National Public Radio has come to Oakridge, Oregon! I am Gary Carl, and I've lived in Oakridge for about 10 years. I am the Justice of the Peace and Municipal judge here in Oakridge and my partner, Lynda Kamerrer, and I have recently opened the Oakridge Hostel. Just a few weeks ago I received a telephone call from one of the producers of the NPR program State of the Re:Union, a public radio program that focuses on small rural towns that have experienced economic decline and are recovering, one way or the other. Oakridge is such a town and the NPR folks wanted to come here and do a story about our town. As I follow their visit to Oakridge, I intend to find out: Why and how they chose Oakridge, what did they expect to find, and were their expectations met? And who are the NPR radio producers, where did they come from, and how did they get to do what they do?

To begin, I should say that in our town, in fact in any small town, the news that a public radio program is coming travels with alarming speed. The folks from State of the Re:Union had been doing their homework and before they ever arrived in Oakridge they conducted numerous telephone interviews with folks who live here. I know, because I was one of them, and many of my friends were also interviewed. Absolutely everyone in Oakridge knew NPR was coming and the welcome mat was out.

Gary Carl co-owns the Oakridge Hostel in Oakridge, Oregon with his partner, Lynda Kamerrer. You can follow Gary's story behind the story of State of the Re:Union in Oakridge here on RIPPLE.

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