In writing Oregon at Work: 1859-2009, we relied on both published documents and personal accounts to tell the story of working in Oregon over the past 150 years. Published documents included decennial census records -- now available online -- as well as books and microfilmed newspapers at library archives. Personal accounts included both oral histories of the descendants of pioneers as well as written materials such as diaries in the possession of these descendants. Both Tom and Art perused published documents, while Tom also interviewed descendants and pored over diaries and other personal documents. It was fascinating for us to delve into Oregon's history and bring the past to life again. We hope our readers capture a sense of this fascination as they read about how many aspects of work have changed in Oregon, and how some things have remained similar, over the past 150 years.