Chester Lloyd "Chet" Orloff (born February 22, 1949) is a historian, writer and professor in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, called "one of regon'sfavorite history teachers" by ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

''.

Early life

Orloff was born in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

to business financier Monford Orloff and Janice Diamond Orloff, and raised in Washington and Portland, Oregon. His brother is physicist Jon Orloff. Orloff attended Lincoln High School, went to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

to prepare for law school, then transferred to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

where he ran under legendary track coach

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic Games, Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 2 ...

. Orloff studied anthropology at University of Oregon, graduating in 1972 with a degree in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. Orloff later received a master's degree in history and historical agency administration from Portland State University.

Career

Orloff enlisted in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

and lived and taught in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

with his wife until 1975. They returned to Portland where he interned at the

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the State of Oregon, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, pres ...

(OHS), then became assistant director from 1982 to 1986. In 1987 he left OHS and founded the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. In 1991, he returned to OHS as executive director, succeeding Bill Tramposch. He held this position for ten years, retiring at the end of 2000. Orloff was the founder and editor of the journal ''Western Legal History'' and was the Senior Editor of the ''

Oregon Historical Quarterly The ''Oregon Historical Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed public history journal covering topics in the history of the U.S. state of Oregon, for both an academic and a general audience. It has been published continuously on a quarterly schedule by t ...

''. In 2001, Orloff assembled a

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

maritime museum in a concourse at the

Portland International Airport Portland International Airport is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of the state's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within Portland's city li ...

. It was "98 percent complete" as of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, which limited visitors to ticketed passengers. Orloff is an adjunct professor of Urban Studies and Planning at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

and an instructor at the

School of Architecture. He is also principal of Oregon History Works, a consulting firm for historical applications in design and development, president of Museum of the City and has served on the Portland Planning Commission, Portland Landmarks Commission, Regional Arts and Culture Counsel, Portland Parks Board, Center City 2035 Plan Committee, (co-chair), and other various assignments.

Selected publications

; Author/editor * ''Western Legal History Volume 2, Number 2'', Chet Orloff, editor, 1989, Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society * ''Portland's Public Art: A Guide and History'', Norma Catherine Gleason and Chet Orloff, 1986, * ''Willamette Heights: a history'', 1980 * ''Gifts that preserve Oregon's past for the future'', 1980 ; Chapter and article contributions *
Museums of Cities and the Future of Cities
', in Robert R. Macdonald's ''City Museums and City Development'', 2008, * ''If Zealously Promoted by All: The Push and Pull of Portland Parks History'', in ''The Portland Edge: Challenges and Successes In Growing Communities'', 2008, Connie Ozawa, editor, *

', in ''Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers 66'', 2004

Personal life

Orloff lives in the Willamette Heights area of Portland. He is vocal about Portland history and politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orloff, Chester 1949 births 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Boston University Terriers men's track and field athletes Lincoln High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Living people Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Writers from Bellingham, Washington Writers from Portland, Oregon Portland State University faculty Historians from Washington (state) American male non-fiction writers