Focus on the Farm – December 2020/January 2021

Buon Natale! Happy Hanukkah! Feliz Navidad! Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever your nationality, whatever your beliefs, we wish you all health, peace and happiness—not only for this year, but all the years to come. Peace be with you.

This year we’ve struggled together to curb the spread of Coronavirus, to overcome adversity, and to come together as a united people. We, the Southern Oregon Historical Society and Hanley Farm thank you for helping us meet and triumph over these challenges. Without your participation in the events presented this year, it would have been difficult to carry on.

This year, our Events Planning Committee and the Society have brainstormed new ways to get together and celebrate safely as we observe COVID-19 protocols, including wearing masks and social distancing. Our talented volunteers made it possible to successfully present the Annual Heritage Plant Sale, the “Cars Under the Stars: Drive-in Concert,” featuring Nick Garrett-Powell, the Scarecrow-Making festival and Holiday Wreath-Making at Hanley Farm. The Research Library has been open virtually, and now, on a limited appointment-only basis, is open to the public. Plus, SOHS offers a world of history at your fingertips! When visiting www.sohs.org, www.sohs.org/exhibits-page, and www.sohs.org/as-it-was, a virtual world awaits you! Exhibits, Collections, As It Was stories, and so much more.

Windows in Time, December 2, noon-1pm—Author, historian and retired educator Larry Mullaly presents, “Persistence: Chinese Labor and the Southern Oregon Railroads,” the story of Chinese workers who helped bring railroads to Southern Oregon in the 1880s. This epic struggle was among the last of the great Chinese building projects of the Far West. Set against a social background of anti-Chinese sentiment, two major railroad companies pitted thousands of Chinese workers into the effort to join the Pacific Coast’s two major railroads at the Oregon/California border. Blending photographs and contemporary accounts into his presentation, Larry tells the story of the Chinese immigrants who worked to help bring railroads to Southern Oregon.

Windows in Time monthly lunchtime lectures are free, and jointly sponsored by the Southern Oregon Historical Society and Jackson County Library Services. The December presentation takes place remotely, via Zoom. Meeting details will be emailed to you when you register at https://jcls.libcal.com/event/6809381.