The holidays in High Desert history

From fur trappers to buckaroos, a look back at holiday traditions in the High Desert:

In 1825 fur trapper Peter Skene Ogden wrote:

"Sunday, 25th. This being Christmas, all hands remained in camp. Prayers were made. Cold increases; prospects gloomy; not 20 lbs. of food remain in camp, and nearly all our traps out of water. "

"Sunday, Jan. 1, 1826, Remained in camp. Gave all hands a dram. There was more fasting than feasting. The first New Year's day since I came to the Indian country when my men were without food; 4 beaver today."

In 1826 Ogden wrote:
"Sunday 25th, Christmas. I did not raise camp and we are reduced to one meal a day."

Despite being thousands of miles from the nearest city, the men and women of the Hudson’s Bay Company fur trapping and trading forts still managed to celebrate Christmas and New Years in the High Desert. It was customary for the officers in charge to distribute regales – extra rations of rum, tobacco and foodstuffs – to the employees and to allow for time off while celebrating.

In 1835, while visiting Fort Vancouver, American missionary Samuel Parker observed:

“The holidays are not forgotten in these far distant regions...From Christmas until after the New Years, all labor is suspended and a time of general indulgence and festivity commences.” No matter the location, the celebrations, like the Fur Trade itself, were often a mixture of multiple cultures with Holiday songs and religious ceremonies conducted in French, English and Chinook Jargon – the trade language of the Pacific Northwest.

The dishes on display the Museum's Hall of Exploration and settlement case represent the officers’ wives bringing out their best china to celebrate the holidays. The red and blue Spode items, circa 1780 and were in the halls of the ships coming West.

A century ago, a Catholic vaquero, or buckaroo, would remember the celebrations of the Mexican Christmas holiday beginning with La Posada, the reenactment of the journey of Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay at night before the Baby Jesus was born. Young children would go from house to house pretending to be Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay.

Happy holidays from the High Desert Museum.

Make an Impact: Wild & Local Gifts

Gifts that reflect your love of High Desert wildlife, nature and culture can make a difference. Whether you adopt a raptor or bobcat, give someone a year of unlimited Museum visits (membership is an incredible value) or shop our store for toys, jewelry or other artisan works, these gifts support our valuable work inspiring thousands of people every year.

Museum gift membership offers a year of new and exciting exhibitions, inspiring educational programs featuring live animals and historical characters portrayed live, special talks, films, lectures and more special events. They start at just $50.

Our new Adopt An Animal Packages make great, fun gifts, and help care for rescued animals here. They are $25 and up.

Memberships and animal adoptions are available at the Museum, or by calling 541.382.4754, ext. 244, or click here.

The Silver Sage Trading store is the place for: holiday ornaments and cards, books, cuddly plush toys, Oregon-made jams and sauces, fountain pens crafted from local wood, jewelry and other artisan works. Museum member discounts are now double: 20 percent off most merchandise in December.

Who Is Father Christmas?

Standing nearly 6-and-half feet tall, with twinkling blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a full white beard, Father Christmas has stepped out of a Victorian tale and into the Museum, in his hand-sewn, ermine trimmed, emerald velvet cape.

On Dec. 10 and Dec. 17 at the Museum, he will be in our re-created settlement town, Silver City, listening to what you’d like this holiday. On the frontier in the 1880s, Father Christmas represented the season's spirit of good cheer. In this historically accurate setting, it's easy to imagine that you are a homesteader, or have come west to stake a mining claim and reap a fortune. For those who pioneered this region, celebrating the holidays was a welcome respite from harsh conditions in a new land.

As you nibble on sugar cookies and take in our other exhibits, we think you'll take home an experience unlike any other. It's all part of our mission, helping you to discover your connection to the past, role in the present, and responsibility to the future.

Have your child's photo taken with the Father Christmas, too. 11am-3pm. Photos: $3 each.

Why Go Birding in Winter?

The temperatures are dropping. It may not seem like a great time to spot some fascinating bird activity, but it is. In winter, trees and underbrush are bare, making it easier to observe birds, which are more attracted to feeders now, when insects are fewer. Discovering them in their habitat is a great way to connect with nature, whether you are in the wild, in your backyard or here at the Museum.

With 135 acres of forest surrounding our trails and a wildlife viewing area with water and feeders, the Museum is an ideal place for birdwatchers. Mary Yanalcanlin from the East Cascades Audubon Society says she has spotted hairy woodpeckers (see photo by Paul Bannick), red-breasted sapsuckers, red-breasted nuthatches and mountain chickadees along our trails. She spied a red crossbill through one of our floor-to-ceiling windows.

“This is just a sampling of the great variety here as more birds come down from the mountains, because they like to winter in Bend and go higher up to breed,” she said. One such bird is the dark-eyed Junko, a type of sparrow with a variety of markings and crisp white tail feathers.

The High Desert has a range of habitats, which attract an array of species. Male ducks are getting their breeding plumage, distinctive green heads and their white “necklace” as Yanalcanlin calls it.

“In summer, male ducks look similar to the females: drab brown,” she says. “They don’t need colorful plumage to attract a mate in summer, when they molt.”

Sight is not the only way to discover winged life in our forests. Open your ears. Listening for bird sounds will enrich the experience even more.

Come and discover the fun of backyard birding at 2 pm tomorrow at the Museum with Mary Yanalcanlin of the East Cascades Audubon Society. She’ll give a presentation on the birds of Central Oregon and tell how to identify the birds in your backyard. Afterward, tour the Museum grounds and identify local and migratory birds. In conjunction with the exhibit "The Owl and the Woodpecker: Photographs by Paul Bannick."