

57

Fiery explosive shipwreck gave Boiler Bay its name

58

Bob Straub stopped plan to put highway on the beach

59

Shanghaied in Astoria: A once-perilous port city

60

Secretary imposed martial law on rowdy town

61

Legislators shut down Salem with a raging party

62

Wolf Creek Tavern was a refuge for Hollywood stars

63

How Marie Dorion earned title ‘Oregon’s Revenant’ (Part 3 of 3)

64

Astorian party’s decision to follow river proved fatal (Part 2 of 3)

65

Marie Aioe Dorion was a wilderness-survival ninja (Part 1 of 3)

66

Legendary Civil War ship met a sad end in Coos Bay

67

Dispute over 'McQuinn Strip' lasted more than a century (Part 2 of 2)

68

Dispute over Indians’ land lasted for 101 years (Part 1 of 2)

69

Bungling ex-crimps book-ended shanghaiing era

70

Plan to stop shanghaiing: Give Sullivan a monopoly

71

World boxing champ by day, shanghaier by night

72

Shanghaiing in Portland: P-town's time as shanghaiing capital of the world (2 of 2)

73

Shanghaiing in Portland: How the 'crimping' business worked (1 of 2)

74

How ‘FBI’s Most Wanted’ gangster was busted

75

‘Hold-up session’ featured big drunken house party

76

‘Oregon’s Outback’ a real moonshiner’s paradise

77

Bing cherry has its roots on the Oregon Trail

78

Gov. T.T. Geer is Oregon’s ‘patron saint of bicyclists’

79

For Oregon pioneer family, highway robbers were lifesavers

80

‘Diamond Bill’ Barrett was a modern Mr. Wickham

81

Rescue station keeper’s cowardice got 11 killed

82

Oregon Vortex: 95 years of keeping experts guessing

83

The crazy story of U.S.’s first woman governor (Part 2 of 2)

84

The crazy story of U.S.’s first woman governor (Part 1 of 2)

85

Land-fraud swindlers plundered Oregon badly (Part 2 of 2)

86

Land-fraud swindlers plundered Oregon badly (Part 1 of 2)

87

'Most Wanted' desperadoes found a home and respect in Oregon(Part 2 of 2)

88

Running from FBI? Hide in a friendly Oregon town!

89

P-town mansion was once home of starvation cult

90

Oregon man’s wife killed his SCOTUS appointment

91

‘Cape Foulweather Light’ built on the wrong cape

92

Body snatchers' incompetence actually saved them from more serious charges (Part 2 of 2)

93

Body snatchers plotted to steal dead mayor’s corpse (Part 1 of 2)

94

‘Blue Ruin’ drove Oregon to drink—and prohibition

95

Larry Sullivan's 'second act' career dwarfed his first (Part 2 of 2)

96

Boss shanghaier Sullivan’s mining-stock fraud career (Part 1 of 2)

97

Brides were stripped of U.S. citizenship at the altar

98

Oregonians had the jump on California Gold Rush

99

Palatial riverboat caught in hurricane on open sea

100

Drunk looting party broke out at scene of shipwreck

101

Civil War plotters hoped to get West Coast to secede

102

Buster Keaton brought Hollywood to Cottage Grove (Part 2 of 2)

103

Buster Keaton brought Hollywood to Cottage Grove (Part 1 of 2)

104

Prohibition sting ended with a deadly gunfight

105

Town’s emergency wood money is still legal tender

106

Bunny-massacre parties were big social events

107

Corvallis man found cows make lousy boat engines

108

Alcoholic shipmate drank snake-preserving whiskey

109

Schemers’ plans to exploit Multnomah Falls failed

110

Shanghai tunnels mostly a myth...or are they?

111

Tarzan fans are grateful for gold miner’s failure

112

Riverboat party turned out to be shanghaiing trick

113

Skipper doubled down on a bad bet ... and lost it all

114

Bad recording technique led to FBI investigation

115

P-town’s rabbi got in gun fight at President’s hotel

116

Shipwrecked sailors had to paddle 200 miles to safety

117

City-bus-powered cable car scheme was epic flop (Part 2 of 2)

118

Timberline could have been a gaudy skyscraper (Part 1 of 2)

119

Outlaw Bill Miner’s first train robbery was a fiasco

120

Taming of the Rascal: Chambreau’s redemption (Part 2 of 2)

121

A crooked gambler’s-eye view of frontier Oregon (Part 1 of 2)

122

Was suspicious death in ‘boneyard’ really murder?

123

'Mother of Oregon History' earned praise, but little money (Part 2 of 2)

124

Legendary Oregon author started with poetry, pulps (Part 1 of 2)

125

Supreme Court: Slavery is legal, but only for sailors

126

Lafe Pence’s crazy plan: Wash mountain into lake

127

Oregon's Modern Prometheus: The forced-sterilization advocate (Part 3 of a 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair)

128

Oregon's Modern Prometheus: The Pioneer 'Lady Doctor'(part 2 of a 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair)

129

Pioneer ‘lady doctor’ was Oregon's 'Modern Prometheus': Part 1 of 3-part series on Bethenia Owens-Adair

130

How the War of 1812 changed Oregon's fate (Part 2 of 2)

131

How Oregon almost became part of Canada once, eh? (Part 1 of 2)

132

Vigilantes overreached with murder of ‘rustler’

133

Bold bandits robbed train 3 miles from Roseburg

134

Cow Creek train robbers were liberal with the dynamite

135

Oregon crooks have always loved their dynamite

136

How to rob trains with dynamite: Tips from a pro

137

‘Prepaid shanghaiing’ plot went off the rails — fatally

138

Old Oregon loggers, millworkers were tough characters

139

When the Confederate flag flew over Oregon soil

140

Lava Lake murders still officially unsolved, but ...

141

Missing trapper’s mom suspected foul play

142

Lawyer schemed to steal land by shanghaiing its owner

143

'Oregon's Native Stepson' Hoover saved millions from starving to death

144

Lonely Newburg orphan grew up to be President

145

Mayor’s wife gave him a real election-day surprise

146

Skunk’s pelt would be best admired from far away

147

‘12 Angry Men’ couldn’t have happened in Oregon

148

The life and death of a P-town gangster and moll

149

Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 3

150

Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 2

151

Hank Vaughan, Oregon’s legendary outlaw: Part 1

152

Machine-made ice cream cones invented in P-town

153

‘Bucket of Blood’ saloon a relic of the shanghaing era

154

Dynamite used to be a regular part of Oregon life

155

Did Sir Francis Drake visit Oregon in 1579?

156

Quest for legendary mine actually led to real riches

157

“Bear Grylls of the 1910s” had something to prove

158

Even as a boy, Erector Set inventor larger than life

159

How Oregon’s own ‘anti-Grinch’ saved Christmas

160

Cali Gold Rush started by failed Oregon farmer

161

Lighthouse built 18 days too late for ship’s sailors

162

The legendary lost Spanish gold of Neahkahnie Mountain

163

Oregon was scene of first recorded Soapy Smith con

164

Oregon gold-country legend: The solid-gold snuff can

165

Bungled robbery-murder was solved ‘CSI’-style

166

‘Last great train robbery’ was brutal, clumsy fiasco (part 1 of 2)

167

Black sheep of the Union Army was Oregon’s last Civil War veteran

168

Dory fisherman rescues stranded sailors — from Coast Guard boat

169

The game of Faro was a crooked gambler’s dream

170

Pirate, jailbird, hustler, tycoon: 'Colonel' T. Edgenton Hogg

171

Giant mud puddles were once Lake Chewacan, a great inland sea

172

The rise and fall of ‘king of Portland saloonkeepers’

173

Goofy, Bluto, Bozo were all Oregon’s ‘Pinto’ Colvig

174

Frontier journalists settled differences with gunfight

175

“Voice of Looney Toons” was the terror of his Portland high school

176

The Port Orford Meteorite: Was it all a big hoax?

177

Finn on KPNW's Wake Up Call: Minor political hack became opium king of West Coast

178

Missing gold suggests something sinister in shipwreck mystery

179

“Shorty” Davis may be Oregon’s oldest cold case

180

Filming of “worst Western ever” was a real spectacle

181

Boys’ summertime shipwreck adventure couldn’t happen today

182

First Ashland Shakespeare Festival kayoed competing boxing event

183

Oregon's ‘King of moonshiners’ was an old-time music legend

184

What really happened to DB Cooper? Pick a theory

185

D.B. Cooper deplanes like a boss: Getting away with the loot

186

D.B. Cooper deplanes: Getting away with the loot

187

D.B. Cooper skyjacking legend started at PDX

188

Finn on KPNW's Wake Up Call: Hathaway Jones, Self-declared 'damnedest liar' in Oregon country

189

For one Oregon slave, the Civil War didn’t end bondage

190

Oregon cold snaps seem mild, but one sank a ship

191

Former robber became vice president of bank he once robbed

192

Ka-Ton-Ka patent remedy was Oregon’s own, sort of

193

Dry town’s sting on secret drugstore pub went badly

194

Oregon’s second largest city built in six months

195

Mt. Hood: so mellow, you forget it’s a real volcano

196

Did Oregon miss a chance to catch the Zodiac Killer?

197

A town’s friendship with its wartime attacker

198

Nobuo Fujita, the flying Samurai who attacked Oregon

199

Finn on KPNW's Wake Up Call: Silverton's nationally-famous Bobbie the Wonder Dog

200

Colorful sea-captain was like an 1800s Han Solo