Archives for February 2011

Video Interlude: Foggy Cannon Beach Timelapse

February 28, 2011 by Dave 1 Comment

Foggy Cannon Beach Timelapse from Valorie Unruh on Vimeo.

This video is all kinds of awesome. The creator, Valorie Unruh describes the action at Vimeo:

This is composed of the same photos from my previous timelapse attempt. I decided to leave the foggy shots in (yes, Ben I am aware that this was your advice from the start). The moving lights over the horizon are local fishing boats. The location is Cannon Beach, out at Haystack Rock. We found the hard way that is extremely important to attach the hand warmers to your camera lens when shooting on a cold night, for multiple hours.

Popina Travel Showcase First Thursday (3-March-2011)

February 28, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Popina Swimwear in the Pearl District (318 NW 11th) will be hosting a series of travel events with the help of experts from the travel site BootsnAll.

The first Popina Travel Showcase takes place this First Thursday, March 3, 2011 from 6pm until 8pm.

Come find out 10 things you should know about Kona, chat travel, enjoy a free beer from Kona Brewing, and enter to win for a chance to win one of two great prizes: a $75 travel voucher from Alaska Airlines or a travel bag valued at $100 from Ellington Handbags!

The free beer from Kona Brewing will be the recently debuted new seasonal Koko Brown. For more details visit the Popina Swimwear website. RSVP on the Facebook Event page.

Kick Ass Oregon History

February 28, 2011 by Dave 1 Comment

Kick Ass Oregon History, the latest series of podcasts from the enthusiastic historians behind ORHistory.com debuts on Tuesday, March 1, 2011.

With the Kick Ass Oregon History podcast they plan to cover just the good stuff: Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and Earth Shattering, Devastating Destruction.

I have inside information on the topic of episode #1, and though I’ve been asked to be coy about it, what I will say is that the series will begin with a bang!

[Update: Episode 1 is available here: The Roseburg Blast]

The brains behind this project are the crack hustlers of Oregon History Doug Kenck-Crispin and Andy Lindberg. Doug is a graduate student studying Public History and Pacific Northwest History at PSU, and Andy, though a Portland native, is currently working as an actor in New York City. Doug does most of the research and writing for the podcasts with input from Andy, who voices the broadcasts with a thespian’s flair.

Why do they do this?

Ultimately, our goal is to take Oregon History out of the hallowed halls of the academy, get folks excited and enthused about this shared history, and get them out into the state, digging it and experiencing it. Get them to embrace it, and get their boots muddy in the process. It’s all OUR History; nobody owns it.

Visit ORHistory.com and stay tuned to @Oregon_History on Twitter for further details on specific episodes and the series. Episode One should be available mid-morning on the website March 1st.

February 28, 1944: Portland Delivers First Victory Ship

February 28, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

As the end of World War II approached, over 500 Victory ships were built in American shipyards as replacements for the slower and less nimble Liberty ships.

The very first one completed, the S. S. United Victory, was built by Kaiser’s Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation near Portland. It was delivered on February 28, 1944 (exactly one month after the last Liberty ship was launched in Portland).

The Oregonian reported on Tuesday, February 29, 1944 (yes, a leap year):

The S. S. United Victory, first of the nation’s fleet of turbine-propelled merchant ships to succeed the slower and less graceful Liberty type, graduated with high grades and praises in its final examination during its trial run from Oregon Shipbuilding corporation to Astoria and return, according to a maritime commission-approved newspaper release Monday.

Ultimately the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation built 37 Liberty-type ships.

The S.S. United Liberty served in the South Pacific. Her crew was credited with shooting down three enemy bombers despite the ship having been pierced by several shells from a Japanese gunboat. But the S. S. United Victory met here demise on April 16, 1945 near Okinowa, Japan. Fortunately there were no human casualties.

History Pub: Inside The Burley World (28-February-2011)

February 27, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

The topic of History Pub monday at the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd) on February 28, 2011 is Inside the Burley World.

At its peak in the mid-1990s, Burley Design Cooperative supported 100 member owners and generated close to $10 million in annual sales. Join sociologist Joel Schoening, a Burley scholar who wrote extensively about the cooperative during its waning years, and journalist and former member Patricia Marshall, who is writing a book about the cooperative, as they revisit Burley’s rags-to-riches tale and discuss the forces that lead to the cooperative’s demise. Joel Schoening conducted research at Burley Design Cooperative while completing his Doctorate in Sociology from the University of Oregon. He works as a policy analyst for Portland Metro and teaches at Pacific University. Patricia Marshall was a Burley employee for many years and has been researching and writing the cooperative’s history.

The Burley Design Cooperative was a Eugene, Oregon based manufacturer of bicycles and bicycle gear that was killed in 2006 when co-op members sold the company to a single investor. (For more background before attending the History Pub, read Bike Portland‘s December, 2010 post What killed the Burley Co-op? An historical perspective.)

Join event co-sponsors Oregon Historical Society and Holy Names Heritage Center at 7pm Monday for a beer and history! Admission is free and this event is all ages. Please bring canned food donations for the Oregon Food Bank!