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Prime Times Weekly publication of the Mail Tribune , Medford, Oregon TURNING BACK the H ands of time Photo by Jim Craven Carol Barrett is the author of "As It Was," a collection of historical essays about Southern Oregon and Northern California. Excerpt from 'As It Was' A story about beach travel from "As It Was," Carol Barrett's collection of historical vignettes about Southern Oregon and Northern California: One of the smooth roads for travel along the beach was between Coos Bay and Winchester Bay. To call service "regular" would be an error as the time of departure and arrival depended on the tides. Leaving Coos Bay might be anywhere from 1 a.m. to 10 p.m. Halfway along the beach, the stage came to Ten Mile Creek. Even crossing at low tide, the creek came up to the coach's axles. This was not the only way a beach could be dangerous. On Dec. 9, 1907, the stage left North Bend. On board were young and old men, women, and even an 18-month-old baby. The driver was proceeding toward Ten Mile Creek when suddenly a large wave came rushing in and washed over the coach. A log, carried in with the wave, smashed into the front wheel and the coach tipped over in the cold water. The horses became frightened, broke loose and ran up the beach with the driver still hanging on to the reins. As the wave receded the undertow threatened to carry the coach out to sea but two men were able to jump out, right the stage and pull it to higher ground before a second wave hit. Shakily, everyone watched as the carriage and their baggage were washed away. When the driver returned with the horses, the women mounted and the travelers resumed their trip up the beach. An hour and a half later, they arrived at Jarvis Landing. -- from "The Coos Bay Region," by Nathan Doughit Where to find it Carol Barrett's book, "As It Was," is available by mail order from Jefferson Public Radio (call 552-6301 to order) and in Ashland at Bloomsbury Books and the Southern Oregon University bookstore for $19.95. All profits from the book benefit Jefferson Public Radio, which is the book's publisher. Woman shares rare peeks into region's rich past By BILL KETTLER Carol Barrett will tell you she's no historian, but she's made the past come alive for thousands of people in Southern Oregon and Northern California. The Medford writer's vignettes about pioneer life have aired daily on Jefferson Public Radio for the past six years. Now she has chosen the best of those 1,200 radio scripts for a book that shares its title, "As It Was," with the radio series. "I like the history here because it doesn't go that far back," said Barrett. "We're not so far away from them. We can still relate to those people." The new book is Barrett's second foray into historical publishing. In 1993 she self-published "Women's Roots," incorporating stories she had produced for Jefferson Public Radio to observe Women's History Month. She also wrote a radio series on the Oregon and Applegate trails. Barrett's interest in Rogue Valley history began when she and her late husband retired to Eagle Point in the 1970s. Curious about the town's historic buildings, she began studying Eagle Point's early years in a project sponsored by the Southern Oregon Historical Society. "It was a whole new thing for me," said Barrett, who studied architecture in college, then married and raised a family. "I interviewed people, showed them old pictures and said, `Do you remember this place?"' Impressed with Barrett's energy, SOHS officials recommended her to Jefferson Public Radio when the idea surfaced for a series of broadcasts on local history. "One of her skills was ferreting out interesting stories," said Marjorie Edens, field services coordinator for SOHS. "I wondered whether that could translate into stories for the radio." Barrett found she enjoyed uncovering snatches of pioneers' daily life that surfaced in academic histories, old newspapers and historical journals. "Some of them are (about) just plain old people," she said. "They're the ones I like the best. "There's this one about a Democrat," she said, recalling a tale from the chapter of stories about early mining days. "He was like everybody else. He went into town to drink his earnings away. He fell into a 40-foot mine shaft on his way home. Two men heard him shouting for help and came to get him out. When he saw one of them was a Republican minister he said, `Put me back down until some Democrats come."' Along with some 300 stories, the book includes a number of old photographs. Barrett visited historical museums across Southern Oregon and Northern California, searching for images that would set the right tone for the stories. "More than half of them have never been published before," she said. "That's what I'm proudest of." Barrett, 75, came to writing late in life, when she began to study history. She abhorred English as a student and studied architecture partly to avoid English classes. "I don't think that I know what a split infinitive is," she said, "but I have an inkling." Her stories tend to run 200 to 300 words, the length of a two- to three-minute radio broadcast. The format compelled Barrett to brevity, but she found the style suited her. "For the radio, you don't have long sentences," she said, "and you don't have a lot of elaborate descriptions." Her clipped sentences leave little room for details that don't advance the story. "I think if I have a talent, it's to say a lot in a few words," she said. "I don't draw things out a lot. Barrett likes to write fast, and then revise. And the physical act of keyboarding pleases her almost as much as the story she creates. "I love very mundane things," she said. "I love typing -- just the physical typing. I think very fast, and typing on the computer I can write as fast as I think. "Then I spell check it, and of course I have a million typos. "I use quotes whenever I can. To me, quotes authenticate things." Putting the book together took almost a year, far longer than she imagined. "It was incredible that it took so long, especially since it was basically already written," she said. "You work real hard to get things in and then nothing happens," she said, describing the long down-times when proofreaders scrutinized the pages. Indexing the book tested Barrett's patience, too. But she wanted an index in the book because her own research had taught her the value of indexing. "Believe me, my index was difficult," she said. "I have only places and people in there, but it goes for pages and pages." Many people often credit the radio series to Hank Henry, the former broadcaster and Jackson County commissioner, who reads the scripts on the radio. But Henry said Barrett deserves all the credit for finding and writing the stories. The history project has brought Barrett some celebrity in the valley, but several other projects compete for her time. She's learning video editing so she can complete a video documentary on artists who live at Rogue Valley Manor, and she makes hand-woven tapestries. She also raises money for the Fairy Godmother Scholarship program, which helps young women continue their education. All the projects keep life interesting and entertaining, she said. "I've had more fun in the last 15 years than in my whole life put together." All profits from the book benefit Jefferson Public Radio, which is the book's publisher. It's available by mail order from JPR (call 552-6301 to order) and in Ashland at Bloomsbury Books and the Southern Oregon University bookstore for $19.95. Prime Times front page Mail Tribune front page Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA