...and was unable to retrieve it in time. (Crater Lake, Klamath County; 1980s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1711b.merzejuskis-blows-self-up-at-crater-lake-469.html)

It’s the biggest deepwater harbor on the Northwest coast — that is, between San Francisco and Puget Sound. And it’s far safer than Portland or Astoria, tucked as they are behind the “Graveyard of the Pacific” at the mouth of the Columbia.

So, one has to wonder why it had no railroad connection to the outside world until 1916 — more than 30 years after Portland got one.

There have to have been some theories and speculations about that among the residents and business leaders in the towns of Coos Bay (then called Marshfield) and North Bend. Especially after, in the early 1900s, the Southern Pacific railroad suddenly stopped work on a feeder line that it had claimed would link to Coos Bay through Drain.

The subtext here seemed pretty obvious to Marshfield and North Bend business leaders: Business interests in Portland were eager to prevent Coos Bay from coming on line as a direct competitor. And since Portland and Salem were where most of the state’s political power was concentrated, what they wanted they generally got.

That suspicion would grow even stronger after William J. Wilsey started promoting his planned railroad line, circa 1909. But, that one would not turn out to be a bluff; and despite the best efforts of Harriman and Co., it would turn out to be a rare case in which the tiny upstart wins. (Eugene and Coos Bay, Lane and Coos County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/22-01.coos-bay-railroad-fight-605.html)

A happy ending? Well, not for the Russians, it wasn't. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1930s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/o1105a-coast-guard-rescued-future-soviet-gulag-ship.html)

... unable to see its position, the ship piled onto the beach at full steam. (Clatsop Spit, Clatsop County; 1940s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1608a.christmas-shipwreck-mauna-ala.403.html)

Buy the other team a round of drinks ... or two, or three .... (Prineville, Crook County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1211a-thomas-lawson-mccall-boozy-baseball-fixer.html)

... it seemed obvious what had happened. But ... was it? (Ashland, Jackson County; 1880s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1711a.lewis-mcdaniel-murdered-but-by-whom-468.html)

That meant it was crewed by some of the best-trained sailors in the world, and built solidly enough for iron shot to bounce off its sides. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1840s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1911a.peacock-spit-shipwreck.html)

It's probably safe to say they didn't think their plan through very well. (Offshore, near Umpqua River, Douglas County; 1910s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/o1104c-amateur-pirates-bumbling-scheme-didnt-work-out.html)

... and a symbol of Oregon's strange relationship with good ol' Demon Rum. (Silverton, Marion County; 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/o1104d-gallon-house-bridge-symbol-of-oregon-battle-over-booze.html)

... and a U.S. Senator. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1880s, 1890s, 1900s) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1210e-john-mitchell-oregons-snidely-whiplash.html)