Maryann Mason
As It Was ContributorMaryann Mason, who lives in Ashland, has taught history and English in the U.S. Midwest and Northwest, and Bolivia. She has written history spots for local public radio, interviewed mystery writers for RVTV Noir, and edited personal and family histories. Her poetry has appeared in Sweet Annie & Sweet Pea Review (1999), Rain Magazine (2007), and The Third Reader, an online Journal of Literary Fiction and Poetry. In 2008 she published her first chapbook, Ravelings. She organized a History Day for Southern Oregon, and as an English/history teacher she assigned the National History Day project to her students every year for many years.
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Her parents paid tuition of $9 a year for Eula Benson Foley, born in Central Point in 1906, to attend the two-room Howard Grade School in Medford. Benson…
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A Klamath Falls woman became a famous pilot during World War II after pictures of her and other pilots of her gender appeared in glamour magazines and…
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In Jacksonville, Ore., many children died in accidents and disease outbreaks in the early days, including diphtheria in 1859 and smallpox 10 years later.…
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In 1895 Jacksonville, Ore., Sadie Trefren’s parents had just buried their 17-year-old daughter, Mary, who had died of typhoid fever during the town’s…
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In 1860's Oregon, most young men, and even teenagers, had guns and went hunting.In December 1861 two Jacksonville, Ore., boys, 14-year-old Alick Berry and…
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Bill Hanley, the Jacksonville-born owner of the Double O Ranch in Eastern Oregon, operated five ranches and had access to thousands of acres of public…
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In 1925, a group of Medford men offered 1,000 shares at $25 each to form the Lake of the Woods Recreation Corporation. Their goal was to create a summer…
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The 1890’s brought fascination with a new vehicle—the bicycle. Enthusiasts could buy a Golden Eagle bike for $30 and a Phoenix Wheel bike for $40.…
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Ashland’s Fourth of July was pretty typical in 1972, with at least half the town lining the streets watching the fly-over and parade until a 1920s antique…
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Dame Shirley was the pen name of Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe, who wrote 23 letters about her experiences in the Rich Bar goldmine camps on…
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At Christmastime in 1885, Medford had about 100 buildings and 400 people. On the other hand, the railroad had spurred growth in Ashland, which had a…
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The invention of the automobile required the building of better roads and highways as the number of cars in America increased from 8,000 in 1900 to 40…