Some of these questions are answered in Oregon at Work, 1859-2009, a book compiled for Oregon's Sesquicentennial by Tom Fuller and Art Ayre, both employees of the Oregon Employment Department at that time.  You may recognize Tom's name as our co-host Christy Van Heukelem's co-author in their "Images of America" books, Salem, McMinnville, and Newberg.  In fact, Tom told us that it was during the research phase of this book that he first met Christy. Christy, the avid genealogist, was able to provide a plethora of material on her Oregon ancestors, including William Hunt Wilson, who came to Oregon in 1843 as a wagon driver for Jesse Applegate, and Arthur Gardner, who, in 1901, began a legacy of detailed journals that provides volumes of information about the rigors of daily life in the early years of the 20th century. 

William Eads was a mixed-race slave in South Carolina when he escaped the plantation and enlisted in the Army as William Williams. He served under General Taylor in the Mexican-American War in 1846 and gained respect as a loyal soldier. He later volunteered to replace federal troops maintaining posts in Oregon. After discharge, he tried his hand mining in California, but returned to Oregon c1860 and homesteaded on Thief Creek in Douglas County. This was quite unusual, as Oregon was still debating legislation against blacks and there were strong biases against all non-Caucasian peoples. 

Tom reported that William Hunt Wilson, Christy's great-great-great-grandfather, settled in Oregon City after meeting the Hudson's Bay Company factor John McLoughlin, who hired him to clear brush from the town's streets. Wilson proved to be a dependable worker and was quickly entrusted with higher levels of responsibility. He married young widow Hannah (Dickinson) Gilliam and settled on a Donation Land Claim near Yoncalla in Douglas County and began to farm and raise a family.

One of the men Wilson hired to help with his farming operation was none other than Wiliam Eads, considered quite a controversial act in pre-Civil War Oregon. Wilson was a strong opponent of slavery (as was Jesse Applegate) and had come to Oregon as a result of an argument with his father over the sale of a slave he considered his friend.  Eads soon became accepted as a member of the Wilson family and was buried in the Wilson Family plot when he died in December 1900.

Tom's book is chockful of wonderful stories involving everyday folks trying to make a living all over Oregon, probably touching many of our own ancestors. The easiest way to locate a copy of his book is through Amazon.com.  

Over the coming year, we plan to highlight several of the long-term businesses in the mid-Willamette Valley area, speaking with family members about the heritage of their family business and their plans for the future.  We hope you will join us as we explore another factor of our historic legacy.   

January 5, 2017 Episode.
Salem's "cherry" history began in 1847 when pioneer nurseryman Henderson Lewelling left Salem, Iowa, with 700 tiny fruit tree plants intent on starting an orchard and plant nursery in the Oregon Territory. Some 350 trees survived the trip across the Oregon Trail (thanks in part to some foresighted Native Americans) and were planted on his land donation claim along the Willamette Rliver near present-day Milwaukie. ​Among those surviving plants were apples, pears, and cherries, which most likely were the original stock for many of our famous orchards throughout the state.

Lewelling brought with him the Napoleon Bigarreau cherry which he renamed the "Royal Anne" (the reason for which no one yet has been able to ferret out) that would become the most profitable variety in Oregon. In 1850, Henderson's brothers Seth and Alfred, fresh from unsucessful gold mining in California, joined the business. By 1851, they had propagated 18,000 trees and were able to establish additional plant nurseries in Salem and Albany. Seth developed several more cherry varieties, culminating in the "Bing," which he named after his Chinese friend and crew foreman. The Bing cherry debuted at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia where people mistook the fruit for crabapples due to their large size. The cherries were in  high demand and sold for 3 cents each!

Lewelling sold the orchard part of his business to a former worker, Joseph H. Lambert, in 1857, who went on to develop another dark cherry, the "Lambert," in 1870.  Mr. Lambert would eventually own the largest cherry orchard in the world, Lambert Cherry Company, located in the Waldo Hills-MacLeay area of east Salem. 

The title "Cherry City of the World" was officially bestowed on Salem in 1907 during the 5th annual convention of Pacific Coast Association of Nurserymen, after viewing what they declared "the greatest and finest display of cherries known in history." Salem, however, had been celebrating its favorite fruit as far back as 1903. The first Cherry Fair was a three-day celebration sponsored by the Salem Elks Lodge in the summer of 1903 and included a queen's coronation and ball, a parade of decorated automobiles, contests and games at the Fairgrounds, and boat races on the river. 

Cherries were transported covered in ice by rail to the eastern markets, as there were few canneries in the Salem area.  When Robert S. Wallace opened his Salem Canning Company in 1890, cherries were the initial pack. Newly developed refrigerated railcars began transporting the fresh fruit in the 1920s. By 1928, Salem boasted 2500 acres of cherries and 12 canneries. Farmer cooperatives like Salem Cherry Growers Association, who would launch the first brined maraschino cherry in 1927, Producers Cooperative, and Willamette Cherry Growers formed to handle the needs of the fluctuating market. When the demand for cherries dropped significantly with the beginning of the Great Depression in 1930, many of the canneries, including the 53-member Willamette Cherry Growers, began brining the surplus cherries. Willamette Cherry Growers became well-known for its maraschino cherries, brined using the new method developed by Oregon Agricultural College (later OSU), rather than the previous process imported from Italy. This industry continues to thrive in current times, nestling into gourmet chocolates or topping off ice cream sundaes and banana splits with a perfect dollop of red drippy sweetness.

Salem continues to be call itself the Cherry City. Just a short finger-stroll through the phone book gives evidence of numerous business names reflecting our cherry heritage. Even our mass transit system is fondly referenced by its familiar name, the Cherriots. And every year, photographs of the massive cherry blossom display at the Capitol Mall pervade the media. After all, how many of us still find ourselves stolling along those blossom-strewn sidewalks every March, ready to welcome Spring after another Oregon winter?  I'll never tell...