Steve Lundeberg

Some of you know this already, but before coming to the Democrat-Herald almost two decades ago, I spent 30 months as the sports editor of the now-defunct Springfield News.

The S-News, as we called it, was owned by the same parent company as the D-H, Lee Enterprises, and the corporation decided three years ago to pull the plug on the century-old paper after failing to find a buyer.

During my time there, though, the twice-weekly S-News was a vibrant place filled with talented people, many of whom now work for the state’s largest dailies. And the circulation area was peopled with interesting folks as well, including legendary track coach Bill Bowerman, former USC quarterback Steve Sogge and hippie-icon writer Ken Kesey.

I never personally met the late Merry Prankster, though I did write about his nephews, who played sports for Pleasant Hill High. But strange and drug-prone as Kesey might have been, I did admire his writing, particularly “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

That book, of course, was made into a hauntingly powerful 1975 film of the same name that won five Oscars, including Best Picture.

And that brings us to this week’s list, Top 7 movies in which the state of Oregon plays a prominent role:

1. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. A clearcut No. 1, even though it's really, really hard to watch Chief smother the lobotomized McMurphy with a pillow.

2. Sometimes a Great Notion. A clearcut No. 2, though it's really hard to watch the fellow drown while trapped beneath the log. It's another Kesey-based work.

3. Animal House.

4. Stand By Me, in a nod to Brownsville.

5. The Goonies, the best of a bunch of Astoria-based films.

6. Kansas City Bomber. The Raquel Welch cult classic was filmed around the Portland area, including my hometown of Milwaukie.

7. Drugstore Cowboy.

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