History into stories
Jacksonville Review & Sentinel
July, 2006
For years, Larry Smith has been Jacksonville's unofficial
historian. Come September, however, he will be officially
recognized by the American Association for State and Local
History (AASLH) with the Leadership in History Award. The AASLH
Awards Program recognizes excellent achievements in the
collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local
history throughout North America.
Larry's love of history began with his grandmother. "Grandmother
Smith would come stay for a month to six weeks every summer.
While we were stacking wood, we'd start talking about family,
and she told me about a lot of family history."
He confesses, however, that he doesn't have a degree in history.
"I've taken lots of classes, and I like to think myself as a
community historian, but I'm really a storyteller." Larry has
spun his stories for over 40 years as an elementary school
teacher, a seasonal ranger at Crater Lake, and a guide to
Jacksonville's history and geology.
"I'm not a natural teacher," Larry admits. "It's forced. I was
so frightened by life in general--I couldn't face people. My
twin brother and I always did things together--from first grade
up through college we only had one class separate from each
other. And I always walked in Lloyd's shadow."
Larry and Lloyd both graduated in industrial engineering from
LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. "By the time I
finished my last year, I realized my last year, I realized it
wasn't something I really wanted to do, but I went ahead and
finished my degree." Then for the first time in their lives,
Larry and Lloyd went different ways.
Larry recalls that period in the 60s. "We were all working under
Kennedy's idealism. At LeTourneau, I heard this talk by a guy
from the Peace Corps. They had just started it. It sounded
really interesting, like something I wanted to do. So when a
Peace Corps recruiter came on campus, I got really excited and
filled out the application, and they accepted me."
He continues, "They flew me back to the University of Nebraska.
It was the first time I had been around non-engineers. But along
with six other people, I didn't learn the Spanish fast enough,
and I got sent home. I felt really defeated."
Larry wound up working at Harry & David. "I had worked there one
week when the news came that Kennedy had been shot. That sent my
life in a new direction."
Lloyd,
who was 2,000 miles away, had decided to become a teacher. "I
remembered how much I liked history," Larry recalls. "I got
straight A's. So I marched into Churchill Hall at SOU with my
transcripts and said I would like to become a high school
history teacher. The advisor looked up at me and said, 'Why?
They're a dime a dozen.' So I signed up for elementary. I
thought, 'good, I get to teach science and other stuff.'"
When Larry was hired to teach at Jacksonville Elementary School,
he describes himself as "scared spitless. I'll never forget that
first day. I'd never taught a whole day in my life, only half
days. My lesson plans were used up in minutes. So then I started
spinning stories about Crater Lake." Larry had been doing
seasonal work at Crater Lake for the previous five years.
"And that's how I got into story telling. I can tell a story on
just about any subject. Most of them are true stories. So I
ended up with a career of 33 years of telling stories."
Recently Larry was the commencement speaker at Ruch Elementary
School. "I hadn't been there in three years. They said we want
to have a story teller come out. So I told three stories. When I
got done, some of the kids came running up to me and started
telling stories they remembered from three years ago."
When Larry began teaching in Jacksonville, the town became the
backdrop for his stories. "It was my teaching easel. Kids learn
great in the classroom, but when you take them outside, you can
paint the big picture a lot better."
Larry learned that lesson from Dr. Hollenbeck, his mentor at SOU.
"She loved field trips. I remember her giving the example of
teachers bringing leaves into a classroom and saying this is an
oak tree. She then shouted, 'The tree is outside! Take them
outside and let them look at the tree!'"
These outside classrooms have inspired Larry's own efforts to
preserve both place and history. In 1982, he co-authored "Crater
Lake, Story Behind the Scenery," and he and brother Lloyd
continue to compile a chronological history of the park itself.
Larry still works periodically as an interpretive ranger at
Crater Lake National Park, teaching families about the natural
and human history of the area.
A founding member of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association in
1989 and currently its Executive Director, Larry works to
preserve and interpret this once-neglected part of the town's
cultural landscape. Over the years he has worked with groups
ranging from Cub Scouts to the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce
and city, state, and federal agencies to bring local history to
both residents and summer tourists.
Along the way, Larry researched and wrote Rich Gulch, a book for
young readers based on trailside historical displays of the
Jacksonville Woodlands Association. He has also produced a
children's activity book about the Jacksonville Cemetery.
Larry has been recognized for many of these efforts. He has been
nominated as Oregon's Teacher of the Year, and has received
Amway Corporation's National "Class Act" Environmental Education
Award, the Medford School District's "Service to Education
Award," and Kiwanis International's "Everyday Hero Award." He's
even had his own days. September 12, 1999, was officially
declared "Larry Smith Day" in Jacksonville.
Larry appreciates this latest recognition, but has no intention
of resting on his laurels. "I want people to realize that our
historic fabric is in danger of falling apart. We need to be
constantly aware of this. Having been here for 40 years, I'v
seen a lot of things slip away. We need to preserve our
history--to wrap our arms around it and guard it judiciously."
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