Your City USA Visits The Aurora Colony Museum

Step back in time with a little help from the The Aurora Colony Museum in Aurora, Oregon.

By Glen Bledsoe

(Aurora, Oregon) - As much as I enjoy and use technology I can't say that I've ever heard of, much less seen, a computing scale. That's because the technology (believe it or not) is a bit before my time. I still don't exactly know what it is or what it does. It looks incredibly steam-punk, but in a way that steam-punk only pretends at.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about an item found in The Aurora Colony Museum in Aurora, Oregon. It's just one of many exhibits that will take you back to a period of time in Oregon's history when things were different in both remarkable and subtle ways.

Another favorite of mine is "The Medical Case of Dr. Martin Giesy" which sounds ever so much like the title of an H. P. Lovecraft tale of terror. It is a bit grisly when you look at it carefully. The bone saw, the scalpels and the various hypodermic syringes do nothing to make you feel any less anxious. But as frightening as it is you can't remove your eyes from it. The bottles on the shelves are empty now, but what snake oil liquids once gurgled inside?

There are other technologies: stereoscopes, workbenches, buggies. Items as common as boots and beds and as rare as hand sewn fancy aprons are there for your casual study.

Although the museum isn't large, you can spend a lot of time looking at the various dioramas and exhibit areas. The staff is quite friendly and are happy to help you in any way they can.

Spend your time looking at my photos, then find a time on your calendar to visit the real thing.

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Glen Bledsoe, Salem-News.com writer, photographer, cartoonist, magician was born and raised in Indiana. He graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago for several years. Glen made his home in Oregon in the early 80's where he continues to enjoy the mild climate and lack of sales tax.

He and his wife Karen have published seventeen books together for the school library market. Glen has written extensively on the issues of technology and education for the National Education Association and has penned other Salem-News publications including The Benny & Sid series, "The Truant Officer" (a serialized graphic novel), "The Insidious Futoko," and "The Hummer." His novel His novel The Charity of Ebenezer Scrooge is available on Amazon and at better bookstores everywhere.