Bly, Oregon

Ruth Obenchain

Remembered by many students as a strict but dedicated teacher who shaped local education.

Donnie Wessel

Moved to Bly in 1947 and later worked as a logger and rancher, sharing memories of school, camp life, and the community.

Howard W. Nixon

Worked for Weyerhaeuser for 37 years and served on the Bly Water District board.

Mike Mansfield

A life rooted in Bly, memorialized through school tradition and community memory.

Bob Ewing

Oral history interview

Phone interview about Campbell Reservoir, the sand pit, and local building work.

Harry Obenchain

Oral history interview

Ranching life, cattle drives, irrigation, and Bly valley history.

Helen Lawrence

Oral history interview

Memories of Bly businesses, laundries, and community life.

Olive Hall

Oral history interview

Forest Service work, the Club, and town stories.

Lauretta "Corky" Smith

Oral history interview

Family roots, Bly businesses, and decades of ranching stories.

Ed Patzke

Oral history interview

Memories of mills, businesses, and the balloon bombing era.

Opal Patzke

Oral history interview

Memories of mills, businesses, and the balloon bombing era.

John Dillavou

Oral history interview

Phone office work, local businesses, and Bly stories.

Mary Hague

Oral history interview

Neighborhood homes, schools, churches, and town fires.

Vernetia "Nisha" Hadley

Oral history interview

Post office years, mill-era Bly, and community changes.

Wayne Hunter

Oral history interview

Family memories, Ivory Pine stories, and Bly neighborhood life.

Elaine Hunter Ryan

Oral history interview

Family memories, Ivory Pine stories, and Bly neighborhood life.

Gearhart Family

Early settlers and first post office hosts

James P. and William H. Gearhart drove cattle into the Upper Sprague Valley and hosted the early Sprague River post office.

Jacob “Fritz” Munz

BK Ranch founder

German immigrant who established the ranch later known as the Bloomingcamp (BK) Ranch.

Bloomingcamp Brothers

Ranching and irrigation expansion

Edward, George, and Henry Bloomingcamp expanded the BK Ranch in the late 1800s.

W.F. “Billy” Reed

Hotel keeper and postmaster

Operator of the Pioneer Hotel, livery stable, and a civic booster in early Bly.

Watts Family

Early merchants

J.O. and J.S. Watts ran one of Bly’s first general stores.

Owen Family

Early settlers and merchants

Early settlers tied by marriage to the Watts family.

Obenchain Family

Ranching and local memory

Family connected to early ranches and preserved local stories.

Garrett Family

Early ranching settlers

Family remembered in local accounts of frontier life.

D Goldberg

Primary-source letter

A final letter shared through Ruth Obenchain, documenting a winter tragedy.

Archie Mitchell

1945 balloon bomb tragedy

Pastor Archie Mitchell was central to the 1945 Sunday school picnic tragedy.

Elsie Mitchell

1945 balloon bomb tragedy

Elsie Mitchell is remembered among the victims of the May 5, 1945 tragedy.