Salem in 1989

World Events

• East Berlin opens checkpoints in the Wall, which is demolished. The entire leadership of the East German Socialist Party resigns.
• The Dalai Lama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• Hirohito dies and Akihito becomes the 125th Emperor of Japan.
• Students stage a protest in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. An unknown young "Tank Man" defies the military as seen on TV around the world.
• The US invades Panama, with "Operation Just Cause", in an attempt to overthrow dictator Manuel Noriega, accused of drug trafficking.
• English scientist Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web with a commercial dial-up connection via the internet.
• Jerry Falwell announces Moral Majority, Inc. will be dissolved. He states that that "the religious right is solidly in place." 
• The "Keating Five" create a savings and loan industry financial crisis that cost many their life savings. Charles Keating goes to prison.
• Florida executes Ted Bundy for the murders of 30 young women.
• Alaska's Prince William Sound is contaminated by 240,000 barrels of oil after the Exxon Valdez goes aground.
• Academy Awards: "Driving Miss Daisy" (US),"Cinema Paradiso (Italy) Prize-winning Books: Spartina, John Casey and Breathing Lessons, Anne Tyler.

In Salem

The photograph above was taken in 1988 just before this Mill Street industrial property was donated to Willamette University and these cannery buildings demolished. The California Packing Company, developer of a Blue Lake type bean, opened a plant in Salem in 1963. They were the first to shift their entire bean production to these bush beans and they were delivered in bulk, eliminating the need for tote bins. Their Del Monte brand and shield was used after 1967. By 1970 the Salem Plant had grown to be the largest green bean cannery in the world. The company continued to grow and in 1979 merged with R. J. Reynolds, Inc. However, in the early 1980s, the company's bean production was moved to their production to their more centrally located Wisconsin plants.

A city council zoning change made it possible for Tokyo International University of America (TIUA), after a 20-year exchange student and faculty association with WU, to build a Salem dormitory on these six acres. The grand opening ceremony of TIUA (Tokyo International University America) was September 8, 1989 with Mike Mansfield, former Ambassador to Japan, Oregon's Governor Goldschmidt, Salem's Mayor Neilsen, Willamette University President Hudson and other dignitaries in attendance. Sixty Japanese students and two professors participated in that year's American Studies program. This cultural experience, now over 40 years in operation, is designed to educate students in being global citizens. By living for a year in another country, as these foreign students do, they get a resident's view of the host country. Many former TIUA students have gone on to careers not only in America, but also in countries around the world. They carry with them the values of "Vision, Courage, Intelligence" that have been promoted within this educational experience.

When You Visit

This site on Mill Street, directly south of the Willamette Heritage Center's Mission Mill property, is now the campus for students of Tokyo International University who attend classes at TIUA and Willamette University. Students use the sky bridge over 12th Street to reach the campus. The TIUA building is open weekdays and the public is free to eat at the Kaneko cafe'. The original residence hall and cafeteria have been remodeled which doubled the capacity. It is a LEED Gold certificate building. For tour information, call 503-373-3330.

Other events

Memorial at the site of our former City Hall

• Adjacent to the sidewalk at the southwest corner of Chemeketa and High streets, a shaft with plaque and picture of the old structure, is erected as a memorial to the 1896 City Hall that had been demolished 17 years before. Salem voters didn't want to pay the cost of saving the old city hall, preferring to build a new civic center. Ironically, Dr. Vern Miller, the former Salem mayor for whom the replacement city hall was later named, was unsuccessful in his recommendation for keeping the old city hall alive as a museum. Sue Bell, writing for Salemhistory website, gave us a history of our former city administration buildings, "At the beginning of Salem's municipal government history, the City officers were housed in the Rector Building located on the lower west side of Commercial Street between Trade and Ferry. The two-story frame building had been erected by William H. Rector in 1851 specifically for the purpose of a Town Hall. (Briefly, both before and after the 1855 burning of the original Capitol Building, the State government shared the premises.). As the wooden structure deteriorated, quarters for the town's officials were found in various other commercial buildings in town - - the Patton Block, built in 1869, was one of these. Later, the Recorder's Office was located at 236 Liberty and, by the early 1890s, unofficially City Hall was on Liberty Street, the southeast corner of State (present site of Key Bank)"The statuary eagle is on the ground, ready to be placed on the rocks atop the Hatfield Fountain at the Bellevue Street entrance at Willamette University. At the base of the fountain there is a plaque explaining the symbolism of the eagle's nest.
• Large national retailers such as Costco, Shopko, Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot recognize Salem's market potential and are opening outlets in suburban Salem, especially in the Lancaster Drive area.
• Salem's roots in the lumber and textile industries are gradually giving way to high technology. In this year, Siltec, a computer chip manufacturer, establishes a facility here.
• On May 27th, the YWCA in conjunction with Willamette University holds the first Cultural Diversity Conference on the Willamette campus to help raise awareness and promote sensitivity about equality, racial justice, violence against women, hate crimes, and affirmative action
• The body of James Michael Francke, Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, is discovered on the floor of the north portico of the Dome Building on January 18 and an autopsy determined he had been murdered. A local petty criminal was eventually tried and convicted for the crime, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. However, the convicted killer maintains his innocence, and several conspiracy theories have been advocated. A 1995 film, Without Evidence, was written by Gil Dennis and Phil Stanford, an Oregon columnist who has investigated the case extensively. It is also based on subsequent investigations by Kevin Francke, Michael's brother.
• Willamette University football and country singer/actress Dolly Parton may not seem like a natural fit, but somehow the Country Music Hall of Fame found herself leading cheers for the Bearcats alumni football team in September. She attended the game as a friend of her business-associate Heine Fountain, a Willamette alumni who was coaching the alums. "I just love this part of the country," she told a reporter. "It’s always beautiful, and the people are always nice."

Salem in 1988

World Events

• In 1979, to stabilize the politics of Afghanistan, the Soviet Army sent in troops. After more than 8 years of conflict, and the disruption of detente with the US, the Soviet Army now begins withdrawing from Afghanistan.
• The Arab Al-Qaeda militant group is founded as terrorists to oppose the Soviet move into Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden is a leader.
• The Iraq-Iran War ends with a cease-fire, to Iran's advantage, monitored by the UN. This conflict caused more than a million fatalities.
• In a Presidential debate, Democrat Michael Dukakis is asked a personal question about the death penalty he opposes. His answer is considered to have been an important factor in his defeat by the Republican Vice-President, George H. W. Bush, that November.
• Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland with 270 fatalities.
• Gallaudet University, the only university for the deaf in America, elects its first president who is deaf himself, Dr. I. King Jordan.
• Scientific Senate testimony declares that Global Warming has begun. The U.S. Surgeon General states that nicotine is as addictive as heroin.
• The first McDonalds are opened in Communist countries.
• "Phantom of the Opera" opens on Broadway and is still playing in 2018. Academy Awards: "Rain Man" (US), "Pele the Conqueror" (Denmark) Prize-winning Books: Paris Trout, Peter Dexter and Beloved, Toni

In Salem
For those who cherish an English ambiance, the Tudor Rose, opened his year, was the perfect getaway for a British-style lunch or a cup of tea in the afternoon. A shop inside the entrance welcomed diners with gift selections one would find in a English village of the 1980s and the decor of the dining room matched that atmosphere with old-fashioned wallpaper, lace curtains, and table settings that include a tea-cozy for the pot. Located above the south side of Pringle Creek among the trees, diners could imagine themselves in a peaceful rural setting. Alas, to the regret of loyal customers of almost twenty years, it closed in 2007. Below, a photograph taken just before demolition.
When you visit

Waterplace now occupies the site of the former Tudor Rose. This property includes land that was previously used for a motel and is directly across Liberty Street from the Civic Center. In the planning stage, a taller building was proposed, but residents in the adjoining SCAN neighborhood objected, for environmental reasons, during the City's Design Review process and the building was scaled back to its present height. During construction, its promotion hailed, "Innovative architecture and environmental stewardship blend together in a new mixed-use office and retail development that redefines how we work." The building is positioned to take advantage of the natural beauty along Pringle Creek. Completed in April of 2010, it houses offices and a restaurant, following the precedent of the Tudor Rose and the earlier Sambo's. Like these other recently built local structures, its architecture and use has been determined by Salem's community acceptance.

Other events

Mahonia Hall

• Mahonia Hall, the former Livesley residence on Lincoln Street, becomes the official residence of Oregon's governor. Purchased by private donations, it is maintained by the state. The governor and his wife occasionally open the house for guests invited for worthwhile community events and tours of the first floor are conducted periodically. The original owner, Thomas A. Livesley, mayor of Salem from 1927 to 1931, was known as the "Hop King of Oregon" He served in the legislature as Marion County State Representative from 1937-39. He built and owned the First National Bank Building in 1926-27. After his death the building was called the “Livesley Building” and more recently the "Capitol Tower or Center". Another noted structure he left the community is this Tudor style family home on Lincoln Street in the Fairmont Hill district. He died in 1947 at the age of 84.
• Sylvia Dorney, continues the evolution of her family's three-generation Salem business enterprise renaming it as Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest. The business started as a dry good’s store, Greenbaum’s Dept. Store, in 1900; became a fabric store; Greenbaum’s Fine Fabrics, in 1946; and finally in this year as shop offering creative quilting ideas, supplies and instructions. The shop is in the last remaining section of a beautiful historic structure that was built in 1889, and is located at 240 Commercial Street in the heart of the downtown historic district.
• On Mill Street, dramatic changes are occurring in the block that has been industrial. On the south, the Del Monte cannery is closed and enclosed by a fence with two rows of barbed wire at the top. (This will become the campus of Tokyo International University.) To the north, on the property that had been the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, the Mission Mill Museum association has begun renovating the Card Room and Spinning Room on the second floor of the mill building and adjacent Dye House.
• Sue Harris Miller completes her third term as mayor of Salem and Thomas Neilsen is elected.
• The Salem Area Mass Transit District consolidates its administration, operations and maintenance activities on an 8.4-acre facility acquired and constructed with a combination of local, state and federal funds. In the next April, U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield and Governor Neil Goldschmidt officiated at the open house. In 2001, a permanent transfer station and administrative office, Courthouse Square, was built on the site. At the present time, July 2012, structural faults in the parking bus parking area caused the transit center to be moved to a temporary location on nearby city streets. The building itself has been evacuated for inspection of possible construction faults and consultants are evaluating choices between demolition and extensive repair.
• Mano a Mano, a nonprofit agency, opened in Salem this year, providing English classes and social services for Salem's Latino community. Today the vision of Mano e Mano is that Latinos and low-income people of our community will enjoy a quality of life and attain a standard of living comparable to other Oregonians. The Family Center is now located in the James Ramsey III House, 1460 Capitol Street NE.
• The Smothers Brothers, a TV popular comedy act comes the Salem for a performance at the Oregon State Fair.
• This year the Salem Outreach Shelter began providing housing for homeless men. Because so many families needed shelter, the focus transitioned to programs for them. Up to 15 families reside at the shelter at one time for an average of four to six months. During this time families must strive for a successful future with permanent housing, stable income, and a resource base to obtain long-term stability. In 2001 the shelter merged with the YWCA of Salem. In 2007 it moved to accommodate more families. The goal of the shelter is to assist families in accomplishing their dream of returning to a sustainable living situation so they can take their place as contributing members of the community.