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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1957)
1 Salem, Oregon, Thursday, February 21, 1957 THE CAPITAL JOURNAL Section 3 Page 13 Independence Claims a Long History Town Used to Be Known for Itsl Hops; Now It Is Becoming Somewhat Industrial By BEN MAXWELL Capital Journal Writer Independence in Polk county is well named. Quivev and Waller, who published The Riverside there in 1881, flaunted jfrom the masthead of their weekly newspaper, "Independent n All Things, Neutral in Nothing." Even the town itself started that way. Mrs. Thomas Burbank supplied the name to E. A. Thorp, a pioneer of 1845, . ho platted North Independence in 18o0. (The name, naturally nough, was that of Independence, Mo. point of departure for he covered wagon trains. In 1867 Henry Hill, pioneer of 1847, platted Henry Hill s own ol Independence, wnen we tale legislature granted the town Looking Down Main Street THE SHOW MUST GO Oi charter, Feb. 25, 1S85, the two ndependences divided both by mbitions and Ash swale were limped together as a city "in Lime if not in population." S. W. Smith was first city mayor nd he, too. was independent. He frft his father s farm along the uckiamute in 1872, became a ading Independence merchant nd ultimately financially inde- endent. Three Interval! Independence has nad three in- fervals of transition. In. the 1880s e town was the center for an fcpansive grain producing area jf Polk county. Two large flour fulls and a grain storage for 250, mo bushels were located there. Jteamboats came regularly to mill locks (Independence was the head low water navigation on the Willamette) and cargo not con iancd to the boats went to Port Hud on Henry Villard's newly-built 5psl Side railroad. Next, starling in the 18!)0s, came production that gave Independ ence the distinction of being the top center of the world. Thou sands of acres of rich aluvial land ajnng the Willamette and its tribu taries were planted to hops. Sea sonally more thousands of pickers from the Siletz Indian reservation, ftom Portland, from almost every where came by wagon, boat and train for the harvest. Independence in 1904 with I. L. Smith's "Bureau," John R. Coop er's and Johnson and Lambert's saloons was a rowdy place on Sat urday nights in September. About a decade ago the hop price went down and the town's interesting hop industry and festival went out. . Agriculture, however, still con tributes a substantial share to the prosperity of Independence. Other crops, vegetables, mint and to an extent berries; have replaced the hons. (Hons, however, are now gain being planted). A large corporation with a plant in Salem is reported as leasing 400' acres of hop land for asparagus that , will come .into production this year. .J Becoming Industrial 'A Independence is now becoming industrial. Francis Holt, present ' town mayor, started manufacture ' Inn agricultural equipment and accessories for the small logger )B 1946. Holt Manufacturing com nanv now employs 110 persons i nd has a monthly payroll of $o0.. ' win Production now features bull ' dozer blades, logging arches and drums, loaders and fork lifts. A year ago last April this concern nrfm-nH heavy damage by tire. knw the plant is rebuilt, expanded And more efficient than formerly. :& Mountain Fir Lumber company Is a new and flourishing inac Senrinnee industry. The firm start- trt operations during May of 1953 Slid now employs oeiween ou aim t:i hands. 1 j Associated Central Paving and f, Jt allov Concrete companies arc '' Related. Central Paving lays as I. -phallic base pavement for munic tV finalities, state and private inter fr. i,sts. Now it has only 35 persons If.' In its payroll but come the peak '( the season in mid-summer, and flho numher wi II reach 125. val I lev Concrete specializes in ready- anix, sana ana giavr, .. i'Slistribution. Ten to 20 employes tarn on its navroll. Among smaller (Independence industries are Rein Lumber company with 12 to 15 employes and Interstate Shingle company with 20. Inripnendrnro is served ny railroads: S.P.'s West Side branch Irom Portland to Corvallis and the Valley & Siletz line. No 'Chuff Nor has Independence heard the chulf and the swoosh of a stern- wheel steamboat tor 25 years. Now log towing is the only river trans portation from this point. H n no trivial commerce. On the av cracp two and one half rails containing not less than a halt million feci of Iocs each, lrav Independence weekly for down stream points. ' r First National Bank of Independ ence was founded by Joe Hirsch berg back in 1889. This 68-year-old institution is a home-owned, home-managed enterprise with I. D. Mix as president. A recent report shows ever-increasing de posits amounting to $3,200,725.05. The bank carries seven employes on its payroll. The bank is dis tinctive if not quaint. Its interior has been but little changed since the institution started business in 1889. Present population of Independ ence is about 2,000 as against 1.284 in 1930. The town has a weekly newspaper, the Enterprise pub lished by Alva O: Noble; five grocery stores, two hardware and two drug stores, r ive service sia- tions and three garages supply automotive service. Independence has a woman s dress shop, a men's furniture store, three barber shops, a num ber of taverns, two movies and three restaurants. Ray Dunkel former mayor, operates the town's laundry and there is a lumber yard, several machine shops, also large grain warenouse. Indenpendence also has five churches, a Lions club and Ma sonic, Elks and Oddfellows lodges. There is also a chamber of com merce and a number of other so cial and service organizations. The town's water system is privately owned. A. Thorp's plat of 1850 showed Indian Graveyard" street ad jacent to an old burial'grounds for aborigines. Now it is approxi mately the site of Grand street. Until recently North Independence also had a Jew street. When Henry Hill platted his town of Independence, south of Ash swale in 1867, he donated two lots to every person who would construct a home there, two lots both the Methodist and Pres byterian churches and a single lot to a livery slaDie. Ninety years ago the business section of Inde pendence consisted mainly of gen eral stores. Sol Cox and Richardson Bros, started operating a toll ferry at ndeoendence on Aug.' 14, msa, Eleven years later this became a tree ferry. Nor was it the first Mayor Frances Holt, above. I .i-n - Jit it , 1 I TV ..rvir- ! I. r - 1 . . , .. . ,,u ; r ..I f t ri s ii: ill i r "fc. T1! iiC-TI JliilL. I 'V f tijf-' 4 I 'ft' , lZ W l jaffa lllllflll II I II I i'MWl'll ll I II II I II . - Big Top Gone But Ringling Circus to Go Back on Road By CHARLES R. SMITH United Press Stall Correspondent SARASOTA, Fla. tUP) Tho big top has folded tut the "great est show on earth" must go on. The circus did not die last July 16 when John Ringling North ab ruptly ended the annual tour in Pittsburgh with an announcement which brought heartbreak to per formers and a nostalgic choke to the throats of thousands, young and old. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is Drenarine to hit the road again, playing in in door arenas and ball parks in stead of beneath the big canvas which became a parcel of the American scene. Fifteen hundred persons a dnv flock to winter headquarters here to watch the daring young men on flying grapoze limber up for 40 days in Madison Square Gar den in New Ydrk and shorter stands in Boston, Providence, R.I. Rochester, N. Y., Hcrshey. Pa.. Norfolk, Va:, Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, N. C, Wash ington, Baltimore and Philadel phia. Not The Same Across the street from the main gate sit oldtimers who say it will never be the same. "It just won't be the real circus." said a for mer roustabout. ''There's nothing like working around the circus grounds until past midnight and then coming into the train for a good meal, a few drinks and a poker game. "You usually would drink and ploy cards until three or four in the morning and then go to bed. You'd wake up in a new town and the excitement would be starting all over again." -The circus no longer will travel on its own train, furnish its own sleeping quarters, cook its own tood in a special house, u meant a slash from 1,200 to 350 em ployes. "Tho big change," ex plained general manager Arthur Concello, "is that we've gone out of the hotel business." Road treasurer Rudy Bundy says the circus had no choice but to fold the big top. The company, which used to transport its own ushers and ticket sellers, has cut back to find a firmer financial footing. Bundy estimates expenses will be slashed from $175,000 to $60,000 a week. In The Blood , The circus . gets in. a man s blood, and performers who left last summer aro trcking back to Sarasota. They , arc -optimistic. Equestrian director Bob Dovor says the new setup Is "the great est thing that ever happened to the circus. Most of us had to live in a car with 30 or 40 other peo- Scaton Goes Into Hawaii Hospital HONOLULU (UP)-Sccretary of tho Interior Fred Seaton under went treatment in Tripler Army Hospital today for a sciatic condi tion that forced hlrr. to cancel his several official appointments. Doctors said Seaton will be hos pitalized "at least two or three days." They said his condition is not serious. Mrs. Dorothy Comlskcy Rigncy heir to the Chicago White Sox, av. erages 120 as a bowler. . THEY GO AROU1SD IN DAZE ferry at the Independence cross ing. Marion county records for 1853 show a road projecieo. irom Salem "to the ferry landing op posite the town of Independence and in July of that year a license was granted. John Leabo to operate a ferry, there. 'Independence bridge! 'spanning the Willamette, " is a . two lane structure. 2.214 feet in length, cost ing nearly $1,000,000. It was dedw cated on -Monday, Dec. 18, 1950, Verd Hill, 74, son of Henry Hill, who had platted part ot Independ ence 83 years previously, had an active part in dedication ceremon ies. He had ridden with Gov. Douglas McKay on the last trip made bv the inter-county terry. He was scheduled as a dedication speaker. At 3:05 on that dreary Monday afternoon, only minutes before he was to speak, Verd Hill collapsed and died of a heart attack. - The two pictures above show the town of Independ ence and the proprietor of its largest Industry. The top photo shows Main street. Down the street can be seen the home-owned and home-operated First National bank, started by Joe Hirschberg in 188!). The lower picture shows Mayor Francis Holt with some of his agricultural and logging equipment. Holt Is proprietor of Independ ence's largest Industry, which provides work" for 110 em ployes. (Capital Journal Photo). Eat-Drink Circuit Saps Solons Pep WASHINGTON (UP)-Does your congressman lack his usual snap and sparkle? Rep. Usher L. Burdick (R-ND) says blame it on tho Washington cocktail and banquet circuit. "The complaint is sometimes made that congressmen do not think, and proceed with public business while in a daze," Burdick wrote today in a news latter to his North Dakota constituents. "That can very well happen, as few members can think at all when stuffed with dinners and when going around without sleep." To give his constituents an idea of the horrors a lawmaker must endure, Burdick added a descrip tion of the typical Washington hoo- down: "First from 7 to fl p.m. is the 'get acquainted' hour with all kinds of refreshments designed to loosen up the starch In a congress man s shirt and add more loqua- ciousncss to his natural conversa tion. As soon as he can sec two lamp posts where there is only one, he is said to be thnwed out and ready lo be seated at sumptuous dinner." ' After the meal the congressman! "is full full in more ways than one." But "it would be a breach of good manners to cat and run, so he sticks around for an indef inite period, thoroughly enjoying his surroundings." He finally lands back at his stopping place early in the morn ing, and only has lime to snatch a few hours of restless sleep when his secretary calls up and an nounces nnolhcr party for the coming night," . , j, Burdick said Hint after a few weeks of this congressmen "move around in a dream." pie. Now It will be a lot cleaner and better lor everyone. ' Now, he added, "we will be . , able to take at leaast one shower J;;. a day." -' : .: Trevor Bale, who does a daring ) act with tigers, summed up,.i, "You just can't keep something ,''; as big as this off the road. ., People want It too much." But seventeen year-old Evy Kar oly admitted, "For most kids there's nothing like walking , around the big top and trying to slip inside." . . -.. J Queen, Duke 3 Flying Home From Lisbon! .- Portugal yisit, Secontt,; Honeymoon Smother hi Rift Rumors "53 LISBON, Portugal (UP)-QueeoH Elizabeth II and the Duke of Ediiw- burgh ended a state visit to their?" country's oldest ally today and flew home to their people and '.' their children. ' ., ' i "" ' They left at 10:45 a.m. for Lon-.' "1 don. stopping-en route at Porto, ',3 the head ot Portugal's wine-pro- ? ducing area, for a two and oneC naif hour visit. . .,,5 Their combined stale visit and" "second honeymoon" have smoth-'-' cred a report that the qupen and A her prince consort were on poor ,yi terms. , , , ; :,A Appcnring before tens of thou-"3 sands of enthusiastic Portuguese.'-- citizens during the Jast five days." they have given, every appearance of a happily married couple. For the Duke of Edinburgh, the J return to London will mark the first time he has seen his ohil- t dren, six-year-old Princess 'Anne and eight-year-old Prince Charles,. . since he left Britain last Novem ber on a world tour In th,e royal -yacht Britannia. " In a colorful dinner aboard the yacht Wednesday night the-queen gave her thanks for the reception " sho has received in Portugal. , A giant fireworks display, ter-' V, minated by a blazing English ' crown, Portuguese shield and "God Save The Queen," was put on in her honor by Portugal. , 'k At the dinner were President Cravciro Lopes and his. wife. .' ; harller Wednesday, Elizabeth t ;'; and Philip made a tour of Por-' tugal's midlands, visiting htstorl- ' ' cal monuments and watching an '; annual testing of the bravery of lighting bull calves at a ranch In , Vila Franca de Xlra. The crowd of 25,000 persons got ' so excited that part of the royal '" parly -was out off from tho queen and duke and some of their aides ' ', had to turn ' cowboy ' to rescue thrni. ' ' STORE HOURS MONDAY: 12 NOON TO 9 P.M. FRIDAY: 10 A.M. TO 9 P.M. OTHER DAYS: 9:30 A.M. TO 5:30 P.M. 0 welnst cliopued the price!: STORE HOURS MONDAY: 12 NOON TO 9 P.M. FRIDAY: 10 A.M. TO 9 P.M. OTHER DAYS: 9:30 A.M. TO 5:30 P.M. 'wejnst ehbppeil the ill I an9dt9n5s'WOmen'8 W J 1 " reg.79c-n.95yd. W 1; SLIP-ON AND Wh J 1 C0TT0NS w) i$4-48 y?mJmk i ym0wk 4QF MPi Vir A ,,u'y 'arjulcw collection of , "KS L ffffi Welt slip-ons nd two tone lphjK Tlltf) Q'" P"' WV'n col,on4' "" ' jL tjSfh 0)('0c', 'or "'u wear LttM striper) cotlons, oxford cloth, and many yl . VwPV tf in the groyp. Good size range in ill styles. if V m l i' 0,he,s-36 wicle' l jfilLL. Iff l & If I f' FABRIC CENTER-SECOND FLOOR Mm j WOMEN'S SHOES-STREET FLOOR y H V S . tee:: m If ml I, mayor n(lndroNxrrrac4. 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