Salem in 1999

World Event

• The Senate clears President Clinton in impeachment trial.
• NATO forces bomb a sovereign nation for first time in Kosovo war.
• The US turns over complete control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government as required in 1977 Torrijos-Carter treaty.
• Boris Yeltsin resigns and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin becomes president of the Russian Federation.
• At Columbine High School, 2 Littleton, Colorado students murder 12 students and one teacher. Then they kill themselves.
• Off the coast of Martha's vineyard, John Kennedy, Jr., his wife and her sister die when the plane he was piloting crashes in the Atlantic.
• The freighter New Clarissa goes aground near Coos Bay, Oregon creating significant environmental damage to the shoreline.
• Dr. Jack Kevorkian is found guilty of murder after administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.
• The Euro is introduced as a common currency in Europe. Bill Gates is recognized as the wealthiest individual in the world.
• Academy Awards: "American Beauty" (US), All About My Mother (Spain), Prize-winning Books: Waiting, Ha Jin and The Hours, Michael Cunningham.

In Salem

In the fall of this year, more than a dozen local historians gather around a large table in the Salem Public Library to discuss what each could contribute to the Salem History Project, and the creation of a website, Salemhistory, devoted to local history. The objective of collecting information was to take an encyclopedia approach to providing access to Salem's history of culture, events, institutions and people.
The Library's Assistant Director, Bob Miller, had obtained a grant from the Oregon State Library for establishing this online network. Monica Mersinger became the director of the enterprise and served for five years until the grant opportunity ended. At that time, the website information was frozen in place on the Internet with the homepage established as you see it above. It remains the primary source for online information about Salem's historical events and personalities before 2000. In the Credits notation of SHINE (see column to the right) Salemhistory is given as a primary resource. Those who enjoy reading "SHINE on Salem 150" can thank the Oregon State Library, the staff of the Salem Public Library and the local historians who volunteered for the Salem History Project of 1999.

When you visit
There is a small room in Salem Public Library, adjacent to the Audio Visual area, that looks out on the Peace Plaza. When that section of the library was redesigned several years ago, this was Monica's new office. Unfortunately, when the grant ended, there was no effort by the city or the library to continue the project and the room was put to other uses. Writing for the project is no longer possible. We should be thankful that the Salem History Project did exist for five years and that many loyal volunteers submitted articles that are of such value to us today. Another such project, undertaken by the Salem business and heritage community, would be of great value to residents and researchers of the present and future years.

Other events

• The estimated population of Salem is 128,595.
• The Housing and Urban Development Advisory Committee is established. It serves in an advisory capacity on issues relating to allocation of Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds and on other matters related to HUD that may be requested by the City Council. The Committee will make policy recommendations to the Council on five-year strategic plans, on annual plans for specific project budgets, and on project modifications to the plans.
• Frank Richard Gruber is elected as Municipal Judge and will serve until his retirement in 2006.
• John and Pam Scott donate the former Chelsea Restaurant to the Family Building Blocks project that had formerly been housed in the First Methodist Church. The primary mission of this community effort is to keep Salem children safe and families together by empowering families to break the generational cycle of abuse. Sue Miller, who founded the organization in 1997, served as executive director until she resigned in June of 2012. She hopes to spend more time with her grandchildren and focus on her volunteer work serving on the board of the Oregon Community Foundation. The nonprofit relief nursery and child abuse prevention agency is a strong organization with healthy community support and a talented staff and board, Miller said.  In 2011, Family Building Blocks served more than 858 children through its therapeutic classes, outreach services, dependency treatment court and supervised visitation programs. Its services are focused on at-risk children 6 weeks to 5 years old.
  

Harritt House on Wallace Road in West Salem

• The Harritt House on Wallace Road in West Salem is successfully nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. This oldest house in West Salem has been extensively remodeled. Originally an 1858 log cabin, it was built by Jessie and Julia Harritt. Jessie so profited by his California gold mining, that he was able to build his wife this Colonial style house reminiscent of the plantation homes in her native Kentucky. The original kitchen was added to the house for a recent business, Julia’s Tea Parlor.
• Mary Eyre dies at age of 101. A former Social Studies teacher at North Salem High School and political activist, she was a member of many Salem civic organizations. She served as president of the Marion County Historical Society as well as president of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. She held a leadership position in the drive to preserve historic Deepwood Estate and was an active member of Knight Memorial United Church of Christ. She was a member of many professional and political organizations, running unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for the State Senate in 1962. "[I] wanted to try out some the things I had been teaching over the years," she commented. The 1893 Eyre family home in the historic SESNA neighborhood had been sold in 1996 when she moved to a retirement home. The 1926 home of her brother, David Eyre, was moved from Summer Street when the Capitol Mall was being constructed and is now on the northeast corner of Mission and High Streets.

Salem in 1926

World Events

• Crown Prince Nguyen Phuc Vinh Thuy ascends to the throne of Vietnam. He will be their last monarch of that country.
• Spain's General Francisco Franco participates in a failed coup against the republic, beginning the Spanish Civil War that precedes World War II.
• The United States Congress passed the Air Commerce Act, licensing pilots and planes. Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fuel rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts. A weather map was televised for the first time, sent from NAA Arlington to the Weather Bureau office in Washington, D.C.
• Prohibition and prostitution are major sources of revenue for criminals breaking the law, Al Capone as a "racketeer" is at the height of his career.  The National Bar Association is incorporated this year.
• Gertrude Ederle is the first woman to swim the English Channel from France to England.
• Vitaphone premieres with the movie "Don Juan", starring John Barrymore. But the death of film actor and sex symbol, 31 year-old Rudolph Valentino, causes world-wide grief.
• A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh is published in London. American books: Early Autumn by Louis Bromfield and The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway.

In Salem
Thomas A. Livesley, an internationally prominent hop grower, created two of Salem's most admired structures. One is our only skyscraper, the 11 story First National Bank Building built this year on State Street downtown, The Capitol Tower, often called the “Livesley Building", the other is the former Livesley family home, "Mahonia Hall", built in 1924 on Lincoln Street in Fairmount Hills, It was once considered "out in the country" as a 1958 photograph shows. In the next year, Thomas Livesley will become Salem's "Good Roads Mayor". His priorities included bridge, street, alley and sidewalk improvements. Other major projects included expanding fire protection, new playgrounds, the Salem Airport, streetlights and traffic signals. His repeated efforts to establish a city council-manager form of government would be successful in 1947, the year of his death.

When you visit
The Livesley Building has had several owners, the present being Roger Yost. Its ground floor interior reflects the dignified banking atmosphere of the years when it was built and professional offices are still maintained in the floors above. The elaborate exterior decorations of the upper levels, representing stylized historical and mythical characters, are only partly visible from the street below. The Livesley home, Mahonia Hall, is now the governor's mansion, secured by a fence and guarded by state police. It is open to the public by invitation for special events and there are occasional tours guided by members of AAUW. Both buildings continue to reflect the life of Thomas Livesley and are his gifts to Salem's architectural heritage. They are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Other Events

• Among the other new downtown constructions in this prosperous year: the New Salem Hotel/Hughes Building at the corner of Ferry and High Streets; the Elsinore Theatre with its beautiful lobby recalling a Shakespeare Castle courtyard at night; and the Bligh Building, now called the Pacific Building, which replaced the 1864 Cook's Hotel.

•  Located on the southeast corner of High and State Streets, the Capitol Theater of the Bligh Building was constructed adjoining, to the east. Its distinctive dome feature over the entrance was even more attractive when it was lit at night. This building was demolished in 2000 and now is marked only by the outline of the rear wall as you pass the site, now a parking lot, on State Street.
• Among the residences built near downtown this year: the David Eyre home on Summer Street, moved in 1939 for the construction of the North Capitol Mall, and now in the Gaiety Hill/Bush's Pasture Park Historic District at High and Mission Streets; the Baumgartner home on Winter Street, now on Summer Street after two previous moves; the Collins-Busick House on Court Street; and the Steeves House, a block to the east. The Court Street residences are in the Court-Chemeketa Historic Residential District of the NEN neighborhood.
• The Shipley House on Washington Street, built this year, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The gardens of the Shipley house were designed by well-known nurseryman Ernie Lufer. When the Depression forced the closing of the Shipley business, this English Cottage style residence was sold to Cora Kay, the widow of Thomas Kay, the mill owner. (Her home had been demolished for the construction of the Oregon State Library.) She lived here until her death in 1944. The landscaped grounds with the original underground watering system and rock gardens were restored in 1984 by Mrs. Kay’s grandson, W. K. Huntington for the present owners.
• Across the Willamette River in West Salem, the First Methodist Church, after many years in construction, is finally completed. 
• On Ferry Street at 19th, a beloved Congregational minister and civic leader is honored with the construction of Knight Memorial Church. Plutarch Knight's obituary of 1914 (excerpted here) lists an amazing number of accomplishments. He came to Salem in December of 1857 and attended Willamette University from 1857 to 1860.  He was reporter and editor of the Statesman from 1862 to 1864, was also state librarian and city recorder, read law, and was admitted to the bar in this same period of years. He was ordained a Congregational minister at Oregon City in 1866, and was pastor of the Congregational church of Salem from 1867 to 1883, sixteen years. He was superintendent of schools for Marion County from 1870 to 1872 and in charge of the Oregon school for deaf mutes from 1871 to 1892. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy was conferred upon him by Willamette university in 1890. He platted Knight's addition to Salem in 1888; bought Capital Park addition in 1889; Central addition and part of Capital Home addition in 1890; Simpson addition in 1891. Mr. Knight was the moving spirit and the largest original stockholder in the Capital City electric railway, started in 1890. As a minister, a writer, a public speaker, a public spirited and useful citizen, as a businessman, Mr. Knight has kept the esteem, respect and confidence of the people among whom he has led such a busy, active and useful life.

Salem in 1893

World Events

• Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani attempts to re-write the constitution but a Committee of Safety, led by American businessmen, place the queen under arrest and overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy.
• The Second Irish Home Rule Bill passes in British Commons, but is defeated in House of Lords.
• Grover Cleveland, 22nd. President, is sworn in as 24th. Only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. 
• The World's Columbian Exposition, the Chicago World's Fair, opens.
• A crash on the New York Stock Exchange starts a financial depression.
• Lizzie Borden is acquitted of murdering her parents.
• At a special meeting of the American Historical Association, historian Frederick Jackson Turner presents his essay, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History". His theory is that the opportunities and the fascination with our frontier and, especially the expansion of the American west, has shaped American character and culture.
• The Hill sisters copyright a book of children's songs, one of which is later published, without authorization,  as "Happy Birthday to You". (They win a copyright lawsuit in 1934.)

In Salem
The city is taking new responsibilities as the Fire Department moves from a volunteer to a paid force. Firefighters on duty this year are shown above as they were photographed that year. The end of the volunteer era actually began in 1883 with the introduction of Salem's first steam fire engine. After the introduction of horses to Salem Fire Department in 1889, there was no longer the need for a 220-man force. It was reduced to 14 paid firefighters and a handful of volunteer "call men". The new, paid fire department responded to a fire on March 15, 1893, at the Wilson residence at Center Street and Liberty Street. The fire was caused by a defective flue and the damage only required a $5 repair. Salem Fire Department responded to 10 fires this year, but two calls were false alarms. The total dollar loss in the City of Salem due to these fires was $110.

When you visit
Salem currently has four Fire Station museums. You may glance at the historic equipment through the street-front windows, or make an appointment through Fire Station #1 and enjoy a guided tour of any museum. Closures of several stations, due to budget cuts, may effect when visiting times are available.

Other events

• Mayor Gatch proposes a site for municipal offices on High Street, but a report of the city attorney suggests a city hall at the west end of Willson Avenue [now Willson Park]. The mayor prevails, but depressed economic conditions cause a two-year delay in completion of the new City Hall.

• On Mill Street, George Eyre builds a residence, seen above as it looked in 2007. It is now a SESNA neighborhood Local Landmark. The Vernacular Queen Anne house had two owners in the ten years before George Eyre purchased it. In 1893 Mrs. Martha J. Atwood acquired the lot and the house was built for her. In the next year, her daughter, Linnie, married A. A. Lee in the new house. Mrs. Atwood sold the property to J. D. Trammel in August of 1903, and Mr. Trammel sold it to George and Ida Eyre a year later. It remained in the Eyre family from 1904 until sold by the daughter, Mary Eyre, in 1996. Mary was a well-known teacher who lived there most of her 101 years. Her brother, David Eyre, a banker with Ladd and Bush, lived on Summer Street in Piety Hill. In the 1940s, his home was part of the evacuation of residences for the construction of the state buildings in North Capitol Mall. The house was purchased from the state and moved to the northeast corner of Mission and High Streets. It is in the Gaiety Hill/Bush's Pasture Park Historic District of the SCAN neighborhood.
• Thomas Cronise leaves his occupation as a printer and joins his sister Anna in a photography business. Though the 1920s, his studio set the standard for Salem photographic portraits of city life.
• The state spends $11,000 upgrading and renovating the State Fairgrounds, adding new a new water system, floral garden and a mile-long racetrack.
• A copper-clad dome is added to the State House, completing the structure and adding to the dignity of this classic building. For more than forty years the dome was a photographic symbol of the Oregon capitol city.
• This year Johnny Jones is among the few "colored" residents of Salem this year named in the City Directory. Jones was listed as a 47 year-old mulatto working on the steamboat, Willamette. His 16 year-old daughter Mollie was "in school". Another member of his family in Salem was his sister Anna Smith who was doing housework and day labor. Jones later gained considerable local fame as a caterer of style and talent: if you were fortunate enough to secure his services, you were considered a success socially.

Ben Maxwell recalled concerns of moral rectitude:

In an April ministers' strike, clergymen refused to serve state institutions until a more adequate pay was available. Authorities offered ministers $2.50 for a penitentiary service, $4.00 for one at the asylum or reform school. The ministers insisted that the dignity of their labor deserved a better reward. Five dollars a service would be acceptable to them.

In July, patrons near the windows north of the Hotel Willamette dining room complained that the business block across the street possessed a full-fledged bawdy house with windows draped in red to attract attention. Vigorous protests were voiced.

In November, church people were demanding that the council enforce ordinances regulating Salem's saloons and were circulating petitions asking that the license for Bill Anderson's Elkhead Saloon at 217 South Commercial Street be revoked. However, it was noted, when the good folks of Salem were seeking support for some worthy charity, the hat was usually passed at this saloon.

(See Ben Maxwell's Salem, Oregon, edited by Scott McArthur, 2006.)