The story of OEC, Pete Seeger, and Hells Canyon

This being our 40^th anniversary, we’ve been looking back at our archives, which contain a lot of really significant items.  It often seems that OEC has been involved with nearly every significant environmental issue that came down the pike in Oregon. From the bottle bill, to a sustainability evaluation of Rancho Rajneesh (funny story), from the halting the Mt. Hood interstate to stopping the dozens of nuclear power plants once planned for Oregon, OEC has a living history, and one you can often see the results of today.

Every once in a while we come across something that so beautifully illustrates these crossing currents of culture and environmental protection that it just has to be shared. This weekend, Larry Williams - one of OEC’s founders and first Executive Director – sent me a presentation he made about a rafting trip he and several other OEC members made with legendary musician Pete Seeger through Hells Canyon in 1972 in an attempt to secure National Recreation Area protection for the area (they succeeded in 1975).

The images and story were utterly captivating.

I asked Larry if could share this beautiful story, photography and music with the world. Here’s how he responded:

“It was a trip that was one of a kind.  Spending a week with Pete was out of this world.  I didn't have any special pull to get on the trip, just signed up when I read that Pete was going to be on it.  I believe it was organized by Friends of Earth but I may be wrong about that …The flag that Pete made hung in my office at OEC and then at CEQ.  A few years ago I gave the flag to the Forest Service Visitors Center in Enterprise.  Attached is a photo I took of the flag.

I recorded the music, except for Pete's song, on the river with small cassette recorder.  I sent a copy to Pete, from which he transcribed the song for his album "Banks of Marble."  I made a short DVD of the dedication of the National Recreation Area at Hat Point.  Not very interesting except for the plaque that was put in place there.  Last I checked, the Forest Service had removed the plaque in order to do some work at Hat Point and lost track of it. It is important because it acknowledges the importance citizens played in saving Hells Canyon.  That is very unusual for the citizens who made it happen to be recognized.”

Thanks for your hard work, Larry, Pete, and everyone else. Hells Canyon simply wouldn’t be what it is without you all. We salute you.

You can listen to Pete Seeger’s riverside recording of “Hell's Canyon / Don't Ask What a River Is For,” “Rolling on the River,” and more here [click on “Hells Canyon Float” on the left side of your screen to start the slideshow]. If you’re a Pete Seeger or folk music fan – I’m not sure these ‘bootleg’ recordings have been available anywhere before. Dig the crickets in the background! And the rafters singing along, and laughing. Not bad, having a world-class musician on a rafting trip around the campfire. The song Seeger wrote on the trip, “Hell’s Canyon/Don’t Ask What a River is For” was released on the 1974 album “Banks of Marble and Other Songs” thanks at least in part to Larry’s recording.

As a musician, rafter, and history buff, it just doesn’t get cooler than this. Enjoy.