A Look back at history: Programs focus on history of Southern Oregon

Herald and News
Klamath Falls, Oregon
April 25, 2008

By LEE JUILLERAT

H&N Regional Editor

Klamath Basin history - including Crater Lake, the the Applegate Trail and Collier Memorial State Park and Logging Museum - will be featured during Southern Oregon History Week, Sunday through May 3, on Southern Oregon Public Television.

The seven-part series will be broadcast in the Klamath Basin on KFTS at 7:30 p.m. Each show is a half-hour.

As part of the effort, Southern Oregon History Week guides were distributed to fourth-grade students in four Southern Oregon counties, including Klamath County. “We’re hoping to get people interested in the history of Southern Oregon,” said Brad Fay, SOPTV’s director of content and services.

Crater Lake program

Sunday night’s opening program is "Crater Lake: The Mirror of Heaven,” which celebrates Crater Lake National Park. The program features the history of Mount Mazama’s climatic explosion 7,700 years ago, which created the caldera that contains the lake. The lake's human history will also be explored, including American Indian legends and the role played by Will Steele in having the area made a national park.

“A South Road to Oregon: The History of the Applegate Trail,” which airs Monday night, will continue the Klamath Basin theme. The award-winning program traces the construction of the southern branch of the Oregon Trail from Fort Hall, Idaho, through Nevada, Northern California’s Surprise Valley, and Lake and Klamath counties, to the Willamette Valley.

1965, Howell Williams at Crater Lake. National Park Service photo by Ed Paine.

Logging program

Tuesday night’s program, “Logging’s Living Past,” features the Collier Memorial State Park Logging Museum and its collection of rare, antique logging equipment.

Also featured in the award-winning documentary are the Southern Oregon Historical Society’s Jacksonville Museum, Coos County Logging Museum and the High Desert Museum in Bend.

Along with the evening broadcasts, the seven programs will be shown at 3:30 p.m. daily on the Southern Oregon Education Service District.