Merry Christmas, 1911

From "The Report" -- December 27, 1911:

These are busy times with Sally. If you talk to her you are apt to get no reply. She is ever wrapped up in tying up packages. There are piles of boxes in the kitchen, the dining room and the parlor, not to mention the greater lot upstairs on the beds. Each day the expressman presents a long list of charges due. The boys are instructed to pay what he claims without question, for the evidence is good that the bills are due. Sally quite savagely said if anyone sends her a gift in return she will cut them off her list.

So next year, instead of decorating the Museum with poinsettias and fresh greens, perhaps we should consider piling boxes all over the place in memory of Miss Sally's "potlatches." Hmmm. Good thing we have almost a year to think about it.

In the meantime, the staff of the Bush House Museum wish you a peaceful and happy holiday season.

Collections Spotlight: The Cogswell Portrait

Today's entry is written by Museum Assistant
Pablo Morales Henry.

I would like to present one of my favorite items in the house, Mr. Bush’s portrait in the library. The first impression upon viewing the portrait is that Mr. Bush was an impressive man both in stature and Oregon history. The portrait reminded me of one of the typical presidential portraits from the 19th century.


The portrait that I am referring to was painted by William F. Cogswell, who was born in Sandusky, NY in 1819 and died in Pasadena, CA in 1903. The portrait was painted in 1880. Cogswell was not just an ordinary artist, and there are several reasons why his work is so unique. First of all, he taught himself portrait painting in the 1830s while he was working at a color factory and from there he made a career. Another reason is the fact that some of his most famous works are portraits of U.S. presidents. Perhaps his most famous work is a portrait of President Abraham Lincoln, which was painted 1864 (this portrait is displayed at the White House). Cogswell also painted a portrait of Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 (this portrait is displayed at the U.S. Senate). Cogswell painted this portrait the year before Grant started his first term in office. Later, he also painted President Grant and his family (this piece is displayed at the Smithsonian). Afterwards, Cogswell painted a portrait of President McKinley and the portraits of King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii, just to name a few of the people that commissioned work from him.

After quite a few years of success on the east coast, in 1873, Cogswell moved to California. He had previously lived in California during the gold rush, which was an event that motivated some interesting works in his early career. Cogswell bought a property in what is today east Pasadena, and built a beautiful Victorian house. He lived there for many years, during which time he travelled and continued painting. He primarily painted political figures from the State of California. It was during this time that Cogswell painted the portrait of Asahel Bush II that we have today at the museum.

If you have not had the opportunity to appreciate this magnificent painting from the 19th century, please join us at the museum for a tour and you will see an incredible piece that is comparable with the portraits of Presidents Lincoln and Grant.

Our Holiday Helpers

Many, many thanks to the helpers who came to put up holiday decorations this past week!

Gretchen and Denis always find the perfect, old-fashioned Christmas tree for the sitting room.

Nadine, Karen, Ross, and Bonnie helped trim the tree and decorate the mantels with fresh greens. (We also had help from Kathy and Jean, but they left before the pictures were taken!)

Gretchen came back with Barbara on Tuesday to decorate the library and dining room, and make swags for the exterior doors.

Come and admire their handiwork at our Holiday Open House this Sunday, December 13, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. In addition to the beautiful decorations we'll have holiday music, refreshments, and a visit from that jolly old elf, Santa Claus. Hope to see you here!

Coming Soon: Holidays!

It's December, and the holidays will be here soon -- even sooner than we think!

Next week, the Bush House Museum will be transformed into a holiday wonderland with fresh greens in every room, a Christmas tree with vintage decorations, and other traditional trimmings for an old-fashioned celebration.

Please join us on Sunday, December 13 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm for our annual Holiday Open House! In addition to the lovely decorations, there will be refreshments, holiday music, and an activity for the children. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be here for photographs and wishes. Make a day of it by planning to attend the Open House at Historic Deepwood Estate the same day.

If you can't make it to the Open House, you can read all about it in the December issue of Northwest Senior and Boomer News. This periodical is available for free at several locations around town.

The best, after all...

Here's how members of the Bush family spent Thanksgiving Day, 1911, in the words of A.N. Bush:

A heavy fog hung on all day. I planned to take advantage of the holiday and go to Portland with the bank plans and show Vogt the changes I want. (NB: A.N. Bush was working with Vogt, an architect, to renovate the interior of Ladd & Bush Bank). I tied them up yesterday so they would be ready. This morning I got up with the thought that I must see that the bank was all right and feed the cat before I leave, but not once did I think of the plans. On the train Durbin sat in front of Mrs. Bush and myself, and he began to talk library plans to Mrs. Bush. At the word “plans” I realized I did not have mine and there was no use to go to Portland. I got off at Hood street and walked back to the bank thoroughly disgusted with myself and the evidences of old age coming on me. I do not know but a keeper will have to take me in charge and think for me or something shocking may happen to me any time. I heard of an absent-minded professor who, while thinking of a lesson, at a reception shook hands with his worst enemy. Who knows but I may be walking down the street arm in arm with Hofer. I had fed the cat. I did not forget that.

I spent the whole day at the bank, not leaving there till seven. I had the whole day to myself and did many things I have been striving for days to do. The public will not let me work business days. I sit around hours for minutes I work, and if I get half a chance after the bank closes, Bingham is most sure to come over for a long visit. I felt pretty mean over myself till late in the afternoon, and as this something done was put away and then others, began to get in better spirits, and tonight I do not know but it was the best after all. For Thanksgiving dinner I had a cold handout on turkey at Sally’s.

Father and Sally had the Websters to dinner. Webster is here painting Father’s picture for Sally. (NB: The Webster portrait hangs in the main hall at the Bush House Museum).

I spent the evening at Father’s and going to meet Mrs. Bush on the eleven o’clock train.

Wishing our friends the best, after all. Happy Thanksgiving!

Twin Houses

Photograph courtesy of Discover-Neighborhood-History

Compare the house pictured above to the photograph of the Bush House Museum in the right sidebar. Although the photographs are taken from different angles, it's easy to see that these houses closely resemble each other.

The picture above shows the Adolph House, built for Samuel Adolph and his wife Mary. Samuel Adolph was born in Prussia about 1835 and came to Salem in 1867. He founded a brewery and later constructed a block of buildings on the south side of State Street, including a saloon.

In 1878, Adolph commissioned Wilbur Boothby, the architect of the Bush House, to build a suburban farmhouse on five acres of land near the State Penitentiary. The house still stands in its original location on the northwest corner of 25th and State Streets.

Did Adolph specifically request a house that echoed the newly-built Bush home? Or did Boothby simply specialize in the Italianate style he had seen in his youth on the east coast? Either way, the family resemblance is evident in the facade -- which is almost identical to the Bush House -- as well as in smaller exterior details such as the window moldings, the gabled roofline, and the carved panels along the eaves.

The similarities continue inside the house, though on a smaller scale. In particular, the staircase, though narrower and steeper than the one at the Bush House, nevertheless includes the same newel post and balusters, and the same carved detail on each riser. There's also a black and white photo of the house in its early years, with the penitentiary buildings visible across the fields.

Samuel Adolph died in 1893, but the house remained in the family until the 1970s as the home of Adolph's son-in-law, Isidore Greenbaum, and his family. Like the Bush House, the Adolph House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It now houses professional offices.

N.B.: Should you choose to admire the Bush House's twin in person, please respect the occupants' privacy.

Thank you, Sam Bush

"I thought you might appreciate having some writings of mine on family history and photos to go with them..."

So begins a letter received this past summer from Sam Bush, cousin of Jody (see below) and great-great-grandson of Asahel Bush II. Born in Portland in 1949, Sam was the younger son of Stuart Bush and his wife, Mary Patricia Livesley. After spending several years on the East Coast, Sam settled in Portland and worked as a woodworker, designer, and teacher. As the descendant of two important Salem families, Sam maintained an interest in family history along with albums and folders and boxes of historic photographs and documents. However, due to complications from a chronic illness, Sam had not visited the Bush House Museum in more than ten years.

About six weeks after writing that letter, on August 13, Sam passed away at the age of 60. A couple of months later came an unexpected gift for the Museum: the long-term loan of furniture, accessories, photographs, and papers that had been in Sam's keeping.

Details have yet to be finalized, but next year we expect to display the original suite of dining room furniture (table, chairs, and sideboard), a marble sculpture, and assorted pieces of china that have remained in the Bush family until now, and will be passed along to Sam's children in several years.

Equally exciting are the family photos, books, letters, and documents that fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of the Bush family, especially the years from 1880 to 1910: a journal of Lulu Hughes Bush's 1905 trip to Europe! A.N. Bush's scrapbook from his college years! College diplomas for several generations! Family correspondence! Home movies!

In the weeks to come, we'll be able to tell you more about these items and what we're learning from them. In the meantime: thank you, Sam.