Presented from Friendly House, three HGP members share stories of notable events in their lives. Organized by Suzanne Thornton.
Video of Programs (search and sort)
Oregon Free Thought
05/31/2015
Gus Frederick
Presentation by Gus Frederick. This talk addresses the Freethought movement in Western Oregon during the latter quarter of the19th Century, beginning with the seeds of the Oregon State Secular League, culminating with the establishment of Liberal University of Oregon at Silverton, the West’s first strictly secular center of higher learning. Gus Frederick is a native Oregonian and third generation Free Thinker. He was born in 1954, 100 years after his hometown of Silverton was founded. He is by training a filmmaker and photographer, although he has broadened that term to multimedia artist. He currently works as a conceptual artist, photographer, filmmaker and animator. (HGP does not take responsibility for material presented by our speakers.)
Water Witching and Dowsing
05/24/2015
Todd Jarvis
Presentation by Todd Jarvis. While Oregon is famous for its diverse water landscapes, Oregonians have a rich history in dowsing and locating water and water channels. Folklore describes the diverse tools used by Oregon water witches dating back to the early 1900s. Nearly every means imaginable has been used to “divine” water -- from pitchforks, car keys hung as a pendulum, bibles, to the classic “forked” stick. Todd Jarvis is the Interim Director of the Institute for Water & Watersheds and an Assistant Professor at Oregon State University. He has over 30 years of experience in the groundwater engineering industry and is a certified engineering geologist, and water right examiner. (HGP does not take responsibility for material presented by our speakers.)
Oregon Climate Declaration Campaign
05/10/2015
Mark Darienzo
Mark Darienzo speaks about fossil fuel divestment and about a campaign asking state and local governments to divest from fossil fuels and to invest in energy efficiency anclean alternative energies. Mark has worked as an earthquake and tsunami program coordinator for the State Office of Emergency Management. (HGP does not take responsibility for material presented by our speakers.)
Oregon Historical Society
04/26/2015
Scott Calhoun
Scott Calhoun of the Oregon Historical Society provides an overview of Oregon history beginning with the varying lifestyles of the Native Americans prior to Euro-American contact, and then proceeds through the eras of maritime explorers, fur traders, missionaries, and finally the pioneers of the Oregon Trail. He concludes with a brief presentation of the Historical Society itself -- its history, organization, functions, and funding. (HGP does not take responsibility for material presented by our speakers.)