Your Salem Through the Years

This week on Your Salem Through the Years — a walk through the Bush House with the director of the Bush House Museum, Ross Sutherland. It's Part 1 of a two-part episode. In this episode we will learn about two generations of the Bush family that lived in the house and begin to tour the first floor. Here is a rare photo of Bush House in the year it was built in 1878. This is your chance to learn about Salem's most prominent historic home.

This week on Your Salem Through the Years it's Salem in 1900. At the turn of the 20th century Salem's population had reached 4,258. It was a sweet little town on the verge of a population boom. Jim and Virginia talk about this charming photo of the town taken in that year.

This week's show on Salem in 1878 will feature the history of our wonderful United Methodist Church building on State Street. Did you know that the church we enjoy today is the second Methodist church on that site? The original, very simple, church was moved to Liberty Street. Here is a picture of it taken in 1909 when it had become a laundry. What happened to this historic building built in 1852? Listen to our show to find out.

This week it's Salem in 1962. The Columbus Day Storm in 1962 was the worst wind storm ever to hit our city. Winds up to 90 mph toppled trees and destroyed buildings. Learn all about this famous storm by listening to our show.

The subject of our show this week is Salem in 1913. This was an important year because the first railroad bridge crossing the Willamette was completed. Now passengers and freight could travel west and east as well as north and south by rail. Governor Oswald West was there for the celebration. That's his young daughter on the cowcatcher of the train.

The year is 1955 and Salem has a new downtown department store. This might have been the biggest news of the year in our town. No more going to Portland to shop at Meier and Frank. Besides the great new modern building the new manager is Gerry Frank, still a first citizen in our town. Learn more by listening to this week's show.

This week it's Salem in 1939. Here's what you would have seen looking west on State Street. What a bustling, active downtown! Yes, the two-way streets were better than one-way. Jim and Virginia talk about this photograph and lament the loss of some of the buildings, like the Capitol Theater, torn down for a parking lot. Join us for a look at Salem in 1939.

The year is 1891, and one of our most prominent downtown buildings was constructed -- the Gray Building. Today it serves mostly as a very popular downtown watering hole. Learn about the Gray Building and what else happened in Salem in 1891 by listening to our show.

This week Virginia and Jim explore Salem in 1948. A milestone was reached that year when the first Jewish synagogue is build in Salem. The first service in Temple Beth Shalom was held on January 20, 1948. The congregation would outgrow the synagogue and eventually move to South Salem, but the original temple still graces Broadway Street.

This week on Your Salem Through the Years, Jim gets a tour of the Museum of Mental Health at the Oregon State Hospital with Hazel Patton and Jinx Brandt. The museum is a wonderful new asset to our cultural scene and if you haven't been there, this show will whet your appetite. The exhibit on "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (with props from the movie like the sink that helped Chief Bromden escape) is fabulous.