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Oregon Coast Military Heritage Museum

30 Monday Jul 2012

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The Oregon Coast Military Heritage Museum located in Florence Oregon

One in five people who live in Florence is a veteran of some type of military service. A newcomer to Florence is the Oregon Coast Military Heritage Museum

In the course of establishing a Veteran’s Day Parade, Cal Applebee realized that approximately 1,300 World War II veterans are dying each day, and that number does not include Korean War, Viet Nam War, Iraqi War or Afghan War veterans. He began wondering what would become of all the artifacts and mementos they left behind. Not only that, but their stories would be left untold. These musings inspired a group of local veterans to lay the groundwork for the museum. The fact that an astonishing 21% of the residents of Florence are veterans makes this the ideal location for the museum.

This dedicated group of volunteers is working hard to make their dream a reality. They have struggled to raise money (they are a 501C organization) for the construction of the museum, which will be located near the Florence airport. They are very frugal, getting materials and labor donated, and even getting the Oregon legislature to allocate $41,000, to help with fees, permits, and to bring electricity to the site. The land for the museum is being leased from the city of Florence. They have held several fundraising events, such as concerts by Pacific Coast Wind Ensemble, Remembrance Bricks purchased in memory of a veteran, and having people ‘buy’ parts of their building.

The two main goals of the museum are honoring veterans and educating the public. The group is not waiting for the official building to open; they are going ahead with achieving their goals. The Freedom Remembrance Wall and memorials to several solders are already in place. They have displays that include old rifles, posters, radio equipment, and authentic Nazi propaganda postcards with pictures of Hitler on them. The group is also attending events with vehicles and displays and trying to educate the general public.

Group members have been surprised by how little the youth at the events they have attended know about U.S. history and the military. They want young people to know about the sacrifices that have been made to make America what it is today. The volunteers feel that sharing the oral histories they are gathering with young people will help them understand their history better.

The group’s website at http://www.kilroycorps.com/ contains an enormous amount of information. The story about how the idea for the museum got started, a slide show of the dedication of Remembrance Wall, archives of all the group’s newsletters, and a collection of articles about the military, the involvement of the military in Oregon, and much, much more. You can learn a great deal by visiting the website. However, don’t wait for the building’s construction to be complete. You can visit the museum in its temporary house in an airplane hangar at the Florence Airport.

The construction of the buildings for the museum and gift shop is nearing completion. The Oregon Coast Military Heritage Museum is a reality.
Article written by Mary Boyer

For more information check out the Oregon Coast Military Heritage Museum site.

Additional information can be found here:
http://www.kval.com/news/local/Honoring-the-veterans-and-educating-the-public-163085496.html
http://www.kilroycorps.com/
http://www.leg.state.or.us/11reg/measures/hb2600.dir/hb2638.intro.html
http://www.florencechamber.com/taxonomy/term/300/oregon-coast-military-heritage-museum

Beautiful Florence in Southern Oregon

28 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Florence

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Florence snuggles between the Siuslaw River to the west and south and the North Fork of the Siuslaw River to the east. The northwest corner of Florence meets the Pacific Ocean. Florence has a little of everything.

Slightly to the north of Florence you will find Sea Lion Caves. Several varieties of birds and the sea lions make their home in these sea caves. The huge cave is filled with sounds from the sea lions, the birds, and rhythm of the waves. You may well want to cover your ears to block some of the noise.

A little farther south is beautiful Heceta Head Lighthouse. It is one of the most photographed lighthouses in Oregon. It towers 56 feet above the top of Heceta Head, which is 205 feet above the ocean. The automated light installed in 1894, is still the strongest light on the Oregon Coast. It can be seen 21 miles from the coast. The lighthouse is currently closed for renovations, but it still a great place to stop and enjoy the view or hike in the area. You can also see how many of the over 450 different birds identified in the area you can spot.

Old Town Florence has the charm and friendliness of by gone days. The streets are lined with beautiful flower boxes, benches and the Old Town Gazebo for resting and enjoying the sites, and charming shops with unique merchandise to peruse. Browse the art galleries, gift shops, and be sure to check out Nan’s White Rabbit Cottage. Nana’s has a constantly changing inventory of antiques, glassware, ironwork, linens, china, jewelry, candles, and other unique gift items.

Since Florence borders both on the ocean and the Siuslaw River, so you can enjoy water sports such as fishing in either place. Florence’s beaches are great for crabbing, diving, kayaking, paddle boating, scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, surfing, water-skiing, or windsurfing. Florence is perfect for kite flyers’ and horseback riders as well. Horseback riding on the beach is available with C & M Stables. The equipment you need for most of these is available for rent at reasonable rates in Florence at Central Coast Water Sports.

A newcomer to Florence is the Oregon Coast Military Heritage Museum. It was the brainstorm of Air Force veteran Sam Spayd that got the museum started. The museum, housed in an airplane hangar while the museum is under construction, already has displays that contain old rifles, posters, radio equipment, and authentic Nazi propaganda postcards with pictures of Hitler on them.

South of Florence is Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Here you will find giant sand dunes, extending to nearly 500 feet high and almost 3 miles wide. The dunes go all the way from Florence to Coos Bay. You can take a dune buggy ride through the shifting sands or go horseback riding. Either way you will have an unforgettable experience.

Florence offers some incomparable activities. Come, explore, and enjoy!
Article written by Mary Boyer


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Fore more information about Florence Oregon check out these links.
http://www.kval.com/news/local/Honoring-the-veterans-and-educating-the-public-163085496.html
http://www.kilroycorps.com/
http://www.florencechamber.com/taxonomy/term/300/oregon-coast-military-heritage-museum

Visit Historic Newport Oregon

16 Monday Jul 2012

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Historic Newport, on the central Oregon Coast, is a small town of just over 10,000 people. It stretches along the coast between two historic lighthouses: Yaquina Head Lighthouse at the north and Yaquina Bay Lighthouse at the south end of town. It is one of the older towns in Oregon establishing a post office in 1868.

The establishment of Newport owes a great deal to the oyster. In 1852, the schooner “Juliet” was driven aground by storms. The captain and crew spent two months in the Yaquina Bay area. They were the first to spread the word about the plentiful oysters in Yaquina Bay. By 1863, two companies were shipping oysters from the bay. Today oysters are farmed in Yaquina Bay and shipped worldwide.

Lincoln County Historical Society was formed in 1948 to preserve the history of the area. The group cares for two historic buildings, Burrows House Museum is a Queen-Anne style house built in 1895, and the Log Cabin Museum which displays the Society’s collection of over 40,000 artifacts either made of used in the county between 1850, and the present.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport is more than just an aquarium. It has over 5,000 marine animals, but is also home to birds, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and Sea Otters. Exhibits at the Oregon Coast Aquarium are known internationally for their quality.

The Aquarium plays an active role in conservation and animal rehabilitation efforts. Currently it has some unusual guests. First a green sea turtle was found on Moolack Beach suffering from hypothermia. No one knows why it came to visit the Oregon Coast from its tropical home, but the waters off Oregon’s coast were not kind to it. The turtle’s body temperature had dropped to 58 degrees down from its normal of 72 to 82 degrees.

Next, evidence indicates that a pair of snowy plovers became lunch for a fox. Monitors from the aquarium rescued the three eggs left in their nest in the Bandon State Natural Area. The first eggs was already hatching, a second hatched in the trip to the aquarium and the third a few hours later.

If you visit the Hatfield Marine Science Center you will be greeted by the current octopus in residence.
Explore the four tidepool tanks, which house sea anemone, sea urchins, skates, and sea stars. Visitors are encouraged to reach in and touch the living marine organisms!

The historic bay front is an eclectic group of businesses. There are gift shops and art galleries, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, and Wax Works Museum. As you walk along the bay, you may see sea lions in the water and sometimes up on the boardwalk with you. Newport is home to Oregon’s largest fishing fleet. You can go deep sea fishing of take a whale watching trip.
Article written by Mary Boyer

No visit to Newport can be complete without stopping at the original Mo’s for a bowl of clam chowder.

For more information about the city of Newport, Oregon check out these additional resources.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/06/snowy_plover_chicks_after_fox.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/06/tropical_turtle_found_on_orego.html
http://www.oregonoyster.com
http://www.el.com/to/newport/

Garibaldi on the Oregon Coast

13 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by in garibaldi

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Have you ever been to Garibaldi on the Oregon Coast? Lucy Chien, who grew up in Oregon, but now lives in San Francisco, recently won Smithsonian magazine’s annual photo contest in the “Natural World” category. She and her husband were clamming on the beach at Garibaldi on the Oregon Coast when she was inspired to place one of the clams on a rock in hopes of getting a good picture. The clam opened its shell and began to push itself off the rock. That’s when Lucy got the prize winning shot.

Garibaldi is tiny port on the shore or Tillamook Bay. Five types of clams can be found here: butter, cockle, gaper, softshell, and razor. People over 14 years of age need to buy a license, which currently costs only $7.00. That’s for an entire year of clamming and crabbing! Clamming is not the only activity on its quiet beaches. You can also fish from the shore, go crabbing, or charter a fishing boat and go deep sea fishing for halibut, tuna, or salmon. There is also terrific salmon and steelhead fishing in the streams that empty into the Bay. Almost anything you want for clamming, crabbing, or fishing can be rented in Garibaldi.

Clams dug from the flats on a low tide adjacent to the Garibaldi Pier and historic Coast Guard station.

There are four motels in Garibaldi. Garibaldi House, a 50 room motel, has been the recipient of Tripadvisor® Certificate of Excellence Award in both 2010 and 2011! It has the friendly feeling of a good bed and breakfast. This is a great place to make the center of your vacation.

The ocean activities are not the only recreation available in Garibaldi. There are some wonderful spots for bird watching. Migratory birds stop on their way going north and south. However there are many species of birds that make their home year-a-round in this area. Some of these are bald eagles, gulls, falcons, and blue and green heron.

One of the surprising things that you will find in Garibaldi is the Garibaldi Museum. The Garibaldi Museum attempts to conserve the maritime heritage of the Pacific Northwest. It especially focuses on Captain Robert Gray and his historical vessels, the Lady Washington and the Columbia Rediviva. The museum contains models of the two ships, as well as, reproductions clothing and musical instruments used by seamen.

Only ten miles to the south of Garibaldi you will find Tillamook with the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory and the Tillamook Air Museum. A short distance to the north you will find the charming town of Cannon Beach, with Haystack Rock that dominating its beach.

There are so many activities located in and near Garibaldi that you cannot take them all in during a single trip.
Article written by Mary Boyer

For more great information about Garibaldi, Oregon check out these additional articles.
http://www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/news/article_eec5b8a8-cc35-11e1-a6ba-001a4bcf887a.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2011/05/to_the_coast_in_search_of_clam.html

http://visittheoregoncoast.com/cities/garibaldi/