Nearly 24 years ago, on Sept. 1, 1992, Jefferson Public Radio broadcast its first episode of As It Was, bringing alive the rich history of Southern Oregon and Northern California.
The Southern Oregon Historical Society’s volunteer researcher and writer, Carol Barrett, single-handedly wrote some 1,200 stories, many published in book form in 1998. The program was temporarily suspended when the first narrator, Hank Henry, died in 2003.
As It Was is marking another milestone today with its 3,000th episode since the series resumed in 2004, narrated by actress Shirley Patton.
Everyone involved in creating more than 20 original stories each month, broadcast Monday through Friday, is a volunteer, from the Historical Society’s writers to Jefferson Public Radio’s producer and narrator. Listeners who enjoy history and writing are welcome to join the As It Was volunteer team.
The program has been popular from its beginning, offering thousands of listeners a daily sense of the “colorful, varied and sometimes disquieting history of the region.”
Awarded the Historical Society’s prestigious Heritage Award in 1912, As It Was remains dedicated to its mission of providing “a richer sense of what it means to live” in the mythical State of Jefferson.
Sources: Barrett, Carol. “As It Was Stories from the History of Southern Oregon and Northern California.” Jefferson Public Radio. Ashland, Ore. 1998; Turner, Kernan R. "Radio Series "As It Was" Reaches 2,000th Episode Milestone." Jefferson Public Radio. N.p., 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 July 2016.
