State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

CASE STUDY 19THE HISTORY OF OREGON’S BLACKLOGGERS WILL NEVER BE LOSTBy honoring the legacy of her familyand preserving the history of Maxville’smulticultural logging community,Gwendolyn Trice hopes to effectchange and empower others.Gwendolyn’s family history in Oregon datesback to 1924. Her grandfather and father camefrom Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to Eastern Oregon ina boxcar. The Bowman Hicks Lumber Companyrecruited them. Her grandfather had experiencein mechanics, which he passed on to his son.At the time, Blacks could saw the logs but weren’tallowed in the mill. Gwendolyn says that while theracial climate wasn’t as intense in Eastern Oregonas it was in the South, there was segregation.“In the South, if you were to look at someone in adifferent way, you might get hung,” she says. “InEastern Oregon, it wasn’t that way. There was stilla separateness and that Southern mentality.”The logging company separated workers bytheir ethnic groups. However, they used baseballto build camaraderie by forming a successfulmixed team. Ultimately, the economic impactof the mill prevented more hostile Whitesupremacist elements from gaining a foothold inthe town. One Ku Klux Klan member was evende-hooded by community members.“They’re not going to stand with the Klan if it’sgoing to mess with the income and industrycoming in,” says Gwendolyn.Her father in particular made a reputationfor himself as an advocate for the Blackcommunity. Gwendolyn notes that he oncesaved a young, White logger’s life. She,however, didn’t get to see his exploits firsthandbecause he was 56 when she was born.By that time, the logging industry was long gone.The combination of the Great Depression andWorld War II killed the industry and caused most ofthe Black community to relocate. The exodus of theBlack community brought an end to the Southernmentality. Soon, schools were integrated. However,Gwendolyn doesn’t look back on this time withfond memories. She was isolated and didn’t learnmuch about her cultural history or identity.In 1977, she decided to move to Seattle. There,she found steady work and had a chance toheal. She also found a new mission: preserveand share the history of her father and the Blacklogging community of Maxville.Gwendolyn moved back to Wallowa County,where she was surprised to find welcomingneighbors. Since returning, she’s noticed ongoingeffects of the loss of the logging industry.148