Local historian to speak about stolen ballots, election violence during ’30s uprising

Jeff Lalande will discuss his new book, "The Jackson County Rebellion" at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, in the Meese Room at Southern Oregon University's Hannon Library.
September 27, 2023

Jeff Lalande to discuss ‘The Jackson County Rebellion’ at the Hannon Library

By Ashland.news staff

Local historian and archeologist Jeff Lalande will discuss his new book, “The Jackson County Rebellion” — a chronicle of a historic populist uprising during the Great Depression — at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, in the Meese Room at Southern Oregon University’s Hannon Library, the Friends of Hannon Library have announced.

The cover of Jeff Lalande’s new book, “The Jackson County Rebellion: A Populist Uprising in Depression-Era Oregon.”

The talk is free and open to the public. A Zoom link will also be available at hanlib.sou.edu/friends/lectureseries.html.

Lalande’s presentation will focus on a historic local event during the Great Depression that made national headlines. It involved the theft of ballots at the hands of county officials, resulting in a community response that eventually led to fatal violence. The Medford Mail Tribune, a newspaper that closed in January after more than 100 years of covering the Rogue Valley, won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the event.

LaLande has been a resident of the Rogue Valley for 55 years. He graduated in 1969 from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and later a doctoral degree in American history from the University of Oregon.

He worked for more than 30 years with the U.S. Forest Service as an archaeologist and historian and has published articles and several books on regional history.

Jeff Lalande

There is metered parking for in-person attendees in parking lots 1, 12, 29, 36, 37, and 41. Those who need disability accommodations can contact SOU’s Disability Resources office at 541-552-6213.

The talk is one of six in the Friends 2023-2024 Speakers Series. The others are:

• On Nov. 9, 2023, at 5:30 p.m, writer and librarian Thomas A. Dodson will give a reading from his short story collection “No Use Pretending,” which was was selected by Gish Jen for the Iowa Short Fiction Prize and will be published in October by the University of Iowa Press.

• On Jan. 11, 2024, at 7 p.m., the Friends and emcee Amy Millerwill present the William Stafford Birthday Celebration with featured poets and an open mic. 

• On Feb. 8, 2024, at 5:30 p.m., Caroline Lion will discuss her book “Reading Shakespeare in Jewish Theological Frameworks: Shylock Beyond the Holocaust,” published by Routledge.  Caroline Lion holds a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham and is a Visiting Research Associate at the New Swan Shakespeare Center.

• On Mar. 14, 2024, at 5:30 p.m., John Pratt will speak on “Why The Rogue Valley Is A Treasure In The Climate Changing Wine World.” John Pratt is the owner of Celestina Vinyard and the president of the Rogue Valley Winegrowers Association. 

• On April 11, 2024, at 5:30 p.m., author Jan Wright, will talk about the research behind her book “Oregon Outcast: John Beeson’s Struggle for Justice for the Indians, 1853-1859.” 

Friends of Hannon Library was established in 1974 by a group of SOU librarians, faculty members and interested citizens to raise money and enrich the library’s collections. The organization sponsors a lecture series each year bringing speakers to campus for talks on a variety of literary topics.

Email [email protected] or call 541-552-6816 for more information.

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