Original Wasco County Courthouse Regional History Forum Series for 2007 Programs begin at 1:30 p.m. in the upstairs courtroom of the 1859 courthouse, 410 West 2nd Place, behind the Chamber of Commerce/Visitors' Center. Saturday, Feb 3 The Magic West on Film: Retired educator and film buff Richard Etulain offers insight into over 100 years of films about the American West. A slide-illustrated lecture considers some of the classics and explores the popular genre's changing images of heroes and heroines, Native Americans, and attitudes about the environment. An Oregon Council for the Humanities Chautauqua program. Saturday, Feb 10 The Railroad Race on the Deschutes: Jerry Tanquist follows up his program of several years ago about the Great Southern Railroad with an introduction to the competition between the major railroad lines for routes and customers in Central Oregon -a competition that often turned from "railroad race" to "railroad war." Saturday, Feb 17 Floating Steel on the Columbia: The Nichols Boat Works. Rodger Nichols is well known as a former radio personality and current columnist for The Dalles Chronicle. He is also a member of the Nichols Boat Works family that started with two farmer-blacksmith brothers who decided they could build a boat. Over the next 77 years the Boat Works constructed hundreds of utilitarian vessels, most of which still ply the Columbia River along with their pride and Joy: the Steamboat Columbia Gorge. Saturday, February 24 Ortley: Tales of Apple Pie and This Guy. Addie Root Schwartz comes from old Wasco County pioneer stock. Her grandfather, Elmer Root, helped found the town of Ortley, on the west slope of Seven Mile Hill. The town was named for the Ortley apples that were planted in what was envisioned as a paradise or orchards. But, alas, that was before irrigation, and dryland apples never quite succeeded. Hear about the place and the people. They came with dreams and left a ghost town plus lots of stories. The Original Courthouse is in the process of digitalizing slide-tape programs and preparing for the city's centennial. Write c/o P.O. Box 839, The Dalles, OR 97058 or call 541-296-4798 or 541-296-3594. Incoming and Outgoing messages protected by Trend Micro PC-cillin program