Salem in 1941

World Events

• Federal law declares all persons born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens.
• In a radio broadcast, Churchill asks US to "Give us the arms, and we will finish the job".  Congress passes the Lend-Lease Act. The United Services Organization (USO) is created to entertain to troops. Defense Bonds and Stamps go on sale to help provide funds for the military.
• The Grand Coulee Dam begins operation; Mount Rushmore Memorial completed. Disney's fourth film, "Dumbo", is released. General Mills introduces CheeriOats (Cheerios).
• On December 7, Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor, destroying or damaging 12 American ships and killing over 2,500 servicemen. Congress declares war on both Japan and the Axis after Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech to Congress, heard by radio in 80% of American homes.
• Orson Welles produces and stars in the much applauded "Citizen Kane", but the Academy Award goes to "How Green Was My Valley". Prize-winning book: Hold Autumn in Your Hand, George Sessions Perry.

In Salem
In May of 1941, Memorial Day in Salem commemorated the military loses of a first World War while the nation prepared to enter the second. Radios are tuned into President Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" speech to Congress promoting aid the Allies while hopes dimmed for US staying out of the war. Foreign consulates are closed and there are rumors of submarine attacks at our coastlines. "Preparedness" was the term for this activity, and Salem residents participated by taking part in collecting aluminum for munitions production, honoring past veterans with giant Courthouse billboards, buying Defense Savings Bonds and stamps, or watching the mail for a possible Selective Service notice for a young man in the family. When the Japanese attack came on December 7, Salem families were anxious for the safety of their loved ones at Pearl Harbor. Willamette's football team, at the University of Hawaii, spent the next three weeks patrolling the beaches until returning home by sea. Eight families had sons serving at Pearl Harbor, and two more were at Midway and Wake Island. All survived the initial attack though some were wounded. In other communities, Japanese-Americans were taken into custody and turned over to immigration agents. But Salem's officials reported no such orders had been received here and reported that Japanese in this area have been here many years and are either citizens or wish they could be. A total blackout was ordered and air raid wardens patrolled Salem.

When you visit
The Courthouse where the 1941 Memorial Day commemoration took place is no longer there: it was replaced in 1952. The Doughboy statue is now found at Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs Memorial Garden on Summer Street. It is only one memorial in the park there, having been joined since that time by memorials to those who had been awarded the Medal of Honor as well as all those who served in our nation's military engagements in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.The state has produced "Memorials", a walking tour brochure locating and describing these sites. Ask for it at ODVA or at Travel Salem.

Other events

• On Broadway, at Mill Creek, Marion County Historical Society mounts a display commemorating the centennial of the Salem settlement at this site.

• United Airlines begins flying out of McNary Field, bringing airmail to Salem for the first time.
• Max Gehlhar becomes the first customer of Salem Electric Company, powered by the Bonneville Dam.
• The Southern Pacific Freight Station on 12th Street is busy with railroad traffic.
• A site for Camp Adair is chosen in Polk County. It was named for Henry Rodney Adair, who was a native of Astoria and a member of a prominent Oregon pioneer family. After graduating from West Point, he became a cavalry lieutenant and was killed during the Pancho Villa Expedition on June 21, 1916. The 57,159-acre site was built during 1942–1943 division training and cantonment camp, and had temporary quarters for 2,133 officers and 37,081 enlisted personnel. From 1944–1946-07-23, Camp Adair served as a prisoner -of-war camp, housing German and Italian POWs.

Salem industrial haze as seen from West Salem hillside

• Industrial haze plagues the downtown Salem area.
• The 1937 Timberline Lodge is still popular with Salem travelers before gas rationing takes effect.
• Marion County operates a "Poor Farm" on north Front Street.
• The Boon House, now at Mission Mill Museum, is photographed in its original location by the  "Boon's Treasury" building on Liberty Street.

• Highway 99E near Silverton Road, now absorbed by I-5, is a two-lane road with scattered "cottages" for motorists and small businesses at the edge of town.

From the Capitol Journal:

• Five Salem shops arranged displays stressing the Bundles for Britain theme with British and American flags to emphasis the message.
• The Oregon House approved 38 to 19 a two-sent per pack tax on cigarettes sold in Oregon. This tax was designed to raise $2,000,000 a year to help increase the average old age pension from $21 a month to $30.
• At Eola Hills orchard, where 500 cherry pickers were usually employed, only 50 were on hand to harvest the crop. Nor was there much hope of additional pickers, according to the manager. Work was much more attractive, and at higher wages, with the build up of defense contracts and the military expenditures.
• Salem women were rushing to hosiery counters in shops, fearful that their trim legs might suffer by the order freezing Japanese silk imports. Stores reported a 100% increase in silk stocking purchases over a three-day period.
• United Airlines first plane to and at Salem airport attracted a crowd of 100 spectators.
• Congressman James W. Mott asserted that Hitler was on his way out and that time was not too far in the future.
• Six Oregon men, first to be sent to conscientious objectors' camp in the state, would report to the newly established Civilian Public Service Camp No. 1 at Cascade Locks.
• In a matter of minutes following the first bulletin announcing the Japanese attack on Honolulu, Marion County civilian defense and Salem city administration were in session at the Courthouse oiling up their organization to meet the emergency. A blackout was ordered in Salem to test the signal system and determine the ability of citizens to douse their lights quickly. Results were satisfactory except in South Salem, where the signal could not be heard.

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

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 1924

World Events

• Fascist Benito Mussolini, using secret police to crush unions and enforce extreme nationalism, is elected Prime Minister and then Il Duce (the leader) in Italy.
• At the death of Lenin, Joseph Stalin purges his rivals to become ruler in the USSR.
• Congress passes the Immigration Act, excluding Asians. The Indian Citizenship Act grants U.S. citizenship to Native Americans born within territorial limits. With the close of the Apache Wars, all conflict with Native Americans ends after 302 years.
• The British Empire Exhibition opens in London with representations from its 58 nations. The International Olympic Committee is formed with the first modern games in Paris. (see movie "Chariots of Fire")
• J. Edger Hoover is named head of the U.S. FBI. Nellie Ross of Wyoming is named first woman governor.
• A tabulating company is renamed International Business Machines (IBM). A media company, MGM is founded in Los Angeles. Mercedes-Benz is organized in Stuttgart, Germany. Caesar Salad is invented in Tijuana, Mexico.
• Comedian Will Rogers is at the height of his career. The Pulitzer Prize goes to Edna Ferber for So Big.

In Salem
In Salem’s Crystal Garden Ballroom residents danced on Wednesday and Saturday nights to some of the best-known bands in the nation. Modern dancing was on the main floor and old time polkas, schottisches and two-steps upstairs. The building was constructed for Otto Klett who died in 1947. The next owner extensively remodeled the building for meetings, banquets and conventions in addition to the dancing. Ballroom dancing declined in popularity and the last “old time dance” was held in 1964. A 1961 photograph of the Crystal Garden Ballroom shows how little the exterior of the building has changed from its original appearance.

When you visit
According to an article written by Wilma Bonsanti for the Oregon Statesman in December of 1971, the crystal chandelier was stored in the home of Mr. Gwynn, a former owner. Of Czechoslovakian prisms, it was the twin to one hanging in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. The building retains its original appearance and has housed several businesses and a successful restaurant. Until recently, the lobby contained a framed newspaper clipping recalling this building's important place in a past Salem social life that included the whole family.

Other events

• The Willamette freezes, wrecking sternwheeler vessels. The freighter Relief, operating between Portland and Salem, was crushed by an ice jam at the Salem waterfront moorage, then listed further to its side and sank.

The Doughboy Memorial at Oregon Veterans Building

• To commemorate the service and sacrifice of Marion County members of the American Expeditionary Force in France during the recently past World War, a statue of the "Doughboy" is erected on the Courthouse lawn. The Courthouse was demolished in 1954, but the statue remained in place until 1991. When the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs building was constructed, it was moved to that military memorial park where it stands in a beautiful landscape near Mill Creek.
• The Circuit Rider, a memorial statue created by A. Phimister, was placed on the Capitol grounds. Robert Booth of Eugene, whose father was a Methodist Episcopal circuit rider, donated it to the State of Oregon.
• Busick and Sons Grocery is established in the Bush-Brey Building on Commercial Street and will be a feature of Salem household shopping until 1970.
• Parrish Middle School is built facing Capital at D Street on land that was originally a part of the Josiah Parrish Donation Land Claim. The Chamber of Commerce had fully supported the school bond of $225,000 to build this first Salem junior high school and Dr. H. H. Olinger, head of the school board, urged the construction. The school opened September 29 with HF Durham as Principal. In 1948 the first remodeling took place when an auditorium, gymnasium, and three new classrooms were added. In 1974 Parrish had its Golden Anniversary; 200 former students and teachers attended. In 1994 students and staff moved out for one year while Parrish was updated. In 1999, during the 75th celebration, a time capsule was buried.

Nelson Home

• On E Street, an English Cottage is designed by Jamison Parker for Carl Nelson, a securities broker who went into wool and hops businesses after the crash of 1929. After the death of Mrs. Nelson in 1944, the house was sold. In the 1990s it became the Cottonwood Cottage Bread and Breakfast business establishment. It is a National Register property (1997) in the Grant Neighborhood.
• In the Fairmount Hills south of Salem, three prominent families have lived in a Spanish Colonial Revival home built for Curtis Cross at the top of fashionable Fairmount Hill. The second owner was Asel C. Eoff, the owner of Eoff Electric Company. The third owner was Dr. Ralph Purvine. Dr. Purvine was significant in both the medical and education fields in Salem, having been a physician at Willamette University and a founder of the Salem Clinic. Dr. Purvine’s daughter lived there for many years. It became a National Register property in 1982.

Mahonia Hall

• A neighbor of the Cross House is the former Thomas Livesley family home on Lincoln Street, a Tudor-style mansion designed by Ellis Lawrence and occupied by the Livesley family for 34 years. It was sold in 1958 and had four more owners before being purchased by the State of Oregon as the official governor's mansion. It is now known as "Mahonia Hall" after the state flower, the "Oregon grape".

From the Capitol Journal:

• Some substance, which many car owners believed to be little flakes of sulfur cast off from the paper mill, was wreaking havoc with the finish of automobiles parked along Salem streets. The small flakes ate their way through and right down to bare metal surface.
• Rev. H. D. Chambers, rector of St. Paul's Church, in a sermon condemned the movement among local churches to bring Billy Sunday to Salem. Said Rev. Chambers, " When the pulpit has to degenerate into a place of sensationalism and emotionalism in order to compete with worldly agencies, it is time to admit failure."

Moving Salem History #3 and #4 of 12

photo above from the collection of Carole Smith

This historic 1934 photograph was taken from the lawn of the old Courthouse on High Street, looking north toward the former City Hall and Senator Hotel, now replaced by a parking lot and the bus center. The Grand Theater is across the street to the left. Now relocated are the World War I statue of the Doughboy (a traditional term for American infantrymen in earlier times) and the small house to the right.

The Doughboy soldier was erected in 1924, stored somewhere after the Courthouse was demolished in 1939. In 1991 the statue was placed in the Memorial Park of the Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs at 700 Summer Street.

The William Beckett house used for the Marion County Home Demonstration in 1934 was originally located on the corner of Liberty and Union Streets. Moved to the Courthouse lawn and completely renovated and refurnished, it was an example of Depression “how-to” remodeling for the average homeowner. It was sold to Larry Grote for $1,295 and moved to this Wilson Street lot behind his own home . It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.