Between the 1850’s and 60’s, the former settlement of Petersburg, Calif., was the largest mining town along the 16-mile stretch of the South Fork of Salmon River between Abrams at Big Flat and Cecilville.

Members of the Klamath Tribes gathered along the banks of the Sprague River near Chiloquin, Ore., in March 1990 to revive the nearly lost tradition of the First Sucker Ceremony.

To match this year’s Medford Pear Blossom theme of “Our Valley – Our Heritage,” the grand marshal will be the Southern Oregon Historical Society. Founded just a few years apart more than 60 years ago, both the parade and the society are dedicated to preserving and telling the story of the valley’s common heritage.

When Germany threatened to invade England in the summer of 1940, the British government created the Children’s Overseas Reception Board that sent children to safety in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and the United States.

Even when Medford was just a small country town, its people yearned for music and other cultural activities.

Jerome Prairie, about seven miles west of Grants Pass, got its name from a man who never found time to develop a 320-acre Donation Land Act grant.

Two Irish brothers in their mid-20’s, Hugh and Denis O’Connor, arrived in America in 1907 to seek their fortune in Lake County, Ore., where two other brothers had already settled.

In 1935, Raymond Ritter of the Pinnacle Packing Co. proposed that the Jackson County, Ore., Chamber of Commerce promote Rogue Valley pears by creating a Pear Blossom Festival similar to the apple festival in Wenatchee, Wash.

Most small communities in Southern Oregon-Northern California’s mythical State of Jefferson, had their rough edges during Prohibition. The Klamath County logging town of Bly was no exception.

Jacksonville’s first school stood on the hill known as Bigham’s Knoll, named after Jacksonville pioneer John Bigham. It opened in 1868, only to burn down twice in the early 1900’s.