KPTV - FOX 12Students save piece of Oregon history from flooding

A group of students saved a slice of Oregon history threatened by the massive flooding in Salem one month ago.

January's floodwaters threatened the historic homes at the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem as well as the hundreds of precious artifacts inside. Collections Manager Kylie Pine sent out an email alert to Willamette University across the street, and they responded.

"I have time; I'm so close by, so easy to help," recalled Megan Neish of Willamette University. She and several others, including Matthew Bateman, rushed over and began moving the priceless pieces to higher ground.

"It was quite a juggling act," said Bateman. "I mean that with the utmost care; everything had to go, everything."

They moved furniture, a piano and countless artifacts from the homes which date back to the 1840s. The structures count as the oldest buildings, still standing, in the Pacific Northwest, according to museum staff.

"There's a lot of history, roots to the government, schools, institutions," said Kylie Pine of the Heritage Center. "We would have lost a lot of that history."

Meanwhile, in Independence, the Independence Heritage Museum began taking in water that flooded the basement. A similar call went out to students at Western Oregon University, and about 20 responded, including football players and the Wolves Helping Others club.

"We were actually one of the first few on scene," said Chelsea Beecroft.

The students worked together to pull everything from the basement, including documents, pictures and an antique organ. Both museums say without the students, they couldn't have preserved as much history.

"They had their own issues with flooding with their houses," said Pine. "To come over and save our stuff was pretty special."

Pine says, ironically, Willamette University was essentially founded within the historic homes. Decades later, the school's own students came to the rescue.

"I think there are so many different treasures and so much to learn about the history," said Neish. "This is such a great place, and there are so many things to offer and learn about. Having these things destroyed would be really sad."

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