What we found in Douglas County was material so rich and novel that it was overwhelming to choose a quick project to accomplish in a short amount of time. From the drive down I5 to the initial conversations we had with the county commissioners (present and former), my classmates and I found many resonances with the theoretical readings we have completed so far.
On the drive south from Portland, as we passed through a changing landscape, I reread Doreen Massey’s “Landscape as a Provocation” and I found many resonances with the preliminary readings we absorbed about the history and contemporary dilemmas faces Douglas County. From the Massey reading, I arrived in Roseburg with an eye for conceptualizations of loss. Economic, environmental, social, and other ways to categorize loss were easy to find in Douglas County, especially in the courthouse. Giant black and white photos commemorating the heydey of logging past lined the halls and Doug Robertson handed each of us diagrams of the drop in logging activity after 1990 alongside a portrayal of the amount the federal land within the state of Oregon. These, to the commissioners, represented losses of land and livelihood that only exacerbated public losses on the social front.
However, this narrative of loss which I also had derived from our preliminary research on Douglas County, was not the only narrative at play in the county. As the field trip went on and we met more and different people who represented other groups within the county, other narratives emerged. My project delved into the origins of these stories which indicate difference while remaining in conversation with one other. Although the methodology of this project is not as thorough or sophisticated as a longer study would be, I wanted to include the specific research methods employed alongside a table of results.
Casual Methodology
- Interviews & Meetings with Key Leaders:
- Our first meeting was with former Douglas County commissioner Doug Robertson and current commissioner Chris Boice. They provided us with a thorough background on the O&C Railroad Lands in Oregon that resulted in much of the county being owned by the federal government and thus unable to be used to make profits or be developed. They discussed the demographic shifts of the last 25 years, focusing mainly on the retirees who don’t pay taxes for schools. On the topic of logging, they cited forestry sciences to illustrate the incredible regenerative quality of the forests in Douglas County, particularly in the coast range. They were thrilled to talk to young visitors because they felt it was important that people visit and learn the history before they make judgments about Douglas County.
- Secondly, we visited the Douglas County Museum of History & Natural History and enjoyed a tour by Gardiner Chappell. One of the first things we heard from Gardiner was that he was headed to a wine and pizza night with friends at a local winery after work. While we got a speedy and abbreviated tour of the museum displays, we did get a cool glimpse into the underbelly of a museum storage scene, complete with historic clothing and artifacts not used on the museum floor. He gave us several copies of the Oregon Valley Verve, a new magazine created by Gardiner and other members of the community that highlighted the up-and-coming businesses in the area. This issue focused on the brewery scene, among other aspects of the cultural revival.
- The third interview that I conducted that is relevant to my project was one with Manny Anaya, the owner of Salud Restaurant and Brewery. As he was running around serving customers and taking photos for the instagram advertising platform, he told me all about the up-and-coming brewery scene and the development of the downtown core in the past few years. Salud is just about 2 years old (in fact, according to the #lcenvs instagram, Salud was hiring its first employees two years ago when the ENVS 350 students of 2014 visited Roseburg). Two of the questions I asked him offered the most interesting responses. First I asked about the crash of 1990 and how, if at all, that devastated the community as I had been hearing. To that, Manny responded something along the lines of “Yes and no… history like that really builds character.” Secondly, I asked him what his favorite part of living in Roseburg was and he responded by talking about the community of brewers and the up-and-coming business scene that is fun and supportive of one another.
- Analysis of city center landscape: Using a map of breweries found in the Verve Magazine, I walked around downtown Roseburg observing the types of businesses and the aesthetics of the breweries. I focused on O’Tooles and Salud, the two businesses featured on the cover of Verve.
- Primary Sources: I analyzed the content and narrative within the following sources:
- Oregon Valley Verve
- Brewing history pamphlets
- Umpqua Watersheds website
- Oregon Wild website
Results
Using content derived from the above methods, I organize the different types of knowledge employed by these different actors (young entrepreneurs, county officials, and environmental groups) into social, historic, and scientific knowledge informed by the theoretical foundations of this project.
[table]
Knowledge:, Historic, Scientific, Social
Demographic, -, -, –
Young Entrepreneurs, Brewing history of the region employed to ground the up-and-coming industry in a celebrated past. The histories of loss are cited as “character building” and help necessitate a market for positive spaces., The rich agricultural land with good quality water as well as the outdoor amenities nearby make Roseburg/Douglas County a great place for making food and beer., There is a need for the revitalization of the community through the rebirth of culture and small business to create spaces of positivity.
County Officials, The logging heydey of the 1950s-1980s remembered with a utopian nostalgia. Histories of loss explain the current underprivileged status of Douglas County and the lack of money for public amenities., Forestry science alongside “faithful stewardship” (Boice) proves that logging can coexist with wildlife species (in conversation with environmental ethics), There is a universal need for public amenities such as schools and jails that are funded by the government. Thus the county needs to make money and the best way to do that is through logging.
Environmentalists, There is a sense of pride and accomplishment for getting the Spotted Owl listed as an endangered species. This paved the way for better and more proactive (rather than reactive) environmental campaigns., Ecology of habitat loss and riparian zones used to convince governments and residents of the need for environmental protection., It is possible to balance society and environmental needs to the greatest benefit of all through environmental regulation.
[/table]