This year, we are delighted to announce that The First Tuesday Pub Talks will continue and that Hanley Farm welcomes “Sundays in Spring,” hosted by the Family Nurturing Center’s Farm and Food Programs.

The Pub talks are free monthly historical talks sponsored by the Southern Oregon Historical Society, and are held at 7:00pm on the first Tuesday of the month, upstairs at the Four Daughters Irish Pub, 126 West Main. On March 5, author and historian Larry Mullaly reviews details surrounding the death of a young woman in a Southern Pacific Railroad sleeping car, and the fairness of the trial of a 20-year-old black railroad cook charged with the murder.

On January 23, 1943, a young Virginia bride was stabbed to death in a Southern Pacific sleeping car near Tangent, Oregon, a crime that continues to baffle crime scholars today. Larry believes, “This was probably the most widely publicized railroad murder of the century,” and adds, “the case smacked of racism, shoddy and questionable police work and a trial that was anything but fair and open.” Using court transcripts and the Southern Pacific’s investigative reports, Mullaly discusses the death of this beautiful young woman, and the subsequent trial of the young black man accused of the crime.

In 2018, local garden writer and educator, Rhonda Nowak, created the Bard’s Garden at Hanley Farm, featuring flowers, herbs, vegetables and trees mentioned in some of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. Maintained by Rhonda and other Family Nurturing Center Farm and Food Program (FNC) volunteers, the garden continues.

On April 7 and 14 and on May 5, 12, 19 and 26, celebrate “Sundays in Spring” at the farm. Stroll the gardens, visit the orchards and producing fields, say hello to the chickens and sheep, join in family-fun gardening activities, and tap your toes to live music. Bring a picnic or make your own pizza and salad with locally- grown, fresh food available at the farm. Admission is free! For information visit the FNC website www.familynurturingcenter.org.

Windows in Time Series—”Fire & Flood: Disasters in the Rogue Valley”—Fire and floods have always played a prominent role in the environment—each causing millions of dollars in damage over the years. Join guest speaker Ron Brown to learn about these disasters and how they’ve affected the Rogue Valley. Wednesday, March 6, Medford Library, 205 S. Central Avenue; Wednesday, March 13, Ashland Library, 410 Siskiyou Blvd. Free, noon-1:00pm at each location.