Into the Past

This graph shows the plunging median value of homes in Sweet Home, Oregon since the Great Recession of 2007 commenced.

I'll be in Sweet Home tomorrow to gather video footage for a documentary of my experiences growing up there. 

When I attended elementary and high school in Sweet Home the economy was better than it is these days. Logging and the wood products industry thrived there in the sixties.

In a addition, two large dams were built along the South Santiam River east of town.  Workers came from all over to secure the plentiful family-wage jobs that sustained the community.

By my graduation in 1969, those jobs were thinning rapidly. Today, Sweet Home is sustained by the remnants of its once huge logging industry, a few mills, and tourism.

The city is home to the yearly Oregon Jamboree, a country music festival featuring many of America's bestselling country acts.


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