Salem in 1973

World Events

• Chili's unstable, but democratically-elected, government of Pres. Allende, is overthrown by military forces of Gen. Pinochet, backed by U.S.
• The Nobel Peace Prize is shared by Henry Kissinger (US) and Le Durc Tho (Vietnam) for the 1973 Paris agreement that brought about the cease-fire in Vietnam and the withdrawal of American forces.
• After the Yom Kippur War, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries embargo oil to nations that had supported Israel, prices rise in a U.S. energy crisis.
• Vice President Agnew resigns due to income tax evasion; Gerald Ford, Speaker of the House of Representatives, takes office.
• Secret White House tapes are revealed during the Watergate Congressional investigation. Nixon orders Attorney General to fire  Special Prosecutor Cox. When he refuses, a string of Justice Department firings was named "Saturday Night Massacre".
• Members of the American Indian Movement occupy the town of Wounded Knee for 71 days, but are overwhelmed by 1200  arrests.
• In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court overturns U.S. ban on abortion.
• Academy Awards:"The Sting" (US), "Day for Night" (France). Prize-winning Books: The Optimist's Daughter, Eudora Welty and Augustus, John Edward Williams.

Historic Deepwood Estate

Willamette Heritage Center

In Salem
Salem appears on the US Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places for the first time with four historic properties at two sites: the 1894 Deepwood Estate, owned by the city, and the 1895 Thomas Kay Woolen Mill (Now Willamette Heritage Center), a privately administered facility. The mill property includes two other historic building this year: the 1841 Jason Lee House and the Methodist Parsonage. These are the first Methodist mission residential structures of Salem. Two other buildings, also moved to the Mission Mill Museum property, will be successfully nominated in the coming years: the 1846 Boon House (in 1975), an early private residence and 1858 Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church (in 1987). The historic church was originally located 12 miles southeast of Salem near West Stayton.
David Duniway leads these first local efforts for historical preservation. The Oregon State Archives gives his introduction: "From day he arrived in Salem in 1946, David Duniway gave a great deal of his time and energy to the local historical community. His retirement as State Archivist in 1972 only served to increase his focus on his other projects that have become the cornerstones of the local historical community. Duniway helped to organize and became the first director of the Mission Mill Museum Association. He retired as director of the Mission Mill in 1976 to spend more time writing books about Salem history. Duniway was founder of the Marion County Historical Society and the Salem City Club and served as a member of Salem's sesquicentennial committee. His personal connection to Oregon history was strengthened by the fact that he was grandson of famous pioneer and equal rights champion, Abigail Scott Duniway."

When you visitHistoric Deepwood Estate is open for tours and many events during each year. More information may found on their website. Of special interest are the 5 acres of gardens partially designed by the Lord and Schryver landscape architects and maintained by that Conservancy. The historic Deepwood carriage house has recently been restored and will be used for exhibitions and other services.
The Mission Mill Museum and the Marion County Historical Society, on the same property, have become united in 2010 as the Willamette Heritage Center. Mission Mill Museum will continue to be the site for administration, exhibitions, cafe and the rented retail/office space. The former Marion County Historical Society facility serves as the archive, library and information technology center. The website gives information about exhibits and hours of operation.

Other events•    Robert E. Lindsey, a dentist by profession, becomes mayor as the city administration adapts to the new Civic Center.
•    In May, Grant Park, adjacent to the Grant Elementary School is opened. Stuart Compton, Administrator of the Aldrich Trust, suggests this second use of trust funds and the project was accepted by the City Council. The four acre park has play equipment for children, a ball field and picnic tables. Both students and neighbors use this attractive neighborhood amenity.
•    Buildings on a High Street site, between Chemeketa and Center, are emptied in preparation for a new six-floor office building, the Equitable Center.
•    The Senator Hotel Building, on High and Court Street intersection, is sold to the state as an office building.

Salem in 1965

World Events

• The funeral of Winston Churchill attracts the great assemblage of world statesman to that date.
• The US begins active military offensives against the Vietcong.
• Freedom Flight airlifts bring Cubans to the U.S. More than 20,000 refugees a year settle in Florida.
• President Johnson pledges a "Great Society" in America to end poverty and racial injustice. Medicare and Medicaid bills are passed in Congress. Voting Rights Act forbids discriminatory practices. The Immigration and Nationality Act ends quotas based on national origin.
• Martin Luther King, Jr and 25,000 civil rights activists complete their 4-day march from Salem, Alabama to the capitol in Montgomery. ("Selma" film, 2014)
• Riots in Watts section of Los Angeles protest police brutality: 34 die and damage is estimated at $40 million.
• People are talking about Ed White's walk in space; Ralph Nadar's Unsafe at any Speed that criticizes lack of safety features in American cars, and the "Phanton Punch" of Muhammad Ali, defeating Sonny Liston in their boxing rematch. Rolling Stones and the Beatles dominate pop music.
• Academy Awards: "The Sound of Music" (US), "The Shop on Main Street" (Czechoslovakia) . Prize-winning Books: Herzog, Saul Bellow and Keepers of the House, Shirley Ann Grau.

In Salem

• The construction industry is booming. Salem Plaza (now Salem Center Mall), a new retail commercial center downtown, begins with the construction seen above. The first building (located north of Center Street, between Liberty and High Streets) will not be finished until 1966. The first completed of the "Big Box" enterprises is J.C. Penney's new store on the corner of Liberty and Chemeketa Streets with a Grand Opening in January. To the east of downtown,  the first four marble buildings of North Capitol Mall were in place in the four block area from Court to Center Street by 1959. In the next five years, the state created parking lots out of the blocks up to Union Street. In 1964, construction began at northwest corner of Union and Summer Street for the new Agricultural Building. Demolition of the neighborhood residences and construction of this building continued this year.

• Quite a different construction project ran into difficulties. While moving the historic Jason Lee House from its original location near Mill Creek on Broadway to the new Mission Mill Museum (now Willamette Heritage Center), it was discovered that the building was too tall to pass under the Center Street Bridge.  The problem was solved by letting some of the air out of the tires on the vehicles and the move was successfully completed.
• Vista Market, a Roth's IGA Foodliner grocery store, is established on South Library Street. Parts of the South Salem area have been annexed to the city by this year.
• On a smaller scale, residents enjoyed their first Dunkin Donut eatery. It was in North Salem on Portland Road. 

• During this year, Federal regulations continued to force change in how Salem industries could dispose of unhealthy materials in the public environment. The Boise Cascade Company lagoons on Minto Island were off-limits to the public because of contaminated materials settled there. Fifty year later, these lagoons are still a source of concern as the city and the state work toward expanding our Salem recreational trails with a bridge between Riverfront Park and the public sections of Minto Brown Park. It is anticipated that the Minto Brown Park, an area larger the Central Park in New York City, will someday be the center of our city. As such it will be a valuable natural resource in the growing urban community. 

• Salem is introduced to a new line of automobiles when Datsuns are displayed in the Japan Exhibition at the State Fair this year.

• A more traditional vehicle made news when the Salem Public Library, under the directorship of Hugh Morrow, has its first Bookmobile to serve residents in suburban neighborhoods. Mr. Morrow was the Director of the library from 1939 to 1972. His term of office began in the Carnegie Library on State Street and extended into the construction of a new public library in the Civic Center between Commercial and Liberty streets. The library collection of Oregon historic materials is named for him in honor of his service.
• Two of Salem's outstanding citizens are involved in Salem's municipal administration: Willard Marshall (1963-5) resigns as mayor due to ill health; Dr. Vern Miller (1965-72) takes his place. As a physician, Dr. Miller had been drawn into public life by the problems of local sanitation surfacing he saw surfacing from the septic tanks of South Salem. His successful efforts to bring sewers to that vast area led him to a city council seat. That campaign also set the stage for the annexation of the South Salem areas.