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Lynn Mack, West Salem historian

1/30/2015

 
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January 29, 2015 Episode

Deb was joined in the studio by Lynn Mack, co-author with Deb of the book Images of America: West Salem published by Arcadia Publishing.  Lynn, a lifelong resident of West Salem and Polk County, is considered the unofficial historian for this area directly west across the Willamette River from the city of Salem and once an independent town. Lynn grew up in the family home of her father in the Kingwood area of West Salem, where he often regaled her with tales of his boyhood in the surrounding areas.  So began her vast and varied collection of photographs and stories.

Deb, also a long-time resident of West Salem, joined her in this endeavor to assist in editing, design and layout, as well as condensing the large collection into a publishable format. This was Deb's third book with Arcadia Publishing.

Lynn explained that the authors have donated the profits of this book to the Polk County Historical Society.  The society owns and maintains the Historic Brunk House & Farm on Highway 22 west of Salem, as well as the Polk County Museum located at the south end of the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall.  This undiscovered gem of a local, volunteer-run museum displays thousands of artifacts from all over the Polk County area, has a well-respected and well-used research library of family histories and geneaology, and a vast archive of historic photographs which are being digitized into an accessible online database.   Check out their website, PolkCountyHistoricalSociety.org, for more information.


Salem Heritage Neighborhoods - Professor Thomas Hubka

1/23/2015

 
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January 22, 2015 Episode

This week Kimberli introduced us to a new City of Salem program, Salem Heritage Neighborhoods, the goal of which is to partner with the residents of our historic neighborhoods to learn more of the unique history of the area in which they live and the legacy they preserve and protect, enhancing their sense of community through the process.  This program arose from a survey of the residents of Salem's historic areas regarding what  services they desired from the city's historic preservation program.  To learn more about this new program, click here.

Grant Neighborhood was the first designated Heritage Neighborhood.  One of the ways they will learn more about their neighborhood community is by participating in a house-to-house survey program undertaken by two Willamette student interns under the direction of UO professor Thomas Hubka. Professor Hubka talked with us about his recent book, Houses without Names: Architectural Nomenclature and the Classification of America's Common Houses (Vernacular Architecture Studies), which describes common housing types in America, many examples which are found in the Grant Neighborhood.  Professor Hubka's book can be found on Amazon.com and other book retailers.  He autographed our copy of the book with his signature along with a hand-drawn streetscape of vernacular-style houses--how wonderful is that!

Virginia Green - Historian & Blogger

1/16/2015

 
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January 15, 2015 Episode

In this episode, we were honored to have Virginia Green join us.  As a newcomer to Salem, Virginia visited the Salem Public Library to learn more about the town into which she moved in her retirement.  There she became involved with the very new project, Salem Online History, that was beginning to chronicle Salem's history through old photographs which would be accessible to the public from the Library's website.  As a former history teacher, she delved into researching information to accompany the photographs.  Thus began her love affair with the history of Salem, and her ongoing efforts for Salem residents to recognize and appreciate their historic treasures.

Joined by her son Thomas, Jr., she began developing blog websites to archive the results of her research and showcase the beautiful photographs Tom was taking of the historic properties in the area.  In addition, she and Jim Scheppke, retired state librarian, hosted a radio show, "Your Salem Through the Years", on KMUZ for several years until recently, when they bequeathed their time slot to our new radio show, "Salem History Matters."

Virginia's blogs (all at Blogspot.com) include SHINE, Salem Heritage Network ; DISCOVER, Discover Neighborhood History; SALEM LIFELINES, profiles of women who helped settle the Willamette Valley; SALEMS MOVING HISTORY, stories behind the relocating of historic properties; MARION COUNTY 20, adventures in the 20 incorporated cities of Marion County.  You can find links to all of Virginia's blogs on our "Links We Like" page. 

Photo: Union Street Trestle/Pedestrian Bridge; Thomas Green, Jr.

Historic Preservation in Salem

1/9/2015

 
January 8, 2015 Episode

In this episode, Deb and Kimberli share their experiences working in the historic preservation program for the City of Salem, where Kimberli is the current Historic Preservation Officer.  Deb staffed the Historic Landmarks Commission (HLC) until her recent retirement. 

One of the favorite projects overseen by the HLC is the restoration of the Freight/Baggage Depot at the Salem Railroad/Amtrak Station.  This is the last surviving building from the earlier station and had been threatening loss by decay until a private benefactor stepped up to provide a major portion of the funds for its renovation.  The Greyhound Bus terminal has relocated to this site from the downtown area, returning the property to its former importance as a hub for transportation in the Salem community. 
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               Seen at the beginning of renovation.

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           Architectural rendering of completed renovation.

    Your Hosts

    Deb Meaghers and Christy Van Heukelem, historians and authors, are passionate about the history of Salem and the entire mid-Willamette Valley.  We love sharing our enthusiasm for our rich historic legacy with others.  

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    Deb
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    Christy

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