Ralph Friedman (June 3, 1916 – June 3, 1995) was an American author best known for his books about

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Ralph Friedman was born and raised in Chicago. He hitchhiked to Oregon in 1933 at the age of 16. He wrote 10 books, and contributed to many other books, magazines, and newspapers. For ten years, he led the travel class "Oregon for the Curious", offered by

Portland Community College Portland Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest post-secondary institution in the state and serves residents in the five-county area of Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Colu ...

(PCC). He also taught writing and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

for PCC and for

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

. He died in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

on June 3, 1995, his 79th birthday.

Works

* ''The Other Side of Oregon'' (1992) * ''In Search of Western Oregon'' (1991) * ''This Side of Oregon'' (1982) * ''Tracking Down Oregon'' (1978) * ''A Touch of Oregon – Love Song to a State'' (1976) * ''Tales Out of Oregon'' (1976) * ''Oregon for the Curious'' (First Edition, 1965; Second Edition, 1966; Third Edition, 1972) * ''Northwest Passages: A Book of Travel'' (1968) ASIN B0006CY1RA * "West's Wildest Cattle Drive" (Real West, Mar. 1965, p. 23) * "A Bible for Snowshoe" (Real West, Jan. 1961, p. 37) * "Legend of the Amazing Pete French" (Real West, May 1962, p. 43) * "Murdering Scourge of Snake River" (Real West, Jan. 1963, p. 11) * " Home on the Range" (Frontier Times, March 1963, p. 28)

External links

Caxton Press, publisher of several of Friedman's books; books can be ordered onlineImage of the cover of "West's Wildest Cattle Drive"
1916 births American travel writers Writers from Chicago 1995 deaths Writers from Portland, Oregon Portland State University faculty 20th-century American non-fiction writers Portland Community College faculty 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers {{Oregon-bio-stub