History
The Red Shed Tapes, B-side: Episode 5 Podcast
Top Gun Pilot David Fravor: Witness to the “Tic Tac” UFO
The Red Shed Tapes Podcast, Episode 5 Speakers: Shannon McMenamin, Tim Hills, David Fravor, George Knapp, Jeremy Corbell Shannon McMenamin: You’re listening to The Red Shed Tapes, and I’m your host, Shannon McMenamin. This episode is a Red Shed Tapes, B-side, where we press “PLAY” on stories and conversations from McMenamins’ vault of recordings and…
Read MoreLucille, Leonora, and the Ringler’s Dance Card
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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The Red Shed Tapes Podcast, Episode 4 Transcript
Look for Something Built to Last
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…
Read MoreWelcome Visitors: Lyle Hehn’s History of Hotel Oregon
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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The Red Shed Tapes Podcast, Episode 3 Transcript
One Man Gathers What Another Man Spills: McMenamins History Department
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…
Read MoreWorking for the Railroad
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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The Red Shed Tapes Podcast, Episode 2 Transcript
Let There be Songs to Fill the Air
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…
Read MoreWe’re Keeping the Home Fires Burning
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…
Read MoreBealey Military Academy for Boys
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,…
Read MoreCaptain Neon and Argon the Assassin: The Story Behind the Story
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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