OREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAILS ASSOCIATION

Transcription

1 OREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAILS ASSOCIATION National Convention, Nampa, Idaho August 5 9, 2008 Co-Hosted by Idaho Chapter and Northwest Chapter Registration Booklet Convention Program... 2 Registration Information... 3 Accommodations... 4 Pre-Convention Tours... 6 Bookroom, Raffle/Auction... 8 Speakers and Topics... 9 Workshops Convention Tours Entertainment Continuing Education Credit... 19

2 2008 Convention Program (A more detailed program will be available at the convention.) Pre-Convention Tours The Fort Hall Road Auto Tour, August 2 4, Dick Brock Goodale s Cutoff and 1863 Variant Auto Tour, August 3, Jim McGill Twin Falls Area Trails and Sites Bus Tour, August 3, Posey and Johnson Monday, August 4 Noon 9:00 pm Registration/Information at Nampa Civic Center Tuesday, August 5 7:00 am 9:00 pm Registration/Information at Nampa Civic Center 8:00 am 5:00 pm OCTA Board of Directors Meeting 7:00 pm 9:00 pm Welcoming Reception (OCTA Band, Book Room open) Wednesday, August 6 6:30 am 7:00 pm Registration/Information at Nampa Civic Center 6:45 am 8:00 am Chapter Presidents & Committee Breakfasts 8:15 am 10:00 am General Membership Meeting 10:20 am 11:10 am Keynote: Robert Meinen, Director, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation 11:10 am Noon Speaker: Dave Welch Noon 1:15 pm Buffet Luncheon 1:20 pm 4:15 pm Speakers: Don Shannon, Jim McGill, Lynn Porter 4:15 pm 5:30 pm Chapter Meetings 6:00 pm 9:30 pm Awards Banquet and Live Auction Thursday, August 7 6:30 am 5:00 pm Registration/Information at Nampa Civic Center 7:00 am 5:00 pm Convention Tours: Buses load at Nampa Civic Center Tour A Boise Valley Oregon Trail Tour B Goodale s Cutoff, Boise Valley to Cambridge, Idaho Tour C The Utter Tragedy, Part 1 Tour D The Utter Tragedy, Part 2 Tour E Five-Mile Hiking Tour, Oregon Trail South Alternate Tour F Oregon Trail North Alternate and Kelton Road (returns at 6:00 pm) 5:00 pm 6:30 pm Dinner on Your Own 6:30 pm 9:00 pm Authors Night, with Lady Marjorie Lane, Piano Music of Yesteryear Friday, August 8 7:00 am 6:00 pm Registration/Information at Nampa Civic Center 8:00 am Noon Speakers: Ray Egan, Mary Michaelson, Jacqueline Williams, Pat Packard Noon 1:15 pm Buffet Luncheon 1:30 pm 3:10 pm Speakers: Jim Henderson, Paul Nettleton 3:15 pm 5:15 pm Workshops 6:00 pm 9:00 pm Dinner at Nampa Civic Center, followed by Wapato Indian Club dancers and Bona Fide band in the auditorium Saturday, August 9 7:00 am 5:00 pm Convention Tours: Buses load at Nampa Civic Center Tour A Boise Valley Oregon Trail Tour C The Utter Tragedy, Part 1 Tour D The Utter Tragedy, Part 2 Tour G Three Island Crossing Reenactment and Main Oregon Trail 6:00 pm 9:00 pm Barbeque at McKellip Pond, with Bob Miller Band

3 Registration Information The Idaho and Northwest Chapters and the city of Nampa, Idaho, invite you to attend the 26th Annual OCTA Convention, Trails: Tragedies & Triumphs, August 5 9, Registration will begin at noon on Monday, August 4, at the Nampa Civic Center, 311 3rd Street South, Nampa. MAIL-IN REGISTRATION: Please return the top copy of both pages of your completed registration form and check or credit card form on the back of the booklet (page 20) in the enclosed self-addressed envelope. Keep the bottom yellow copies for your records. Mail both top pages and payment to: OCTA Registration PO Box 1019 Independence, MO ONLINE REGISTRATION: NEW! Registration may be done online at the OCTA website: REGISTER BEFORE JULY 8 TO AVOID LATE REGISTRATION FEES CANCELLATION POLICY Prior to July full refund July 15 August 1... cost of meals and 50% of bus tours After August no refund except those granted by the OCTA Board of Directors, after the convention upon special request. Such refunds will be made only in cases of extreme hardship. CONVENTION INQUIRIES Inquiries may be directed to either of the convention co-chairs: Roger Blair Jim McGill 524 NW 3rd St 305 Melba Dr Pendleton, OR Nampa, ID rblair@oregontrail.net jwmcgill@pobox.com SPECIAL NEEDS If you need special disability considerations, please write a letter outlining those needs and attach it to your return registration form. Address the letter to Glenn Harrison, President of OCTA. 3

4 Accommodations Convention Motels The following motels are offering special rates for those attending the OCTA August 2008 Nampa Convention. All of them are next to Interstate 84 and within 1 2 miles of the Nampa Civic Center where the convention will be held. There are no motels near the civic center. Some have blocks of rooms set aside, which must be reserved by the dates indicated for the prices quoted. After that, the unused block rooms will be offered to the general public at higher prices. Most motels have indicated they will extend the prices to more rooms than are blocked, if any are available, and if members call before the deadline dates. Please indicate that you are an OCTA member when you call. If necessary, direct questions to the person(s) named at each motel. Holiday Inn Express 4104 E. Flamingo Ave Teri Plummer, Director, teriplummer@cableone.net. 25 Room Block until July 21 $89.99 (full service motel) Days Inn 130 Shannon Dr., Richard Bell, rpbdaysinn@msn.com. 40 Room Block $59.99 Shilo Inn 617 Nampa Blvd., Ruth Story, ruth.story@shiloinns.com. 40 Room Block until July 3 $69.00 Shilo Inn Suites, 1401 Shilo Drive Ruth Story, ruth.story@shiloinns.com. 10 Room Block until July 3 $92.00 (full service motel) Sleep Inn 1315 Industrial Rd., Anita Sartorius, gm.id003@choicehotels.com. 20 Room Block $69.99 Sing/Dbl. Super Nampa Blvd, Nampa, ID Kathy/Tracy, depak_kapu@yahoo.com. Open price $64.00 per night. Other Motels, without any agreement: RV Parks: Best Western, Caldwell Budget Inn, Nampa Comfort Suites, Meridian Desert Inn, Nampa Hampton Inn, Nampa La Quinta Inn, Caldwell Motel 6, Meridian Sundowner, Caldwell Caldwell RV Park, Town Cir., Caldwell, Decoy RV Park, Riverside Rd., Caldwell, Garrity Blvd. Park, 3515 Garrity Blvd., Nampa, Mason Creek Park, 807 Franklin Blvd., Nampa,

5 Welcome to Nampa, Idaho All Convention activities will be at the Nampa Civic Center, 311 3rd Street South (3rd Street is one-way southeast no motels are nearby) 5

6 The Fort Hall Road August 2 4 Pre-Convention Tours The Fort Hall Road was the first emigrant trail to California via the Humboldt River. It branched off of the Oregon Trail just after it crossed Raft River in southeastern Idaho. With the addition of the Hudspeth Cutoff and the Salt Lake Cutoff, the Fort Hall Road evolved into the California Trail. The auto tour will begin at the Raft River, the beginning of the Fort Hall Road, and generally follow the route of the trail as it winds its way to the Humboldt River. Because we have to follow modern roads, the tour will be close to the trail at times, but at other times will be some distance away. The group will visit the beginning of the Raft River Road, McClenden Spring, City of Rocks, Pinnacle Pass, Granite Pass, Record Bluff, Little Goose Creek Canyon, the Emigrant Post Office, Rock Springs, and other emigrant locations along the trail. Several short hikes to visit trail locations or to experience what the emigrants endured are also planned. The tour will take two and one-half to three days of back-country driving over some very remote bladed and unbladed roads. The tour is limited to high-clearance vehicles in good condition. Fourwheel drive is desired, but not required. A CB radio is required. Tires must be in good, fairly new condition. Two nights will be spent dry camping along the way. Plan on hot and cold weather, depending upon the time of day or night. Thunder storms are a possibility. Participants need to bring enough food, water, and supplies for the three-day trip. 10 vehicle limit! Leader: Dick Brock, , dicbee@sbcglobal.net Goodale s Cutoff and 1863 Variant August 3 Goodale s Cutoff was opened in fall 1862 by Timothy Goodale. It is a separate route from the Jeffrey-Goodale Cutoff that was opened by John Jeffrey in 1852 and also used by Goodale in Goodale s later use of the Jeffrey-Goodale Cutoff resulted in increased emigrant use of the route, in contrast to the sparse traffic on it during its first ten years. Goodale then opened Goodale s Cutoff, which went northwest from Boise, following Indian and packer trails all the way to Hell s Canyon and Brownlee Ferry, where he crossed into Oregon and opened a new route to Baker Valley. The auto tour will begin at Nampa, Idaho, and drive toward Emmett, where a steep, narrow ridge took the Goodale train down to the Payette River valley. The group will view the swales on the ridge top, then traveling north from Emmett, the group will follow the 1863 Variant that was opened six months after the Goodale wagons went through. Most emigrants only traveled Goodale s original route down the Payette River to Farewell Bend, Oregon, and crossed on Olds Ferry that was established in The 1863 Variant replaced Goodale s original terrible stretch over Midvale Hill the hill being too rough for most emigrant wagons to the Cambridge Valley. The tour will go north of Emmett and view the Haw Creek ruts, pass through the historic Van Dussen Ranch, and continue along Fourmile Creek to the pass. The trail was somewhat replaced by an 1878 road that in places parallel each other, and in another place join together for 20 miles. Swales are visible at the Sucker Creek crossing, at Big Willow Creek, in the Fourmile drainage, at Indian Creek, and parallel to the present road going to Little Willow Flat. More great swales will be seen on BLM land and on some private land. The trail will be seen near Crane Creek Reservoir, then a loop will be followed to Crane Creek, Midvale Hill, and south over the pass viewing trail remnants along the way. The tour will finish by viewing some 1862 trail swales near the lower Little Willow and Big Willow Creeks, then return to Nampa. High clearance vehicles are a must. The group will use 14-Channel FRS Radios, such as Radio Shack # , which are better than CBs for this terrain (hand held or vehicle adapted). 6

7 Two or three extra radios are available to borrow from the tour guide. Participants need to bring their own lunches and drinks. 10 vehicle limit! Leader: Jim McGill, , Twin Falls, Idaho, Area Trails and Sites August 3 After emigrants passed the Raft River area and those going to California had turned off, the Oregon Trail followed the Snake River for awhile before it went inland for some distance. The trail passed through the present Milner area and continued for about 8 more miles near the river, heading westerly, where there are still some deep-worn swales known as the Milner Ruts. Much of the trail is now destroyed by the farmed land on the flat land between Milner and Twin Falls. In 1865 a store was built at the stage station where the Oregon Trail encountered Rock Creek for the first time. Later the Kelton Wagon Road from Utah intersected the trail there and joined it for a long way. Herman Stricker and a partner bought the store and surrounding buildings in The Stricker Station and Homesite is now preserved by the Idaho State Historical Society. Seven miles to the northwest, the trail crossed through a deep part of Rock Creek Canyon, south of Twin Falls, and then went on to meet the Snake River again about 20 miles west-northwest. This tour gives a good overview of the terrain and the challenges it presented to travelers on the Oregon Trail, including original ruts and the impressive irrigation project that transformed the area into today s Magic Valley. This will be a bus tour departing and ending in Twin Falls, Idaho. Participants will meet at the Twin Falls Visitors Center (day parking available) at the south end of the Perrine Bridge, Exit 173 from I-84, and 3 miles south on U.S. 93. During the day the bus tour will visit the historic Milner Dam, the Milner Ruts and interpretive area, and the Heyburn Visitors Center. Some of the badlands and evidences of the prehistoric Bonneville Flood will be seen on the way to the Minidoka Relocation Center where Japanese were relocated during WWII. Other historic sites will be viewed and discussed as the bus returns to Stricker Station and Homesite for a tour. The bus will return to the Twin Falls Visitors Center. Lunches and drinks will be served on the tour. Leaders, members of Friends of Stricker Station: Marian Posey, , vinclothes@onewest.net or Curtis Johnson, curtis@mvhypnosis.com 7

8 Special Event The OCTA Jeffrey-Goodale Cutoff Wagon Train, Dell Mangum, wagon master, will travel from Montpelier, Idaho, to Nampa. It will arrive in Nampa on Monday, August 4, for the convention. The wagon train will stay in Nampa through August 9. Periodically it will be set up at the Civic Center, and at other times wagon rides will be offered at the wagon camp for a modest fee. Arrangements for participating in the wagon train as it travels from Montpelier to Nampa are being handled separately from convention registration. For information about the wagon train, its schedule, or participation in it, contact: Norma Dart nodart@cableone.net Raffle and Silent Auction Another great Raffle and Silent Auction will be held during the convention. In addition there will be a live auction at the end of the Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening, featuring some special items. If you have items to donate to the Raffle or Silent Auction, please contact: Patti King-McGill Mary O Malley pattiking@pobox.com ochspress@owyheemuseum.org REGISTRATION/INFORMATION, RAFFLE/AUCTION, AND BOOK ROOM HOURS Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Registration/Info Noon 9 pm 7 am 9 pm 6:30 am 7 pm 6:30 am 5 pm 7 am 6 pm Raffle/Auction 9 am 6 pm 9 am 9 pm 8 am 6 pm Book Room 6 pm 9 pm 9 am 6 pm 6 pm 9 pm 8 am 6 pm Attention: Authors If you are an author and would like to be contacted about participating in Authors Night, Thursday, August 7, please check the line on page 2 of the registration form and provide contact information. There is no charge to participate. Space will be provided at special tables set up for the authors. You may bring copies of your book or books, or you may make prior arrangements with the OCTA Bookstore to have copies available. Sales tax information will be provided in your information packet. 8

9 Convention Speakers Keynote Speaker Robert L. Meinen, The National Issue of Concern Regarding Children s Ability to Connect with Nature: How to Keep it Real in a Virtual World Bob Meinen first worked for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation as Deputy Director from 1979 to 1984, when he became Director, serving until He then served as Director of the Kansas and Oregon state park systems, and Deputy Director for Parks Operations for the Missouri State Department of Natural Resources. Meinen became Director of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation for the second time in September Meinen will discuss why it is important to educate young people to appreciate natural and historic resources, for if we fail to do so, we risk losing these important values. David J. Welch, Trail Preservation: What We Have Done What We Might Do Dave Welch, OCTA s retiring National Trails Preservation Officer (NTPO), will present an overview of OCTA s preservation activities. He will discuss the practical aspects of trail preservation, summarize his personal experiences as NTPO, give an overview of OCTA s trail preservation triumphs and tragedies, and propose where we might go in the future. In addition to serving as OCTA s NTPO for the last seven years, Welch served as OCTA s national president ( ) and was twice elected to the board of directors. Donald H. Shannon, Indian-White Relations along the Oregon Trail in Idaho Don Shannon, author of three books on disastrous Indian-white encounters along the trail in Idaho will examine the Shoshone, Northern Paiutes, and Bannocks and their relations with the fur traders, army, Indian agents, and emigrants. A few of the adverse encounters between the Indians and the intruders in their land were not only tragic events, but also simply atrocious. Shannon will describe the Perry and Ward trains in 1854, the Shepherd and Miltimore trains in 1859, the attack on the Utter train in Owyhee County and subsequent attacks on the survivors in 1860, and the attacks on trains and retaliatory skirmishes that occurred between Massacre Rocks and American Falls in James W. McGill, Tim Goodale s 1862 Cutoff in Eastern Oregon Jim McGill, OCTA s Mapping Chair, has exhaustively studied Tim Goodale and his family, finding much that previously was not well known and finding that some information that was known was inaccurate. He will sketch the lives of Goodale and his family and focus on two sections of Tim Goodale s Cutoff that have come to be viewed controversially. These are the 45-mile 1863 Variant and the more than 50 miles of trail pioneered by a train he guided from the Brownlee Ferry on the Snake River to the Baker Valley in Oregon. Use of Goodale s route for over twenty years made Goodale and his trail important to the development of Idaho and eastern Oregon. Lynn Porter, Angels Along the Trail Nearly one person in ten who started on the Oregon Trail met their fate long before the end of the trail. Illness, accidents, and starvation all took their toll on the harsh traveling conditions. But where 9

10 are their graves now? Lynn Porter, a senior in anthropology with an interest in forensic archaeology at Idaho State University, will discuss how these graves are located, what to look for, and how graves have been located using modern methods. She has assisted law enforcement with several missing persons cold cases utilizing her human remains K-9 handler and archaeology skills. She has also worked on the location and preservation of historical graves and cemeteries, including several on the Oregon Trail in Idaho. Ray Egan, as Ezra Meeker, My Friend, George Bush Ezra Meeker will tell his heartwarming story of a black family who, with a contingent of white neighbors, left Missouri in 1844 for freedom and free land in Oregon. Oregon s Lash Law forced the Bushes and twenty-four loyal white friends to settle north of the Columbia River, near today s Tumwater, Washington. Although unable to own his farm because of his race, Bush saved countless white neighbors and trail survivors from destitution by sharing his harvests. For his generosity, Bush was rewarded with a special congressional bill awarding him his homestead. Meeker makes it very clear why he admired Bush, whom he mentioned in several of his books. Ray Egan previously performed as Ezra Meeker in 2004 at the Vancouver, Washington, convention and again in 2006 at the St. Joseph, Missouri, convention. Mary Michaelson, The Goodell/Goodale Connection to Famous Founding Families of the Pacific Northwest Mary Michaelson, Assistant Curator for the Lynden Pioneer Museum in Lynden, Washington, has conducted extensive research into the life of Phoebe Goodell Judson, an 1853 Oregon Trail emigrant and author of A Pioneer s Search for an Ideal Home. Her research has led to some intriguing discoveries of connections to several other famous Goodell/Goodale family members, as well as to members of other pioneering families of importance in the development of the Pacific Northwest. Her PowerPoint presentation features old and new views of significant sites, rare documents, and people. She will also feature a display table with relevant books, documents, and photographs, many of them never before shared with the public. Jacqueline Williams, The Best of Meals, The Terrible Meals: Culinary Tales from the Oregon Trail Jacqueline Williams will briefly discuss the foods carried or acquired on the Oregon Trail. Most of her talk will focus on why some meals would be considered delicious, while others left the wagon companies irritable and hungry. Williams is the award winning author of Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food On the Oregon Trail and The Way We Ate: Pacific Northwest Cooking, She received the 2006 Washington State Library Culture Heritage Award: Taste of Washington, the 1997 Award for Individual Excellence from the Washington Museum Association, and the Marie Folkins Award. In 2008 she received the Annual History Award from the Pacific Northwest Historical Guild. She has been published widely in journals and contributed essays to Encyclopedia of American Foods and Culinary Biographies. Pat Packard, Use of Plants on the Oregon Trail Pat Packard will discuss the influence of vegetation on travelers and their animals for nutrition, health, and other purposes. She will also explore poisonous plants and pioneer attitudes about using unknown wild foods. Packard was a botany professor at the College of Idaho for over thirty years. She is active in genealogy circles, is an Oregon Trail scholar, and has led field trips on wildflowers and plants and their uses for her local historical society. 10

11 James W. Henderson, Indirect Historic Preservation: Emigrant Inscriptions along the Oregon-California Trails Jim Henderson will discuss a polarized light photographic application that has been successfully used to reveal the rich details of inscriptions along the Oregon-California Trails, many of which were previously thought lost or non-existent. Polarized lighting and digital enhancement have made it feasible to restore photographically the visual appearance of the inscriptions as they appeared when first created. These clear photographs have been linked to the typed names and integrated into a searchable database. Paul Nettleton, Owyhee County Early Years: Trails, Miners, and Ranchers Paul Nettleton, a colorful and entertaining speaker, will discuss his family s relationship to the South Alternate Oregon Trail beginning in When his family first came to Owyhee County they settled at Ruby City, near present Silver City. They hoped to capitalize on providing beef, milk products, and vegetables to local miners. However, the family soon moved to Sinker Creek and started the Joyce Ranch, where Paul still lives. He will discuss the mining, ranching, lumbering, and overall life in Owyhee County, as well as evidence of a little known trail massacre. Generous support for the 2008 Nampa Convention provided in part by the National Park Service, Long Distance Trails Offices, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Salt Lake City, Utah 11

12 Workshops Friday, 3:15 p.m. 5:15 p.m. Using Interviews to Document Family and Local History Kathy Hodges The lives of ordinary people can contain romantic and poignant moments, frightening incidents, breathtaking escapes, and sudden twists of fate. Are you thinking of interviewing your grandmother? Would you like to save community stories for future generations? Idaho oral historian Kathy Hodges will talk about memory, story, and history. She will also explain some of the basics of recording and preserving oral narratives, using examples from the 2,500-plus interviews in the Idaho State Historical Society s collection. Kathy Hodges is the oral historian at the Idaho State Historical Society. She has a B.A. in anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in history from Boise State University. She has worked for the Idaho State Historical Society in various capacities for over twenty years. Firearms on the Oregon Trail Kenneth Swanson Ken Swanson will present an overview of the types of firearms carried on the trail, where they came from, and how the technology changed over the years. He will present many examples for the workshop participants to view. Swanson has been with the Idaho State Historical Society for over thirty years. His background is in archaeology and history, focused on military history and firearms technology. In Pursuit of the Beaver, : Fur Traders, Trappers, and Mountain Men in Idaho Norma Dart, Jim Payne, and Mary O Malley This panel will discuss early exploration while "In Pursuit of the Beaver" in southern Idaho before the advent of the Oregon Trail. This informal presentation will discuss the fur trappers and traders, including their impact on Indian tribes, trails, international politics, and the environment during their presence in this immense, high desert country. The time line is pre-1800 to 1840, with a focus on the peak trapping period. Mary O Malley, Jim Payne, and Norma Dart are longtime residents of the West and have studied the trappers and mountain men of western Idaho for many years. They are landowners who have seen evidence of the trappers and why they roamed the area. They will reflect on their scholarship and personal experiences growing up on the land, which these early explorers roamed in search of pelts. Norma Dart was raised on a ranch near Danskin Canyon and developed an interest in the topic at an early age. She has written a book about the area, titled Danskin Canyon. Mary O Malley is a charter member of the Owyhee County Historical Society and is on the Board of Directors of the Society. Her paternal great-grandparents came to Owyhee County on the Oregon Trail in 1864 and settled on the ranch where she and her brother were raised. They both still live within twenty miles of where their father and grandmother were born. Jim Payne is a longtime OCTA member whose first interest in the fur trade era was sparked by a college roommate who encouraged him to read The Big Sky by A. B. Guthrie Jr. Since then he has studied the fur trade and accumulated an extensive library of fur trade books, as well as volumes on northwest history, Lewis and Clark, and westward expansion. 12

13 Long-Range Interpretive Plan: Telling Trail Stories Sharon Brown and Paul Lee Join National Park Service (NPS) planners in developing a Long Range Interpretive Plan (LRIP) for the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express National Historic Trails. This comprehensive planning effort, which is now underway, will result in recommendations for providing orientation, interpretation, educational media, and educational programming to the hundreds of thousands of visitors traveling the four trails annually. This will be a hands-on workshop where you will be asked for your perspectives about how NPS and their trail partners, including OCTA, can provide consistent, contextual interpretation across the length of these trails in the years to come. Paul Lee is an Interpretive Planner with the NPS Harpers Ferry Center in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. He works with interpreters across the National Park System to conduct comprehensive interpretive planning. Sharon A. Brown has had a long association with OCTA, both as a member and in her capacity as NPS employee. She is an Outdoor Recreation Planner with the National Trails System-Intermountain Region Office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and assists with administering nine national historic trails. Fashionable to Practical: Adapting Clothing for the Trail Wendy Miller Participants will learn how Victorian fashions of the late 1840s through the 1860s were constructed and adapted for use on the trail. Authentic and reproduction clothing from Wendy Miller's private collection will be displayed. She has studied and collected antique and vintage clothing for almost thirty years, and has presented many programs to various organizations and groups throughout southern Idaho. She is currently the Curator for the Canyon County Historical Society, Nampa, Idaho, a position she has held for eight years. AARP IDAHO is pleased to announce its publication A Walking Guide for the Oregon and California Emigrant Trails in Idaho A complimentary copy will be given to each convention participant 13

14 Convention Bus Tours Thursday, August 7, and Saturday, August 9 Tour A Boise Valley Oregon Trail. Thursday and Saturday From Bonneville Point, where the emigrants first viewed the Boise Valley, to the second crossing of the Snake River near Hudson s Bay Company s Fort Boise, this tour will follow the 1840s and 50s route of the main Oregon Trail along the Boise River. Later routes will be seen in what became known as the Treasure Valley of western Idaho and on to the Oregon border. Participants will walk the trail at the Oregon Trail Historic Reserve Park in Boise. The route of the Oregon trail is approximated past Boise State University, over the site of the Capitol Blvd. bridge (which changed the route of the Oregon Trail in 1863), and on U.S There will be stops at Ward Memorial Park, the Canyon Crossing of the Boise River in Caldwell (with a walk to view the defile through which the wagons were lowered), and the Old Fort Boise replica in Parma. The tour will include excerpts from emigrant journals, descriptions of the local Shoshone, and discussion of Indian-white relations. Lunches and drinks will be served on the tour. Leader: Don Shannon. Tour B Goodale s Cutoff, Boise Valley to Cambridge, ID. Thursday only This tour will go to Emmett, the Payette River, Midvale, and Cambridge on the original route that the Goodale wagon train opened in Goodale s train was not successful in establishing a route over Midvale Hill that emigrants could travel to Oregon. However, several segments of Goodale s route became the main trails to Oregon after Many Oregon-bound emigrants followed Goodale s trail from Boise to Weiser, but then after crossing the Snake River rejoined the Oregon Trail on the Burnt River portion. By 1863 a new 20-mile trail segment connected Goodale s Cutoff from Weiser to the Olds Ferry at Farewell Bend and to the Oregon Trail. The route from Boise to near Weiser, and west across the Snake, became more heavily used than the main trail going down the Boise River to cross the Snake at the Fort Boise site. Others traveled to settlements in the valleys on lower Powder River in Oregon on another variant opened in spring 1863 that went from Emmett to the Weiser River near Cambridge, and then they followed Goodale s 1862 route to the Brownlee Ferry crossing of the Snake in Hells Canyon. This 1863 Variant became the main route to the Middle Weiser River valley in Idaho and on to the Pine and Eagle Valleys in Oregon. Highlights and stops on the tour will include the extreme ridge near Emmett going down to the Payette River, the Bluff Trail, Mann Creek and Thousand Springs trail routes, Midvale Hill ruts, the Goodale camp with Martha Jane Roberts grave at Little Weiser River, Salubria town site, Cambridge Museum, and Camp Creek trail ruts. Lunches and drinks will be served on the tour. Leaders: Gary Franklin and Thel Pearson. Tour C The Utter Tragedy, Part 1: Oregon Trail South Alternate, Owyhee County. Thursday and Saturday The tour will go east, and after a brief rest stop in historic Murphy, Idaho, the tour will continue to Castle Butte, Owyhee County, south of the Snake River, where the 1860 Utter wagon train disaster began. From there it will continue west on the route that the survivors followed toward Oregon. The bus will stop at an OCTA interpretive marker on Wees Road (Sign #1) to view the September 8, 1860, campsite of the Utter train and the site of the first attack on September 9 to the east. The trail route toward the second attack site will also be seen. A short bus ride and a hike of about 1/4 mile will take participants to overlook the second attack/first death site. An Utter highway sign (Sign #2) 14

15 will be seen at a stop on Highway 78. Going west, participants will view the terrible Sinker Creek Grade on the South Alternate and the trail crossing of Swan Falls Road, with trail markers in the ruts. Presentations on the Utters and other history of the area will be given all along the way. Lunch will be provided at the Owyhee County Historical Society Museum. A museum tour and book store stop will conclude the noon stop. In the afternoon a short trip down Con Shea Basin Road will give access to two variant trail crossings and views of trail swales. Farther west on Hwy. 78, the tour will stop at Gerald Muller s historic Bernard Ferry Barn, located on the trail. The last stop will be at the 1½ mile-long deep swales of the South Alternate, south of Marsing, Idaho, with a short trail hike. Lunches and drinks will be served on the tour. Suggested Reading for Parts 1 and 2: Donald H. Shannon, The Utter Disaster on the Oregon Trail (Caldwell, Idaho: Snake Country Publishing, 1993). Available at the OCTA Bookstore. Leaders: Jim McGill, Jim Hyslop, and Mary O Malley. Tour D The Utter Tragedy, Part 2: Oregon Trail South Alternate, and Oregon Trail, Malheur County, Eastern Oregon. Thursday and Saturday The first stop on this tour will be at an Oregon Trail sign south of Adrian on the South Alternate. Next the tour will go the site of the Starvation Camp of the Utter survivors and then back to the highway and an OCTA marker (Sign #3), west of the camp. Continuing north, the tour will see a highway sign (Sign #4) at Oregon Trail Park and kiosk, the junction of Oregon Trail and South Alternate, the Lytle Blvd. route of the Oregon Trail over Keeney Pass, the Keeney Pass kiosk, and stop at Vale for lunch. In the afternoon the tour will go to Alkali Springs north of Vale (if time permits), go through Ontario to Farewell Bend, and possibly detour south to the Birch Creek Ruts. Returning to Farewell Bend, the tour will go to an Utter highway sign (Sign #5), the Van Ornum graves, an OCTA marker (Sign #6) with multiple trail swales west of Hwy. 30, and finally to Huntington and the last OCTA marker (Sign # 7) in the city park. Lunches and drinks will be served on the tour. Leaders: Tom Gray and Don Popejoy. Tour E Five-Mile Hiking Tour, Oregon Trail South Alternate. Thursday only The bus will take hikers to Murphy Flat. The hike will be back toward Murphy on the South Alternate. It will be hot on the high desert in August, and hikers must be in good physical health and capable of making the entire distance. Please do not sign up for this hiking tour if your health condition is questionable. The 5-mile hike will cover pristine swales from the Swan Falls Dam road on the south side of the Snake River, south over a small pass for 2½ miles, to a dirt road connection where hikers will be met with lunch and drinks. The hike will then extend in a long arc, 2 miles to the northwest, to Murphy Rim, over which the trail drops through a cut in rock layers. The last ½ mile is downhill to a ranch area where hikers will be met by the bus. If time permits, hikers will be bused back across the flat and down in a river side canyon where the terrible Sinker Grade ascent of the trail still exists, and the group will hike up the grade to the top and to some ruts in the rock surface. Lunches and drinks will be served on the tour. Hikers need to bring a carry bag for the water bottles that will be provided. Leaders: Wally Meyer and Tuck and Kay Forsythe. 15

16 Tour F Oregon Trail North Alternate and Kelton Road. Thursday only In 1852 trappers built a ferry on the Snake River just above Salmon Falls. Emigrant traffic began to cross the river and follow a route on the north side of the Snake River that had better grass and road conditions. The Kelton and Toana Wagon Roads (freight roads) and stage roads followed much of this route for many years. This tour will follow the North Alternate from the Snake River ferry site, across the Malad River, along Clover Creek, up King Hill, and across the desert foothills before joining the main trail at Hot Springs Creek. Sites on this tour include the Salmon Falls Creek crossing, Thousand Springs, the trapper ferry site, and the Kelton Road bridge ramps at the crossing of the Malad River in the morning. The tour will stop for lunch at the Hagerman city park, within a short walk of the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Visitor Center and the Hagerman Historical Society Museum. The afternoon includes a short walk to four-foot deep ruts approaching Clover Creek, the King Hill Station site, King Hill, Little Canyon Creek, Alkali Creek, Cold Springs Creek, Ryegrass Creek, Bennett Creek, and Hot Springs Creek. This tour covers the entire length of the North Alternate and contains a number of interesting sites. It follows many miles of excellent undisturbed ruts. Short walks are required to view the Malad River crossing and Clover Creek ruts. This will be a long and full day. The tour will leave at 7:00 a.m. and is scheduled to return at 6:00 p.m. in the evening later than the other tours. Lunches and drinks will be served on the tour. NOTE: The air conditioners on the buses will be turned off for up to an hour on some sections of this tour while the bus is on gravel roads. Leader: Jerry Eichhorst. Tour G Three Island Crossing Reenactment and Main Oregon Trail. Saturday only The Oregon Trail followed old Indian and trapper trails across southern Idaho. A few miles downstream from the present town of Glenns Ferry, the trail forded the Snake River using a series of islands. The crossing was noted in nearly every diary and was often a dangerous experience. Every year a reenactment of the crossing is performed on the second Saturday in August. Although the river level is now controlled by dams, and boats are available to help in case of emergencies, the crossing is still a dangerous and unique experience. Sorry, but wagon passengers are not allowed. This tour features two outstanding Oregon Trail features within southwestern Idaho: Three Island Crossing and Ditto Creek Inscription Rock. In the morning this tour will follow the main Oregon Trail in reverse from Rattlesnake Creek, past the Hot Springs site, to Glenns Ferry and Three Island Crossing State Park. The park has an excellent interpretive center. The reenactment begins at 11:00 a.m. A short walk will be required at Three Island Crossing State Park, which is typically crowded. After lunch at the park, the afternoon tour will follow the main Oregon Trail from Canyon Creek to Bowns Creek. The highlight of the afternoon will be a visit to the Ditto Creek Inscription Rock. Another short walk will be necessary to view Inscription Rock. Located on private property, this tall granite boulder has many emigrant names written in axle grease dating back to the 1840s. In its natural and unprotected setting, this emigrant treasure is slowly fading away. Lunches and drinks will be served on the tour. NOTE: The air conditioners on the buses will be turned off for up to an hour on some sections of this tour while the bus is on gravel roads. Leader: Jerry Eichhorst. 16

17 Entertainment Tuesday, August 5 Welcoming Reception, OCTA Band and High Desert Band High Desert Band. High Desert Band is an acoustic group whose repertoire ranges from the Celtic roots of old-time mountain music to bluegrass, folk, cowboy, and comedy. They include an ever growing list of original songs. Combining intricate vocal harmonies with toetapping Irish and Appalachian fiddle tunes and original instrumental and vocal numbers, they fuse old songs and music with their own progressive touch, resulting in an upbeat, creative mix with many well-known songs. The High Desert Band members are Jerry Firth, Cathy Bourner, Randy Helton, and Kayleigh Jack. High Desert Band homepage: Thursday, August 7 Authors Night, pianist Lady Marjorie Lane Lady Marjorie Lane. Pianist Lady Marjorie Lane plays all kinds of music and takes requests. She can play classical, western, modern, religious if you name it, she will play it. She was born and raised in Oregon, but is a long-time resident of Idaho. She comes from a musical family and began her formal musical training at three years of age, playing professionally since she was seven. She has been teaching piano in her private Encore Studio for over twenty-five years. She has traveled extensively, visiting and performing in mining towns, refurbished hotels, museums, and other venues. Of British-French descent, her ancestors include Elder William Brewster on the Mayflower, Judge William A. Carter who rebuilt Fort Bridger, and attorney Julius Eugene Lane who designed and promoted the Bruneau Dam and the Thousand Springs Irrigation Project. Friday, August 8 In auditorium after dinner: Wapato Indian Club dancers and Bona Fide Bona Fide. Bona Fide is a southwest Idaho musical group that specializes in Americana and Idaho roots music, performed with a unique bluegrass, folk, and country flavor. Bona Fide performs as a duo (Gary Eller and Marv Quinton), trio (Gary, Marv, and Aaron Fewkes), or with one of their talented musical Idaho friends as a four-piece band. Gary Eller, from Pickles Butte, Idaho, directs a project that collects historically-based Idaho songs. The project has collected 1,000 songs related to Idaho. Of these, nearly two hundred are historically based, half of 17

18 which predate Among these are several rare songs directly related to actual events on the Oregon Trail in Idaho and adjoining areas. Bona Fide homepage: Wapato Indian Club. Wapato Indian Club promotes cultural understanding towards Native Americans through the art of dance. Their performances include the traditional War Dance, Girl s Fancy Dance, and Welcome Dance. Performances also include sign language and non-traditional songs. All performers are youths from the Wapato Middle School, high school, and alternative school in Wapato, Washington. The Wapato Indian Club advisor is Margaret Helen Carter. Saturday, August 9 Barbecue at McKellip Pond; after dinner entertainment: Bob Miller Band Bob Miller Band. Bob and June Miller are part of the popular Bob Miller Band in Treasure Valley. Bob plays acoustic bass guitar and June plays banjo. Other members play guitar, mandolin, and do vocals. The band plays classic country western, as well as rock and roll, old ragtime tunes, and gospel. They have performed at the Country Jubilee in Oregon, Performing Arts Center near Seattle, and at dances, charitable and community functions, and private celebrations. The Bob Miller Band encourages singing along with the group. June and Bob Miller 18

19 Attention: Educators! Five Quarter-Hour Credits are available for attending the 2008 OCTA Convention in Nampa, Idaho, August 5 9 This convention is suitable for five quarter-hour credits of continuing education by attending the full convention and completing a packet of readings and lesson plan assignments. The credits are offered through The Heritage Institute/Antioch University of Seattle. Cost: Clock Hours only: $ level: $ level: $415 (Cost includes the Field Journal, Selected Readings, and Assignments Packet, but not the cost of attending the convention.) To obtain credit: fill out the information below and send it and the tuition to: Keith F. May & Christina Rae May, Instructors of Record 5 NE Despain Avenue Pendleton, OR Oregon and Washington teachers may apply for a $200 scholarship from the NW Chapter. For information or questions, call or drighsid@uci.net Note: Teachers wishing credit through Northwest Nazarene University should NOT complete this form. Registration information for NNU credit is on the next page. Detach and Return with Tuition Oregon-California Trails Association Convention Course, Emigrant Trails, Tragedies & Triumphs Name: Credit Options mark one Address: Clock Hours $365 HI 406n $390 HI 506n $415 Phone: Last 4 digits of your Social Security # xxx-xx- (or Heritage Student No.) Mail check or money order, made out to: Heritage, and mail to the address above. Mail this detached form and payment to Keith and Christina May NOT TO OCTA. (All convention registration forms should be sent to OCTA.) You will receive your packets and directions for completing the course requirements in the mail. All requirements must be completed and returned to the instructors no later than September 15, Cancellation Policy: Tuition, minus a $20 administrative fee, will be refunded if the request is made in writing by June 30. After July 1, 2008, full tuition is forfeited. 19

20 OCTA Registration Charge Card Form If you wish to charge your convention registration fees to VISA or MasterCard, please complete this form and return it with your registration papers. VISA MasterCard Amount $ Card # Expiration Date Print name as on card Signature Date Idaho Teachers: Northwest Nazarene University Credit for Teachers Course: HS 550: Exploring Oregon-California Trails Graduate Semester Credits; Tuition Cost: $65/credit Course Instructor: Terry Cantrell Course Dates: August 4 9, 2008 Due Date for Completion of Course Requirements: August 22, 2008 For NNU credit, register at the convention or contact: Terry Cantrell NNU History Department 623 Holly St. Nampa, ID twcantrell@nnu.edu Registration information is also online at 20