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
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. -
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 .
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