In October and November 2002, project facilitator Carol Spellman traveled to five rural counties to conduct training workshops with club leaders and 4-H teen club members. The workshops provided leaders and members with documentation strategies such as interviewing skills, audio taping and photography methods and in some counties, video filming and editing. Each leader and club member received a workshop training manual. Technology support included a point and shoot camera, film, tape recorder, batteries and fieldwork forms. Video and editing equipment was provided for member use with the project facilitator.

Taking these newfound skills into their communities, the club members visited historical societies, museums and archives as well as organized interview, gathering personal accounts from tradition bearers. They participated in folklife traditions, customs, festivals and arts unique to their county and/or community. Portraits of Oregon includes documentation of Malheur County’s Basque community; Washington County’s Hispanic dance, foodways and calendar celebrations; Jefferson County's Native American moccasin making, saddle making, bronco riding and spinning traditions; Coos County’s Century Farms and Ranches; and Josephine County’s wagon restoring, blacksmithing, woodcarving, horse farming, gold mining and logging traditions. The varied and colorful collage of traditions located in these five counties portrays the diverse populations which enrich the state of Oregon.

Club leaders met on a monthly basis with members. The first meetings focused on preparing members for interviews and locating tradition bearers to interview. On occasion, the tradition bearer was a member of the club member’s family. Members collected information from their interviewees and often participated in the activities.

This unique partnership between Oregon Folklife Program and Oregon State University Extension Service 4-H enables participating youth to develop such skills as planning research, conducting interviews, maintaining intergenerational exchange and designing and exhibiting their final Portraits of Oregon projects in local history museums, libraries, and county and state fairs. Other opportunities include entering documentary videos in local, state, national and international student film and video festivals. Washington County club members shared their documentaries at the American Folklore Society Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico held in October 2003. The fifteen videos completed in the Portraits project have been included in screenings such as the VITAS Film Festival to be held in May 2004 and in the Forest Grove Film Festival in 2004. In addition, several of the videos received awards at the Northwest Film Center 27th Annual Young People's Film and Video Festival.

"Portraits of Oregon" projects were entered and displayed at county’s fairs and at the Oregon State Fair where they were viewed by several thousand fairgoers. The results of the five projects and the documentation materials will be available on the Oregon Historical Society website http://www.ohs.org by April 2004.

"Portraits of Oregon" provides a voice to tradition bearers about their continuation of cultural practices and a superb opportunity to 4-H youth to share what they have learned about their community, its traditions and folklife. From exit interviews it is strongly evident that participants developed a personal sense of cultural awareness and identity. The Portraits opportunity provided an approach and supporting curriculum encouraging exploration and appreciation of not only their own but other cultures in our state, nation and world.

Latino music blasts from the small conference room at Washington County 4-H Extension Office where Adan Merecias is editing his documentary video about the Mexican tradition of Barbecue (Barbeque) on Adobe Premiere 6.0.

Evan Derickson teeters on a stairwell behind the chutes at Jefferson County Fairgrounds arena in Madras, Oregon. He carefully aims the digital video camera at the teen rider mounted on a bucking bronco and captures the adrenaline filled action. Evan is documenting the Clint Corey Bronco Riding School.

Ann Bolin, from Malheur County, jots down notes as Tony Arrubarrena shares stories of his Basque heritage and the traditional activities he learned growing up in his native province. His heavily accented speech and animated accounts provide Ann with a sense of the Basque people and their culture.

Warm Springs Native American youth met with tradition bearer Louella Jackson. They made deer skin moccasins and filmed the event, creating a short documentary entitled "Moccasin Making in Warm Springs."

“The 'Portraits of Oregon: Youth Exploring Culture and Community' experience has made me realize everyone has a story that’s just waiting to be discovered. Our community is full of interesting and original people whose experiences may never be heard. If not for this program, I might never have gotten to meet Mr. Nantais and learn all the information I did. Then many parts of our history would go unnoticed." --Katie Wicks, student participant

Katie Wicks doing fieldwork with Winfield Nantais.