Danielle Denham is a writer, photographer, and devoted history buff with a soft spot for Oregon’s forgotten places. Her love of old schoolhouses, abandoned homesteads, and the lives once lived inside them has taken her down back roads across the state. She was featured on OPB’s Oregon Field Guide, exploring the historic Charles Nelson House with a former resident shortly before the home was lost to wildfire. Watch the feature.
At That Oregon Life, Danielle shares local history, good food, memorable adventures, and the quirks that make Oregon home. When she isn’t exploring, you may find her spending time in Eugene with Tyler James and his two awesome kiddos. If there’s an old building with a mysterious past along the way, consider the afternoon’s plans officially derailed.
BEND, OR. — Just four days after a devastating shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School claimed the lives of three children and a beloved teacher, the parents of the youngest victim are taking steps to find out how…
Two Bend students are asking their neighbors to spend Tuesday, October 20, caring for one another. Zaki and Josiah, who contacted That Oregon Life on Sunday, are organizing a student-led Day of Love & Kindness called Bend Chooses…
In the terrifying moments when gunfire erupted inside a classroom at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, one educator reportedly made a split-second decision to protect a little girl in her care. According to a new report from…
BEND, OR. — A disturbing new report is shedding light on Thursday's deadly shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, including allegations that the 16-year-old gunman deliberately returned to a classroom where he had once received special…
As the Bend community struggles to come to terms with Thursday's heartbreaking tragedy at Silver Rail Elementary School, a new fundraiser is seeking to support the father credited with stopping the gunman and potentially saving additional lives. Kaylub…
BEND, OR. — As the community continues to mourn the heartbreaking tragedy at Silver Rail Elementary School, Oregonians are coming together to support the family of a 7-year-old child who remains in critical condition following Thursday's shooting. A…
There are no words that can make sense of losing a child, and for one Bend family, the heartbreak following Thursday's tragedy at Silver Rail Elementary School is something no parent should ever have to endure. Five-year-old Rhoam…
There's a new reason to get excited about coffee in downtown McMinnville, and trust us when we say that this one's actually worth getting out of bed for. Gitl and Lila Black, Pioneer Joe Pioneer Joe Coffee Company,…
After Shooting A 54-year-old Sweet Home man is dead following a shooting Saturday evening, October 10, 2026, and investigators are asking for the public's help locating a hunter they believe fired the fatal shot. The victim has been…
Just your typical overcast Willamette Valley landscape. A rural, mid-century farm scene, the middle ground dotted with trees. Foggy hills in the distance. A wooden telephone pole to the right of the frame with power lines strung across…
The buttons are what I remember first. Before I can quite hear his voice, before the "Baby Elephant Walk" theme music starts up somewhere in the back of my head, I can see that sweater. All those little…