Oregon's Main Street: U.s. Highway 99

Publisher Marketing: Long before Interstate 5 was built, Pacific Highway, later designated U. S. Highway 99, became our "Main Street" not only through the State of Oregon, but from Mexico to Canada. Unlike I-5, U. S. Highway 99 went through towns and small communities along its path, bringing them the means to connect with the rest of the state and nation. Jo-Brew takes us on a trip, south to north, beginning at the California-Oregon border, as the highway continues its climb through the Siskiyou Mountains. We then go down through the connected valleys where economies were built on orchards, forests, farm lands, recreation and businesses built to support the growing reliance on the automobile and commercial truck traffic that used it daily to deliver people and products to their destinations. OREGON'S MAIN STREET: U. S. Highway 99 "The Stories" takes us along this route today, but it is filled with the stories of those who grew up, worked, played and raised their families in the communities along its path. Over 150 individuals shared their stories, some in the form of old letters and diaries, but most in first-person accounts through interviews, letters, email and even phone calls all done personally by Jo-Brew. It's been my pleasure to work with Jo in the last year, helping her to prepare the book for publication. It is truly a labor of love for a passionate and dedicated woman whose heart and life are intertwined with the highway. A companion book, "The History" of which I am co-author, contains more stories and insights into these same communities along the route of U. S. Highway 99 that connect with their earlier histories. For those who love old pictures, you will be treated to many more than we were able to include in "The Stories," too. So, climb on-board Jo's little red Rambler and let's take a ride up Oregon's "Gut," or, if you're too young to remember driving "the Gut" in your own hometown, let's take a drive on "Main Street Oregon." Pat Edwards Contributor Bio:  Edwards, Pat Muriel (Ava) Linder lives with her family in Elmira, Oregon. She spent many years studying Native American history, especially that related to the Cheyenne tribe, before writing "The White Man's Brother." After writing it and an unpublished sequel called "The Rainbow Chasers," the manuscripts were laid aside while she concentrated on developing a sewing and alterations business. She finally brought both books out of the closet and worked on them some more. "I had written numerous magazine articles and newspaper items up until that time, but working with fiction was a whole new ballgame. I loved bringing my characters to life!" "White Man's Brother" is the first of these two books. Look for "The Rainbow Chasers, a sequel to WMB, which will be published in late 2015. In her acknowledgements, Mrs. Linder writes: "If it were possible, I would thank George Bird Grinnell personally for the two volumes he wrote on the day-to-day happenings of a Cheyenne village. "Grinnell lived with the Cheyenne for several years and painstakingly recorded the period when they hunted the buffalo and roamed the prairie. This was before the buffalo hunters came. "My hero died in 1938 after a long career as a writer. He had a great love for Native American culture which he passed on to me."