14
AUGUST 25�SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
CULTURE & HERITAGE
CELEBRATING THE HISTORY
OF EASTERN OREGON
Tales of the Trail
Weekly programs bring
Oregon Trail and local
mining history to life
Bureau of Land Management/Contributed photo
A ranger points out the wagon ruts during the program “Oregon Fever” at the
National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center outside Baker City.
By Lisa Britton
Go! Magazine
B
AKER CITY — Although the
doors remain closed at the
National Historic Oregon Trail
Interpretive Center, rangers are
off ering special outdoor pro-
grams Thursday through Sunday.
Admission is free. The center
LO S T I N E , O R E G O N
WEDNESDAY - SUNDAY 8 AM TO 8 PM
LATE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
541-569-2285
S C R AT C H M A D E
BEER
PIZZA
DENIM
AND MORE
G L A C I E R C O L D • FA W N F R E S H
is located 5 miles east of Baker
City on Highway 86.
Visitors can discover the
unique history of mining in
Eastern Oregon at “Going for
Gold,” which begins at 9:30 a.m.
This 30-minute program cov-
ers Auburn, where gold was fi rst
discovered in Baker County.
“They were looking for the
lost Blue Bucket Mine. And found
gold,” said Casey Taylor, a ranger
at the center.
Taylor and Ranger Glenn
Reynolds take turns presenting
“Going for Gold.” Taylor focuses
on the historical perspective
— who prospered, and how the
discovery of gold led to the rise
of Baker City.
“The mission of the BLM here
at the center is to tell these sto-
ries, and preserve the history,”
Taylor said.
(The BLM — Bureau of Land
Management — manages the
center.)
When Reynolds presents
“Going for Gold,” he takes on a
diff erent persona.
“I assume a character — a
has-been, a bent and broken
gold miner,” he said.
A second daily program called
“Oregon Fever” describes the
emigrant experience along the
Oregon Trail. This can be seen
twice a day, at 11:30 a.m. and
1:30 p.m.
Taylor, Reynolds and Ranger
Deb Wessler take turns present-
ing “Oregon Fever,” and each
brings their own interpretation to
the program.
“It’s aspects of the Oregon
Trail,” Taylor said. “Basically —
why? Why would you want to
pack up and move West?”
He talks about the fur trader,
and how those traders then “sold
the West” to entice pioneers.
“And how it relates to today
— that same American dream,”
he said.
Reynolds begins the program
by sharing his background, then
encourages his audience to
share their own stories. Every-
one, he said, can identify with
those emigrants who headed for
the Oregon Territory.
“In a sense, emigrants are
constant — hoping to leave one
place for another,” he said.
When Wessler presents “Or-
egon Fever,” she talks about the
history of the Oregon Trail from
the 1840s to present-day Baker
City, as well as the reality versus
Hollywood versions of the Old
West.
“I like to dispel some of the
myths for those of us who grew
up with Westerns,” she said.
These two programs will con-
tinue through Sept. 30.