By Neal Lemery
Bayocean: Atlantis of Oregon offers a comprehensive examination of a massive real estate development in one of the Northwest’s most scenic and pristine ocean beaches. The many tales of speculation, promotion, and determination are interwoven with extensive research of original sources to tell the tales of a long-ago age.
Jerry Sutherland teaches us history and also engages in storytelling at its best. At times, this reads like a thriller and mystery, becoming a page-turner and a biography of dreamers and adventurers, as well as many who were driven by greed and speculation. He brings speculators and pioneering residents to life, with a work that is abundantly supplemented with maps, photos, and helpful discussions of the times and the dreams of many.
Such tales not only teach us history, but also bring awareness to our current efforts to preserve and develop Oregon’s natural resources. He gives us the big picture, while bringing to life the developers and naturalists of a bygone era, and masterfully dissects the complexities of the twentieth century.
As a lifelong hiker and beachcomber of Bayocean, I’ve tramped its abandoned streets, its trails and beaches, and its now again nearly wild landscape. I’ve witnessed the evolution of this challenging and ever-changing landscape, as well as read most of the written sources of its engaging history. Sutherland’s work, among all of these, is by far the most thorough and thoughtful collection and analysis of the many dreams and investments of this peninsula and sometimes abandoned island between ocean and coastal bay. This work brings life and deeper meaning to my day hikes and adventures between ocean and bay.
He manages to craft a resource of entrepreneurial spirit, natural dynamics, and tales of the lives of intriguing characters of our past. His efforts bring a much-needed reference and storybook for a land that is a fundamental part of the Oregon story. For more go to www.bayocean.net.
Bayocean: Atlantis of Oregon is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and hopefully soon in local outlets.
Published February 27, 2023 by Beaver State Press, 290 pages.
When not researching and writing, Sutherland enjoys exploring the great outdoors. In the fall of 2014, he learned that Bayocean – a pristine landscape he had hiked – hosted a resort town during the first half of the twentieth century. Resulting curiosity led him to spend the next eight years applying the skills acquired researching Calvin Tibbets to expand on what others had written about Bayocean. He set up www.bayocean.net to share some of what he was learning with the public. In 2015, Grant McOmie asked him to coordinate a day on the spit in order to produce a Grant’s Getaway about Bayocean for KGW-TV. Four years later, Jule Gilfillan consulted him while creating an extended Oregon Field Guide episode on OPB-TV. Continued interest prompted Sutherland bring everything together in Bayocean: Atlantis of Oregon.