KLCC Special Issues

TELLING THE STORY OF...
Series airs May 25-29, 2009

KLCC's Special Issues Unit is at work on the latest series from the News Department. The topic, inspired by the presence of StoryCorps in Eugene, is Telling the Story of...

The stories will air May 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 at 6:20 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. on Morning Edition, and between 4:00-4:30 p.m. on the Northwest Passage.

The series is edited by KLCC News Director Tripp Sommer.

Audio, photos, resources, and more information will be added to this page throughout the week of the series.

Send an email to KLCC News about this series

View previous Special Issues topics

Monday May 25: Telling the Story... of Virginia Beavert, by Rachael McDonald

Virginia is an 84 year old woman getting her doctorate at the University of Oregon. She's also one of the only people who speaks Sahaptin, the endangered language of the Yakama Indian Tribe. She's teaching Sahaptin at UO. Rachael will profile beavert and tell her life story, and why preserving an endangered language is her life's work.

Listen to the Story

Web Extra: Hear Virginia tell a story from her childhood. First she tells it in English, then in Sahaptin.

View photos below

Tuesday May 26: Telling the Story of... the Klamath Tribes, by Andrew Bartholomew

KLCC's Andrew Bartholomew brings the story of the Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin) from the perspective of tribal elders. A once thriving fishing and logging community, the tribes saw their land taken away by a controversial law in 1954, which officially terminated federal recognition of the tribes and ceded their reservation land back to the federal government for a fee. The Klamath Tribes were officially restored in the 1980s.

Listen to the Story

For more information...
Klamath Tribes

View photos below

Wednesday May 27: StoryCorps Interview, by a member of our community.

The StoryCorps mobile recording booth is in Eugene for the month of May. KLCC is airing one of the interviews each Wednesday in May.

Listen to the Story

Thursday May 28: Telling the Story of... the McKenzie River Drift Boat, by Jes Burns

The McKenzie River Boat is a Lane County original. Developed by Norwegian immigrant Tom Kaarhus in the 1930s for use on the rapid-filled McKenzie River, the boat has become the seminal drift boat in the West -- and the rest of the world. The special design features (pointed hull, low draft, square end) make it an ideal boat for anglers to use in navigating northwest rivers. Jes tells the story of the invention of the McKenzie River boat, and how the vessel became the iconic image of boating in Oregon.

Listen to the Story

Friday May 29: Telling the Story of... Cougar Mountain, by Angela Kellner

The Hoedads Reforestation Cooperative planted millions of trees. Members of the group also bought and homesteaded on Cougar Mountain in Saginaw, near Cottage Grove. Angela pays a visit to Cougar Mountain and speaks with members of three generations who have made it their home and their life.