The Heritage Trail Festival Report!

The Sherwood Historical Society led visitors along the Sherwood Heritage Trail once again this year. The trail began at Morback House, which is by Veterans Park on the corner of First and Main in Sherwood. Small group tours were taken Saturday and Sunday twice daily at 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM. On Saturday, the event coincided with the Sherwood Arts Festival.

The tour covered the nine blocks of the original town plat, plus a piece of Stella Olsen Park. The highlights of the tour were the Covered Wagon era (Third Street was part of the Oregon Trail), the Railroad era (Railroad Street is aligned with Oregon's most historically significant railroad), and the Model-T era (First Street featured one of Oregon's largest Ford dealerships). While they were discussing anecdotes from each of these time zones, each tour group was distracted by a conflict that was actually reported in history books or in Turn of the 19th Century newspapers. The Womens Christian Temperance Union attempted to close down a saloon, a gunfight broke out on Railroad Avenue, and a town father was accosted by a bank robber. Safe and unharmed the tour group wound up at Stella Olsen Park, which lies just outside of Old Sherwood Town. There they met a peddler, a frontiersman, and an unfortunate soul named Lilly Morgan who lost her spouse on the Oregon Trail and simply didn't know what she was going to do.

Visitors are often amazed by the fact that all this excitement happened within a town no larger than nine blocks in size. More delightful still is the discovery that Sherwood's story is America's story. No matter where you lived before you came to Sherwood or where you may move to in the future, the story of Sherwood Oregon is about you. Call 503-625-1236 for a recorded message about future Sherwood Historical society events.

Sauvie Island Harvest Fair

The scene is the Sauvie Island Harvest Fair which began today at Howell Territorial Park on Sauvie Island. Larry McClure (left) is from the Tualatin Historical Society. Terry Carter (center) is from the Walking Talking History Association. They are being fed spoonfulls of information by our own Lilly Morgan about the upcoming Sherwood Heritage Trail Festival. Hope to see them in Sherwood!

Labor Day Weekend at Champoeg

History Re-enactors enjoy a picnic 19th Century style, which means men at one table, women at the other.The increasingly popular event features demonstrations of 19th Century tasks, from rail splitting to threshing to spinning. The Sherwood Historical Society's banjo picker was there.

Poetry at Morback House

Sherwood Poet Larry Ernster (left) reads while fellow Elks listen.

I WENT TO SHERWOOD
AND I WALKED AROUND THE BLOCK
AND I LOOKED INTO THE WINDOW
OF THE LOCAL BARBER SHOP

THE BARBER SHOP WAS TINY
AND THE LIGHT WAS KINDA PALE
THERE WAS JUST A SINGLE CHAIR THERE
AND THE BARBER'S NAME WAS DALE

I ASKED HIM IF HE HAD THE TIME
TO CUT MY SHAGGY HAIR
HE SAID HE WASN'T BUSY
SO I HOPPED UP IN THE CHAIR

HE CHECKED MY HAIR AND WHISKERS
AND HE SAID "SIR IF YOU PLEASE,
I CANNOT CUT YOUR HAIR
BECAUSE YOUR HAIR IS FULL OF FLEAS!"

Hoe-Down in Oregon Country

A Traditional Barn Dance at Champoeg,
the Place Where Oregon Began.

Dufur Oregon: Threshing Bee

Lilly Morgan usually leaves her chickens at home. But this time she brought one with her and it ran off. She had the whole town of Dufur, Oregon out looking for it. It was a real parade for awhile. Now, when you're in Dufur, Mount Hood looks exactly the same, except that she rises in the West instead of the East. It was enough to get Lilly all turned around. She kept pointing everybody in the wrong direction. Her bird was never seen again. Personally, we feel that the bird probably got taken by one of the threshing rigs the community of Dufur is so famous for. Did I mention that this was the weekend of Dufur's Annual Threshing Bee? That would explain it.The town-folk felt so bad for Lilly that they fed us a country ranch-style meal of steak and potatoes to make up for the chicken pot pie we didn't get. After dinner, we went out and did some jamming with the musicians who hang around there. Best bunch of guitar pickers and fiddlers that (or this) side of Mount Hood, let me tell you!

Welcome Home Jack!

Jack Lepper lived in Sherwood since 1959 until he retired East of the mountains a few years ago. Most of us remember Jack as the man who managed Garrigus Lumber Yard. Jack was also in town the day the building was bulldozed to make room for the new City Hall. A party was held in his honor at the Senior Center today, but he almost didn't make it. It wasn't just the old Garrigus building that had disappeared. "All the old landmarks have disappeared. I wasn't always so sure where I was driving!" he said.

Rabekah Flea Market in Old Town

SCENE ON WASHINGTON STREET BETWEEN FIRST & RAILROADIn a never ending battle to save their building from the wrecking ball of progress, the Sherwood Rabekah Lodge holds a fund raiser. Rabekah Hall was a movie house in the days of silent film. Many of the old fixtures remain, including rows of folding seats (but not for sale).

Japanese Youth Visit Sherwood

Thanks to Lilly Morgan's choreography, the language barrier between The City of Sherwood and the City of Edogawa, Japan proved to be no more daunting than London Bridge, being played here on the lawn at the Heritage Center.

Music on the Green

The beer concession is ours! Talk about a fund raiser!