SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
BRIEFS
Silverton Museum open
weekends
After months of closure
during the Coronavirus
pandemic, Silverton Coun-
try Historical Society Mu-
seum opened July 5.
Now the museum will be
open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sat-
urdays and Sundays, fol-
lowing its usual summer-
time schedule. No more
than 10 guests are allowed
inside the museum at a
time. Staff members now
wear masks and have some
available for the public as
well. Public access to rest-
rooms is limited, and all
visitors will be asked to
sign the guestbook.
The museum is located
at 429 S. Water St., and can
be reached by phone at
503-873-7070.
Story time moves
online
“The end” isn’t some-
thing that applies to Silver
Falls Library District’s sto-
ry time for kids ages 0-4.
Every Thursday in July,
librarians Shelly and Dena
will host story time with
bubbles and songs. These
weekly sessions each be-
gin at 11:30 a.m. Those in-
terested in letting their
kids join should email de-
na.chaffin@ccrls.org be-
forehand to get a link to the
Zoom session.
For more information,
call 503-873-7633.
Chamber golf tourney
moved to July 24
The Chamber Classic
Golf Tournament has been
moved to Friday, July 24.
Organizers said teams
are full and players are ex-
cited to take the course for
a day of networking and
fresh air. The tournament
has been modified to ac-
commodate social distanc-
ing guidelines, they said. It
was also moved up to be-
come a morning event,
with check-in at 8 a.m. and
a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
|
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020
|
3A
Meet a pastor who stood for
equality in Oregon’s early days
Kylie Pine
Special to Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
I have found there is an almost eerie phe-
nomenon that happens working in an ar-
chive – the tendency for tiny scraps of his-
tory to appear at choice moments and pro-
vide a big dose of timeliness and context for
my own understanding and processing of
current events. Such was the case for me
earlier this month. While putting away a se-
ries of handwritten speech notes from a lo-
cal Woman’s Christian Temperance Union
member, the backside of a scrap of paper
used as an envelope for the bundle caught
my eye. Neat illustrations of asparagus and
beans decorate letterhead for an “O. Dickin-
son, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in Garden
and Field Seeds, Fruit Trees, Small Fruits,
Etc. Seed Gardens Situated on Salem Prai-
rie.” This seemingly inconsequential piece
of scratch paper stood out to me as a re-
minder and a witness to a poignant story of
community.
Obed Dickinson was not always a seed
merchant. Far from it. His first calling in life
was as a Congregational Minister. After
graduation from a theological seminary in
Andover, Massachusetts, he and new wife
Charlotte sailed around the tip of South
America on a four-month journey to be-
come missionaries in Oregon. They arrived
in Salem in 1853 and began their work pas-
toring a small church. Church for the Dick-
insons at this time meant a gathering of
people rather than a building. The congre-
gation met first in a small schoolhouse near
Marion Square, and then in a retrofitted
shop that had been moved to the SE corner
of Liberty and Center Streets – about where
the old Nordstrom’s entrance to the Salem
Center stands today. The church would
meet in that repurposed building for nearly
a decade before building their own church
structure at that site.
The church family was small, by 1859
boasting only 24 members. By that time
Dickinson was also fostering a new church
one-fourth time across the Willamette Riv-
er in Eola. Oregon had just been admitted as
a free state to the American Union during
the intense pressure of political events that
would lead up to the Civil War. While being
a free state sounds like a laudable thing – it
did outlaw slavery -- the framers of the
state constitution had done so with an ex-
clusion clause which stated: “No free negro
or mulatto, not residing in this State at the
Outdoors
Continued from Page 1A
doors than indoors. We’re seeing a his-
toric level of interest in getting outside
this spring and summer, and that’s go-
ing to continue. The outdoors matters a
lot, and that’s why we need to focus on
this.”
The task force included 33 people
from government land managers, recre-
ation businesses and nonprofit advo-
cates who met six times and folded in
reports and public comment statewide.
The result is a list of actions both
concrete and aspirational. All 30 sug-
gestions can be seen on the final report,
but here are the five “top recommenda-
tions” the task force voted forward.
Advance accessibility, helping
people with disabilities
Many parks and recreation settings
across Oregon are not accessible to peo-
ple with disabilities, and inconsistent
information exists about which are ac-
cessible, the report said.
This action proposes evaluating and
improving accessibility, while also
showing online which parks have the
best setup.
“By embracing universal design,
more people will be able to be active out-
doors,” the report said. “Providing mul-
tilingual signage and information would
further support that goal.”
Address county search and rescue
needs
Each county in Oregon is responsible
for fielding a search and rescue team,
but there is no funding to make that
happen, and that’s become a problem as
an increasing number of people need
rescue in the outdoors, strapping rural
sheriff ’s offices that already have limit-
ed resources.
Rescues in Oregon increased by 30
percent in 208-19, and 98 percent of the
time, the person needing rescue is from
outside the area. (More simply, people
from urban areas often need to be res-
cued from rural areas, thinning local
dollars).
There have been small steps, includ-
ing a voluntary fund to support search
and rescue. A few bills introduced in the
state legislature that came up short.
Ultimately, while much SAR is ac-
complished by volunteers, O’Brien-Fee-
ney said they’ll likely need to pass legis-
lation to get where everyone wants to
be.
Backside of a piece of scratch paper used as an envelope found recently in the
museum’s collections tells a poignant story about our community and its long and
continuing struggle for equality. WILLAMETTE HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTIONS 2015.18.42.
time of the adoption of this constitution,
shall ever come, reside, or be within this
State, or hold any real estate, or make any
contract, or make any suit therein...” It goes
on to direct the legislature to allow public
officials to remove any Black person found
in the state and to punish anybody caught
employing or harboring them. Even if the
laws were rarely enforced, the net effect
was a strong message that Black people
were not welcome in Oregon.
This message was also evident in the ac-
tions and words of many people in the city
of Salem as reported by Rev. Dickinson in
correspondence. His pointed criticism of
and preaching against an incident of extra-
judicial brutality against a Black adolescent
later found innocent of a crime and unequal
educational opportunities for students of
color have disturbingly familiar echoes in
today’s headlines, despite the passage of
time and many reforms.
Issues came to a head between Dickin-
son and a deacon of the church, who hap-
pened to underwrite a large portion of the
pastor’s salary. In writing to the missionary
board in 1862 describing the conditions
that made it difficult for him to pay his dues,
Dickinson noted in frustrated tones that his
detractors said of him: “I am stubborn be-
cause I would not yield to their counsel of
having a separate meeting for the blacks to
join the church. I am stubborn because I
maintain the rights of the blacks to an edu-
cation for their children, against the pop-
ular opinion of the place. I am stubborn be-
cause I set myself firmly against hanging
boys before they are proved to be guilty.
Thus it is brethren, that the subscription is
diminished towards my support.”
Despite the financial difficulties and ten-
uous employment status, Obed and Char-
In the meantime, “we should also
provide low cost or free training and
classes to the public about preparation
for the outdoors to help avoid search
and rescue scenarios.”
Remaining land for outdoor
recreation and where is it now?
Oregon should conduct an inventory
of every viable public space available for
outdoor recreation, including federally
owned, state owned, county owned and
city owned land, the report says.
“Most, if not all, of this data currently
exists within separate agencies or from
private entities. Having this data would
enable us to prioritize planning and in-
vestment with a systems-view,” the re-
port said.
In addition to planning for the future,
O’Brien-Feeney said the agency would
also create a statewide recreation map,
showing at least 7,000 recreation sites
across the state that will have up-to-
date information on a park or location’s
status.
Reassess recreational immunity
and liability provisions
If you get injured while taking part in
outdoor recreation, are you allowed to
sue the state or a private landowner
where you were hiking, skiing or rock
climbing?
At the heart of this concern is a legal
principle known as recreational
immunity, which shields land managers
and owners from liability, and that has
been challenged in Oregon in recent
years.
“To provide certainty to businesses,
private land owners, land managers and
the public, the legal issue of recreational
immunity should be reexamined,” the
report said, which suggested legislation
to make the issue more clear.
lotte Dickinson continued to speak out and
try to make a difference. The abolition of
slavery was not enough. “It is true, we have
no slavery now in Oregon, but we have that
which is equally wrong: a prejudice and a
hatred to the oppressed race…” Obed wrote
in 1863 using as examples the barring of
Black students from the public school in
Salem and refusal of Salemites to attend a
church in which Black people attended the
same services and sat in the same seats as
white members. Charlotte, a teacher, could
do something about educational opportu-
nities. She began offering lessons after
hours for Black students denied admit-
tance to public school, two hours every eve-
ning.
The relationship between pastor and
congregation did not improve, and Obed ul-
timately resigned his position in 1867 – this
time for good. His sideline seed business,
started to help supplement the small salary
he was making as pastor, suddenly became
the family’s sole line of support.
As we celebrate Independence Day this
weekend, and light firecrackers to remem-
ber the struggle for “Life, Liberty, and the
pursuit of Happiness,” I’m going to remem-
ber this little scrap of paper. The struggle
wasn’t over in Dickinson’s time, nearly a
century removed from the signing of the
Declaration of Independence. It would take
another century for Civil Rights movement
to gain more ground. It continues today.
Kylie Pine is the Curator at the Willam-
ette Heritage Center, a five acre historical
museum located in downtown Salem ded-
icating to connecting generations by pre-
serving and interpreting the history of the
Mid-Willamette Valley. Learn more at
www.willametteheritage.org.
Additional, second-tier ideas
h Single online storefront for pur-
chasing recreation passes
The current structure for day-use
and parking fees at various recreational
sites is complex and somewhat burden-
some, the report said, while special li-
censes and permits for specific activ-
ities make it even more so.
A swing at a single “Outdoor Recrea-
tion Pass” hasn’t worked out, so instead,
the report suggests creating one place
where you can buy everything from an
Oregon fishing license to a U.S. Forest
Service Northwest Forest Pass.
Accomplishing this goal may be
somewhat close at hand, as the Oregon
Fish and Wildlife Department has seen
success selling all fishing licenses,
hunting tags and boating licenses on-
line already. The trick would be getting
federal passes on the site, or finding
some combination with Recreation.gov.
h Propose new, dedicated funding
for recreation projects and mainte-
nance
It may be hard to find additional
funding for recreation projects in the
years following COVID-19’s impact on
budgets, but the report suggests findind
a dedicated source of money for projects
and maintenance.
h Set targets for inclusion of people
of diverse backgrounds and abilities
on agency committees
Oregon’s outdoors is filled mostly
with white people, and more diversity
should be a goal, the report says.
“Other initiatives have made strides
towards advancing equity, diversity and
inclusion in agency hiring, and gover-
nor- appointed commissions,” the re-
port says. “Applying this same rationale
to grant-making, policy, research and
other state agency decision-making and
advisory committees would be a natural
extension.”
Read the full report here: https://
www.oregon.gov/orec/Documents/
OREC-Gov-Task-Force-Out-
doors-2020.pdf
Zach Urness has been an outdoors re-
porter, photographer and videographer
in Oregon for 12 years.
Urness is the author of “Best Hikes
with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking South-
ern Oregon.” He can be reached at zur-
ness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503)
399-6801. Find him on Twitter at
@ZachsORoutdoors.
LOCAL
ADVISORS
Salem Area
www.edwardjones.com
Member SIPC
Appoint a stakeholder group to
advise the Office of Outdoor
Recreation
Create a group of government, com-
munity group and business leaders to
support coordination, provide guidance
on priorities, serve as ambassadors and
minimize duplication among various
statewide outdoor recreation efforts.
“This group could help further prio-
ritize and advance the many potential
initiatives and projects identified by the
Task Force that may require coordina-
tion and collective efforts,” the report
said.
Michael Wooters
Garry Falor CFP ®
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FINANCIAL ADVISOR
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