Salem in 2013

World Events

• Jorge Mario Bergoglio becomes Pope Francis, first Pope from Latin America. He is a reformer of the Church and an advocate for the poor. ( "Francis: Pray for Me", 2015 film)
• On April 15, two homemade bombs ripped through the crowd of fans and runners at the Boston Marathon finish line, killing three and wounding nearly 300 others. 
• In June, Documents released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden shed light on the extent of US espionage operations in various parts of the world and threatened to damage US relations with some key international players. ("Snowden", 2016 film)
• Prince William and wife Kate welcome a son, Prince George, on July 22.
• On Aug. 21, reports emerged from a Damascus suburb of a sarin gas attack, a grim event in a civil war that had already cost the lives of 100,000 people and spurred the largest refugee crisis in a generation.
• Former South African president and leader of the anti-apartheid movement Nelson Mandela died on Dec. 5.
• New words "twerk" and "selfie" were added to the dictionary this year.
• Academy Awards:"12 Years a Slave"(US),"The Great Beauty" (Best Foreign Film, Italy)  Prize-winning books: The Good Lord Bird, James McBride and The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson.

In Salem

•  In April of 2012,  a colorful Oregon heritage exhibit was mounted in the Marion County Courthouse Community Hall.  Each of the twenty framed collections of photographs and memorabilia offered what that Marion County city considered significant to tell its story. The exhibits were constructed by local committees or by an individual volunteer. Above each poster is a wood carving representing the shape of Marion County with the locality of the city clearly distinguished. At the opening ceremony, the County Commissioners greeted guests from around the county, especially thanking the creators of these handsome displays.  Each city had a representative there to speak about what that city had selected to put in their colorful poster.

 Community Hall of the Marion County Courthouse
View the Marion County Courthouse exhibit
 

• Commissioner Sam Brentano, who was the inspiration for the exhibit, encouraged this author and her son to become acquainted with Marion County cities.  On our day-trip adventures, Tom and I discovered many scenic back roads and he took photographs in each city.  Each one reviews the community history, offer a brief profile of the city today and includes our discoveries there as visitors. KMUZ interviews with representatives of each city can be heard on their archives. The series also appeared in the Sunday edition of the Statesman Journal newspaper for twenty weeks. It is now the topic "Marion County 20" on this website.

• Scott Casebeer, President of Capitol Auto Group, was selected as the 2012 First Citizen of the year by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Casebeer's two sons, who have worked at the dealership, are the great-grandsons of the founder of the company, Douglas McKay.  McKay entered politics was elected governor of Oregon, then Secretary of the Interior in the Eisenhower administration.

• A brochure useful to realtors and property buyers this year is entitled "Historic Property Designation". Produced by the Historic Landmarks Commission, it outlines the benefits and responsibilities of purchasing and maintaining structures in the city that have been designated as Local Landmarks or National Register. It reminds owners that exterior changes, visible to the public, must be approved by the HLC before any work is begun.  The HLC meets once a month to discuss proposals brought before the Commission and suggest improvements or necessary alterations to owners' construction plans to comply with city codes.

Salem lost three outstanding residents this year, Mike McLaran on March 30, Bill Tebeau on July 20 and Orville Roth on October 13. All three, in very different careers, had important roles in the development of the city and shaping its character. The Statesman Journal reported:

• Mike McLaran's death stunned the business community. The longtime Salem Area Chamber of Commerce executive died March 30 while jogging in southeast Salem, the victim of an apparent heart attack. McLaran, 53, grew the chamber's membership and gave the organization a strong, unified voice. From 1995 through 2011, McLaran served as the chamber's chief executive officer. Even after stepping down as CEO, McLaran continued to work closely with the chamber as a consultant. He was involved in such milestones as the development of the Salem Conference Center and the campaign to win a grant for the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center. At McLaran's memorial service, business and community leaders filled the 1,200 seat Salem Alliance Church to near capacity. 
  
• "Make it a great day!" That was William "Bill" Tebeau's daily motto. It was also front and center July 20 in the brightly lit hospitality room at Center 50+ in Salem, where Tebeau's family give their patriarch a fittingly warm, often poignant, but overall cheery celebration of life memorial. An engineer, educator and pioneer, Tebeau, 87, was the first African American male to graduate from Oregon State University, which he did in 1948. He died July 5. Scores of well-wishers turned out at the center to honor a man who was described as at once deeply knowledgeable on many subjects and humble about himself.
• The Mid-Valley lost one of its most enduring symbols of community and charity Oct. 13 when longtime civic leader and businessman Orville N. Roth died of a heart attack while visiting family in Honolulu. The 79-year-old co-founder of the Roth's Fresh Markets grocery chain grew his empire from a single store in 1962 to nine markets in 2013.  He was known throughout the state as much for his unfailing support of children and those less fortunate as for his business.
  
  
  
    

 

Salem in 1987

World Events

• Rudolph Hess (aged 92), WWII NAZI, is found dead in his Spandau Prison cell. The last prisoner in the complex, it is soon demolished.
• President Reagan visits Berlin, challenges USSR to "Tear down this wall!"
• King's Cross fire in London subway kills 31 and wounds 100.
•  US Congress charges Reagan with "ultimate responsibility" for the Iran-Contra deception, but he is not prosecuted. (See 1986) His nominee for the Supreme Court, Robert Bork, is rejected by the Senate.
• Jim Bakker resigns from the evangelical "Praise the Lord" television network after his personal misconduct is revealed.
• 18 months old Jessica McClure falls down her aunt's well in Midland, Texas. Rescuers work 58 consecutive hours to free her from the 8-inch well casing. The drama is seen around the world by television.
• AZT is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the use in treatment of AIDS.
• Starbucks Coffee stores open in Seattle. Simpson cartoon appears.
• Academy Awards: "The Last Emperor" (US), "Babette's Feast" (Denmark). Prize-winning Books: Paco's Story, Larry Heinemann and A Summons to Memphis, Peter Taylor.

Residences along Court Street in the Historic District

In Salem
The Court-Chemeketa Historic Residential District (above) was established this year. This small area of two streets is limited on the east and north by Mill Creek, on the south by State Street and on the west by a 1984 barrier across 13th Street that eliminates auto traffic. This area, separated from the early city center by the 12th Street rail tracks, Willamette University and the Capitol, was home to many of Salem's pioneer families and small water-powered businesses. The businesses are gone now, but the residences reflect the domestic designs popular in the broad period between 1860 and 1937. Bonnie and Roger Hull led a resident group in the research and documentation necessary for this successful nomination to the National Register.
It is no coincidence that both Court-Chemeketa and Gaiety Hill/Bush's Pasture Park Residential Historic Districts are founded at this time. These were basically neighborhood enterprises, sponsored by their residents, many of whom were involved in the Inventory described below.
Today, the Historic Landmarks Commission offers professional direction to owners of designated historical properties for making exterior alterations through Design Review by the Community Development Department staff recommendations and Commission approval.

When you visit

Walking tour slide shows of our three historic districts are found here on SHINE. In addition to the Court-Chemeketa Historic Residential District, there are the Gaiety Hill/Bush Pasture Park and Salem Historic Downtown districts. The best way to enjoy our character of our city is to walk in the neighborhoods and urban parks to see for yourself the value of historic preservation.
A catalog of properties individually listed as National Register or Local Landmark (not in a historic district) can be found on the DISCOVER website. It has been given that name because it reveals many interesting historic properties, not yet designated, in all 19 neighborhoods. On this website, you may search by neighborhood, street address or family name. Viewers are welcome to Comment on DISCOVER to correct or add information.

Other Events

One of the most important resources for learning about Salem history is the Historic Salem An Inventory of Historic Places, a 1987 spiral-bound collection of 101 photographs with information about local personalities and properties of significance. Produced this year by the staff of the Historic Landmarks Commission under the leadership of Mark Siegel, and with the help of many trained volunteers, it remains a basic source of information about our architectural and cultural past. In the years that have passed, designations have changed, some houses have been demolished, others moved. However, the Inventory remains a valuable snapshot of the historical properties in the core of the city at that time: only 6 of the 19 neighborhoods were surveyed.

• During his term of office, Governor Atiyeh established new public safety programs for Oregon's traditional fishing and lumber trades and took measures to attract new industries to the state, bringing thousands of jobs. He initiated the state's lottery, launched a worldwide tourism initiative, and got the Columbia River Gorge designated as a national scenic preservation area. After Ateyih's term, the governor's residence on Winter Street became headquarters for the Department of Environmental Quality for the State of Oregon. It has now been moved slightly north to accommodate the North Capitol Mall Office building.
• Kathryn Gunnell, a prominent Salem personality and noted photographer dies this year. Leaving no heirs, her professional collection was left to the Marion County Historical Society.

The Frederick and Nelson Store, on the Liberty and Chemeketa Streets site of the former Lipman's, closes this year.

The Devereaux Apartments, managed by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, serves as a shelter for the homeless.

The star logo is prominently displayed on the walls of the Salem Centre Mall as the new second floor of Marion Parkade gives entrance into the retail stores.

Salem in 1919

World Events

• The Civil War spreads in Russia: The Red Army, a Communist force led by Lenin is opposed by the White Army, Conservatives who want a return to a monarchist government. ("Doctor Zhivago" 1965 film based on 1957 Boris Pasternak novel.)
• The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles with 32 nations debating Allied terms of peace and reparations to be paid by the Central Powers.
• The League of Nations, which will meet in Geneva, is founded with a first meeting to be in January 1920. The U.S. does not join, however President Wilson is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his crucial role in establishing the League of Nations".
• Prohibition of alcohol passed in Congress as the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution.
• Babe Ruth, a sports hero, breaks the record for most MLB home runs.
• Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company.
• The Dutch airline, KLM is formed (now oldest airline flying under original name).
• President Wilson suffers a severe stroke, his condition hidden from the public: his wife makes decisions for him until the end of his term of office.
• New books: Winesburg, Ohio, Sherwood Anderson and The Moon and Sixpence, W. Somerset Maugham. Carl Sandburg publishes Corn Huskers and Ring Lardner humorously captures the perils of buying a house in Own Your Own Home.

In Salem
Robert Paulus of Salem led an effort this year to form a statewide marketing organization of fruit packers and growers, serving as sales manager of the Oregon Growers Cooperative Association. He and his wife Juanita built this home at 1155 Summer Street at about the same time. A 1927 company with brother George was the first time vegetables in any quantity had been canned in Salem. In 1942, the Paulus brothers fruit packing company in Salem was authorized to provide dried fruits and vegetables for the armed forces. Their contributions to the war effort brought them awards for outstanding accomplishment as a food processor. In 1954 they were the largest independently owned canning firm in the Northwest. The sale of the company in 1955 to Dole Hawaiian Pineapple Company marked the end of an era.

When you visit
This private residence on Summer Street is a designated Local Landmark. The exterior of the house has recently been renovated after Design Review by the Historic Landmarks Commission of the Salem Community Development Department. The property includes a lot to the north that once contained a formal garden (now being renovated) possibly designed by the outstanding local landscape architects of the 1930s, Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schrvyer. The low iron fence on the street side of the property came from the Pioneer Cemetery and was purchased when it was replaced at the cemetery. This home is located on one of the last remaining residential blocks of what was once a socially prominent residential area of Salem before the expansion of the North Capitol Mall. In this Grant neighborhood, volunteers are working with the State Historic Preservation Office to prepare a nomination to establish a National Register Historic District.

Other Events

• C. E. Albin becomes mayor.
• The record low temperature reaches six degrees below zero and the city is blanketed with 22 inches of snow.

Valley Packing Company soon after it was established in 1919

The former meat packing facility as it looked in 2012.

• Curtis Cross, the Steusloff brothers and A.N. Bush establish the Valley Packing Company. The large plant occupied 55 acres just west of the Southern Pacific Railway crossing on Portland Road in an almost deserted neighborhood. It was the only U.S. Inspected full-line meat processing plant in the state outside of Portland. Cascade Meats Inc. took over the plant in 1956. In 1959, the year before it closed, there were 130 employees. This Highland neighborhood building is now used for tire storage and has an abandoned appearance from the exterior.
• Waller Hall burns for the second time. The fire was believed to have originated in the chemical laboratory in this classroom building. The work of dragging heavy hose 500 feet through deep snow handicapped firemen. Losses on the second, third and fourth floors amounted to more than $35,000.
• Lausanne Hall is demolished on the Willamette University Campus.
• The American Legion establishes Capital Post No. 9 that creates a relief fund for military veterans and their families.
• Myrtle Gilbert is selected as president of the Salem Art League, later to become the Salem Art Association. That first year the Salem Arts League held art displays, conducted classes in art, literature, and design. The Weaver's Guild and the Writer's Club, organizations still serving Salem artists, grew out of those early years. She died in 1970 at the age of 88, but her many local contributions to the appreciation of the arts are a living Salem legacy.
• The Rotary Club is founded by a few business and professional men who met above Giles Wholesale Fruit Store at South High and Trade Streets. From the beginning, Wednesday luncheons were held in the Hotel Marion. The Club went to work on community projects in cooperation with the Police and Juvenile Court authorities, the Children's Playground Project and aid in furnishing supplies and funds for the Salem hospitals.
• President Woodrow Wilson visits Salem during a speaking tour to gain support for America's participation in the League of Nations. It is possibly one of his last engagements: he collapsed on September 25 in Pueblo, Colorado and suffered a disabling stroke the next month. The extent of his disability was kept from the public until after his death in 1924.

 Capitol Journal news:

• Salem's new city administration pledged itself to make every effort to stamp out the flu. The spitting ordinance would be enforced and restaurants must provide straws with drinks served.
• All doctors were against lifting the ban against public meetings. More than 200 homes were under modified quarantine. An emergency hospital capable of caring for 23 patients was in operation. Nevertheless, except for dances, the city's ban on public meetings was revoked on January 27.
• The 91st Division made up of men from Washington, Oregon and California and known as the "Wild West" division, broke all records for wartime acquisition of decorations> 150 distinguished service crosses, 101 French Croix de Guerre, 150 Belgium Croix de Guerre and 5 Congressional medals.
• The Salem Cigar factory resumed making "La Corona" and "Little Salem" cigars exactly as they were made before the war. "Smoking them reminds one of old times."