Salem resident Darrell Jabin is ‘Oregon’s Traveling Historian’

This is a part of a weekly collection introducing readers to people who’re obsessed with our Mid-Valley group.

Darrell Jabin is aware of greater than most about Oregon’s governors, the state’s carousels and its most well-known inventors.

He’s given talks on notable Oregon girls at a Daughters of the American Revolution state convention in Coos Bay, concerning the state’s historic houses on the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland and about Oregon’s theaters on the Clackamas County Historical Society.

And he’s an knowledgeable on the state’s lodges and lodges, the Oregon Blue Book, and on D.B. Cooper, the hijacker who parachuted into southwest Washington and was by no means discovered.

Jabin, dubbed “Oregon’s Traveling Historian,” has been researching and sharing the state’s tales since 2009.

Now, not too long ago retired, he’s making his long-time pastime a full time job, in addition to writing a e book on Oregon historical past.

If you haven’t caught Jabin on his You Tube channel, Facebook page or KMUZ radio present, there’s a superb likelihood you’ll run into him at occasions round city.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he stated. “It’s a great journey.”  

Jabin, 66, didn’t at all times need to be an historian.

He was born in Fresno, California, went to highschool in Portland, then majored in political science in school.

“I thought I wanted to be in politics,” he stated.

Instead, he spent 21 years working for Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System. For 15 of these, he traveled the state as a presenter.

“I traveled at least 6,000 miles working two dozen cities every year,” he stated. “As a result, you’re spending a lot of nights, like 50 nights a year, in hotels.”

Jabin’s spouse, Mary Ann, is from Salem, and so they settled right here 40 years in the past.

To fill his downtime away from house whereas touring, he started studying books about nationwide leaders. Then, he realized he knew extra about them than about native leaders.

“We had Sprague, McNary, McKay high schools,” he stated. “And it’s like, who are these people? I thought, well gosh, I should know a little bit more about it.”

That launched his obsession with Oregon historical past, and a want to share what he discovered with others.

He began by asking Capital Community Media, Salem’s native tv station, to show him methods to make brief movies that he posted on YouTube. Then, he moved to longer movies.

During his travels across the state, he started researching the historical past of areas he was visiting, and providing to current the attention-grabbing info he discovered to their libraries, then retirement houses.

He expanded into Facebook, the place he posts thrice per week. And, when Capitol Community Media started internet hosting native radio station KMUZ, Jabin began internet hosting a present there twice a month.

Now that he’s retired, he’s upped the variety of displays he offers, although he primarily travels between Eugene and Portland.

Jabin doesn’t comply with any sort of technique when selecting his subjects.

“I look for something that does interest me. Something I have enough content to share and put together. And something I think people will enjoy,” he stated.

Though the vast majority of Jabin’s upcoming displays are personal, he plans to show two courses at Salem’s Center 50+.

At 10 a.m. Feb. 26, he’ll current “31 Women: Oregon Wouldn’t be the Same Without Them!”

And on March 26, he’ll current “Oregon History: Inventors and Innovators.”

If you’ve gotten an concept for somebody we should always profile for this collection, please e mail Statesman Journal editor Jonathan Williams at JWilliams@statesmanjournal.com.

Tracy Loew covers the surroundings on the Statesman Journal. Send feedback, questions and suggestions: tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on X at @Tracy_Loew