The Oregonian: July 5th, 1908
Posted on July 6th, 2008
Here's some fun stuff that I found in the July 5th, 1908, issue of the Oregonian:
The high was 68 degrees and the low was 55 degrees.
An advertisement with the following text:
"
She Is Cooking
Without A Fire
You MAY Doubt It Now
But
You CAN'T Doubt It After
YOU have seen Mrs. A.N. Collay demonstrate that she can do it, WITH THE AID OF ELECTRICITY. Everyone is invited to attend the daily demonstrations that she is making at the supply department of Portland Railway, Light & Power Company, 147 Seventh Street between Morrison & Alder and LEARN how entirely practical and extremely convenient it is to COOK WITH ELECTRICITY.
Regular demonstration at 10am and 2pm daily.
Special CHAFING DISH demonstration at 2:30pm, Tuesday the 7th
Special MEAT-ROASTING demonstration at 2:30pm, Thursday the 9th
"
A brief excerpt from another ad:
"
Chicago Painless Dentist
Corner 6th & Washington
Be sure you are in the right office.
Lady attendant.
"
A good example of colorful reporting we just don't get anymore:
"
TO SPITE SCOLDING WIFE
Farmer Blows Off His Head When Upbraided For Drinking
Snohomish, Washington, July 4 - Because his wife upbraided him for drinking, Robert Pfueller, aged 65, a resident of Snohomish for 21 years, went into his barn, cut off half a stick of powder, inserted a cap, attached a fuse, calmly lighted it and waited for the end. The explosion that followed tore his head from his shoulders and left his brains splattered upon the rafters and walls of the barn.
"
I'm also always interested in trying to get some clues about personal economics during certain time periods. Most of the ads for work positions didn't list the pay, although it seemed like starting pay for a salesman was somewhere between $50 and $75. Interestingly, the want ads were separated by gender, but I suppose that makes sense, since women would not gain suffrage for another three years. There were some price listings for ladies' positions: $20/month for housekeepers, $25/month for waitresses, $40/month for cooks, and $50/month for some kind of mysterious ads that I think were for door-to-door sales positions. Two different Chicago firms were offering $15 for every hundred sanitary belts a lady could sew. I have no clue how long it would take to sew a sanitary belt.
By comparison, a man could buy a new suit for anywhere from $20 to $40 dollars. Gevurtz Bros. at Burnside and Union (now MLK Jr.) were selling a fancy mahogony dresser with mirror for $17.50. The firm of Grussi & Gantmer were selling a 9 room house in the newly founded Irvington neighborhood for $6600. Determining the monthly cost of an apartment was a little difficult for me, because there was no listing just for "apartments". There was a listing for "house-keeping apartments", and I think that would be analagous to what we now refer to as studios and one bedrooms. The most common price I saw listed for these was $12/month, compared to a "6 room cottage" around 20th & Belmont listed for $15/month.
The last note that I took from this issue of the paper was from the for sale or trade section of the classified ads:
"
For sale or trade - Almost new $55 Victor talking machine, with 36 records. Will trade for fresh cow or calf, or one that will be fresh soon.
"
There was also a pretty funny article that talked about how the Independance Day celebration from the day before was the quitest that Portland had ever had. Apparently only two fires were started, and the only injury was a 13 year old boy that blew off half of his hand (which also happened to two adults in other parts of the state).