Gorge Guide

BOOK SIGNING: RICHARD ENGEMAN "THE OREGON COMPANION"

Friday, July 3, 2009
5:00 – 8:00 p.m. 
Waucoma Bookstore
212 Oak Street, Hood River, OR 97031  

Overview
Waucoma Bookstore is hosting author Richard Engeman for a book signing on Friday, July 3rd from 5:00 - 8:00pm at the bookstore (212 Oak St., Hood River). Engeman will be signing his new book "The Oregon Companion: An Historical Gazetteer of the Useful, the Curious, and the Arcane." "The Oregon Companion" is an A–Z handbook of over 1000 people, places, and things in Oregon.

About the Book
What's the connection between Ken Kesey and Nancy's Yogurt? How about the difference between a hoedad and a webfoot? What became of the Pixie Kitchen and the vanished Lambert Gardens? The Oregon Companion is an A–Z handbook of over 1000 people, places, and things. From Abernethy and beaver money to houseboats, railroads, and the Zigzag River, an intrepid public historian separates fact from fiction — with his sense of humor intact.

Entries include towns and cities, counties, rivers, lakes, and mountains; people who have left a mark on Oregon; industries, products, crops, and natural resources. Includes more than 160 historical black and white photos. This entertaining and delightfully meticulous compendium is an essential reference for anyone curious about Oregon.

About the Author
Richard H. Engeman is a historian and archivist with wide research and writing experience in Pacific Northwest history. A graduate of Reed College, he also holds graduate degrees in librarianship from the University of Oregon and in history from the University of Washington. His writing has appeared in Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Oregon Historical Quarterly, Portland Monthly, and other publications. He is the author of an award-winning unit of the Oregon Historical Society's online Oregon History Project, Wooden Beams and Railroad Ties: the History of Oregon's Built Environment. Formerly public historian of the Oregon Historical Society, Engeman has also worked at the University of Washington Libraries, the Southern Oregon Historical Society, and the National Maritime Museum at San Francisco. He serves on the Portland Landmarks Commission and is on the board of the Oregon Museums Association and the Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program. He is the principal of Oregon Rediviva LLC, which does historical research and writing and museum and archives consulting.