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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1956)
:Page 10 Section 4 THE CAPITAL JOURNAL Salem, Oregon, Thursday, June 21, 1956 Still Cross River Only Two Ferries Remain In Action ' By BEN MAXWELL ' ' Capital Journal Writer if Virgil, Horace and Calulus paid old Charon his obolns for ferriage across the mythical Styx enroute to the Elysian fields they boi. soaked. Marion county's two Lincoln during or before 1832. A service was maintained at that crossing until 181)8 with Tracy Walling as last ferryman. Salem Had Them Too Salem, too, had ferries. When Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour. nn'r of lintish snoopers, visited remaining ferries will '"nspor' the site of Salem (then The Wills) VI1U' aLiraS UIC FiumuniH , JU4S-4U they observed that thci Methodist missionaries had a make shift ferry on the Willam ette consisting of two canoes with a deck of puncheons. Since the boat had but little utility a later generation of cynics suspected that the gentlemen missionaries used to escape across the river from irate wives over - burdened with many children and weary of aus terity. I Marion county commissioner s records show that Dr. W. I!. Will son, the missionary and so-called founder of Salem, applied for a license to operate a ferry at this crossing in May of 1850. Hates allowed by the court were gener ous, exceeding those granted Hale's ferry on the Santiam. For a yoke of oxen and a wagon the charge was $1, for a man and horse, 25 cents; for a footman 12'.i cents. Willson Rates Hike But "Doc" Willson was not satis fied nnr) snnn hiirh'prml ihe rnllrt Independence and later at Buena:for a hilher rate, This tncy re. Vista, runs the new Bucna y';iiUctanllv allowed and the rates ta." This trolley ferry with a steel for (el.rioge across lne Willamette hull was laid down in 1955, is atnt Salem were then about aoube twin screw boat driven by two those on Ule Santiam. Gaunt. im- electric motors, one for each pro- p(.cunious immigrants with tobac pollor. Buena Vista takes up to co juice in thcir whi .l:ers were six cars and makes the crossing ;nut too mucll impressed. They tolci in about two minutes. At present (he Doc ,vhere he could gj and the boat is handlin? from 90 o ' d nis fcrry to suit tn(,lr Cu. 150 cars and trucks daily but ;Vcnienc0 win or wilholt nav. when the bean season gets to go- rarly in ,8U the court ijceix, Ing strong the number will beWnil(;'s as a Coiiipc-tin ferry and about doubled. tlere was as soon a gratifying de- Service Sometimes Stopped Icline in cliarws. Bucna Vista, like the Daniel, nurinir no Cox and Shcllv es- Wheatland or Bucna Vista with out any charge at all. Of course there are skeptics who say that crossing the Wil lamette to Buena Vista in Polk county or Wheatland in Yamhill is not exactly comparable to en tering the Elysian field, that tron tranquil haven of antiquity. And there are other hard headed per sons to remind you that residents of Polk, Marion or Yamhill coun ties pay the obolus just the same, but indirectly. They point out that joint operation of the two ferries cost the counties $10,000 a year for Buena Vista and about $12, 000 for Wheatland. First License Given Reason B. Hall, stalwart pioneer of 1846 settled himself on the site of Buena Vista 2 miles from Salem as the Willamette flows and in 1851 received a license from the territorial legislature to operate a ferry at that crossing. W. E. Lawrence, ferryman with 28 years of experience, first at Ferries Still Do Good Business on Willamette River s - 'Ms. 7 Wonders of World Brought Up to Date ders of the world. And you prob ably can't name the other six. It's time we brought the list up to date, using wonders that we all wonder at every day. Here with, the wonders of today's world: 1. The no-rcturn beer bottle. Before the advent of this sturdy monument to convenience, man kind was knee deep in bottles, waiting to be returned. 2. Singing commercials. Won ders never cease and neither do these things. 3. Strapless dresses. The won der here is: Wonder whether it'll stay no? 4. View of the Empire State building. Looks down on the greatest agglomeration of mason ry, steel, and connivance in history. 5. Winston Churchill. A wonder of this or any other world. 6. High heels for women and jackets in summer for men. Tba wonder of the spectacle of mil lions of persons maiming and torturing themselves. 7. Air condition. 'S wonderful. And now back to the storied tower of Pisa. We have checked and found there Is no truth in the ancient legend that Conrad Hilton is going to buy the tower, turn it into a hotel, and name it "The Tiltin" Hilton." Nor is there substance to the report that it is going to be turned into a restaurant called "The Leaning Tower Of Pizza." There was a rumor, some months ago, that the Leaning Tower sent a note to Big Ben in London. The note said: "You've got the time and I've got the inclination." This is true. We wouldn't end this piece on a false note. Matheny at Wheatland, has a good record for continuity of service. But when the river gets too high and drift laden both ferries pru dently retire and wait for Old Man River to recede within his banks. Wheatland ferry Is 13 miles be low Salem as the river flows and 35 miles from Buena Vista. Daniel Matheny, veteran of the war of 1812 and a Yamhill county pioneer of 1843 was operating a ferry at his crossing in 1847. Present Wheatland ferry no quired in 1947 bears the name of its founder, Daniel Matheny. It is a six car boat powered by elec tricity and makes the Willamette crossing in about two minutes. It also made newspaper history few winters ago when the cable broke during a winter evening and the boat went adrift in the darkness. A single power wire held to guide the ferry into wil lows where it lodged. Tom Bowdcn, with 16 years of experience at the Wheatland cross Ing, and Frank Hersha operate the Daniel Matheny. On June 14. of this year they transported 157 cars and 63 trucks between Mis sion Bottom and Wheatland. Two Ferries Remain Buena Vista and Wheatland ferries alone remain of many once landing along the Willamette in Marion county. For many years these ferries operated as charge ferries but after 1910 joint coun ty operations gave them a free and public status. Sol Cox and Richardson Bros, started operating a ferry at the Independence crossing August 14. 1885. The service became free in 1896 and a fcrry continued to operate here until I1"" bridge ro plnced it five years ago. Halls ferry between Independ ence and Salem was established by Noah I.caho during or before 1867. An early Salem newspaper carried his rhyming advertise ment: "So come one, come all We're always glad to have You - anil So come by night or conic by day We are always glad to work for pay " B. F. Hall acquired I.eabo's ferry in 18112 and thereafter it continued to operate under his name until the service was us- conlinucd around 1915. Final owner was a Mr. Pettyjohn who adver tised to attract a vanishing horse and bueuy traffic that no autos were allowed on his ferry. As a matter of fact the Polk county road to Pettyjohn's ferry was ui- ten so deep with ruts and mud thai no uu o could reaeh his boat from no auto could reach his boat from Andrew Jackson lioak estab lished Doak's ferry at what is now rn l r leaciiors ianic .) To Portland Meet Five delegates will represent the Salem Classroom Teachers association at the SMth annual convention of the National Edu cation association in Portland July 1-6. Delegates chosen were Joseph D. Formick, Richard Unices, Eleanor Roberts. James Watson and (icorgc Forgard. Among outstanding speakers at the convention wilt be Knc Johnston, special roving ambas sador for the United States in the Middle East, and Dr. I.ee Du Bridge, president of the Califor nia Institute of Technology, tablished a swing ferry in North Salem and during September of that year J. N. Matheny commis sioned a steam ferry of sorts for the Salem crossing. It carried up to six wagons and made the shore to shore run in two or three min utes. Four years later Matheny and associates replaced this boat with a more elegant ferry, dis playing a saloon deck nnd coslin? about $8,000. Two years later, In 1869, nn even more palatial fern costing $15,000 entered into scrvici at this crossing .Until the firs! Willamette bridge was opened De cember 7, 1886 steam ferries oper ated between Salem and tiieir West Salem landing. Last ferry service here known to the writer was maintained briefly during con struction of the Center street bridge opened July 30, 1918. ' -it mJ' j Y ' ' H T!i T.w.1...1 Tl. l-:.4r it- it Ti'c '-;;v.'J t: Crt. r.-1 Churchill N '123 IraR- Hj mm 1,.J ByH.-rT-Qu.oo r i fc.iMguV ILrrVMTyV uwJ !! P 1 L'nitcd Press Staff Correspondent B'-B. I LiliJ tL-fj:":-. ii.'-. 'i -a . r'i'i- Mill . FV "UJiMf V'i. - immhi ' T"""'Ttr Jli - I K i 1 from Italy hint that the Leaning Tf , - - -:.: -.: - ON THE YEAR-AHEAD CAR 'I 0-W;, V ii-Ullv j CHRYSLER WINDSOR V-8 h NEW 1956 CHRYSLER : - jq. .i "A . It's all yours for the cost of a T h r 'j fully equipped "low-priced" small car! Top: Buena Vista ferry service established by Reason B. Hall In 1851 has been continuous at this crossing for 105 years. Shown Is the present boat, "Buena Vista," new, twin screw steel ferry motivated by electrical power. W. . Lawrence, ferryman with 28 years of experience, Is shown at the right directing a car off his boat. Lower: Ferry "Daniel Matheny" at Wheatland cross ing bears the name of Its founder who operated a ferry here during 1847. Tom Bowden and Frank Hersha are ferrymen. (Cap ital Journal Photos) Salem Automobile Co., Inc. 435 N. ComI. St. 3-4117 Voodbtirn Picnic S WOODBURN The annual Sun day school picnic for the Wood burn Presbyterian church will be held duly 24. in .Seltlemier park (weather permitting). The pot lurk dinner will be served at the park immediately after the morning service. The Sunday school will provide the drinks and ice cream. In case of rain the picnic will he held in the church social room. All msmbers, families and friends of Um ihurcti art urged to ttteod. 1 rAVx P ti refreshing KMAb Hl beer ;! H W - .. m' -i.rt'i;lQM'4vH , f1 F':IJ mi'r -Hnfm JLu : .... ..i,,,,.,. ,,,.,,,,,f!rfr , ileimAi y j j -j.V, Plcosant reward ... for a job well done! Bright blossoms and fragrances . . . very attractive helper! j j . j VI l t i nAl,irnlk, nllc (af ikn llnk fnfrAt klnn knnr rtllfv AnIr,U rA hitrnuar fnr unnrcalf fka linKf S-S F 1 rfV3l IIUIVIUIIJ VUIU IVI lilt lljlll, iVMbJlllliy UCI 9.UIll. 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