 There's history here. And here. There's history there. History is everywhere. Welcome to the Southern Oregon History Show. Our show features historical museums and societies from throughout Jackson County. I'm Amy Drake, exhibition curator at the Southern Oregon Historical Society and your host for today's show. With me today is Julie Thompson from the Lake Creek Historical Society. Welcome Julie. Thank you. Thanks for coming. You're welcome. How did you get involved with the Lake Creek Historical Society? Well, actually I was looking back through the old newsletters and I found out they started in 1990 and my husband and I signed up in 1991. So, right away? Right away. Yeah, but it was exciting, you know, for out there they had a couple different projects that we got involved in and we were just really excited to help out the community and help restore the old building and the old bridge and stuff, so yeah. Do you remember what some of your first projects were? Gosh. I think a lot of it was just doing the hall. The hall was the main focus there. When you say the hall, what do you mean, what is it? It's called Pioneer Hall and that's where we have our offices for the Historical Society and it just used to be the community gathering place and we would have Christmas dinners there and everybody would come, quote, out of the hills and come and have a nice potluck dinner and we had an old potbelly stove in the corner and outhouse, a three cedar outside and that's what it all kind of started with and then when the Historical Society got going they were able to get grants and things and we built on, the outside was in disrepair, it was kind of falling apart and so they got it from, because it was built in the 40s, they were able to get the lease from the community club that was out there and through that they were able to get grants and things to refurbish the building and add on the offices and add on indoor restrooms and take out the potbelly stove and put in heating and cooling system. Okay, what was the inspiration for organizing the Historical Society? Just to save the buildings and save our heritage out there, because we have a really strong community and strong heritage out in that area. A lot of German descent families came and settled the area and they built the Grange, they built the first community hall which was an octagonal building which I never got to really see, I've just seen pictures because it burned down and then they built this one in the 40s and then we refurbished it in the 90s. Okay, so where is Lake Creek? Lake Creek if you go out on Highway 62 like you're going to go to Crater Lake and then you'll see Highway 140 and you'll head east on Highway 140 turn right and it's about 12 and a half miles out from White City. And what is in Lake Creek? Is it a town? Is it a village? Well that's been really interesting. It used to be a post office so it was sort of designated a town but now it's just a community and we are part of Eagle Point that's our addresses now and so I guess when you get below a certain amount the postal service went away and went and conglomerated into Eagle Point. So, but we are just a strong community and we have a general store, we have a fire department, we have the community hall and we have a Grange hall. Okay. And we're surrounded by large farms and just lots of nice people. How many people are there? Well, it's growing, I'd say probably, I don't know, 60, 70 people out in the area. Okay. Because we kind of branch out as you go up the creek and stuff and yeah, probably about that many. You keep mentioning the strong community. Can you tell us more about that? Well, I was not only involved in the historic part of it but I also helped start the fire department out there and we did that to lower the insurance rates for everybody because we are way far out from anybody else. And so we formed our district and which was a ten mile radius and we had three stations so that it would cut down your ISO number which is the insurance number and so everybody would get cheaper insurance. And so I was the training officer for the volunteer fire department for ten years. Oh. Yeah. And then I retired from that if you want to say that but still involved but we would have different fundraisers for that to keep going because it was all volunteer and then we were able to get onto the ballot and grandfathered in I guess as a fire department. So now it's given their funds from the county. Yeah. So again with the strong community, was that part of the driving force for starting the historical society to like help preserve, help enhance the community? I think so. I think Ralph Wenger, Dr. Ralph Wenger was a chiropractor in Eagle Point but he lives in Lake Creek and he was a driving force behind this whole thing and he just wanted to see our heritage stay there and not just kind of go by the wayside so we don't have a whole lot of buildings there. We only have the three basically and the fire department and so he was the driving force to get people together to refurbish that building so it just didn't kind of melt away and go away. So he was the founder, would you say? Yes, he was. Who's taken it over since then? How has the organization run now? It's still the same. We still have a seven person board. Two of the members that are on the board now were on the founding board so they've been there through the whole thing. That's some real dedication. I know, it really is. And I got mixed up in it like five years ago. One of the persons was leaving and they said, would you like to come down? And so I went down and sat down and listened and I went, sure. So now I'm the secretary. So I take all the minutes and those kind of things. Right now we're doing a project where we are renovating the cemetery that's out in that area. Where is the cemetery? It's about four and a half miles past the store. The South Fork of Little Butte Creek comes across and you cross that bridge and then you go up the hill too but it's on private property. That's kind of the thing so it's not open all the time. But we went in there, a group of people went in there and they cleaned it all up and brushed it out and found the graves and put pavers on the graves and stuff. We're going to fence it in the fall. So yeah, clean it all up so people can come and enjoy it. Wow. So you mentioned you're the secretary. Yes. How does the historical society work? How has it run? Well, the funding was cut in 2007 for all historical societies so we just basically run on fundraisers and we rent out the hall and we have a really nice park that adjoins it and so we have lots of really nice weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, christnings, all sorts of stuff going on there. So a real community place. It is. It really is. Before the historical society had it, I used to take my kids down there because it has beautiful wooden floors and had them roller skate. So I mean that's the kind of building it was. It was just, you know, left open. There was no keys, but then later on when the historical society took it over they had to lock it up. Right. But anyway, so you just come and rent it and you can pretty much, there's guidelines on what you can and can't do there of course. But we have a bands shell out in the park and a lot of people have, like we had a, we have some Hispanics people that live in the area and they had a wedding there and the Mariachi band was up on the stage. Oh my gosh, it was wonderful. You can hear the music way up the creek. It was just, it was great. So, you know, just all sorts of, we've had memorials there and baby showers and you know, so the hall is rentable. We have a full kitchen and then we have the restrooms and then we have the park outside so you can do either way or both, whatever you want to do. You've had reunions there too, right? Yes, we have. We had reunions, yeah. And every June we have our anniversary there. Okay. Because that's our anniversary for the Historical Society and we just celebrated our 25th this last June so we have a good potluck. I know, it was really great. So, yeah, it was fun. We had it inside because that day it was like 107. Do this. Yeah. It was good. Of course. Yeah. What other kinds of events do you have? Well, back in 90, not 90, I keep saying 90 for you, but in 2011 you were the one to come out and do the history made by you. Right. And we were the very first ones so we were all learning how to do all that. And it was a lot of fun. It was. We were definitely learning. We did. We brought out all the history of the area and where it's kind of progressed to now and brought out like, took it for pre-electricity and pre-telephones and through that whole era of getting that out there because it took them a while to get electricity and the phones out there. Can we talk about that for a little bit? Sure. How long did it take? Oh, gosh. I don't think they got electricity out there until the 40s. So it, you know, people were just... And electricity came to the rest of the valley. Oh. First came to the valley like 1910, right? Yeah, really early. Yeah. So it took quite a while to get out there. And I did some interviews of some of our residents and one boy, our man remembers as a boy, getting the electricity out there and how great it was, you know, could have one light bulb on in the house. You know, they were really excited. You know, I mean, it beats kerosene lamps, I guess. Right. So, yeah. So it was something else to have that. And the telephone. I'm not exactly sure when the telephone got out there. I know when I moved out there in 72, it was still party lines. Explain what that means. Party lines means that you have, at that time we had three people on the same line and we all had our own ring kind of thing. Well, in talking to the old timers, they had eight people on their party line. Wow. And they all had their own ring, like two short, one long, whatever that meant, that that was yours. Well, then the call came for you and then everybody else would pick up and go, what's going on over at Amy's house? I wonder. So everybody would listen to everybody's conversations, of course, but yeah, that's how that all worked. And when I first moved out there also, the gravel, the road was graveled about maybe a half a mile past the store and I lived at the eight mile marker. So that was all gravel. Stores, it's like two mile marker, right? Yeah, two mile marker, right. So, and then a few years later it got to the bridge and then that was four miles up the creek, it was still gravel. And then finally they made it to our driveway and then it started gravel and then now it's paved pretty much the whole way up. So, yeah. We're moving up. It's very exciting. It is. It is, for sure. But speaking of events, you have community potlucks, right? We do. We do. We started off doing four a year and then that's now cut down to just two a year. We have one in March and then we have one in September. Okay. And we generally try, because I'm the one that takes it all on, find a speaker that will come talk about some historic thing. Okay. Like I just, the last person we had was Ann Billiter and she came and talked about Miriam Rose Quilt. And Ann Billiter is with the genealogical society, right? She is. Yes, she is. Why did you choose her to come? Because I had seen this presentation at the library. Oh, okay. Because I'm part of the Friends of the Library at Eagle Point also and she had come and said, that would be so great out there, you know, because it really mapped how a lot of our predecessors came to that valley, you know, and how the struggles for the family life and all that kind of stuff coming out and it was very well received. A lot of people came and it was good. So you said a lot of people came. Who comes to these community potlucks? Well, we put out a flyer telling that it's coming and whomever wants to come. So it's not just like members only, it's anyone. No, it's anyone that wants to come. I mean, we've had, a couple of times, we've had people come out from Medford, you know, to come and see the whomever presentation it might be. So we put it out there into the Uprog Independent and we put it out there into Mail Tribune just to try to get other people coming out. So we generally have, oh, 30 to 40 people come. That's great. Yeah, it is. It's wonderful. It's all potluck and we ask for donations if possible and that's how we kind of keep our doors open with that and renting out the hall for different celebrations and stuff. That's how we keep our doors open. Okay. So as the Lake Creek Historical Society, how do you preserve Lake Creek's history? Our office manager is really into the history of things and she does a lot of research and she was able to get all the old census records and just different things about, a lot of people call up and say, I'm related to Mrs. Smith that used to live out there in the 1800s. Do you have any information? And she starts to dig and she'll go through the census records first, of course, and then go on from there and see, you know, where they might have been on the creek and, you know, how long they might have been there and kind of gives all that information. And we have it catalogued in a lot of different binders and stuff there. So anybody can come in and do research if they know that their family member was out there. So those kinds of things. Okay. What kind of objects do you have? Well, in our little museum, we have six display cases. One is designated to the Indians because we had the Lakawa tribe that lived out there and they're sort of a subsidiary of the rogues, but they were just in the end of our little canyon and did a lot of trading and stuff with the Klamath Indians. So one of our teachers was able to get the tribe elder to come out and talk to the school kids. Oh, that's great. And so we have hers on tape. So it's really nice. So I put that display together, so that was really cool. What are some of the objects in that display? We have some mortar and pestles and we have some arrowheads and stuff. And I did a thing where I talked about the different food items that they might have used, like the camas and those kinds of things. And we have that piece in there also and some beaderie and just sort of all different kinds of objects. Okay. Yeah, baskets. Okay. Indian corn, you know, those kinds of things. Yeah. What about the other display cases? The next one to hers is military because we have lots of military from back in the 40s and then we have some in the 50s. And I don't think we went, we might have gone into the Vietnam War, but I'm not really sure. I mean, I know we have some Vietnam vets there, but we went into the Korean War also. And so we just have homesteading families that served and then we have the newer people that are on the creek that have served. Okay. And then next to that we have one on, we always highlight one of the pioneer families. And we try to get as many photos as we can, as many research items as we can, where they lived, what was going on with them in the next cabinet. And then the next one, we have just lots of tools, telephones, those kinds of things from the area. And then you have our doorway and then you jump to the next one. And it is 4-H because we're a very strong, used to be a very strong 4-H community. And so we have pictures of one of our people out there when she showed her prize bull at the fair. How fun. And so, yeah, we have that. And there's like six kids in there that are all from the Lake Rick area showing their steers. And that was back in the 50s, I believe it was. And highlight kind of that family. And then we had Victor Gardner and his wife Harriet and family. The gardeners came out there way long time ago, like in the late 1800s. And Victor was one of the children and they stayed there on the family's homestead. And he was a renowned worldwide violin maker. Really? Yes. And we have one of his violins that was there that was donated by a woman whose husband used to play for the Old Time Fiddlers who passed on and so she gave it back to Lake Creek. Which was really nice. It's kind of like coming home. I know, it was. It was really nice. And he was a surveyor also when he surveyed a lot of the reservoirs and stuff around our area. So we have a little blurb about that. He and his wife also purchased our first fire department engine for us. And stuff and came to training. And they were like in their 70s already. When they started coming to the fire department stuff. But yeah, so they were benefactors, I guess you would call them for a lot of different things around there. And then let's see. We have a case. There was a school teacher that was born and raised in Lake Creek, Helen Barrow. And she was a teacher for many, many, many years. And she just passed on recently. And she was not only a teacher in Lake Creek, a teacher in Eagle Point, a principal in Eagle Point, an administrator on the school board. I mean she was just really school oriented. And she just passed on a few months ago. So we were given some of her memorabilia to put on display. And so we were able to get a really nice case and put in her like her rocking chair and a dress that she wore and her trunk and a bunch of pictures of all of her children and stuff that she had throughout the years because she never married. It sounds like the local community is really dedicated to the historical society and really involved in it. They are. They really are. We can always use more volunteers to host. But they really are. They step up when we really need it. And that's all we can really ask. Do you have a story about a time when they did step up? Well, let's see. Not off the top of my head. We have so many little projects that different people do. We have gardens around both sides of the hall. And so whenever they need weeding or we need more bulbs or whatever, people just kind of come and go, here's this, here's this, here's this. And now it's just overflowing with beautiful flowers. It's just wonderful. And then one lady, her forte is she loves to weed. So she comes down and she'll spend two or three or four days over the couple weeks weeding everything. And then the band shell was kind of leaning a little bit. So a couple of guys came down and straightened it up. And then a couple of other guys come and cleaned the gutters off the building. So it's just not really a big, huge thing, but everybody does their piece. Lots of little things. Yes, and it all works out. It's just wonderful. That's really lovely. One of your volunteers recently wrote a book. Yes, our office manager, Marilyn Maloney, she kept getting all these questions about the history of Lake Creek, the history of Lake Creek. So she went, all right, I'm going to write a book. So she did. And it's just a pamphlet. But it's probably, I don't know, 40 pages long. Just a pamphlet. I know, just a pamphlet. But she put in a lot of pictures. But it talks about how Lake Creek kind of started, although that's been done many times, but then she kind of moved on from there. And in the 40s, when the community hall started and the grain started and moved from there and talked about all different aspects, like floods and all that kind of stuff that happened in Lake Creek. That sounds really interesting. How would I get a hold of this book? She has them on sale at the hall. And they're for $10. So it's a really good price. And if you wanted to get a hold of us, you can call out there, 541-826-1513. Or you can go online. We have a webpage. We have email address and those kind of things. So lots of ways to get a hold of us. We have time for one last question with Julie Thompson. Julie, what makes the Lake Creek Historical Society special? I think that it's all of the families that settled the area and all of their descendants that are still in the area adding their peace to the community. You know, in whatever way that they can help, they're really glad to help. Like I said, we are just doing the cemetery project. And so a lot of families are giving to that project because their predecessors are buried there or something like that. So I just think it's just that strong sense of community and they'll help out when and how they can depending on what their likes and dislikes are. Well, thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. That's about it for today. I'd like to thank today's guest Julie Thompson for her time, her enthusiasm, and her thoughtful conversation. And I'd like to invite all of you to stop by the Lake Creek Historical Society and to enjoy Southern Oregon's rich history and see some really amazing objects. The Southern Oregon Historical Society's Downtown Medford Research Library is open Tuesdays through Fridays noon to 4 p.m. and on 4th Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. We also have amazing events out at Hanley Farm. Check out our websites for updated event information. The Southern Oregon History Show is sponsored by the Southern Oregon Historical Society and Jackson County Library Services. Thanks to our sponsors, our volunteer crew, and RVTV. Join us next time for another episode of the Southern Oregon History Show. Thank you.