Clyde List Editorial: Crusade for Freedom

Clyde List is Secretary and Past President of the Sherwood Historical Society, but his opinions only rarely reflect the thinking of the Sherwood Historical Society.

History isn't what it used to be. Ever since 9/11, history has been expanding like the Universe after the Big Bang. My hometown of Sherwood was better prepared than most towns. We have always considered Robin Hood and the Middle Ages as part of our history. But that's not true for the rest of America. All you other people thought the Middle Ages couldn't possibly have anything to do with you. But now we read in the Oregonian every day how the American military is advancing against an enemy who sees the Great Crusades (1099-2006) as modern history.

China is another reason for us to take the long view of history. Recently President Bush lectured this ancient country on her lack of freedom. I can almost hear the Chinese thinking: "Between 1861 and 1865, over 250,000 Americans died defending their right to own slaves! That wasn't very long ago. Let's wait another century or two, the way we Chinese always do when there's an argument to settle, and then we'll see how much America actually cares about freedom."

Hardly anyone reads the Bible anymore, and those who do have a hard time believing what it says. Joshua Chapter 10 says rocks fell from the sky and the Earth stood still. People overcame their fear of the sky (I Samuel 7:10) by hurling stones at each other (Joshua 7: 25 & 26). It's not easy to follow the logic path of people with problems like that to deal with. However, the connection between their fear of God and their hatred of one another seems modern enough.

Countless other examples can be found. J Harlen Bretz proved that the bizarre geology of the Sherwood-Tigard-Tualatin area came into existence a mere 12,000 years or so ago: Well within the life span of the human race. Should we regard the Bretz floods as part of our history or our pre-history?

More and more people are living to 100 these days, so that the span of a single century no longer seems as awesome as it does when we gaze at the frozen facial expressions of our civic ancestors at Morback House museum. I wonder how a century will sound to students who live as long as scientists say we will someday, five or six hundred years maybe. I can only imagine what a compilation of woe that will add up to.

So far, if the Sherwood Historical Society has learned anything from all our research, it is that Sherwood was a railroad town and that the history of a railroad town is inseperable from the history of the nation, and that the history of the nation amounts to no more than a flicker of light in the history of the world. Hopefully, on this blog, the Sherwood Historical Society will add some light to such a fragile glow.

History Society Youth Makes the Front Page!

Do you remember that video we made to rescue Smock House from demolition? It ran forever on cable a few years ago. One of the actresses in the video just got back from New York last night after giving a speech in the Big Apple. Not only that, but Katie Reed was on the front page of The Portland Oregonian while the event was going. Katie's mom was instrumental in getting the Sherwood Historical Society organized. To see more about what happened in New York City this week see Katie Hits the Big Time.

Solved: Where Sherwood Got Her Name!

There has always been a debate about why we're called "Sherwood." Was the name inspired by the Robin Hood Legend or was it just somebody's hometown back East? It turns out both answers are right. Robert Alexander is the key figure. He suggested the name because he was from Sherwood, Michigan. This was the Sherwood that was named after Sherwood Forest England. Sherwood Michigan was "...laid out in 1832 on the farm of E. F. Hazen, it was first called Hazenville.... On June 10, 1879, it was renamed Sherwood in honor of its first settler, Alexander E. Tomlinson who had come from Sherwood Forest, England."

The delightful part is that the photos on the Michgan website show a town that looks a lot like Sherwood Oregon when it had less than 400 people in it. Photos courtesy of
Ken Huisjen

Blue Town is Area 59 Now!

It's called Area 59 by the powers that be (See City of Sherwood RESOLUTION 2004-098), but we always knew it as "Bluetown." It's where Edy Road and Elwert Roads intersect, on the North side of Highway 99. The people who live here have lived virtually all their lives in Bluetown. Their farmyards have a distinctly European feel, reflecting the shared heritage of these folks. They even have their own folklore. One of the great mysteries is why this neighborhood got to be known as "Bluetown" in the first place. The house photographed here is on the Labahn property, in the middle of Bluetown. It's owners believe it was painted blue once a long time ago. The Sherwood Historical Society investigated and found hardly any paint at all on the weathered cedar boards. So it's hard to tell. The mystery endures. What was so disturbing about the color blue that it caused these German-Lutheran/Catholic immigrants of Area 59 to name the whole community after it?

Welcome New Sherwood Blog!

There's a great new blog about Sherwood at:
sherwoodoregon.blogspot.com

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.