Almeda Keeps Giving Up Her Secrets. The More Things Change The Department…
The Almeda Fire and combined Labor Day conflagration keeps revealing the past even as it foreshadows our future. Unveilings help us realize that our rural communities have always dealt with the poor and infirm with support and help and hope. This was made clear when a time capsule salvaged from the ashes of the Almeda Fire in 2020 was opened to much anticipation last week in the media gallery of the Southern Oregon Education Service District in Medford.
Finding the capsule was in itself a surprise. The capsule had been embedded in a concrete block retrieved from the rubble of the one-time Jackson County Farm Home near Talent. SOESD took over the property in the late 1970s.
“When they were doing the debris removal from the fire, they said it looked like there might be something in there," said Dan Weaver, chief financial officer and deputy clerk at SOESD. "We took it to our warehouse but it was in the middle of COVID, so we kind of stored it while we figured out what to do." The capsule had been sealed as part of a 1949-50 rebuild of the farmhouse, built to take care of the community’s indigent. These were accepted ways to take care of the working poor, and offered opportunities for them to contribute and join in with the community. Seventy-six years later, it is apparent that these challenges are still with us.
About 50 to 60 people were on hand Friday two weeks ago, including SOESD employees and local historians – some connected to the farmhouse, others there to understand the history of the valley, and others who no doubt just wanted a ringside seat to a treasure hunt -- to see what was in the 18-inch-long copper box. Little did these onlookers realize that they were in fact looking at an unearthing of a true treasure – a repository and refreshing update of neighborly spirit. Let’s explain.
Southern Oregon Historical Society archivist Jan Wright revealed the contents of the capsule. It contained letters from Oregon dignitaries, an Oregon Blue Book, and numerous newspaper clippings, based around the refurbishing and rebuild of the farm. Built around 1907 as one of several poor farms in the region, the building and 56 acres of land were funded by the community to provide for the elderly, disabled and other disadvantaged residents. Poor farms were common in the U.S. for a century beginning in the mid-1880s — not unlike group homes of today — and into the 1950s.Residents, termed “inmates,” and not pejoratively, assisted with farming and caring for the property, which Wright said was designed to provide for inmates' “social, emotional, nutritional needs.”
The letter in the capsule by then-commissioner R.R. Lytle gave thanks to the community support of the farm home. The late commissioner’s handwritten note stated that he was “happy and proud to have had the Jackson County farm home built during my term of office and to have taken an active part in its construction.”Lytle in his missive noted that the upgrade and replacement of the previous 1907 wood structure was “outstanding and truly a credit to Jackson County. ... I’m very much impressed with the results achieved and the cooperation shown by all, so it is with deep and sincere gratification that I see the completion of the Jackson County Farm Home.”
Wright said she was thrilled the time capsule items had survived. “I can’t believe the items all survived the fire. There was even a big hole in the box that was created by the fire,” she related. “The time capsule represents a desire to be credited with taking part in a countywide effort to shelter and feed the poor, the aged and the indigent," she said. "In those days, the 1950s, it was a badge of honor to take care of those who couldn’t help themselves.” We are proud to say that that spirit continues today, through volunteers, community, and nonprofit groups such as CRT. Perhaps a fire does have a positive way of revealing the truth, in this case, underscoring the hidden truth that we’ve known deep down all along: Understanding that the support and strength through altruism and engagement and the bonds that come with it are key to a healthy society.
There may be additional lessons here as well. Clearly the farms were set up as a way to treat people with dignity and allow them self-respect and independence when possible. The community gardens and working farms may even be a model of the future, going forward.
The more things change, indeed, the more they remain the same. In this case, they may point a path to the future.