Golden King corn stalks, 1933

If you head just south of Corvallis, you’ll bump into Lane County, which was established in January 1851 and named for the territory’s first governor, Joseph Lane. And if you head to Flickr Commons this week, you’ll bump into a new set of images from Extension in Lane County!

Cleaning Wheat, 1932

Historically, the economy was based on timber and agriculture. “Timber became important because the county is on the edge of Oregon’s largest stand of timber… [and] [a]griculture grew because of the fertile soil and moderate climate that exists in the Willamette Valley, making it one of the most productive farming areas in the nation” (Lane County Historical Records Guide). The reductions in timber harvesting and the affect for a continued population growth on agricultural areas, has changed the economic focus of the county. It is “predicted to shift away from forestry to services, manufacturing of transportation equipment, printing and publishing, and trade. A major economic asset for the county is the University of Oregon in Eugene. Finally, with access to the mountains and the coast, tourism adds to the county’s economic vitality” (Lane County Historical Records Guide).

Lane County farm labor office staff, 1944

Extension in Lane County offers a variety of online educational resources that help Oregonians solve problems and lead better lives, including programs in nutrition education, food preservation, farming, and home gardening ( Lane County Extension). Unfortunately, the defeat of Measure 20-158 in 2010 left OSU Extension Service in Lane County “without adequate local funding to continue existing operations. Extension is now making plans to reassign its Lane County faculty to other locations, lay off its local support staff and shut down all local programs that are not financially self-sustaining” OSU, “Extension makes plans for Lane County office closure”. Extension now offers programs online or in partnership with neighboring counties.