“The Blue Ledge: From Scandals to Superfund”
Medford, Oregon (January 29, 2025) – Laura B. Ahearn will present a wide perspective on the Blue Ledge Mine, including its connections to the orchard boom, socialism, and WWI. What once promised unbounded riches is now a Superfund site full of hazardous materials, while the adjoining Red Buttes are a protected pristine wilderness. Join us and learn more about the romances, scandals, heroes and ordinary people in this still remote part of the Siskiyous on Wednesday, February 5 online and at the Medford Library from 12:00-1:00 PM. If you’re unable to attend the presentation in Medford, it will happen again at the Ashland Library on Wednesday, February 12 from 12:00-1:00 PM.
Presenter Laura B. Ahearn moved to the Applegate Valley in 2017 after a career in environmental law and 17 years traveling the world on a sailboat. She is President of McKee Bridge Historical Society, a researcher/writer for the Society’s Facebook page, curator of the Virtual Museum at www.mckeebridge.org, and a frequent author for local newsmagazines.
The monthly Windows in Time lunchtime lectures feature well-known writers and historians and bring alive the people, values, and events that shaped our southern Oregon heritage. Lectures are jointly sponsored by the Southern Oregon Historical Society (SOHS) and Jackson County Library Services. Programs are presented in Medford (first Wednesdays, in-person and online) and again in Ashland (second Wednesdays, in-person). Recordings of Medford presentations are available on the JCLS Beyond YouTube channel.