Rooftop stunt made local aero-daredevil famous

Rooftop stunt made local aero-daredevil famous

Author: www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com) March 26, 2026 Duration: 8:51
“This is an age of do-it-first,” said Silas Christofferson, and proceeded to launch his spindly kite-like “aeroplane” from the roof of a downtown hotel — making aviation history in the heart of Oregon's biggest town. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1408e.302.silas-christofferson-portland-hero-aviator.html)

The Offbeat Oregon History Podcast is a daily service from the Offbeat Oregon History newspaper column. Each weekday morning, a strange-but-true story from Oregon's history from the archives of the column is uploaded. An exploding whale, a few shockingly scary cults, a 19th-century serial killer, several very naughty ladies, a handful of solid-brass con artists and some of the dumbest bad guys in the history of the universe. Source citations are included with the text version on the Web site at https://offbeatoregon.com.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Offbeat Oregon History podcast
Podcast Episodes
Steam excursion train line is now a new bike path [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:13
Until the 1980s, you could ride the "Blue Goose" up the Row River past where "Stand By Me" was shot, near Cottage Grove.. Today, it's a 15.6-mile bike trail. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1003d_Bl…
World champion hired
to humiliate town bully [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:05
All through the summer of 1973, there was one song on the radio everywhere that you just couldn’t get away from: Jim Croce’s smash hit, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.” Come to think of it, it’s been very difficult to get away fr…
Oregon Indian prince was Japan’s intro to the West [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:09
In his short 11-month stay on the island nation, he taught 14 Imperial diplomats to speak English, and impressed them with his gentility and respectfulness. And after a long, adventurous life in Canada, his last word was…
An unrecognized Indian prince’s quest to see Japan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:22
Young Ranald MacDonald didn't know he was the grandson of Concomly, Chief of the Chinook Tribe. But before anyone could tell him, he'd run away to sea — and in so doing, dramatically changed the destiny of three great na…
Bike business in P-town ruined by ... prostitutes? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:38
“World's Greatest Trick Rider” sold more than 50,000 bicycles in an age when bikes were the cutting edge of transportation technology; Oregon women loved them — until they started getting mistaken for hookers on the prow…
Schemers sought to steal Peter Iredale shipwreck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:11
Clackamas County man claimed his father had bought the salvage rights in 1908, setting off a huge dust-up among residents, beachgoers and politicians, who scrambled to protect the landmark wreck. He almost got away with…
The legendary lies and tall tales of Reub Long (2 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:49
LEGENDARY RACONTEUR REUB Long, the “Sage of Fort Rock,” packed a whole lot into his 76 years living in central Oregon. Most of it — though by no means all — had to do with horses. But, as you may remember from last week’…
Rancher Reub Long, the legendary Sage of Fort Rock (1 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:17
Oregon was once known as a place full of “great liars” — tellers of tales so tall they'd cause every pair of pants in the room to spontaneously burst into flame. Central Oregon storyteller Reub Long could hold his own wi…