SOTRU - Dear Oakridge

State of the Re:Union is excited to announce to release of our newest documentary, Dear Oakridge. Back in the timber industry’s heyday, small mill towns in Oregon were thriving. Business was booming. Then in the early 1990s, the saws stopped. The mills shut down and their economies crumbled. State of the Re:Union visits Oakridge and hears from resilient residents that write love letters to their work in progress.

For more information or to listen to our radio episode, Oakridge – A Work in Progress, please visit our Oakridge page.

Mountain Bike Oregon (MBO) captures the essence of their community in numerous ways. Not only do they offer exhilarating mountain biking adventures for everyone from beginner to expert in some of the most beautiful terrain in the world, they are a major part of the Oakridge community’s rebirth. (more…)

Listen to the episode and check out our video docs, podcasts, images and articles about Oakridge!

If you’ve listened to our Oakridge episode, we want to hear from you. Please tell us what you liked, what you didn’t like and what you thought we could have done differently. The SOTRU team appreciates your feedback!

The foliage is in bloom and spirits are high because spring is here! And that means that State of the Re:Union is ready to release its first five episodes. Al and team visited some truly amazing cities and towns and captured compelling stories of these communities and their inspiring residents. (more…)

We’re heading to Oakridge, Oregon (pop. 3,755), the recently coined, “Mountain Biking Capital of the Northwest” in a few days.  I’m getting really excited to dig into to the once prosperous timber town, which has since, like so many other small towns across Oregon, fallen on hard times .  But as is often the case, there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel.  More on that later. (more…)