Old World Publications presents Murray Loop The Journey of an Oregon Family by Ted W. Cox
An old farmhouse still stands near Toledo, Oregon, on a section of 1911 road.
Read this book. Listen to the fierce intelligence of a modest man telling a compelling tale of American growing up. Richard G. Mitchell, Jr. Professor Emeritus, Oregon State University.
Review by Lizanne Southgate
This chronicle of the Murray clan is very similar in tone to the Little house on the Prairie as it traces the family's history for just under a century and a half.
Strengths of the manuscript include a treasure trove of historical information and the author's obvious respect for this subjects and the authenticity of their story. This book is sure to earn a place on the shelves of all local historians as well as in the hearts of all readers who look wistfully to the past for a glimpse of a simpler life.
Murray Loop opens strongly with the first meeting of ( the adult ) Hugh and his future wife ( the infant ) Jane, a situation that would now be viewed as an oddity or worse, but appears reasonable with in its own time. The author wastes no time building sympathy for, and empathy for, the Murrays as circumstances beyond their control force them from their country.
The next two chapters provide important historical context for the world in which the Murrays dwelt, including the settling of Oregon, the area in which the Murrays would ultimately settle. The chapter detailing the shameful treatment of the Native Americans ( which the Author details in a quietly dispassionate and completely heartbreaking manner ) is an equality important element of that history.
Chapter four returns us to the focus of the story, the Crawfords, the other side of what will become the Toledo Murrays. And this side of the family is truly fascinating with their progressive viewpoints, involvement in the ( 1860s ) Free Love movement and dedication to the abolition movement.
As we get to know Joseph and Jennie... the next chapter veers off onto another track carries us deep into the details of the Yaquina Land Track. The history is indeed pertinent and elegantly laid out, but it interrupts the flow of the story.
From Chapter six and onward, the story remains primarily focused on the Murrays, while weaving in the events that took place in the world around them.
The Author has done a remarkable job in presenting well-rounded characters. The stubborn, bad tempered and sickly Hugh is balanced by his commitment to his family, his love of his son and his joy in playing the fiddle. The same care is given to Minnie, who is never in danger of being portrayed as “just” a mother and wife. Her artistic and creative sides are given equal weight in her narrative, David’ growth from beloved son to a copy of the angry man that fathered him rings true just as Lucy and Alice’s hard working selves are balanced by their joy in such girlish pleasures as rings, haircuts and beaus.
As it stands, Murray Loop is a professionally written, thoroughly researched and attractively presented chronicle of an American family.
Lizanne Southgate
Lizanne's Ghost,
Corvallis, Oregon
September 2009
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337 SW Second Street
Corvallis, OR 97333 USA
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“Ted W. Cox’s detailed, lively account of the family’s history recaptures a time when people in western Oregon used every resource at hand to forge a livelihood for themselves and their children. Some readers will look to the book to the book for a wistful glance at a simpler life, on in which people lived by selling garden produce, milk, wool, and timber. Others will value it as a compelling family portrait illuminating a larger American story: the movement of Europeans across the Atlantic and westward in the relentless quest for a better life..”
Richard G. Mitchell, Jr..
Corvallis, Oregon
Professor Emeritus, Oregon State University.
“Named for the family that lived off the surrounding farmland, this road is known as Murray Loop. Here, in this beautiful region where the forest meets the sea, the Murray family summoned all the strength and creativity at its disposal to meet the challenge of survival.”
Richard G. Mitchell, Jr..
Corvallis, Oregon
Professor Emeritus, Oregon State University.
“Carefully researched and document using letters and diaries, and containing many photos and maps, Murray Loop threads together a century in a family’s life a s it makes the five –thousand-mile journey from Scotland to Oregon’s Coast Range. There are surprising detour along the way, with stops, for example, in Midwestern communities that embraced radicalism, free thought, free love, and the Underground Railroad. Ultimately, the Murray family settles in what is now Lincoln County, Oregon, and grows with the town it has embraced. In Murray Loop, we find ourselves intimately drawn into their daily lives, their struggles, and their triumphs. .”
Richard G. Mitchell, Jr..
Corvallis, Oregon
Professor Emeritus, Oregon State University.