SALEM in 2012

World Events

• Costa Concorda cruise ship, just beginning a tour around the Mediterranean, wrecks near Tuscan island of Giglio causing the largest shipwreck in history. The ship had diverted from its planned route and struck a rock. Compensation for lives and property rose to $2 billion.
• Arab Spring uprisings continue with civil war in Syria, elections disputed in Egypt and the Tunisian president imprisoned. In Libya, the Benghazi US Consulate attacked with loss of Ambassador Chris Stevens and 2 other American staff members.
• Disaster strikes the Philippines when super typhoon Bopha causes 170,000 people to flee to evacuation centers. Destruction in the city of  Mindanao leaves thousands homeless
• 2000 American casualties in our 11th year of war in Afghanistan.
• In Connecticut, the Sandy Hook School shooting kills twenty children aged 6 and 7 as well as 6 adult staff members and the 20-year old shooter. Despite public and congressional debate about the availability and sale of semi-automatic guns, no legislative change is made.
• After 246 years of publication, the Encyclopedia Britannia discontinues print publication.
•  Academy Awards: "Argo" (US), "Amour" (Austria) Prize-winning book: The Round House, Louise Erdrich.

In Salem 

 The Salem Chamber Orchestra brought Play Me, I'm Yours to Salem with 11 street pianos distributed across the streets of Salem and Keizer. Located in public parks, streets and even on the Union Street Bridge, the pianos were there for the public to play and enjoy. After being in place for two weeks, the pianos were donated to local nonprofit organizations.

Piano on Union Street Bridge decorated by Gilbert Children's Museum

When You Visit

The pianos were located in the places listed in the following link.

http://streetpianos.com/salem2012/ 

Other Local Events

• In January, heavy rain caused many streams, including Mill Creek, to overflow their banks. Muddy water covered several Salem streets and parking lots. Homes and basements were flooded. 
• KMUZ, our local non-profit, public service radio station was flooded out of its basement quarters.  A move to 245 Division Street provided the crew and their equipment with a permanent home. The KMUZ archive, available here allows listeners to check up on their favorite programs and be introduced to new ones.
• Janet Taylor, our previous mayor who served an unprecedented four terms, was named First Citizen of the Year by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce.
• Anna Peterson is re-elected to serve as a second term as mayor without opposition.
• The recently completed renovation of the Oregon State Hospital's only original structure, the Kirkbride Building, as shown below, has a new cultural exhibit.

The Museum of Mental Health at the Oregon State Hospital was opened in October of this year. It is dedicated to telling the stories of the Oregon State Hospital and the people that have lived and worked here. Our 2,500 square foot museum, located in the oldest building on the Oregon State Hospital campus includes permanent and changing exhibits.  The museum effort was headed by Hazel Patton and is currently run by volunteers supported by the generous donations of community members and competitive grants. It contains artifacts from the award-winning movie, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" which was filmed at this hospital. See more references to the renovated hospital in the information for 2009.

• Originally constructed by Karl J. Peters, the modest bungalow above has served continuously as a residence since 1925.The Peters owned the house until 1937. It changed hands five times through the 1940s until it was purchased by Ole P. and Dorothy Nielson in 1950. They owned the house for the longest period of time, 45 years. The house is a typical example of the modest housing that was constructed in the mid-1920s in this neighborhood for blue-collar tradespeople. Even though this block was excluded from the Gaiety Hill/Bush Pasture Park National Register Historic District, just to the north, it represents a period development in South Salem which defines the character of the neighborhood. It was placed on the city's list of Local Landmarks in 2012.  

• Bridges, pro and con, are subjects of action and debate. Friends of Two Bridges announces OYFF  (On Your Feet Friday), a series of events intended to help increase awareness and funding for the proposed Minto Bridge. 

• In contrast, local groups, organized under the banner of "No 3rd Bridge" are protesting the City Council project of many years past for a pass-through, heavy traffic highway from the Salem Parkway in North Salem (crossing Front Street at Pine Street) and  continuing over the Willamette River to a landing in West Salem. This would facilitate commercial transportation between Portland and Highway 22 to the coast. Opponents of the "3rd Bridge" cite the damage to the North Salem residential area, the interference with Willamette River natural resources and disruption of West Salem neighborhoods. A diagram showing the path of this bridge can be seen here.

Salem in 2003

World Events

• US leads invasion of Iraq, but no "Weapons of Mass Destruction" are found. Saddam Hussain is captured. President Bush and the U.S. intelligence is widely criticized in massive anti-war demonstrations.
• NATO begins peacekeeping role in Afghanistan.
• World Health Organization warns of global respiratory dangers. "Mad cow" (BSE) disease affects cattle in Washington State.
• A massive black-out in Northeastern US and Ontario Province, Canada, leaves 50 million people without electricity. Some areas were without power for a week or more due to this "software bug".
• After 27 years, Concorde makes its last flight, ending airliner supersonic travel. Service was discontinued because of excessive costs and the need to limit routes to sea lanes to avoid sonic boom over populated areas.
• Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates on entering earth's atmosphere killing all 7 astronauts aboard. (The only other fatal space accident was the Challenger in 1986.)
• The last radio signal from NASA's 1972 Pioneer 10 spacecraft is received. Outside the solar system, it is 7.6 billion miles from Earth.
• Academy Awards: "Lord of the Rings Return of the King" (US), The Barbarian Invasions (Canada). Prize-winning Books: The Great Fire, Shirley Hazard and Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides

In Salem

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were the events on everyone's mind this year, however it would be two years in the future when a graphic remembrance of that conflict began construction in Salem: the Afghan-Iraqi Memorial at the Oregon Veterans Affairs Park on Summer Street. Ironically, this year it was a symbol of peace that attracted attention in our most public arena ~ the colorful Eco-Earth globe in Riverfront Park.

Used by courtesy Salem Public Library

This sphere was originally a large pressurized tank (see above), floated up river to Salem in 1960 and used by Boise Cascade to hold acids that were used to "cook" wood chips into pulp.

 A 5-year process transformed this "acid ball" into a beautiful piece of art that includes 86,000 tiles depicting the entire globe, created by local artists and students, reflecting the diversity on land and water. On the opening day, after the playing of "What a Wonderful World" and a crane lifting off the giant cover, many children quickly moved forward to admire the colorful globe.

When you visit
The Eco-Earth stands at the south end of Riverfront Park near the entrance of Pringle Creek in the Willamette Slough. A pedestrian walkway in the park circles the structure. At the edge of the walkway, an interpretive panel gives more information about the fabrication of this artwork. The white border that circles the base of the globe identifies the mosaics.
The orange tower in the background of this 2006 photograph is one of two Boise Cascade structures that were on the opposite side of the creek when the park was created. By 2011 they had both been demolished as the renovation project continued on the Boise Cascade property that is projected as a mixed use complex with housing and retail establishments. In the distance, you see a bench and railing: that is approximately the location for the footing for the future Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge ~ the date of construction still uncertain in 2012.

Other events

• Leading up to the invasion of Iraq, the Statesman Journal reports "On February 24, the Salem City Council voted against joining more than 100 local governments in signing a resolution opposing a possible war in Iraq. The vote climaxed weeks of local anguish about a war and emotional protests." Two local men who died in the war this year were Sgt. Donald R. Walters and Army Chief Warrant Officer Erik C. Kester. Large numbers of Oregon National Guard were deployed, worrying families and inconveniencing employers.
• Janet Taylor took office as mayor in January with three new councilors: Jim Randall, Bruce Rogers and Dan Clem. The new councilors formed a majority that reversed some of the plans of the previous council, saying they viewed growth and the business community in a more favorable light. Budget shortfalls caused the Council to approve an $83 million general fund cut limiting library hours, park maintenance and other services. Many citizens attended the Budget Meetings to express their concerns.
• The Keizer City Council approved a zoning plan for a 225-acre commercial and industrial development to be named Keizer Station. The location is near Volcanoes Stadium, off I-5 at Chemawa Road.

Extension of Capitol Mall ~ Union Street to D Street

• The North Mall Office Building is completed. The Oregon Parks Department, including the Oregon State Historical Preservation Office (Blue square), moves in. The State Archives Building (green square) was completed in 1991. New this year is Heritage Park  (black circle) at the north end of mall, creating the transition between the large state office buildings (in progress of construction since 1937) and the Grant neighborhood residential area north of D Street. Seven historic former residences have either been refurbished or moved into this area, between Summer and Winter Streets on the south side of D Street. Five of these CAN-DO neighborhood houses are Local Landmarks: McGilchrist, Adolphson, Huntington, Irwin and Stiff . Mill Creek runs through the property, making a quiet park at the rear of these small office buildings.

Heritage Park

• A contentious zoning debate was settled when voters rejected the annexation of the Hazel Hill property in South Salem at Kuebler Boulevard and I-5. The opponents warned that the proposed housing and commercial development would overload area streets with traffic.
• Salem Hospital opened an updated Emergency room, doubled in size through a $4.2 million expansion and remodeling project. Salem Hospital had the state's busiest ER.

Salem in 2002

World Events

• British al-Quada convert, Richard Reid, the 2001 "Shoe Bomber", pleads guilty. (Subdued, the Miami-Paris flight had returned to Logan Airport in Boston.)
• When a vote is taken in Gibraltar, the citizens reject Spanish sovereignty to remain a British Overseas Territory.
• Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom celebrates her Golden Jubilee  in her 50th year on the throne.
• Homeland Security Act is established " to insure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards".
• "Sour Biscuit" fires rage in Oregon and California.
• Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City. Utah is the fifth state to host the Olympic games.
• Murder charges against Ward Weaver of Oregon City dominate national newspapers.
• Jimmy Carter is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for untiring efforts find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, advance democracy and human rights and promote economic and social development.
•  Academy Awards: "Chicago" (US). "Nowhere in Africa" (Germany). Prize-winning Books: Three Junes, Julia Glass and Empire Falls, Richard Russo.

In Salem
In this year, due to the declining use of industrial property and the age of residences in the Edgewater and Wallace Road areas, the West Salem Redevelopment Advisory Board is established as an eleven-member group advising the city's West Salem Urban Renewal Agency. The duties of the Board include considerations of conservation, rehabilitation, and redevelopment matters within the West Salem Urban Growth Renewal Area. The formerly prosperous canning industry, which brought business and residential growth to the Edgewater and Wallace Road areas, had declined to the extent that the neighborhood needed assistance in promoting new business, recovering property values and increasing public services.
Notice was already being taken of the historical value of some residential properties. The Historic Landmarks Commission had designated nine properties as West Salem Local Landmarks. The new Board could now work with the city agencies and departments to recognize both the residential needs and the potential for business improvement of the whole urban renewal area.

When you visit
Among the attractive residential areas of West Salem, Kingwood in the Edgewater area stands out. This house at 270 Kingwood Drive was featured on the cover of the Edgewater Walking Tour brochure of 2009. The neighborhood spans over a century of construction dates, beginning in 1900. The first plats were dated in the late 1800s and Kingwood Park in 1909. Homes were built by different builders or by homeowners themselves, giving the neighborhood a diversity of style and size not always reflected in newer residential areas. There are several large homes, but small cottages are really the heart of Edgewater, many built in the 1930s as jobs were created in the local canneries or the paper mill across the Willamette River.
A subject for discussion by the West Salem Redevelopment Advisory Board (2010) is the possibility of a future West Salem branch of the Polk County Museum. (See 2000 in this series.) To learn more about current activities of the Board, contact a city staff member at 503-588-6178.

Other events

• Janet Taylor is elected as mayor to take office in January of 2003. Mike Swaim gave up a run for a fourth term as mayor in a bid for Oregon's House of Representatives. He lost to Billy Dalto.
• The Statesman Journal reports the top story of the year is the opening of the West Salem High School in September, "a $49 million dream come true for residents on the other side of the Willamette River and Salem-Keizer's first new high school in 23 years. It immediately became home to more than 1,300 students and a center of activity for the area Friday night football games." At the same time, the state's ongoing budget crisis affected local schools as bus routes are longer and classroom programs cut or scaled back.
• As Superintendent of Public Instruction, Susan Costello is the first Hispanic woman to be elected to statewide office. She served until the 2012 reorganization of Oregon's public education.
• The City Council approves a downtown Conference Center facing Commercial Street on the former Marion Hotel site. The project will constructed in cooperation with VIPS, owner of Phoenix Inns. A hotel will be adjacent on the Liberty Street side of the block south of Ferry Street. Our newspaper reports, "Supporters see the conference center as the engine to pull downtown out of an economic rut."
• Property crime increases due to Salem being a hub for narcotics activity and budget problems causing jail capacity to dwindle as property thieves are released to make room for violent offenders.
• Section 62 of the City Charter adds Ethical Standards. The goal of the measure is to ensure public confidence in the impartiality of elected or appointed city officials. Each is required to disclose any past or present business or family relationships, any direct and indirect campaign contributions or gifts that might influence any decision.
• A Community Police Review Board is established to review unresolved complaints against members of the Salem Police Department.
• Former governor Bob Straub dies. The Statesman Journal reports, "He has been praised been for his many public contributions during 20 years in office, including the governorship 1975-79: protecting Oregon beaches and the Willamette River, defending land-use planning. He was also remembered for many personal acts during the three decades he and Pat lived in a farmhouse in West Salem: helping others less fortunate, donating land for a city park..."
• The Olympic torch passes through 8 miles of Salem, between lines of school children and state workers. A crowd of 2,500 converged on the State Capitol to celebrate the lighting of the cauldron.

Salem in 1985

World Events

• Ronald Reagan is privately sworn in as President for his second term. Secretly, military arms are sent to Iran in exchange for U. S. hostages in Lebanon and to fund Nicaraguan Contras. 
• Mikhail Gorbachev, as Secretary General of the the Soviet Communist Party, begins "glasnost" policies in USSR allowing more civil freedom.
• Argentina puts former leaders on trial for crimes against citizens.
• The border between Gibraltar and Spain reopens for the first time since Francisco Franco closed it in 1939.
• Artist Christo wraps in canvas the Pont Neuf Bridge in Paris.
• British Telecom begins phasing out their famous red telephone boxes. Mohammad Al-Fayed buys London's Harrods.
• "We Are the World" is recorded as a charity for Africa. Ricky Nelson, songwriter and actor, dies in the plane crash in Texas.
• Steve Jobs resigns from Apple. Microsoft releases Windows 1.0
• US Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS.
• Academy Awards:"Out of Africa" (US), "The Official Story" (Argentina). Prize-winning Books: White Noise, Don DeLillo and Foreign Affairs, Alison Lurie.

Salem's Pioneer Cemetery in the springtime

In Salem

The former Odd Fellows Rural Cemetery, founded in 1854, had been nearly abandoned by this year when local residents formed the entirely non-profit "Friends of the Pioneer Cemetery." The "Friends" have raised funds through grants and donations to keep the cemetery maintained. A Pioneer Cemetery website offers index listings of those buried at the cemetery including name, date of burial, birth, death and plot location. Located at the corner of Hoyt and Commercial streets, it was originally on land that belonged to missionary David Leslie. The first burial there (1841) was that of his wife, Mary Kinney Leslie, who had joined her husband in the original Oregon Methodist mission settlement in 1837. She was the first of many members of our pioneer families buried there. The cemetery has a wealth of unusual and impressive gravestones, many recently replaced in their original positions. Since the City of Salem became owner of the cemetery in 1985, the volunteer Friends group has been instrumental in the restoration of the cemetery, continuing their work to the present time. Many historical photographs of tombs and persons buried here are found on Oregon Historical Photograph Collections.
In 1999, the Friends established an endowed fund within The Salem Foundation Charitable Trust. Each year, a distribution from the fund is made to the City for cemetery betterment above and beyond the basic maintenance that is supported from limited public funds. Recent proceeds from the endowment have been earmarked to restore the E. N. Cooke family mausoleum and make other repairs in common interest.

When you visit
The cemetery is open to the public and volunteers are always welcome. While the data base is maintained by the genealogical division, The Friends field unit recruits community volunteers to engage in monthly work parties, March through October. The volunteers prune heritage roses and other ornamental shrubs and pull ivy and other invasive plants. Under trained supervision, they remove moss from markers and pavements, level monument bases and safely reset fallen markers in mortar. Volunteers also assist genealogists in conducting research. For more information, contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Parks and Transportation Services Division, Salem Department of Public Works at 503-589-2197.

Another source of local genealogical information is the Lee Mission Cemetery on D Street in North Salem. It was incorporated in 1869 on a portion of the Elizabeth Winn Parrish land grant, but first burial at this site was in 1842 of Lucy Thompson Lee, the second wife of Jason Lee. His first wife, Anna Maria Pittman Lee, was reburied there at about the same time and, in 1906, Jason Lee. Other pioneers including Alanson Beers, Gustavus Hines, Josiah Parrish and Alvin Waller are buried there. The website references help find records of burials and the history of the Methodist Mission.

Other Events

Representatives from Kawagoe visit Salem, 2010

Mayor Susan Miller welcomes Kawagoe, Japan as a potential sister-city to Salem. The delegates from each city visit the other, determining if there is compatibility in promoting mutual cultural, educational and economic civic goals. A few months later the contracts were signed. This has proved to be our most lasting sister-city relationship as twenty-five years later, in July of 2010, a delegation from Kawagoe returned to renew the contract. A warm mayoral handshake followed the official signing with Janet Taylor, our second female mayor. Many friendships have been formed and visits made between Kawagoe and Salem. Both our educational institutions and our industrial enterprises have made firm bonds for the benefit of both cities. Barry Duell, now a professor at Tokyo International University in Kawagoe, was profiled for a newspaper article in which he recalled his many years living in Kawagoe.
(Willamette University also enters into sister-university relationships this year: with Xiamen University in Fujian Province of the People’s Republic of China, and with Kookmin University in Seoul, Korea.)

Gillbert House in as it looked in the 1980s

• The City of Salem purchases the 1887 Gilbert House as part of its future Riverfront Development Project. The house built at the intersection of Marion and Water Streets on the east bank of the Willamette River is significant as an outstanding large-scale example of Queen Anne architecture in Salem. At that time was the only substantial historic house remaining in the downtown core. A. T. Gilbert, for whom the house was built, was senior partner with his brother Frank in the Salem banking house of Gilbert Brothers, 1879-1901. Starting as bankers and brokers doing general agency business, they became a general banking establishment in 1885. A. T. Gilbert was a trustee of Pacific University in Forest Grove in the 1890’s. A. T. Gilbert had a distinguished nephew, the son of his brother and partner Frank Alfred Carlton Gilbert, founder of the A. C. Gilbert Co., world-renowned toy manufacturer and inventor of the Erector set, a metal construction toy. A. C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village acquired the Gilbert House through a no-cost lease from the city and restored it with grants from the Meyer Memorial Trust and the community. The Museum opened on December 15, 1989.
• The city purchased an additional 55 cfs of 1856 priority water rights from Boise Cascade after the water right transfer after the City of Stayton and the Santiam Water Control District challenged the water right transfer.
• Jackie Winters, writing in 2000: "I started my business in 1985 which was a big undertaking and risk; leaving the comfort of a pay check to rely on your own ingenuity can be perilous at best. (My business,) Jackie’s Ribs, exists because of my mother. She loved Kansas City barbecue, and watching her eat it was a delight, especially for my father. She did not cook it herself, but my father would go to the barbecue 'joint' to get it; it was his gift to her."
• The operation of the Paulus Brothers Packing Company ended this year. In 1954 they were the largest independently owned canning firm in the Northwest, and the sale of the company in 1955 to Dole Hawaiian Pineapple Company marked the end of an era. Berries, cherries, green beans, plums and pears were the principal products from the Dole plant in the 1950's-60's. Although the canning operation begun by the Paulus family ended and canning operations ceased, the building continued to be used for distribution.
• Salem has excessive snowfall: 6.2" on December 1-2.