Archives West Finding Aid

Cora Mae Jenkins Conner, 1929-2016, was a longtime Klamath Basin resident. She lived in the Bly and Klamath Falls areas for over 70 years. Cora Conner was involved in one of the region’s most significant historical events. On May 5, 1945 she was on duty at the Bly telephone office, when six people were killed by accidentally detonating a Japanese balloon bomb. These deaths were the only ones caused by enemy action in the United States during World War II. Cora and her husband Paul led a very active life. Paul was in the Army, and then worked as a campus electrician at the Oregon Institute of Technology. Cora volunteered with the Klamath County Historical Society, Crater Lake Century, Klamath County Museum, Baldwin Hotel Museum, and as a Cub Scout leader. She and Paul enjoyed skydiving, canoeing, mountain climbing, racing, and white water rafting.