Jim Long
As It Was ContributorDr. James S. Long was an As It Was contributor right up until his passing in January of 2016. He met editor Kernan Turner when Kernan spoke to the Roseburg writers’ club about contributing to JPR's As Is Was series. Kernan inspired Jim to look for historically-important stories in the northern part of the State of Jefferson. As a retired professor, Jim felt compelled to seek out stories that related to his interests in the natural and social sciences. His contributions to As It Was ranged from Father Wilbur of the Wilbur Academy in the mid-1800s, to the recovery of the whitetail deer at the old Dunning Ranch, to the story of Nick Botner’s private orchard near Yoncalla created to preserve over 3,000 heritage apple varieties.
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Lumberman Don R. Johnson and his wife, JoAnne Johnson, settled in Riddle, Ore., in 1951, where they built a sawmill that still stands. Soon they built a…
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The Wolf Creek Job Corps will be 50 years old this year. The center along Little River near Glide, Ore., was constructed in the mid-1960s and is…
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Oregon’s environmentally minded Gov. Tom McCall championed bipartisan passage of Oregon’s pioneering land-use legislation in 1973. He called it “the…
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The Rough Popcorn flower loves the Umpqua Valley, the only place in the world where it grows. Discovered near Sutherlin, Ore., in 1887, the small,…
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“Focus on Hope” is the slogan of the Community Cancer Center in Roseburg, Ore., that was created by a few residents in the mid-1970s. The core group…
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The Umpqua Community College, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, got its start when members of an Association of University Women sought…
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In 1854, James and Emily Watson from Missouri settled on land along Little River near Glide, Ore. Today, the 160-year-old ranch is operated by a fifth…
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Restoration has begun at the Douglas County Museum in Roseburg, Ore., on an ornate railcar built for passengers and baggage. It is one of three remaining…
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On five acres along Elk Creek near Tiller, Ore., a sharp eye can spot more than 50 varieties of camellias, a plant native to Japan, Korea, and China that…
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Was a young man, Milt Herbert saw an opportunity during the post-World War II housing boom to go into the lumber business by starting a sawmill in 1945 in…
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The Gerretsen Building Supply in Roseburg, Ore. celebrated 90 years in business in 2013. Bill Gerretsen and a partner founded the company in 1923 that has…
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The Pitchford Boys Ranch opened in 1963 near Roseburg as the first public residential treatmentprogram for delinquent boys in Oregon. It was named after…