"The first white men to arrive in Bear Creek Valley were probably members of the Applegate Wagon Train Party along a southern route from the Willamette Valley in the year 1846. In 1851, when gold was discovered near Jacksonville, men came by the thousands.
The first railroad to be incorporated in the Pacific Northwest was at the Jacksonville Courthouse on October 7, 1863. However, they never laid a rail or had any rolling stock. It was at the middle ford of Bear Creek that the Oregon & California Railroad, working south from Portland in the 1880's, planned to cross the stream and start a new town. The name first chosen was Middleford, but railroad engineer David Loring from Medford, Massachusetts, soon shortened the new town's name to Medford. In 1883, trains were reaching Grants Pass and the next station was expected to be Jacksonville. The old Concord Coaches with six strong horses took care of the rugged miles south to Redding California,, where the railroad from the south ended. The railroad did not go to Jacksonville. Instead, it was built on a tangent where it emerged from the Rogue River Canyon at Tolo to Phoenix (then called Gasburg).
The O & C built into Ashland by 1884 but went bankrupt. The Southern Pacific obtained title to the Oregon Railroad and completed the line from Ashland to Redding in 1887. By this time a post office had been established in Medford. Postmaster J. S. Howard used a cigar box for his "Post Office." The first registered letter arrived in 1884. On September 15, 1926, the first air mail flights arrived and left Medford, the only airport in Oregon at that time.
Meanwhile the commercial pear industry had developed in the valley. The first plantings were in 1885, with a planting boom from 1907 to 1910. At harvest time the packing houses were busy shipping pears to domestic and to foreign markets. Twenty-four years ago the Pear Blossom Festival was organized (a weekend of festivities with a parade on Saturday). Each year, a five-year-old King and Queen were selected. This year's festival theme -- "A Pear-a-graph On History" was chosen from school children's slogan contest entries. Frank Shorter, American Olympic Marathon Gold and Silver Medalist, will run in the marathon and preside as Parade Marshal. The 1977 Pear Blossom Run will be a first for the festival with a Mini-Marathon of 13 miles finishing on the parade route.
To depict the festival theme, The Southern Oregon Philatelic Society has chosen a cachet design with a steam locomotive and pear cartoon. The SOPEX WEST '77 SHOW cancel also follows the locomotive motif.
-- complete text from the vintage original print on 8 1/2 x 11" inserts in some covers.
The cover at the top of this post is autographed by Frank Shorter. Frank is the only American distance runner to have two Olympic medals in the marathon. Frank indeed ran the mini-marathon at the Pear Blossom Festival in 1977. If you are interested in adding one of these covers to your collection, visit our shop.
