They say the Oregon rain will get you down

If you are a native Oregonian and my age (46) or older, then you probably remember the song "Oregon" that became a national hit in the mid 1970's.

You will probably also vaguely remember the story behind that song: it was about the longing for home of a young Coos Bay woman who was sentenced to a life term in Turkey for possession of hashish.

The song burned itself into my memory when I was in high school, partly because of its very rhythmic and plaintive tone, and partly because of the compelling story behind it.

The other day for some reason the tune popped into my mind. It was amazing how much of it I could still remember: every word of the very catchy chorus and a good bit of the verses. I got curious: whatever happened to the young Oregon woman?

Was she still rotting in a Turkish prison?

The wonders of Google - I did a search on one phrase from the song that I remembered: "They say the Oregon rain will get you down ..." and immediately found what I was looking for. One of the musicians who wrote and produced the song, a fellow named Bill Coleman who now lives in
Woodburn, has a section of his website devoted to the song and the story.

Turns out the woman, Jo Ann McDaniels, returned to the U.S. in 1980 in a prisoner exchange with Turkey, and was then almost immediately parolled by the U.S., getting her freedom after six years in prison. Just prior to coming back to the states she married Bob Hubbard, who was imprisoned along with her. Coleman saw her in 1980 when she came to thank him.

On his website, Coleman talks about how they wrote and produced the song, never expecting that it would turn into a nationwide hit. Profits from the song they contributed to Jo Ann McDaniel.

I wondered: where is she now? I did some more googling, but could find basically nothing since her return in 1980.

I contacted Mr. Coleman and asked. I got this e-mail in reply:

Rob;

I can't tell you how many emails I've received with almost exactly the same statement ... how the song kept roaming around an individual's mind until they decided to "google" it to find out about poor JoAnn.

Yeah, her where abouts is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. She paid me a visit at my home in 1980 shortly after our initial meeting at the Hindquarter restaurant in Salem. She and Bob Hubbard spoke about maybe settling in Southern Oregon ... purchasing a mobile home with the $10K they received from a publisher as an advance on a book they were to write about their experiences.

I saw nothing of the book, nor did I ever hear from JoAnn again.Frankly, it would not surpise me at all if they returned to Turkey, or somewhere in the middle east.

Their homecoming to America, after spending nine years in a Turkish prison, was fraught with an extreme case of future shock and they didn't seem to be adjusting well to the "America" that had developed since their arrest. You understand, they had never seen an ATM machine; a compact disk; had no clue how to operate a computer; never seen email; never spoke on a cell phone; had no clue of John Travolta and Saturday Night Fever; and missed out on a literally hundreds of other conveniences that we daily take for granted.

In that relatively short span of time the baby boomer generation had all gone from irresponsible "hippies" to family oriented "thirty somethings" ..... all, except for JoAnn and Bob. They still dressed and spoke like "hippies" ... it was as if they has stepped out of a time capsule .... like lost children playing grown up, they wandered through that day with little or nothing in common with the America they had returned to.

They were, in all honesty, like ghosts from the past, and they felt very uncomfortable in this future world. During her visit, she couldn't say enough about how much she loved the middle east and, we discussed at length the very real possibility of their returning to Turkey permanently. Perhaps they did ... it would not surprise me in the least.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Perhaps you'll find her one day, and can ask her yourself. When you do, tell her I miss her too.

Sincerely;Bill Coleman
Blackhawk County

PS: Thanks for remembering "Oregon" ... pass it along to your friends.

What an interesting story. Go to the web site and dowload the song - Mr. Coleman encourages it. If you grew up here, I guarantee you that listening to the song will bring memories of the 1970's flooding back.