Eugene 1945-2000

About the Book

Eugene, Oregon, little sister to the bigger, brighter, Northwest stars of Portland and Seattle, has its own story to tell. This town, which grew in population from 36,000 in 1950 to almost 140,000 in 2000, is a strange, quirky, lovely little place, with a strange, quirky, lovely little history.

It is a town of independent leaders: the housewife who became an influential planner, the local businessman who led a fight to keep a cross on the city’s landmark butte, the odd little man whose eccentric bike rides and tricks around town earned him a bridge named in his honor.

A town with a national reputation for protest and debate: University of Oregon students staging a sit-it Johnson Hall during the Vietnam War, gay rights advocates protesting legislation that would allow discrimination against homosexuals, activists blocking the cutting of trees in downtown Eugene, concerned citizens voicing their disapproval of commercial development on wetlands.

A town that boasts a home team with a duck for a mascot, an enviable alternative transportation system, and a superior social services community.

A town that mourns its lack of racial diversity, its poorly funded educational systems, and its nearly vacant downtown.

Eugene 1945-2000: Decisions That Made a Community is an anthology of twenty-two essays that examines the city’s recent history and explores the people, decisions, and events that made it the place it is today.

About the Author

The City Club of Eugene (Oregon) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a forum for airing divergent views and stimulating informed community decision-making and constructive action. We produce credible analysis of community issues, foster creative problem solving, forge new cooperative relationships, and honor diverse perspectives. We hope that in doing so, the community will discover commonly held civic values and appreciate the obligations of citizenship.