F A C E B O O K

In Review

Early in 1905 Portland was preparing for a World’s Fair as a part of the centennial observance of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was to be a gala, colorful affair with hundreds of booths and exhibits.  Portland Manufacturing Co., located across the river in St Johns, Oregon, was asked to prepare an exhibit featuring something new and unusual. It was decided to make “plywood” for the Fair. In March a panel crew was organized consisting of about six men and supervised by N. J. Bailey and Gustav A. Carlson. The plant had a St. Joe lathe. There was no regular press, no prepared glue spreader, no veneer clipper, or sanding machines. An ordinary steam kiln dryer was a part of the plant’s regular equipment. Gluing was a serious problem, the men mixed an animal glue and kept the very odoriferous material warm and pliable over a coal fire; the glue smelled so bad that the men frequently had to seek the comfort of outdoors. Hand brushes were used to “paint” the glue on the veneers. A wooden press was improvised. The pressure was applied by putting ordinary house jacks between a backing timber and another timber fixed to the press. The work was slow and tedious. Only one set of panels could be glued up at one time and this took most of one day. The panels were then put in the press overnight to set. When the Fair opened in June 1905, a young Tom Autzen was placed in charge of showing the panels, the first fir plywood “salesman” of record. He showed the panels to more than a half million people, including some very interested door manufacturers who recognized the panels as useful to them in their product.

In February 1910, the Portland Manufacturing Co. plant burned to the ground, destroying most of the equipment and all of the building. Peter Autzen was reluctant to rebuild but Tom Autzen and Harry Nicolai prevailed upon him to do so. The plant reopened in the fall of 1910 and resumed plywood production again, this time with some improved items of equipment. The next ten years saw many new items of equipment and some changes in process. The logs were steamed to improve quality of veneer. Vegetable glue replaced the blood glue and was applied with mechanical spreaders. Mechanical dryers replaced the steam kiln for drying veneers. Hydraulic presses replaced
the old hand house jack type of press. Trim saws and drum sanders became standard equipment.

Time marches on.  By the spring of 1956 the Portland Manufacturing Company, now known as Plylock, it was determined that the plant was no longer suitable to compete efficiently with the more modern plants.  Production of plywood was discontinued in September 1963, after nearly sixty years.  Source: Plywood Pioneers Association. 

♦

St Johns Wall of History in Cathedral Park dedicated to Howard Galbraith

♦

Seven years after the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition had ended there was still some promotional value in mentioning the Portland Exposition.  What you are seeing here is a first addition / first pressing of Victrola Record 88329 (Shellac, 12", 78 RPM, Single Sided).  This recording was done on the 1st take in Camden, New Jersey on November 9th, 1911.  It was released commercially the following year.   Note that the cost of this recording in 1912 was $3, which is equivalent to $98.25 today.  It is 113 years old.  Here is a later pressing of that same recording - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdAD2IIxlxc&t=1s

♦

Mayor Terry Schrunk, Roosevelt grad, with Robert J Ketrenos who ran a confectionery store across from James John, owned the Perch tavern ( his house was right behind the tavern), owned Teletronics Electronics which was on Lombard and Buchanan. Terry died March 4, 1975

♦

Original St Johns Map dated July 20, 1865 by James John consisting of Eight Blocks. Borders of St Johns:  West - Burlington,  East - Richmond,  South - Albany,  North - Crawford.

♦

Dr. Luzana E. Graves was a much loved and respected doctor who practiced medicine in St Johns for 57 years.  Dr Graves specialized in treating women and children.  She was married to Ira Duncan and together they had two children, a boy and a girl.  Her son was to became a doctor, settling in California.  At the time it was customary to take on the husbands last name but during her medical career Luzana retained her maiden name, using it as as her professional name.

♦

December 26, 1905 Oregonian article on the plans for the Portland & Seattle railway bridge and
The Cut. 

Photos taken during the construction of The Cut, probably in 1907. Looking ahead, in January 1908 "Spokane" was added to the railroad's name, making it the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway. The railroad did reach Spokane in 1909.  The Cut was completed under this new SP&S designation in 1908.  Oh, by the way, the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway never did reach Seattle. Having Seattle in it's name, a marketing ploy, discouraged other railroads from expanding into that market.

The railroad bridge that crosses the Willamette had been commonly referred as the St Johns Bridge until the automobile bridge, officially known as the St Johns Bridge, was completed in 1931.  The SP&S continued on until 1970 when it was merged into the Burlington Northern.  

♦

The St Johns Garage in the process of being torn down in 1979. The space was unoccupied for 36 years. In its place now is a new structure, bridging the gap between the Jower's building and Marie's.  Photo credit to Robin Smith. 

♦

Photo from St. Johns And The North Portland Peninsula by Don Nelson

The location of St. John's first Chevrolet Dealership.  Peninsula Motor Sales (June 1920 - December 1921) and Fields Motor Car Co. (December 1921 - November 1922).  Raymond F. Fisher took over in November 1922, later moving to a new building at Jersey and Richmond in 1929-1930.   Today this is the home of Stormbreaker Brewing.

♦

The flood of 1996.  Photos provided by Robin Smith. 

♦

We are back again at Sitton School, only this time at the "new" Sitton School, built in 1949. Pictured here is the Eighth Grade class of 1953. The teacher is Mrs Floy Pepper. Other teachers were Mr Larson, Mr Fleming, Mr Keith Bannister, Mrs Wiabel, Mr Imes, Mrs Cutler, and principal Miss Viola Harrington. Viola Harrington later become the principle at Kennedy School, retiring in 1964.  Miss Harrington would often say "what's fair for one is fair for all".

Future historian Gil Parton

♦

B & C Department store (Bloomenthal & Caplan) 8426 N Jersey (Lombard) as it looked in 1930.

♦

Photo of the Claremont Tavern taken circa 1907. The St Johns Ferry would dock very close to this establishment when on the Linnton side of the Willamette river. 1919 was a fateful year for the Claremont Tavern. (part 2) https://www.srnpdx.org/daring-deeds-pt-2.html (part 3) https://www.srnpdx.org/dastardly-deeds-pt3.html (part 4) https://www.srnpdx.org/daring-deeds-pt4.html & if you feel like you might have missed something you can start at the beginning of this story - https://www.srnpdx.org/daring-deeds-pt-1.html

(Oregon Historical Society photo)

♦

North (Sitton) school as it looked right after it was completed in 1907. Notice all the trees surrounding it. This was a pretty remote area back then and the roads were all mud in the Winter. The James John High School students used the upper floor while their new school was being built. The location was east from the present school across Reno between Hudson and Smith. This is now blacktop and used as a playground.

♦

Matt Dishman (left) and Bill Travis (right) circa 1953.
Their patrol car a 1953 Red Ram hemi V8 Dodge.

Matthew Dishman, Jr., better known as Matt Dishman, came to the Portland area from Mississippi in 1942. He became a Department of Public Safety employee with Multnomah County in 1944. Matt along with Bill Travis and Charles Duke were the first black police officers hired by Multnomah County.

The three men were assigned to provide law enforcement for the unincorporated city of Vanport which was managed by the Housing Authority of Portland, even though it was outside Portland city limits.

Vanport began life in 1942. At its peak it was home to 40,000 residents, about 40 percent of them African Americans, but by 1943-44 families living in Vanport were moving out at the rate of 100 per day. At the time of the flood on May 30, 1948 the population was down to about 12,600 whites, 5,000 African Americans and 900 Japanese Americans.

Vanport was racially segregated, with its residents residing in available apartments based on color. Vanport's Black resident children were integrated into community schools but medical facilities for all residents were segregated.

Dishman and the other black police officers were remembered for providing dignity to the community during the painful recovery operation which took place after the Vanport flood.

Matt went on to become a custody officer with Multnomah County for 20 years. He was cited as the 'kind of custody officer that is needed in all jail facilites' by two Oregon Corrections Division officials in 1966, three years before his passing.

Matt Dishman was involved in his community, being associated with the Albina Neighborhood Improvement Project, Boy Schots, NAACP, the Urban League and St. Anndres's Community Church. The Matt Dishman Community Center was named in his honor.

♦

Pat Pattee graduated Roosevelt High School in 1957.  Pat's passions included radio broadcasting, music, night club entertaining and racing.  He somehow found a way to excel in all of his interests. Pat formed his own jazz and blues band, the Pat-Tones, and was a very talented drummer; his band played many of the Portland blues clubs in the ‘50’s.

 Pat Pattee was chosen Grand Marshall for the 1975 St Johns Parade.
The parade theme that year was Music Daze.

Dubbed “The Preacher”, Pat rose to disc jockeying fame when he landed at KISN radio in Portland, Oregon, as one of the original KISN Good Guys. May 1, 1959, his, was one of two voices to sign KISN Radio on the air. The Preacher’s deep baritone voice could be heard across the airwaves from 12 midnight to 6:00 A.M.  You can hear some classic Pat Pattee audio clips (including the Night Watch jingle) at this link -   https://www.goodguyradio.com/kisn-audio.html

Pat's KLSC sign in "Blow Pat Blow" can be found here - https://soundcloud.com/soul007-ntlworld-com/pat-the-cat-monforte-inter-com-blow-pat-blow?si=b7d5d27bbcd14ae1b2a239aa8c942d42&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

(Second part of the Track)

♦

Information compiled by Gil Parton:  Blow Fly Inn -- This is information provide by Allan Toelle a decedent of one of the first St Johns Donation Land Claim holders William Gatton.  "Burton M. "Duce" Brooks inherited a service station and a tavern from Ross Gatton. The Blow Fly Inn 9101 N Swift Blvd was located across from the incinerator in the corner of the filbert orchard. In back of the tavern was a metals recycling lot and building where the dump pickers sold their daily treasure. I imagine that Ross Gatton also owned the section of filbert orchard to the rear" From the DMP site says that Ted Brausen owned it later.

♦

Lewis Love residence about 1900, located on the northeast corner of what is now Columbia Blvd. and Vancouver Ave. . Lewis Love established a Donation Land Claim of 636 acres bounded today by the Columbia Slough, Lombard St, Minnesota Ave. and NE 8th Ave. The Historic Columbian Cemetery was earlier named Love Cemetery as it is on his land claim.

♦

Johanna Ogden will be presenting her new book Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River at McMenamin's St Johns Theater & Pub on Wednesday February 5th. 6pm doors open, 7pm show Q&A and panel to follow.  $5  All ages welcome.

https://www.mcmenamins.com/events/262045-punjabi-rebels-of-the-columbia-river-by-johanna-ogden

Oregon is commonly perceived to have little, let alone notable, South Asian history. Yet in the early 1900s Oregon was at the center of two entwined quests for Indian independence and civic belonging that rocked the world. Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River traces the stories of the radical Indian independence organization known as Ghadar and Bhagat Singh Thind's era-defining US Supreme Court citizenship case. Ghadar sought the overthrow of India's British colonizers while Thind utilized sanctioned legal channels to do so. Despite widely differing strategies, both the movement and the man were targeted, often in coordination, by the highest levels of the US and British governments. The empires' united message: India would not be an independent country and Indians could not be citizens.

In the decades that followed, it was a verdict Indians refused to abide. Johanna Ogden's detailed history of migrants' experience expands the time frame, geographic boundaries, and knowledge of the conditions and contributions of Indians in North America. It is the story of a people's awakening amid a rich community of international workers in an age of nationalist uprisings. To understand why one of the smallest western Indian settlements became a resistance center, Punjabi Rebels mines the colonial underpinnings of labor, race, and place-making and their regional and global connections, rendering a history of whiteness and labor as much as of Indian-ness and migration. The first work to rejoin the lived experience of Thind and Ghadar activists, Punjabi Rebels complicates our understanding, not just of the global fight for Indian political rights, but of multi-racial democracy.

About the author
Johanna Ogden (MA, University of British Columbia) is an independent historian and local activist based in Portland. She has published multiple articles in Oregon Historical Quarterly, including "Ghadar, Historical Silences, and Notions of Belonging," which received the Oregon Historical Society's Joel Palmer Award, and has spoken extensively across the Pacific Northwest and in India.

♦

East St Johns railway station located at the northeast end of The Cut.  Your journey to St Paul, St Lewis, Chicago, New York, starts here.  Advertisement found in the May 22, 1925 St Johns Review.

♦

This is one of many photographs Gil Parton had in his collection covering St Johns and North Portland history. It is unknown who Gil borrowed this photo from.

♦

We know the year was 1914 because someone wrote that on the photo.  The Central hotel is offering furnished rooms.  The peanut vendor has found a prime location.  You can't miss the St Johns Pharmacy sign.  Is that a Ford Model T parked at the curb?  Sure looks like one.  If it is we know it wasn't purchased new in St Johns because the first Ford Agency wasn't established in St Johns until 1922.  Across the street is the then two story St Johns Hardware Company.  You could always count on the electric trolley to stop right out front.

♦

Superior Food Store in 1965 owned by Ralph Martinson at the corner of Jersey and Polk.

♦

Float built by the Bachelor Club in 1922 won a blue ribbon in the Rose Festival Parade. The float is a replica of the battleship Oregon. "Grit" Lind was the architect. It was covered with roses picked from the fence of the Portland Woolen Mills. The float is turning the corner at Philadelphia and Lombard which is now the north parking lot of the US Bank. The St Johns Grocery building in the background is on the corner of Leavitt and Lombard which is now the Life Works NW.  Nine years later, in 1931, the Rose Festival floats would be going around the same corner going to the dedication of the St Johns Bridge.

♦

 The St Johns Pharmacy was the first drug store in St Johns. It opened in May of 1905 where the Slim's building is now. Later moved across the street next to what was the Central Hotel in the Cochran Block .  Photo from A Pictorial History of St. Johns. 

♦

This photo collection dates to circa 1933.  The Fireman's Pool first appeared on the grounds of the City Hall Building in 1932.  It's purpose was to provide a amusement in miniature for the citizens of St Johns, especially it's children, to counter the fading confidence in the community brought on by the Great Depression.  Improvements to the pool were made as time went on.  By 1934 brook trout could be seen swimming in the pool and on Sunday's an American Flyer passenger train run around the perimeter.  Three of the fireman pictured here are believed to have transitioned to the Portland Fire Bureau from the days when the City of St Johns had it's own Fire Department.

♦

Newspaper clippings from the 2/11/42 Oregonian.  From Wikipedia: The Swan Island Municipal Airport was a joint civil-military airport that was operational on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon. Though it officially opened in 1927, the United States Postal Service had been using the airfield for a year. After the Portland–Columbia Super Airport was completed in the late 1930s, Swan Island Municipal Airport had little use since its runways were too small for newer aircraft and the low altitude made takeoffs and landings difficult. The airport was operational for nearly two decades, but due in part to the advances in aviation, it became obsolete soon after its construction. During World War II, a Kaiser shipyard was located at Swan Island. The shipbuilding facilities were acquired by the Port of Portland after the war.

♦

In August of 1909 H.F. Clark buys the confectionary store from G W Simmons. On the left you can see G W Simmons store, Mrs Pemberton's restaurant is on the right.  H.F. Clark's first furniture store was next to the restaurant.  Once he acquired the restaurant space, which had been in part of the building he was already occupying, there were entrances to his store on both Jersey (Lombard) and Tacoma (Alta) streets.  Why he bought the G W Simmons property is a mystery.  Perhaps he bought it as an investment, or perhaps he intended it to be used for storage.

♦

Photo taken at the1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. Open electric streetcar driven by Ira Basey a relative of the Byars family of St Johns on ground.  This was a special streetcar line constructed just for the fair.  The exposition was officially open a total of 137 days from June 1, 1905 to Oct. 15, 1905.  The total attendance was 2,554,848.

Let it snow... let it snow... let it snow....  Not a fit day out for man nor Buick.  Good day to leave your automobile at home and bring out the horse and buggy. Off to your left you see today the US Bank and the south parking lot. The building on the right was the old Couch and Co building, today the Marvel complex.  Life was simpler then. Notice the nice view of the west hills without that green bridge getting in the way.

♦

Late Forties or very early Fifties.  Photo taken in front of the B & C department store on Lombard between Leavitt and John. Stores to the right of the Safeway are the Swanson Market and the Super Food Mart.

♦

May,1979  - St Johns Parade Carnival from a St Johns Review article

♦

May 1963 photo from Robin Smith. The group is performing during a talent show held in the north parking lot of the US Bank. There were two talent shows that year, one held May 11th and the other held on May 18th. This all led up to the parade which was on May 25th. Rexall Drugs and the Cornet store in the background.

♦

Photo's of the St Johns Bridge during it's construction.  Photo labeled "East Approach" was made into a postcard.

♦

This was probably Gil Parton's favorite aerial photo of St Johns. If you can see the blue circled buildings (good luck!), the first on the left is the old James John High School at Philadelphia and Syracuse, the second is the old St Johns City Hall at Burlington and Syracuse, the third is the old Central school which was in the present playground of the James John School at Lombard and Charleston and the fourth is the old French Block a group of business places on Lombard and Oswego. We're going to guess the date taken was in the mid to late 20's.

♦

Warren Messick and Merrill Gonterman pose with the Shirlee-Ann emergency vehicle at Fire Station 22 in St Johns, 1960.

This 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-Door Station Wagon known in our community as the "Shirlee Ann" was named in honor of 11 month old Shirlee Ann Howell who died on January 2, 1955. Placed in service January 1956 the original Shirlee Ann rescue vehicle, and those that followed, provided unique support to our community for 47 years. In 2002, staffing changes and budget concerns forced the retirement of a dedicated first aid response vehicle at Fire Station No. 22.

 Shirlee Ann Howell

On January 2, 1955, six days before her first birthday, a little girl named Shirlee Ann Howell choked to death on a grape. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Howell, had returned from the grocery store then Mrs. Howell left the room to feed the family dog. During her brief absence Shirlee Ann put a Tokay grape in her mouth and it lodged in her throat. The panicky parents tried desperately to aid her but to no avail so they hurried her to the St. Johns police station for help. The police immediately summoned the firemen, now located in their new building a block away, but they too were helpless without a inhalator-respirator. Quickly they placed Shirlee Ann into a police car and raced to Emanuel Hospital. Sadly Shirlee Ann was pronounced dead on arrival. At the time the nearest resuscitator was located downtown, at Engine No. 1. The firemen felt the child's life might have been saved with this inhalator-respirator had it not been located so far away.

Over the years there have been many Portland Fire Department vehicles named "Shirlee Ann" assigned to Fire Station 22.  Pictured here is their 2016 GMC Savana. 

To learn more about the Shirlee Ann story open this link - https://www.portlandfirehistory.com/_files/ugd/f25978_3e937e1f501d4cfd9b258fef9b2a1b16.pdf?index=true

♦

While steam motive power disappeared from most all major cities by the mid-1950's there were still a few steam locomotives that soldiered on in a few cities even into the 1960's, if you knew where to look. One of those isolated pockets of steam power hanging on despite all odds was in North Portland, Oregon.

The lucky railfans who visited the Peninsula Terminal trackage in this part of Portland into the early 1960's could still here the beat of a living, breathing steam locomotive going through her daily chores. It was here that a pair of Baldwin-built 2-6-2T's formerly in logging service could be found now in switching service among the factory buildings and yards that were served by this little railroad.

These 2 locomotives had already beaten the odds by finding new owners when they were retired by their first owner, the Silver Falls Timber Co. of Silverton, Oregon. They were lucky enough to be held in service long enough in Portland to be scooped up again in the mid-1960's, this time by the Black Hills Central Railroad for tourist service at Black Hills, South Dakota where #104 is still there today. - Martin Hansen  (Slides scanned by Jim Swart)

In these 2 views we see Peninsula Terminal #103 and #104 as they looked in the final days of revenue steam railroading in Portland. - Martin Hansen

♦

Gatton family moving day in St Johns circa 1911, with James Ross Gatton driving the wagon. Don Nelson used this photograph in his book "A Pictorial History of St Johns". Photo credited to Dale Burger.

♦

Sternwheeler "Laura Belle" going under the St Johns bridge in 1993. The Laura Belle was featured in the movie "Maverick", which was released in 1994. Laura Belle was actually the Portland, the last steam-powered sternwheel tugboat in the United States built by Northwest Marine Iron Works in 1947 for the Port of Portland.

The Portland is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and presently hosts the Oregon Maritime Museum which owns the vessel.  Since 1994 the Portland has been moored at the Willamette River seawall next to Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland.

♦

Central School, later renamed Williams School, was located where the paved playground bordering Lombard St is now for James John Grade School. The school burned down just before the construction of James John Grade School was complete. Central School was first constructed in 1894, the last addition of a manual training room was completed in 1906.

♦

Photo of Wan and Violet Jower (by the door). Possibly Henry and Joe Jower. Unknown who the adult woman and small child were. Sidewalk in front of store appears to be wooden. Jower family photo. Don Nelson used this same photograph in his book St. JOHNS AND THE NORTH PORTLAND PENINSULA. Don noted the store was built in 1906 and the photo was believed to have been taken circa 1910. Marilyn Jower Korenaga, granddaughter of Wan, continued operating the family business until its 100th anniversary at which time she felt it was the right time to close the store.

The Jower's Building as it appears today

♦

In early St Johns, before speed bumps were as popular as they are today, road crews went to great lengths to make our dirt streets as smooth as possible. Unknown location, unknown date. A larger version can be found here - http://www.stjohnsheritage.org/.../Horse-Teams-used-for...

♦ 

Here is the man that helped fund Autzen stadium. He is Thomas J. Autzen a St Johns business man. He went to what is now Oregon State University but had the stadium named for his eldest son who had gone to the University of Oregon. Thomas J Autzen is in the front with his son Thomas E Autzen in back to his left. Thomas J. was involved with Portland Manufacturing Co., known for its plywood manufacturing innovations.

Portland Manufacturing Co after being rebuilt from 1910 fire. Thomas Autzen Photo

 ♦

This city of Portland photo was taken in 1932. This building was located at the corner of N. Leavitt Avenue and N. Ivanhoe Street. Note that Letson's Garage can be seen on the left and on the right is the New St Johns Hotel. A larger view can be found here - https://vintageportland.wordpress.com/.../unidentifie.../...

The back and side of the building can be seen from this view. Second building on the right.

♦

Adult males turning out to vote in 1905. It would be another 7 years before women were allowed to join them. "Oregon has the distinction of placing the question of votes for women on the ballot six times—in 1884, 1900, 1906, 1908, 1910, and 1912—more than any other state." - Oregon Encyclopedia (Oregon Historical Society)

♦

Interior of Currin's for Drugs 8438 N Lombard during the St Johns Merchants' Halloween Sale October 1963.

♦

August 19, 1938. Looking N W on Fessenden from Six Point. Cassidy Grocery on right, next is bank building. Abandoned streetcar tracks in center of road.

♦

Then and now. The intersection of Philadelphia and Lombard circa 1961 compared with photo taken by Robin Smith on 10/22/24.

♦

This picture of the Holbrook Block, built in 1906, was taken in 1923 and known then as the Peninsula National Bank. This area is now the northern parking lot of U.S. National Bank.

♦

The Lind family of St Johns were active in the Bachelor Club. Halvor (Grit) Lind, Donald (Bat) Lind, Nooma Lind and Thomas (Scoot) Lind at a Bachelor's Club party in the 70's

♦

Oregon Historical Society Digital Collections: A woman stands in the doorway of a cabin at the Meadowlark trailer camp for shipyard workers, near the Oregon Shipyards in St. Johns, Portland. The cabin appears to be sided in various pieces of deteriorating wood, and pieces of wood can be seen on the ground forming a walkway over dirt. The camp owner, J.F. Gilmore, was arrested multiple times in 1943 for running a camp without a certificate of inspection. The full photo can be viewed here.

Meadowlark was not a sanctioned war housing project. Source: Multnomah County / City of Portland Archives.

Meadowlark lasted well after the end of WWII.

♦

Aerial view of St Johns Portland Lumber Mills. Wayne Smith photo.

♦

St Johns And The North Portland Peninsula was published in 2020. It is the second of two books by Don Nelson dealing with St Johns and the surrounding areas. Highly recommended.

An example of the photographs and comments you will find in St. Johns And The North Portland Peninsula by Don Nelson.

♦

May 23, 1985. Wayne Hatch of Currins for Drugs with Cornet store in background at Lombard and Leavitt. Gil Parton admitted he spent a lot of time in Cornet's as a kid, hanging out in the toy department. We're sure he wasn't the only one.

♦

Frederick H. Ramsey (1824 - 1895) was an early St Johns pioneer. Fred was known for being a bit eccentric because he dressed in buckskins, moccasins and a hat adorned with a pheasant feather. It was said that he preferred the company of Native Americans over his fellow white settlers. Robin Smith took this photo in 1979.

Learn more about Fred Ramsey.

♦

Article was from the August 3, 1977 issue of the Oregonian. The man on top of city hall is Howard Galbraith "Mayor of St Johns" who is fixing the bell so it will ring again. Howard Galbraith was responsible for establishing Cathedral Park and championed City Hall's
renovation.

♦

Couch and Currier grocery store 108 S Jersey ( 8527 N Lombard ) as it looked in 1950. Located behind the St Johns Drugs sign, the building was remodeled by Couch and Currier October 1922. Their store was called the Grabateria. Originally they had been located in the building where H F Clark had his first store at Tacoma (Alta) and Jersey (Lombard).

Learn more about the Grabateria.

♦

Portland Woolen Mills 1944

♦

Known today as the Sentry Building, on the corner of Ivanhoe and Burlington, it started out as the New St Johns Hotel in 1906. Google Maps photo taken May 2009

Before there was the New St Johns Hotel there was the original St Johns Hotel. The first one located on Jersey St.

 The New St Johns Hotel opened in April 1906. It featured a grill-room, bar, and of course rooms for rent.

You can see part of the New St Johns Hotel in our Facebook cover photo

The St Johns Hotel company received the first liquor license in the City of St Johns in 1906, but that didn't last long. Around 1908 St Johns entered the prohibition era and saloon licenses had to be refunded.

Here is what the (New) St Johns Hotel building looked like in 1918. The MacFarland - Robinson Ford Agency operated out of this building in 1922 and 1923. The Agency (we would call them dealerships today) had an address of 205 ( now 7238 N Burlington ) across from City Hall. McCamey Motors bought McFarland - Robinson out in August 1923 and in January of 1924 moved into their new building at 8501 N Lombard. St Johns had many automobile dealerships beginning in the 1920's.

♦

Dawson St. was changed to Lombard St. at two locations - in 1909 and 1916.

Over the years many of the street names (& numbers) changed in St Johns. What is referred to now as Portland's Great Renumbering Project (1931-1933) first began in St Johns. By the way Linnton was the last community to have its street names and numbers changed. Photo credit for the house photo goes to Vintage Portland / City of Portland. Learn more - https://alamedahistory.org/.../portlands-great.../ and https://vintageportland.wordpress.com/.../new-house.../...

♦

Mike Noce, long time resident of St Johns gives his views of changes being made to the town in an article from the September 1, 1977
issue of the St Johns Review. This was 47 years ago.

♦

This photo was taken in April of 1920. The James Arthur Hoes family lived at 7806 N Jersey, which was on the corner of Jersey and Tyler. This view of the home was taken from Tyler St. Mr Hoes had photography studios at three locations in St Johns over the years. The first was across of the street from James John School. Stack of wood on lawn is spare slabs of wood from the lumber mill used as firewood. Many home owners used this type of wood in their fireplaces prior to WWII.

♦

Here is another photo of James Ross Gatton, taken at a different time but striking a similar pose.

♦

Photo of the Cochran Block and Central Hotel from Risa Davis. The original Central Hotel was in the building called the Cochran Block which opened in November of 1904. The Cochran Block was three stories with shops and businesses on the street floor on Jersey (Lombard) and Philadelphia. The hotel was on the upper two stories.

♦

First train to enter the city of St Johns in May, 1890. Photo capture from Let's Talk Trolleys: St Johns Streetcars

♦

A reproduction postcard found in Westchester, NY. This reprint is labeled W-5. Reprint W-2 is being sold out of Florida on eBay. The St Johns Bridge was completed in 1931.

♦

♦

These two original St Johns Bridge marker lights were on display for many years in the lobby of the US National Bank. Now in the possession of the St Johns Heritage Association they can be viewed at the ODD Fellows Museum of ODD History.

♦

1945 ad for Ray's Steak House at 8406 N Kellogg. Ray's Steak House opened August 19, 1944. On September 2, 1949 this became the St Johns Bowl. Ray Oeschger was the owner of the Steak House and the St Johns Bowl. In 1917 it was the Chaney Moving Co.

♦

June 29, 1941

Joe Fisher opened Union Motors at 8824 N Jersey, a Dodge-Plymouth dealership, June 29, 1941. From June 1943 to early January 1948 this same location was home to Harbor Motor Company. Harbor Motor Company acquired their Ford dealership franchise in November 1947 and moved to a new building located at 7810 N Lombard January 8, 1948.

August 5, 1943

♦

 This photo was taken in 1905. St Johns Hotel on left is at the corner of Leavitt and Lombard which is now Sabatino Moto. Far middle left is the Central School built in 1894 which was located on the corner of Lombard and Charleston which is now the playground for the James John grade school. The trolley tracks can be seen going down the middle of the unpaved street.

♦

 

The old Post Office many of us grew up with in St Johns began its construction in 1931 and was completed in 1933. Artwork funded by the New Deal was installed in local post offices around the country from 1934-1943. From Wikipedia : They were commissioned through a competitive process by the United States Department of the Treasury. Some 1,400 murals were created for federal post office buildings in more than 1,300 U.S. cities. Murals still extant are the subject of efforts by the U.S. Postal Service to preserve and protect them.

 

The concept for our post office artwork was produced by John R. Ballator in 1935. The painting now resides in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. You will note that in the final version, consisting of two panels, some of the objects on the left were transferred to the right and vise versa. Additional content was also added. The artwork was completed in 1936.

 

Here are links showing the two mural panels https://www.flickr.com/.../auvet/6060674464/in/photostream/ & https://www.flickr.com/.../auvet/6060674348/in/photostream/

 

The Portland Baha'i Center has owned the old post office since 1991. As of 2023 the murals have been covered from public view. New Deal era artwork has been covered up at the direction of the USPS is several locations. It is unclear what will become of this now historic artwork. https://blog.evankalish.com/.../usps-officials-order...

 

The 1935 painting is entitled Building St. Johns. The 1936 lobby murals are entitled Development of St. Johns.

♦

Radke's Auto Parts 6666 N Columbia Blvd opens March 16, 1951 from St Johns Review. Columbia Blvd renamed to Columbia Way from N Smith to Bridge Structure on June 27, 1973. (UNiversity 4444 = 86-4444)

Gil Parton enjoyed sharing St Johns history on Facebook. Below is one of those of exchanges of local history with Debbie Larsen:

 

Debbie Larsen: The street was originally called Columbia Blvd. The section that Radke's sits on was renamed sometime in the 60's, when the current Columbia Blvd. overpass was built nearby. I worked at Radke's in the late 70's and occasionally would run across paperwork with their address change slogan on it: "We didn't move: the street did!"

 

Gil Parton: Lombard Way between Oswego and Richmond was called Columbia Blvd up to 1960. At the same time Jersey was renamed Lombard between Richmond and St Johns Ave. Also Burgard was changed to Lombard between St Johns Ave and Burgard Road

♦

Article and photo thought to be circa 1965 or 1966.

♦

Bales Food originally opened in 1941 at 8402 N Lombard. Moved to 8336 N Ivanhoe January 1951 (Photo). Fire in 1965, Nov 15 1970 Bales leases to Daris (Dee) Taylor name changed to Taylor's Thriftway.

Bales Thriftway at 8336 N Ivanhoe after fire in 1965

Odus Bales of Bales Thriftway July 1951

♦

 

There has been discussions in the past of the many old buildings being torn down. St Johns has many old historical buildings left in its business district. This St Johns photo of around 1915 looking west from Lombard and Burlington. First street on the left is Alma, where the St Johns Theater is now. The first building on the right is now Slim's Restaurant. Slim's and the four tallest buildings on the right are still standing and were built from 1906 to 1911.The building to the right of Slim's not shown was the former St Johns Hardware store and was built in 1898.

♦

There is currently for sale on eBay a postcard reprint that has much better detail than our cover photo contains. You can find it by searching "St Johns Oregon". Note in the background the fire bell and the fountain with steps leading up to it. The building on the left of the City Hall building is the Rose City Hotel.

Another view of the Rose City Hotel

♦

Gilbert Overstreet was a notable figure in St Johns having first owned a plumbing fixture shop, then later becoming a plumbing inspector. Gilbert was a distinguished member of ODD Fellows and a charter member of the St Johns Christian Church. Currently there are portraits for sale on eBay of the Overstreet family. Gilbert is the one on the right.

 

Lewis Stone had related in one of our Heritage meetings years ago that Gilbert Overstreet had kept a brand new 1923 Chevrolet radiator under his front porch. Gilbert being a city plumbing inspector frequently traveled around town and like Lewis was somewhat of a pack rat.

If Gilbert saw something of value when he was out and about he would stop and pick it up. Eventually that radiator was acquired by Lewis and proudly displayed in his garage.

 

To read more on this story follow this link - http://www.stjohnsheritage.org/?page_id=54

 

Gilbert Overstreet had at least 3 business locations in St Johns, including his house.

 

Scanned from a copy of an Oregon Journal article. There appears to be more to the story.

♦

 

The National Cash Register Company had exhibits in three buildings at the 1905 Lewis & Clark Fair.

 

♦

~ Support our Local Newspapers ~

St Johns Review

Publication has been suspended while they reorganize under new ownership

North Peninsula Review

For a complete listing of where the NPR is

available for pickup check here - https://northpeninsulareview.com/about/#pickup

 

 ♦

The Odd Fellows of North Portland were ordinary blue-collar workers who were able to have an extraordinary impact on their community through the tools they learned from organizing as a lodge. Lodges were a safety net for these workers, as they were one of the only sources at that time for insurance and sick pay. William Killingsworth, a charter member of Peninsula Lodge and whom Killingsworth Street is named after, believed this to be true, so he formed an investment company that began connecting the other North Portland communities via rails. As these communities were connected, Odd Fellows lodges sprang up. First was Peninsula Lodge No. 128. Then there were Woodlawn, Laurel Lodge, and Kenton Lodge, which later became Star Lodge, a lodge for police officers. Over the years, other lodges formed as well. Now, they have all closed except for Peninsula, which thrives because it was able to adapt to a modern approach for operating a lodge.

 

Author David D. Scheer is a fifth-generation Odd Fellow and has been involved in the fraternity for 43 years. Bruce Haney is the author of two other Oregon history books. Many of the photographs come from the archives of the Museum of Odd History as well as the St. Johns Heritage Association and the Odd Fellows Grand Lodge of Oregon.

 

List price for this publication is $24.99 but it is available for purchase at The Museum of ODD History for only $20.

 

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/9781467161329

♦

Oregon is commonly perceived to have little, let alone notable, South Asian history. Yet in the early 1900s Oregon was at the center of two entwined quests for Indian independence and civic belonging that rocked the world.

 

Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River traces the stories of the radical Indian independence organization known as Ghadar and Bhagat Singh Thind’s era-defining US Supreme Court citizenship case. Ghadar sought the overthrow of India’s British colonizers while Thind utilized sanctioned legal channels to do so. Despite widely differing strategies, both the movement and the man were targeted, often in coordination, by the highest levels of the US and British governments. The empires’ united message: India would not be an independent country and Indians could not be citizens. In the decades that followed, it was a verdict Indians refused to abide.

 

Johanna Ogden’s detailed history of migrants’ experience expands the time frame, geographic boundaries, and knowledge of the conditions and contributions of Indians in North America. It is the story of a people’s awakening amid a rich community of international workers in an age of nationalist uprisings. To understand why one of the smallest western Indian settlements became a resistance center, Punjabi Rebels mines the colonial underpinnings of labor, race, and place-making and their regional and global connections, rendering a history of whiteness and labor as much as of Indian-ness and migration. The first work to rejoin the lived experience of Thind and Ghadar activists, Punjabi Rebels complicates our understanding not just of the global fight for Indian political rights but of multi-racial democracy.

 

https://www.ohs.org/.../punjabi-rebels-of-the-columbia...

♦