First and foremost, the McKenzie History Highway team want to thank the Willamette Valley Visitors Association for their generous contribution. We’d also like to thank the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce, Lane County’s Department of Community and Economic Development, T-Laue Consulting, and generous local donors.
There were many people and many organizations that worked hard to make the McKenzie History Hwy happen. Some people worked for years collecting the history of this fine place we call home. They did so because they knew the importance of our past. Many of the people we’ve highlighted as community leaders were, in fact, historians this valley. This is because there is a sort of inexplicable pride that comes from living on the McKenzie River.
One of the first things we did for this project was to reach out and to the community. We wanted to hear the stories and see the photographs from the people and families who are living on the river as well as the ones no longer living here but have fond memories. We found people brought family photo albums passed down for generations. We heard the stories of buildings torn down or renovated. People enthusiastically shared anecdotes and family folklore.
Marilyn Cross wrote the main grant for the project. The Willamette Valley Visitors Association generously awarded the McKenzie Community Development Corporation the funds we needed to organize, collect, design, print, and hang up 37 history panels that are three feet by five feet. The idea, at least in part, came from history panels on the McKenzie Bridge General Store. She also worked tirelessly and showed up and ran every team meeting. She picked her team and gave each person a role to play. Without her leadership, this project would not have happened.
Margaret Beilharz really spearheaded this entire project. With a keen eye and an aggressive stance on sharing our unique and amazing history, Margaret collected the photos, created the categories (aka ‘Chapters’), and helped organize other volunteers from the very first day. Margaret specializes in researching and writing local history. She believes “learning from yesterday makes a better tomorrow.”
Sean Davis helped write the captions for the panels and helped Kevin Leinbach build the website. Tim Laue, Jeff Dehne, and Bob Wilson made up the installment team and drove up and down the river placing the history panels. The rest of the action team consists of Gery Aster and Bill Burwell.
We would also like to thank the Walterville Grange, the McKenzie/Vida Community Center, the Upper McKenzie Community Center, the McKenzie River Inn, and the McKenzie General Store.
