Another effort to preserve Applegate history
Written by:
Laura B. Ahearn
For several days in 2019, the evacuation zone around McKee Bridge was under a Level 1 warning. I wondered what we could do to protect our treasured bridge if an evacuation order was issued. I realized the immensity of the risk to our Applegate heritage, not just to physical structures like the bridge, the Depression era community kitchen, and the 1860s barn of Kinder Boaz, but also to photographs and papers such as those collected by McKee Bridge Historical Society (MBHS) founder, Evelyn Williams. To preserve such documentary resources, MBHS launched our virtual museum at mckeebridge.org.
However, many historical images and records pertinent to the Applegate no longer remain in the Applegate Valley. Some departed in the photo albums and keepsake chests of families who relocated. Others are archived at the Southern Oregon Historical Society (SOHS), but Jackson County Library Services has terminated funding for an SOHS archivist effective September 30. Additional materials are housed in Southern Oregon University’s (SOU) Hannon Library. Hannon has digitized and posted some items, but others, like the handwritten journals of Marguerite Black, remain as flammable, friable paper. Besides, interpreting penmanship is a disappearing skill!
As with SOHS, we should not take Hannon for granted as a repository. SOU’s financial troubles and shrinking student body, staff, and curricula raise doubts that the institution can or should continue to dedicate nine feet of shelf space, taxpayer dollars, and the time of librarians to Marguerite’s writings. As of 2025, no researcher had delved into the diary to interpret what it reveals about Applegate history or to transform the bleed-through inkings into a readable narrative.
Well, you can guess who took up that task.
A Greater Applegate awarded MBHS an Innovation Grant for editing and layout services. The volumes at Hannon start in 1932. I decided to focus on the Great Depression years through 1939. But when the initial phase of the work was nearly complete, I realized the product (then conceived as an online flipbook) fell far short. Obvious questions remained unanswered, connections among families and events were ignored, and uncomfortable topics were swept under the rug. Content and analysis were deceptively incomplete. I started over, finding and scrutinizing additional primary sources like the County Clerk’s election ledgers, Sisters of Providence hospital archives, and the Secretary of State’s mining records.
A much-improved and deeply researched version is now in print— Applegate Valley During the Great Depression: Reflections on the Diary of Marguerite Watson Black. This book integrates the perspectives of four women who were friends and contemporaries in the Applegate during the 1930s. Evelyn Williams provides her childhood memories and wonderful photographs. Maude Pool’s observations as a newspaper reporter come from the duplicate of her scrapbook made by Evelyn. Frances Port, the witty daughter of Forest Service Ranger Lee Port, speaks through photos exchanged with Evelyn’s family and an early oral history.
Barbara Holiday, longtime editor of the Applegater, patiently and expertly handled editing and layout. Laurel Briggs cleaned up my amateur graphics.
My parents grew up during the Great Depression. As a historian since college, I thought I had a good understanding of that era. I was wrong. The process of closely analyzing Marguerite’s writings (her 1989 publications as well as the diary), testing her reports against known facts, and filling in gaps led me to a much deeper and more accurate comprehension. My book is scholarly, but I believe that all readers and especially history buffs will find it to be easy reading and enlightening, a portal to understanding life here 90 years ago.
Membership in MBHS through December 31, 2027, is open. Join now, and you’ll be in good standing for 14 months. Dues remain $20 for your entire household. New and renewing members who add a minimum donation of $25 will receive, as a thank-you gift, their own copy of Applegate Valley During the Great Depression. The book and memberships will be available at the Applegate Evening Market on September 9 and 30, and the MBHS Annual Meeting and potluck at McKee Bridge on Saturday, September 12, noon-2 pm. Or sign up and donate at mckeebridge.org.
Many people helped with this book. I would love to list them, but I’ve exhausted the word limit for this article. Please get your copy and share a thank-you to everyone in the Acknowledgments. And I thank you, Applegater readers, for caring about local history.
Laura Ahearn
458-226-0666