Sharon Bywater
As It Was ContributorSharon Bywater of Ashland, Oregon grew up in Southern California. She taught English literature and writing at Syracuse University in New York, where she also wrote and edited adult literacy books and published freelance articles in local media. Later, she lived in Washington, D.C., where she worked as an international telecommunications policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce. She has Master鈥檚 degrees in English and Communications Management. Her husband, Peter Krasilovsky, is a media analyst. Sharon plays the recorder and volunteers for the Southern Oregon Historical Society. She enjoys the wonderful Oregon outdoors, as well as theater, and musical concerts.
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In the summer of 1884, a lady walked her poodle on a hill above the Siskiyou Toll Road House south of Ashland, Ore. Her companions heard a shriek and ran鈥�
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When George Putnam took over as editor of the Medford Mail Tribune in 1907, he vowed to speak out against corruption. This soon led to his being thrown in鈥�
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In 1897, Henry Clay Tison and his sons used axes, picks and shovels to build a road to their home on Elk Creek near Crater Lake. During the winter months,鈥�
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Conscientious objectors staffed one of Oregon鈥檚 first smokejumper firefighting bases during World War II in the Redwood Forest Ranger District in Cave鈥�
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Ashland, Ore., once produced championship peaches, especially on the 鈥淧eachblow Paradise鈥� orchard at Liberty and Pracht Streets, home to owner Max Pracht鈥�
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In 1985, a member of the Klamath Indian tribe, Edison Chiloquin, achieved his dream of gaining title to his ancestral home in Southern Oregon.The U.S.鈥�
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In the 1850s, most Southern Oregon men were miners seeking their fortunes in rough mining camps, while a few farmers planted crops on donation land鈥�
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Before he was a Civil War hero and President, Ulysses S. Grant spent a miserable assignment in 1854 at Fort Humboldt near Eureka, Calif. Fresh from the鈥�
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In 1871, authorities found the body of a man floating in shallow water near a railroad bridge in Vallejo, Calif. He was dressed like a gentleman, with a鈥�
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Hailstorms frequently threatened Southern Oregon orchards in the early 1900s, damaging fruit every year but one between 1910 and 1948. By 1951, farmers鈥�
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Many of the beautiful hills and rivers in Oregon have devilish names, among them 鈥淗ellgate Canyon鈥� on the Rogue River and the 鈥淒evil鈥檚 Backbone鈥� at Crater鈥�
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During early pioneer days, nearly every small town in Oregon had its own grist mill to grind flour for local farmers. In those days, flour was an鈥�