Articles written by Roberta Mckern

Sorted by date  Results 1 - 25 of 42



 By Roberta McKern    News    July 26, 2023

Memories of a sawmill man part II

In our last article we began following the memories of Lynn Rice as he focused on recalling sawmills in the East Linn area in a 2005 interview. Two volunteers from the Museum had been told to contact...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    June 28, 2023

Memories of a sawmill man (Part 1)

“Go talk to Lynn Rice,” a pair of East Linn Museum volunteers were advised after expressing an interest in collecting stories about disappearing area mills. So Mike Sele and Glenda Hopkins did...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    May 31, 2023

Digging Treasures at the East Linn Museum: Lemonade takes the limelight

Lemonade has come to mind recently. The time of year had something to do with it, as spring runs into summer with longer, warmer days. Even when we're past our youth, they bespeak expectations of...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    April 26, 2023

Digging Treasure at the East Linn Museum: Anatomy of a massacre (part 2)

EDITOR'S NOTE: The first installment of this two-part series ran in the March 29, 2023, edition of the New Era. Read it online at https://bit.ly/40wpozR. Last month's article left us at the beginning...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    March 29, 2023

Digging Treasures at the East Linn Museum: Anatomy of a massacre (Part 1)

Recently, we explored Clifford Merrill Drury’s “Henry Harmon Spalding: Pioneer of Old Oregon” (1936), a new arrival at the East Linn Museum. The book recounts the title figure’s life and...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    March 1, 2023

Digging Treasures at the East Linn Museum: Life of Henry Spalding a real page-turner

Henry Harmon Spalding stumbled along through darkness. Having failed to adequately hobble his horse, he was afoot. His shoes had proven too tight, so he discarded them, wrapping his leggings around...

 

Digging Treasures at the East Linn Museum: In consideration of the lowly bean (Feb. 1, 2023)

While wandering through aged relics at the East Linn Museum, some attention-attracting items may set off thought-trains in diverse directions. For example, a large brown ceramic bean pot sits atop the...

 

Melodic fanfare at the East Linn Museum

The East Linn Museum is now closed for the winter until February. In the meantime, we ponder the ghostly sounds we imagine rising in its darkened recesses. We know the main room once served as a...

 

Remembering meals, atmospheres on holidays of the past

We've come to the seasonal change when wintry weather nips at the warmth of memories - a good time to refresh ourselves with an inspiring walk through the East Linn Museum. However, the museum will...

 

Shadows and doubts in the tale(s) of Frank Reid

“Halt.” The order came from the darkness as a lone figure traveled down a moonlit Sweet Home street. Instead of stopping, the figure turned. Shots from his gun rang out in the silence. More came...

 

Turning history's pages (in a 1910 McCall's)

First, a joke: A lady lost her little shaggy poodle. When a policeman brought back her soiled and bedraggled little dog, his mistress rejoiced, but asked, "How did he ever get so wet?" "Why, when we...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    August 31, 2022

Adventures in preservation: saving Weddle Bridge

"You know, this would probably make a good subject for an article," an East Linn Museum volunteer said as she held up a thick, green plastic notebook. The item had come with Ben Dahlenburg's scale...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    July 27, 2022

What the nose knew (some scented vignettes)

At this time of year, as summer begins to wane, some of us are lucky enough to be able to visit scented backyards, where perfumes set forth by blooming honeysuckle, privet hedge, butterfly bush and...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    June 29, 2022

Teacher's autograph albums full of notes from 'dear friends'

Among the more unexpected finds at the East Linn Museum are two small autograph albums and a photocopy of a third. Some of us might remember having such collections as young ladies in grade school....

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    June 1, 2022

Following log drives downriver into history

Thanks to late East Linn Museum volunteer Ted Fitzwater, we can float down the South Santiam River on a log drive. Inspired by the cover of "Sweet Home in Linn County, New Life, New Land," a...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    April 27, 2022

Mining adventures in Linn County history

Here at the East Linn Museum, we're taking yet two more looks at the Quartzville Mining District. First, we had a visit from Cindy Budlong, a Mill City Historical Society volunteer representing their...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    March 30, 2022

The art of speculation and history

If we want to exercise our speculating and surmising abilities, the East Linn Museum's the perfect place to visit. Why? Because it's filled by objects with obscure pasts. Some were possessions...

 

Historic postcards worth more than a thousand words

Not long ago, a number of colorful picture postcards at the East Linn Museum drew attention as they were placed in new albums with plastic sheaths, which allow both sides to be seen. What have we...

 

What chittem bark brought to the valley

While reading through Lois Rice's notes at the East Linn Museum, a couple of newspaper clippings caught my attention. One, from July 1904, dealt with collecting chittem bark. The other, from...

 

Rich histories embroidered into special quilt

A call came to the East Linn Museum a while back. Would we be interested in a quilt made by a ladies’ club east of Foster for a young lady turning 16 in 1942? “Another friendship quilt?” the...

 

Scraps reveal plenty about local history

If we want to be impressed by the transitory nature of history at the East Linn Museum, we can examine notes and newspaper clippings about our area compiled by Lois Rice about 50 years ago. Rice, of...

 

Cattle tracks through history at the East Linn Museum

As we meander through the East Linn Museum, we likely don't have cattle in mind until we come across lariats, saddles, mohair chaps and a branding iron in its tack room. Although some of the branding...

 

'Shooting anvils,' medicine shows and a cold murder case

At the East Linn Museum, it gladdens the researcher to come across an anecdote-filled history about a family that settled here in 1852 (and its descendants). Alvin and Polly Morris homesteaded on Fern...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    August 25, 2021

Roberta McKern: Exploring the era of plastics at East Linn Museum

In the mid-1940s, following World War II, an optimistic announcement declared that the era of plastics had arrived. In reality, plastics of some sort had been around since 1869, when John Wesley...

 
 By Roberta McKern    News    July 28, 2021

Queen Victoria's influence lives on at museum

When we enter the East Linn Museum, thoughts of England's Queen Victoria don't come readily to mind. Still, her era's influences directly reflect on our area and many of the artifacts on display...

 

Page Down

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2023