Focus on Hanley Farm – December 2019/January 2020

Throughout this tumultuous year, friends and families have visited Hanley Farm, participating in its many events, or picnicking in the shade of the Hanley trees and playing heritage games with their children. It is all of you who have visited and enjoyed Hanley Farm, that enable the Southern Oregon Historical Society to continue to maintain Hanley Farm, and to host events such as the Children’s Heritage Fair, the Scarecrow Festival, and others. Thank you for helping the Society to bring history alive!

And a busy year it’s been! For two days in April, hundreds attended the annual Heritage Plant Sale, taking a bit of Hanley’s history home and planting it in their gardens. Local fourth graders experienced the 1850s at the Children’s Heritage Fair, through hands-on farm chores, house and garden tours and interactive heritage-themed demonstrations. Several other events included the Roots Music Festival, an evening with the Siskiyou Violin Ensemble, Summer Sundays, and the Boogeyman’s Bride. Thank you for allowing Southern Oregon Historical Society and Hanley Farm to be a part of your lives.

We round-off 2019 with “Holidays at Hanley.” On December 26, the historic Hanley House is all decked-out for the holidays. Costumed docents will guide you through the house, sharing stories about the rich history of the Hanley family and farm. As you await your tour, be sure to take a self-guided tour of the farm and relax in the Hanley Pavilion, sipping hot cider and visiting with friends. Visit www.sohs.org or the Hanley Farm Facebook page for more information about Holidays at Hanley.

Windows in Time: December 4 & 11 at the Medford and Ashland libraries, Julie Drengson will share “The Amazing and All-Too Short Career of Sheriff August Singler.” In 1913, as Singler approached a man’s cabin to serve a warrant, the “suspect opened fire, striking Sheriff Singler in the Chest.” Singler got six shots off at the suspect, killing him, but died the next day; the only Jackson County sheriff killed in the line of duty.

First Tuesdays Pub Talk: December 3, 7:00pm at the Four Daughters Irish Pub in Downtown Medford, historian Mary Tsui presents “Nuggets from the Archives.” Mary has been transcribing minutes of the Jackson County Commissioner’s first 20 years, 1852-1874, uncovering rich research nuggets from those day-to-day operations. Pub talks are free and last about an hour.