Oprah Farewell: Her most memorable guests from Oregon

EUGENE, Ore.--She's a self-made billionaire and host of her iconic daytime television for the last quarter of a century.  She has her own book club and, as of January this year, her own network.  But while her persona won't be going away overnight, Wednesday Oprah Winfrey turned out the lights on daytime TV.

Since Oprah's inaugural show on September 8, 1986, the "Queen of Daytime Talk" has welcomed some of the most influential people around the globe to her set in Chicago.

And for a quarter century, Americans have been watching.

From Thomas Beatie, the pregnant man... to Desiree Young and Kaine Horman, Kyron Horman's parents, some of Oprah's most compelling guests came from right here in the Willamette Valley.

Springfield Middle School teacher Carrie Lane Eilers was one of only three people selected in 2003 to travel to South Africa as part of a journey with Oprah's Book Club.

Just weeks later, viewers cringed at the traumatic experience of a local 6th grader in January 2004.

The agony of a bullied Monroe Middle School student, Casey Woodruff, shocked the nation after he told Oprah he'd been regularly bullied at his school every 29 out of 30 days.

"Eventually {victims} might crack and do something they don't want to do," Woodruff said in a taped interview without an studio audience.
"Like what?" asked Oprah during their January taping.
"Violence...that is not necessary... weapons," said Woodruff.
"Have you ever thought of that yourself?" asked Oprah.
"Honestly?" Woodruff paused. "Yes."

Then there's the pregnant man, Thomas Beatie, who sat down in his first television interview with the talk show host.

Kyron Horman's parents, Desiree Young and Kaine Horman, sat down with Oprah in September 2010.

More recently, Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, who's world headquarter are located in Beaverton, Oregon sat down in a rare interview with the host this past April.

Here's another you may have seen. Earlier this month, Oprah honored the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders, who fought to end segregation in the deep south. Gil Avery of Eugene was one of 175 survivors featured on the show.

So whether you love her or hate her, most people agree her legacy will go down as one of America's most influential women who's transformed the last quarter of a century on television.