In 2023, native Portlander Lucille Pierce, born in 1921, found a slice of local history among her family keepsakes and kindly shared the artifact with McMenamins. While going through her late mother’s belongings, Lucille discovered a punch card for dance lessons at Ringler’s Dancing Academy at the Cotillion Hall, signed by Montrose Ringler, himself! Lucille…
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Red Shed Tapes, Episode 4 Title lyric from Grateful Dead’s “Built to Last” Shannon McMenamin (00:02) You’re listening to the Red Shed Tapes, and I’m your host Shannon McMenamin. This episode is about objects, both big and small – as in the physical things inside our pubs and hotels – cool old stuff! You might find…
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You may have wondered about the surreal and dreamlike imagery in the artwork throughout McMenamins locations, especially if you have noticed the work of artist Lyle Hehn. This painting, Welcome Visitors at Hotel Oregon, is filled with clues to Hotel Oregon’s history in McMinnville and the characters who have floated in and out of this…
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Title lyric from the Grateful Dead’s “St. Stephen” SPEAKERS: Shannon McMenamin, Tim Hills, Mike McMenamin, Jon Smart, Brian McMenamin, Poison Waters, Elysia Scholl, and Caitlin Popp With archival audio including James Brown, Lyle Hehn, Kolieha Bush, Poison Waters and Bruce Maccabee I. Historical Pit Stop: A James Brown Story Kind of Explains It All 0:00…
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Tales of Roseburg’s Rich Rail Culture As Told by Those Who Lived It “The human element just isn’t there any more. I mean, where you have a hundred-car train and an engineer and conductor sitting up there in the head end and a red light back on the end of the train . . .…
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SPEAKERS Shannon McMenamin, Mike McMenamin, Jimi Biron, Scott Avett, Dan McMenamin, Tim Hills Shannon McMenamin 00:06 You’re listening to The Red Shed Tapes, and I’m your host Shannon McMenamin. Today we’re talking about music, one of my all-time favorite topics. Music has always played a big part in my life, serving as a backdrop for…
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Throwback to a McMenamins newsletter article in the December 2007/January-February 2008 issue With the flurry of excitement about this weekend’s wintery weather forecast, we thought it was time to take stock of our many fireplaces, and in doing so, we stumbled across an old article! Much of what was written in this 2007-8 piece still…
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When McMenamins Edgefield first opened in 1991, a marching band of bagpipers in kilts played “Amazing Grace” to herald a new era for the former Multnomah County Poor Farm. This pomp and circumstance was an echo of the past, reminiscent of the military band drills that high school cadets practiced at the Bealey Military Academy,…
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Under the reddish glow of a neon ceiling at the Barley Mill Pub back in 1984, Mike McMenamin penned the first installment of the story “The Adventures of Captain Neon.” No stranger to the glorious subtleties of illumination, inspiration struck when Mike considered the pulsing glow of a newly filled neon tube. In a classic…
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SPEAKERS Mike McMenamin, Shannon McMenamin, Thursday Jane, Brian McMenamin, Patrick McNurney Shannon McMenamin 00:00 Hi, I’m Shannon McMenamin, host of The Red Shed Tapes and part of the leadership team running our family owned company. Growing up, my dad always drove a van; my brothers and I spent a lot of time rolling around in…
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