SALEM PUBLIC MARKET
In 1943, Salem homemakers had an enjoyable and long-established custom of driving to farms and orchards in Marion and Polk Counties, during midsummer and into autumn, to buy supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables for home preserving, jelly and freezing. In that year there was a special urgency to obtain and store food supplies in quantity, because of wartime rationing. Also, the Salem School District (No. 24J) had established a public cannery. That facility was available for use by residents of the district all day and into late evening, for a small service fee and a charge for metal cans supplied. That facility increased the urge to obtain farm produce.
The inconvenience of tight gasoline rationing was felt in Salem very keenly, as elsewhere. A Salem native, who was familiar with “Saturday Tailgate markets” in California, and knew that farm-truck owners had more liberal gasoline rationing than city dwellers’ cars, went to a meeting of the Salem City Council and asked that body to authorize the holding of a tailgate market on Saturdays at the south end of Marion Square and on the street alongside. The Council liked the idea and passed an authorizing ordinance. Between that Monday evening and the following Saturday, the Salem newspapers carried news of the tailgate market plan. The public response that resulted was almost beyond belief.
Farm trucks and eager customers kept the Saturday market flourishing until Thanksgiving, when wind and rain made further outdoor enterprise impracticable.
Then the suppliers sought to continue selling their produce within some kind of shelter. Through a trustee who acted for them, they rented vacant land at the northeast corner of High and Union Streets, now the site of Capital Car Wash. Two of the enthusiastic farmers then bought the property, and the whole group put together a building on it, using lumber, windows, and other material from Camp Adair, where dismantling of old buildings was in progress. Rental was paid to the new owners by booth tenants.
In order to function as a business entity, the Salem sponsors of the market and some of the venders were incorporated as “Salem Public Market” on April 19, 1944, a non-profit organization of the State of Oregon.
It is not necessary for a producer to be a member of the corporation in order to rent a stall in the market. But membership entitles him or her to participate by vote in conducting the market, and many of the venders are members.
The first election of officers by the corporation was held on August 8, 1944, at Salem Chamber of Commerce, which had offered its facilities to the market group then and on other occasions. A member of Salem City Council, Albert H. Gille was elected president, and re-elected annually until his death in 1951. In 1946, members of the corporation bought and paid for the present market site at 1240 Rural St. SE. There was no building on the site, and there were no buyers for the building at HIgh and Union Streets, so market members took down that one and rebuilt it at Rural St. Much of the labor was volunteer, as it is even today.
The first officers were: Albert Gille, president; Leonard H. Zielke, vice president; and Mrs Walter Barsch, secretary-treasurer. Directors were: John K. Crabtree, Louis D. Johnston, Fred Steiner, and Charles Fowler. Mrs. Barsch, a Salem attorney, also served as the legal advisor for the corporation, without any remuneration, until 1978.
Catherine Carson Barsch devoted many hours to the organization, attending meetings and keeping meticulous minutes. Because the market is non-profit, she maintained that it should be exempt from property taxes, and worked for over 20 years trying to convince the revenue department of this, but it ruled against the market.
In 1947, taxes on the property were $48, after the building was on the property. In 1983, they were $1,177.
The sole source of income to pay for the upkeep of the property is the booth rental. At present, it is $5 per market day or $15 per month, during the winter months. Some of the booths will be $20 per month, starting in June. There are 17 booths. A strictly maintained requirement of the market corporation is that what the seller offers must be of his own production, or a neighbor’s. No re-sale of any article is permitted. It is the market master’s duty to see that rents are collected, and rules are enforced.
The building is heated by a large wood burning stove, which was once a church furnace. During the past winter, the stove was rebuilt by one of the members and his son-in-law, Joseph Bielenberg, and Michael Swearingen. Materials were donated by Bernard Zielinski, another member. Customers welcome the warmth on cold and rainy mornings.
Another appreciated item is the coffee table, with goodies supplied by the venders. At first, the coffee was offered to keep the ‘early birds’ occupied while the booths were being stocked. It has become indispensable.
Of the present venders, Robert Heilman is the only ‘charter’ vender left. An onion grower in Lake Labish, he started coming with his father in 1944. Patrons of the market have enjoyed choice onions, beets, leeks, parsnips, and many other vegetables grown in that fertile loam.
Venders take great pride in offering quality and freshness. Patrons appreciate finding an unfamiliar fruit or vegetable, and getting suggestions on how to use it, or prepare it. Many of the venders have been there five years or more, so they are like one big family. Many of the customers are faithful boosters, coming weekly, and bringing in friends.
Present officers are : Agnes Carlson, president; Mary Jo Lundsten, vice president; Eleanor Wulff, secretary-treasurer; and directors: Rose Michalek, Market Master; Bob Corey, assistant Market Master; Sue Arendt, and Esther White.
Market hours are from 8:30 AM to 12 noon, every Saturday of the year. Besides the fruits and vegetables in season, bakery, honey, eggs, plants, cut flowers, crafts, and gift items are sold.
Salem Public Market
Annual report of Market Master 1946
Cash on hand Jan 1, 1946 37.05
Received for booth rent 550.25
Received for New Memberships 150.00
Total 737.80
Disbursements for 1946
Light and Water 36.91
Rent of lot 340.00
Light globes 2.20
Wood 7.00
Advertising 4.30
Wiring market building 28.20
Recording deed for market lot 1.00
Taxes on market lot 12.00
Leveling market lot 33.00
Deposited in bank 200.00
Cash on hand Jan 1. 1947 73.19
______
Total 737.80
An average of 17 persons rented booths each week throughout the year with an estimated total sales of $15,825.80
Louis D Johnston
Market Master
_