In November 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps set up a camp near Moro. The men there worked with local ranchers on wind and water erosion across the plateau. Most of the enrollees came from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In its first 16 months, nearly 600 young men worked out of Camp Moro, according to the Living New Deal account, which draws on the Sherman County Journal from those years. The camp is gone now, and no marker shows where it stood.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, that story comes back to Moro. By then the Sherman County Historical Museum at 200 Dewey St. has been closed for almost a month. Its regular season runs Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., from May through the second Saturday of October. This year that last day was Oct. 10.
The museum still has events on the calendar. From now until early December, they fall on three Saturdays, and each one gathers people at a different spot in the county. If you live here, these are the dates to write on the fridge.
Nov. 7: The CCC story returns to the fairgrounds
The museum's fall meeting is Saturday, Nov. 7, at the 4-H Pavilion at the Sherman County Fairgrounds, 66147 Lone Rock Road in Moro. The social hour starts at 1 p.m., and dinner and the presentation follow at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person, and the Times-Journal community calendar says to call the museum to get them. The museum's number is 541-565-3232.
The speaker is author Glenn Voelz. He'll talk about his book The Civilian Conservation Corps in Oregon: A Living Legacy, published in 2025 by America Through Time. The Moro stop is on the event list on his website.
A statewide book still has a lot to say about Sherman County, because Camp Moro had a real local job. Its official name was SCS-4, and it did Soil Conservation Service work. That work helped the nearby Sherman Experiment Station, which the Oregon Legislature founded in 1909 to study dryland wheat farming for the Columbia Basin. That station still runs dryland experiments today as part of Oregon State University's Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center.
The camp nearly closed only a month after it opened. Living New Deal reports that by December 1935, closing it was already up for debate. Oregon's governor pressed the federal government to keep it open. He told them ninety percent of Sherman County residents wanted the camp to stay, because the CCC's soil and water work was so valued here. The camp lasted a few more years. In October 1938, about 170 enrollees moved to Camp Stanfield to work on irrigation near Hermiston. Camp Moro was used once more as a side camp in the winter of 1939.
There's one more local thread. A Sherman County history compilation lists a CCC camp of 190 young men at the County Fairgrounds, though the list labels its entries unconfirmed. If that's right, the Nov. 7 dinner is being held on the same ground the camp used. It's a good question to bring to the social hour.
If you can't wait for the book, the museum has an exhibit on the same subject called Cultivation, Conservation, & Clothespins. It's one of three interpretive exhibits, along with Oregon Trails, Rails and Roads in Sherman County and Wheat through the Ages. You'll have to wait for Dec. 5 to see it, and the free admission that day is the reason to go.
Making a day of Nov. 7 with kids
The same Saturday has an earlier event for families with young children. Exploration Station Story Time meets at 10:30 a.m. at 65912 High School Loop in Moro. It's a children's STEAM session with reading and a project, and it's on the Sherman County events calendar. Story time also meets on Nov. 21, Dec. 5 and Dec. 19, all at 10:30 a.m. That means two of the three big Saturdays this season start with story time in Moro.
Nov. 28–29: Wasco lights its tree
Thanksgiving weekend, the action moves to the town of Wasco. The Oregon Frontier Chamber listing for Christmas in Wasco runs from Saturday, Nov. 28, at 2 p.m. to Sunday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. It takes place at the Event Center and Depot Park. So far the plans include:
- Swag making
- A vendor show with shopping
- The tree lighting
- Singing
- Santa
The listing still says "More details coming soon!" so treat that lineup as a plan, not a final schedule. The City of Wasco calls Christmas in Wasco a yearly celebration with cookies and hot drinks, photos with Santa and the town tree lighting. Check the chamber page again the week of Thanksgiving for exact times.
This weekend is also when holiday shopping starts in the county. The vendor show in Wasco is the first chance this season to buy gifts from local sellers. The next chance is a week later in Moro.
Dec. 5: The museum opens its doors for one free day
The Annual Museum Store Christmas Sale is Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Moro City Park, 200 Dewey Street. That's the museum's own address. The event listing says the sale is held along with Sherman County Bazaar Weekend. It also says admission to the museum is free all day.
That free admission is the best deal of the season. During the regular season, admission costs $10 per adult, $5 per student ages 6 to 18, and $15 for a family of three or more. Museum members and children under 6 always get in free. On Dec. 5, anyone can walk through the military section, the full Sherman County Journal printing press setup, the renewable energy exhibit and the conservation gallery without paying. After hearing the CCC story on Nov. 7, this is a nice way to finish it.
According to the listing, the store will have:
- Books by favorite local authors, plus rare finds and first editions
- Toys and games
- Goat milk soap and lotion
- Christmas decor and stocking stuffers
- Sherman County-themed gifts
There will also be cookies and hot drinks while you shop. The museum says sales help support the preservation of local history.
Families can start the day early. Story time at 65912 High School Loop begins at 10:30 a.m., and the sale is already open by then.
The rest of Bazaar Weekend
Bazaar Weekend has always included more than one town. The Times-Journal's 2024 roundup covered a Saturday in early December with three stops. The Country Christmas Bazaar opened at 10 a.m. at the Grass Valley Pavilion. The Wasco Holiday Bazaar ran from noon to 4 p.m. at the Wasco School Events Center. And the museum held its sale in Moro.
So far, only the Moro sale is on the 2026 calendar. The Grass Valley and Wasco bazaars haven't been announced for this year. For Grass Valley news, the city posts a monthly newsletter at grassvalleyoregon.com. Issues are posted through October, and the November and December slots are still blank. If both bazaars come back, you could again start in Grass Valley and end in Moro on the same Saturday. Watch the newsletter and the Times-Journal calendar before you plan that drive.
The season at a glance
- Sat., Nov. 7: Story time at 10:30 a.m., 65912 High School Loop. Museum fall meeting with Glenn Voelz, social hour at 1 p.m. and dinner and presentation at 2 p.m., 4-H Pavilion, Sherman County Fairgrounds, $25.
- Sat., Nov. 21: Story time at 10:30 a.m., Moro.
- Sat.–Sun., Nov. 28–29: Christmas in Wasco, Event Center and Depot Park.
- Sat., Dec. 5: Museum Store Christmas Sale and free museum admission, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 200 Dewey St., Moro. Story time at 10:30 a.m.
- Sat., Dec. 19: Story time at 10:30 a.m., Moro.
After the Dec. 5 sale, the museum's next big date is its regular reopening in May.
I love this season in Sherman County because so much of it is about the land. Camp Moro's crews worked the same dryland wheat ground that people still farm and buy here today. If you'd like to talk about what that ground is like up close, from the plateau above Moro to the edge of Grass Valley, Tiffany Hillman would be glad to hear from you. Contact Tiffany to start your Eastern Oregon search.
