Salem in 1934

World Events

• Hitler becomes National Socialist (NAZI) Fuhrer in Germany, meets with Mussolini, dictator of Italy.
• The Long March of the Communist Liberation Army in China marshals a force, in retreat, to combat the government of Chiang Kai Shek that had machine-gunned Communist members and broken up labor unions.
• The U.S. control of Haitian mixed-race culture ends after 19 years as a part of Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor Policy".
• The International Telecommunication Union is established to co-ordinate  technical standards of global communication. 
• Dionne Quintuplets born in Canada, the first to survive, become a worldwide entertainment attraction.
• John Dillinger and his gang rob banks. Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed and killed by police in Louisiana. ("Bonnie and Clyde" film, 1967)
• Academy Award: "It Happened One Night". Pulitzer Prize: Lamb in His Bosom, Carolina Miller. 

 From the collection of Carole Smith

In Salem
Households during the Depression had to learn to "Make do, make over, or do without". A local effort is glimpsed in this photograph. In the extreme right can be seen the corner of a frame building. It is Marion County Housing Authority Demonstration House. Originally located at Union and Liberty Streets, the modest 1860 William Beckett house was chosen as a demonstration project to promote the new Federal Housing Authority across the nation. Moved to the Marion County Courthouse lawn, and facing Court Street, it was remodeled to demonstrate how older homes could be modernized. Residents were encouraged to come inside and learn from the renovations underway. Architect Clarence Smith redesigned it in the Colonial Revival style; eight unions provided the plumbing, electrical, carpentry and other labor. When completed in 1935, the house sold for $1,295 and was relocated by the owner.

When you visit
The former Demonstration House was placed on the National Register in 1988. Today it can be seen at 140 Wilson Street in the SCAN neighborhood.
The photograph above recalls a two-block section of High Street that once was the center of municipal activity. At the left are the Odd Fellows Lodge, the Grand Theater and Hotel Annex. The theater and hotel buildings are still there and, after a period of declining use, have been refurbished and renovated for new commercial purposes. (Although the central tower is gone, victim of high winds.) The low, white building to the right is the Bligh Building, still Olson's Florist as it was then. The Old City Hall, demolished in 1971, can be seen in the background of the photograph. The Senator Hotel, rising behind the house on the courthouse lawn, has also been demolished and that site now houses the Courthouse Square transit terminal. On the lawn itself is the 1924 Doughboy statue, now located at the memorial park of the Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs on Summer Street. The Victorian Courthouse, out of the photograph to the right, is also gone. It was demolished in 1952 and the modern building currently in use replaced it.

Other Events

• In 1938, Harry Read and a group of West Salem residents founded Salem Electric. A franchise was eventually obtained from the City of West Salem, Oregon for the distribution of electricity within its boundaries. IN 1934, Harry Read goes into the radio business with local station KSLM.
• The centennial of Jason Lee's arrival in Salem is celebrated at the state fair with a caravan re-enacting his journey westward. The wagon train left Boston in April and arrived in Salem in time for the fair.
• On April 15, the newspaper reported that Reuben P. Boise,74 , a native of Salem and prominent journalist and businessman, died as the result of an accidental discharge of a shotgun he was carrying during a hunting expedition in Polk County. He was the son of Judge Reuben Boise (1818-1907) and husband of Minnie Louise Breyman, daughter of local merchant and real estate investor, Eugene Breyman (1834-1903). The newspaper reported, "The tragedy occurred at his ranch, known as Ellendale, west of Dallas. With his son, Breyman, and A. McFettridge, who had recently leased the farm, Mr. Boise was walking along a rough road used years ago as a means of getting out logs. He stumbled into a hole along the road. The shotgun, an automatic without the safety attachment set, went off...A week ago, when the Boises were looking over the place, they saw a red fox. Hoping to get him and some greydiggers, they took their guns on their inspection trip Sunday."(See profiles of the ladies of this family.)

Salem's small hospital staff in 1934

• The staff of the Deaconess Hospital, (now the Salem Hospital) about forty employees, line up for a photograph.
• Movies are the popular entertainment of the Depression years. With admission only a dime, the State Theater is where you want to go on a Saturday night date.
• A Colonial Revival style house at 787 Cross Street is built this year for Custer Ross, a prominent attorney. Designed by Clarence L. Smith, the result was collaboration between the architect and the landscape firm of Lord and Schryver, although the gardens contain no elaborate design. It was the home of Wayne and Shirley Hadley from 1950-2000. It a contributing property in the Gaiety Hill/Bush's Pasture Park Historic District and is featured in that SHINE Walking Tour.

Daniel Fry, Jr. residence

• A home for the second generation of the Daniel Fry family is built at 565 Leffelle Street. This brick Georgian house was built for Daniel Jr. and Rita Fry. He was a pharmacist in Salem, the son of Daniel Fry who established the business. Jamison Parker of Portland designed the house. It is a Local Landmark in the SCAN neighborhood.

Salem in 1901

World Events

• Queen Victoria dies on January 22 at the age of 81. Her son becomes Edward VII. (He is the great-grandfather of Elizabeth II.)
• William McKinley, 6 months after his second inauguration, is assassinated on October 21st at Buffalo, N.Y. Pan-American Exposition: Vice President Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 28th U.S. President.
• A month later, Roosevelt invites African-American leader, Booker T. Washington, to the White House. Southerners react angrily at the visit and racial violence increases in that region. Booker's autobiography, Up From Slavery, published this year, is a best-seller.
•  In foreign relations, Roosevelt advised, "Speak softly and carry a big stick".
• The Hays-Pancefote Treaty cedes control the Panama Canal to the U.S.
• J. P. Morgan's US Steel is the first billion-dollar corporation.
• Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of radio, sends a signal spanning the Atlantic Ocean: Cornwall, England to Newfoundland, Canada.
• August Deter is examined by German psychiatrist Dr. Alois Alzheimer, leading to a diagnosis of a condition to be known by the doctor's name. 
• Influential new book: The Octopus by Frank Norris. It depicts the conflict between traditional ways of life (farming) and the power of industry (the railroads). 

photo used courtesy of Carole Smith

In Salem
This undated photograph of Court Street shows the commercial architecture of this period. To the left, the 1877 Italianate England Block where "Wades," sells agricultural and household equipment, later pioneering the use of sprinkler irrigation equipment known as "Wade Rain." W.S. Fitts acquired this building in the mid-1920s. In 1901 he opened Fitts Fish Market in the 400 block of Court Street, between Liberty and High Streets. On the opposite side of the street (to the right in photograph) is the "White Corner" mercantile store of the Breyman Block. Further down Court Street is the Reed Opera House and Odd Fellows Hall.

When you visit
Both corner buildings were extensively renovated after World War II, removing all decorative elements to achieve a more modern style. "Fitts" is still in business after over a hundred years, but is now in a different location. This downtown corner is featured in the SHINE Historic Downtown Walking Tour slide show.

Other events

• The ninth grade is added in East School.
• Rural mail routes are established outside city limits and federal funds were allocated for a Salem post office building and construction began on a site near the Marion County Courthouse for Salem's first federal post office. The two-story steel and brick edifice would feature Oregon products; granite and sandstone from Ashland, brick and interior woodwork of Salem manufacturer. The relocated building is now the Gatke Building at Willamette University.
• A train wreck occurs near the Salem rail station. An engineer and fireman are killed.
• According to the Capitol Journal: While F.R. Funk, who supported his family by hauling wood, was driving across the track of the Salem Light & Traction Company's State Street car line, was involved in an accident that caused the death of one of his mules. The trolley wire on the State Street line was broken and lying in the street, and the animal, stepping on the deadly wire, received the full force of the current and dropped dead in its tracks. Mr. Funk has called on the management of the company for a settlement, but refuses $90, asserting that he could have $100 for the mule.
• The Oregon Statesman reports that "The Capital City has an excellent sewerage system and has one of the best and most complete water works systems on the coast. Salem also has a well-equipped and popularly conducted fifteen miles of road-bed, an electric light and power company, a gas light company and a paid fire department."

• McEvoy's is a shop in the Bush-Breyman Building. A photograph of this year is in several local collections. It seems to record a celebration, or sale, at the shop with a crowd of young boys clustered at the doorway and on the sidewalk, many holding sheets of paper. Several are turned toward the camera in an upper floor across the street. Notice the unpaved streets and the seemingly unoccupied city lots looking toward the river. Riverfront property would would be used for industry for the next century ~ until the development of our Riverfront Park.

• The Brown House, now a Local Landmark, is built on 21st Street in the present SESNA neighborhood. Rebecca N. Shenafield purchased the lot in 1901 and she is recorded living in this house with her carpenter husband, Isaiah Shenafield, the next year. In 1910 Charles E. and Margaret Brown bought the property; Mr. Brown was listed as a farmer and later was employed as an electrician for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph. Charles Brown died 1915, but Margaret Brown continued to live here until 1937.

• On a large farm several miles south of the city (on the present Boone Road) the Dent farmhouse is built. The farm property stretched north from this homestead to the present Hrubetz Road and east to Commercial Street. In addition to the responsibilities of his property, Mr. Dent worked at the State Hospital. After his retirement, he moved to another nearby residence, selling the farm to his niece and her husband, Marie and Richard Chesley. The farm home property became the Boone Road Nursery, later known as Chesley Flowers. The general profile of the house retains the original character of the more than 100 year-old home. It is in the Faye Wright neighborhood of South Salem.
• The Oregon Historical Society is organized with a first duty to recognize the Champoeg territorial meeting of 1843 by erecting a memorial at the site of this town, drowned in the 1861 flood.
• In January, 1896, the First Church of Christ Scientist, Salem, Oregon, was officially organized with the congregation meeting in a rented room at the corner of Court and Liberty streets. The Second Church of Christ Scientist, Salem, Oregon, was organized in 1900, and in 1901, purchased a lot on the south side of Chemeketa St. between High and Liberty streets. Here, the first Christian Science Church to be built in the state of Oregon was constructed. It was dedicated on Easter Sunday April 12, 1903. This handsome building was demolished in 1963.

Salem in 1900

World Events

• Secretary of State John Hay proposes an Open Door policy, promoting trade among European powers and the U. S. with China on an equal basis, keeping any one from domination. The anti-colonial movement in China leads to the Boxer Rebellion this year.
• The people of the Philippines revolt against American rule.
• The Boer conflict between Britain and the two Boer (Dutch word for farmer) colonies in South Africa. The Dutch-founded South African Republic and the Orange Free State were part of the Dutch-founded areas annexed to Britain in 1902.
•  Spectators at Lake Constance in Germany see the inaugural flight of a Zeppelin, later to be the first commercial airliners.
• The Davis Cup tennis tournament is created; the American League in baseball is organized in Philadelphia.
• Notable new books: The realistic novel, Sister Carrie, by Theodore Dreiser and as fantasy for children, Wonderful World of Oz by L Frank Baum. Sigmund Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams. The Guide Michelin appears for French motorists. (The first American guide is published in 2005.)

photo used courtesy of Carole Smith

In Salem
The local enthusiasm was for the elegant new "Odd Fellows" Hall where the Grand Theater opened with John Phillip Sousa's comic "El Capitan". In a building designed in Richardson Romanesque style, this lodge was among the most successful fraternal orders of 19th century America, providing member benefit funding for illness or funerals, administrative training and community services. The Grand Theater provided popular stage, and later, movie entertainment. After the Elsinore opened in 1927, the attraction of this theater declined and it closed in 1950.

When you visit
After a period of temporary occupation by renters, the current owners, Carole Smith and Eric Kittleson, have extensively remodeled the proud old building. On the top floor, the large ballroom is frequently used for meetings and celebrations. The theater has reopened under the management of a Friends Board and is the scene of regular stage and film attractions. The tower, unfortunately lost in a storm many years ago, has not been replaced. The adjoining Central State Terminal and Hotel (now the Hotel Annex) was completed in 1921. It is now occupied by Travel Salem, a tourism marketing organization. Both structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Other events

Northeast over Capitol Street with 12th Street and East School on right

North between Summer and Capitol Streets.

• Census shows Salem population has reached 4,258. These two remarkable photographs of this year show how small the city was at that time. The large, white A.N. Bush house figures in both (at left and at right).
• Due to the opening of the Grand Theater, the Reed Opera House gives a final theatrical performance featuring the Great Barlow Minstrels. It is followed by a farewell speech by the manager, Hal Patton.
• The Catlin Linn Building is erected at 246 State Street. This is the site of earlier Tiger Engine Fire House, No. 2, organized in 1869 that continued as a volunteer organization until 1893 when the city created a paid fire department. A garage with concrete floor was a feature of this building through the 1920s, testifying to its early use for auto storage and repairs. 
• Two residences new to city in 1900 are found on the same street, but in two different neighborhoods: the still graceful, Queen Anne styled Perkins House is at 198 21st Street NE in NEN, named for a 1930s owner, Granville Perkins who worked in the local canning industry. It was originally in the Waller Donation Land Claim. The Zielinski House at 212 21st Street SE in SESNA. The first occupants that are recorded here are Burt and Ellen Zielinski who lived there between 1924 and 1932. In almost original condition, it is another example of the fine craftsman workmanship that went into the Queen Anne style homes of the late twentieth century.
• The Bethel Baptist Church builds a parsonage beyond the city limits on Cottage Street, in the present Grant neighborhood. The words “Baptist Parsonage” have been pressed into the cement of the step leading up to the front door of this historic residence, always owned by the church next door. Pastors who lived there included Gustave W. Rutsch (1932-5), John F. Olthoff (1940-5) and Rudolph Wolke until 1954. By 1957 it had become the Sunday School Annex. The simple vernacular architecture of this building is relieved by lacy scrollwork under the arch of the upper front eave.
• Our only existing image of the Leslie House is a drawing made this year. One hundred acres of the Leslie property, including the house, were sold to Asahel Buch in 1860. The house was the family home fir 17 years until the present Bush House was built in 1877-8. The house was moved at the time and later demolished.

• North of the city on Garden Road (now Market Street), the Swegle District established its first school, now in the ELNA neighborhood. The school was built when George Swegle sold one acre of land on Garden Road (Market Street) to the District for $80. The first section of the school as we know it today was built in 1923-4. By the 1938, the school had four classrooms, three teachers and enough students to field a sports program. In one year girls were recruited to fill out the baseball team: the lack of funds for uniforms forced them to play after-school games in their dresses. The school's 100 year history was celebrate with many former students in attendance.
• Thomas Lister Kay, the founder of the Kay Woolen Mill died this year. He was responsible for much of Salem's early industrial growth and the development of the textile industry in Oregon.  Born in 1837 in England, he had an early background in woolen mill operations. Kay was succeeded in management of the mill by son Thomas Benjamin Kay (four times state treasurer), grandson Ercel Kay, (founder of the Salem Golf course), and great grandson Thomas Kay Jr. (a Salem businessman). The mill closed in 1959 and became the centerpiece of the Mission Mill Museum ( now Willamette Heritage Center), 1313 Mill St SE in Salem. It is an irony that Thomas Lister Kay's daughter, Fannie, who was passed over for management, later founded with her husband Charles Bishop and their sons, the Pendleton Mills.