Sally's Table

Sally Bush was the second daughter of Asahel Bush II and his wife, Eugenia Zieber Bush. Born on October 29, 1860, she was not quite three years old when her mother died. Like all of the Bush daughters Sally attended the Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She went on to graduate from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts before returning to Salem in 1883. "Miss Sally" lived with her father until his death in 1913, then continued as the mistress of the Bush House until she passed away in 1946.

Miss Sally was known around town for her generosity to those in need. By 1916 she had so many requests for assistance from so many people that her brother, A.N. Bush, decided to chronicle her experiences in a little pamphlet entitled "Sally's Charities, or Twenty-Five Days of Alms Giving." Here's one encounter:

Breakfast Menu.

At Sally's Hobo Table D'Hote.
Served on the east steps.

Fried bacon and eggs
Baked beans warmed over
Fried potatoes
Popovers
Coffee.

Sally prepared the eggs herself. The meal was served on platters with plates and accessories and a young tramp consumed it with much apparent satisfaction.

Sally Bush took great pleasure in sharing with others, and it's in honor of her generous spirit that we announce the first Sally Bush Memorial Food Drive, in partnership with Marion-Polk Food Share.

On Thursday, October 29, Sally's birthday, admission to the Bush House Museum is FREE with a donation of canned food. The Museum and the Bush Barn Art Center will continue to accept food donations through Sunday, November 8.

Although fried bacon and eggs are out of the question, we encourage you to consider this list of the "10 Most Wanted" foods when making your donation:

Canned soup
Canned chili
Boxed macaroni and cheese
Breakfast cereal
Peanut butter
Canned tuna
Canned fruit
Canned vegetables
Pasta
Pasta sauce

Even if you don't plan to tour the Museum, please consider making a donation to help the hungry in our community, in the spirit of Miss Sally Bush.

Thank you!

Who was Lida?

As we read journal entries written by A.N. Bush from 1911-13, we encounter many names of characters who populated the lives of A.N. and his family. Some of the names are easy to recognize, while others take a bit of puzzling over.

Take "Eliza", for example.

Eliza Sloan Nolan was the daughter of A.N.'s cousin, Octavia Painter Nolan. Eliza was born in 1895 and was about 16 years old when the journal entries began. She was a student at Sacred Heart Academy in Salem, but her family lived 'way out in the Clear Lake area of what is now Keizer, which was too far for a daily commute. So Eliza lived in town with A.N. and his wife, Lulu Hughes Bush, during the week, and went home to Clear Lake every weekend. A.N. enjoyed Eliza's company and detailed their adventures together, from visits to the vaudeville theater to picnics at Silver Falls. Around the same time, A.N.'s sister Sally made a portrait of Eliza so we even know what she looked like. Although A.N. never gave her last name or mentioned the family relationship, "Eliza" was easy to figure out.

Lida, not so much.

"Lida" first appeared in A.N.'s journal in November of 1911. Lida (no last name given) lived in Eugene, but had come up to Salem on her way to Detroit (Oregon) where she had been appointed postmistress. She stayed with Sally for a few days and went to visit with Eliza's family in Clear Lake one weekend. In later entries it's clear that Lida had taken up her post in Detroit and found the snowy winter weather to be a challenge. From the context one can infer that Lida was an old friend or family member, someone who literally needed no introduction -- but her actual identity was never clear.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail message from a gentleman who lives in Australia, who has distant ties to the Bush family. He had been browsing through our online photo collection and was writing to correct some of our information. Turns out his ancestor, Colin McIntosh, had been married to one Eliza Zieber, another cousin of A.N. and Sally Bush. This Eliza, who was divorced from Mr. McIntosh by 1900 and was living in Salem by 1916, was also known as... Lida. Eliza "Lida" Zieber McIntosh.

We don't have any photographs of Lida (that we know of) and we still don't know very much about her. But now we can tell her relatives that she was the postmistress in Detroit during the winter of 1912, and that she preferred the whole back over any other piece of chicken.

That's who Lida was.

A House of a Different Color!

It has been a busy summer at the Bush House Museum. In addition to the usual excitement around the Art Fair & Festival, the Museum has been surrounded by machinery, equipment, and people -- painters! The end result is a solid exterior with a high-quality paint job in a fancy new/old color:



Research indicates that the Bush House had been the same blue-gray color since at least the late 1970s, when it was placed on the National Register. However, an article written in 1878, just after the Bush family moved into their newly-built home, described the house as a "light mouse-brown" color. Also, during restoration of the porte-cochere in 2007 we discovered some remnants of what might have been the original exterior color, a greeny-browny-gray.

So, after consultation with the state Historic Preservation Office and the City of Salem, we decided to make a change, hoping that a different color will help folks see this old house in a new light.

What do you think?

Collections Spotlight: Hair Wreath

Today's entry is written by Museum Assistant Megan Churchwell, who leaves us on Friday to attend museum school in Seattle. Thanks, Megan, and best wishes!

One of the most unusual pieces we have here in the Bush House Museum is a beautiful handcrafted wreath made of human hair. This unique Victorian tradition is an example of the ladies’ crafts done to occupy their leisure time, which was plentiful.

Most Victorian hair crafts took the form of small jewelry items. Pins or bracelets would be made from a family member’s hair as a sign of mourning. These are the most well-known forms of hair art, because Queen Victoria is known to have worn a piece of jewelry made with her husband Prince Albert’s hair every day after his death in 1861. She held great influence over the fashions of this time, and this type of mourning jewelry remained popular through the end of the nineteenth century.

Other examples of hair art would be made of hair saved from the woman’s own hairbrush in a special dresser jar. Our example, a large wreath, is said to incorporate the hair of over 20 of the artist’s relatives, and was created in 1870. Many of these wreaths featured the hair of a recently deceased relative in the center of the horseshoe-shaped wreath for a mourning period lasting up to a year before their hair flower would be moved to become part of the large wreath.

Though most hair art was made as a sign of mourning, they were also made for sentimental reasons. At the same time hair art became popular, young girls were known to have scrapbooks containing their schoolmates’ hair with a name and verse to identify whose hair it was. Sometimes locks of hair would be glued into postcards or valentines and sent as a keepsake.

This lost art is surprisingly beautiful. If you haven’t been to the Bush House Museum to see our example of hair art, it is well worth an up-close look.

If it's July, it must be the Art Fair!

Coming up this weekend, it's the 60th Anniversary of the Salem Art Association's Art Fair and Festival!

The first fair, called the "Art Mart", was held on the lawn of the Marion County Courthouse in August 1950. The event was the brainchild of David Duniway, past president of SAA, and it was described in the President's Report thusly:

"The artists congregated around the Court House grounds, brought their easels for work and had on display their own pictures to sell. The affair was most unique and highly successful and I doubt if a more foreign scene had ever been enacted in Salem. A small sum was netted from the sales."

Financial records indicate that this first Art Mart brought in $24. The event was relocated to the front lawn of the Bush House after SAA moved into the House in 1953.


By the early 1970s, the Festival had grown so large that it was moved to the portion of Bush's Pasture Park south of the Bush Barn Art Center, where it is still held today.

SAA is celebrating the Fair's history by inviting Art Fair aficionados to share your stories of this beloved community event. What's your favorite Art Fair memory? When you come to the Festival this weekend (July 17-19), look for a green flier and share your story with us. Stories will be read from the Main Stage every day, and fliers will be collected and saved for future historians.

For more information on the Art Fair & Festival, visit our website. See you this weekend!

Margaret Ann "Jody" Bush, 1936-2009

Jody Bush, pictured at left ca. 1940, was the great-great granddaughter of Asahel Bush II and the only child of Asahel "Ace" Bush V and his wife Faye. As a child she spent much time visiting her Aunt Sally, and later her great-grandfather, A.N. Bush, at the family home on Mission Street. In recent years she has been a dear friend to the Bush House Museum.

Jody passed away this past Sunday morning, June 14, 2009 after a long illness. The staff of the Bush House Museum and the Salem Art Association offer our condolences to her family. It has been a privilege for us to know her.

The Museum will host a memorial service for Jody in the coming weeks.

Happy Birthday, Asahel Bush!

Today is the 185th anniversary of the birth of Asahel Bush II, builder of the home that became the Bush House Museum. There are several ways to join in the celebration this year!

Mr. Bush's Birthday Party and Open House
Sunday June 7, 1:00 - 4:00 pm
The Museum will be open this Sunday in honor of Mr. Bush's Birthday, with cake, balloons, and self-guided tours.

Bush Entries in the Oregon Encyclopedia
The Oregon Encyclopedia is an online resource where you can learn about the history and culture of Oregon. The Encyclopedia features articles on Asahel Bush II and on the Bush House Museum. Read these entries to learn more about Mr. Bush and the house he built for his family.

Coming Up: Oregon Historical Quarterly
The Summer 2009 issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly includes an article about Asahel Bush II and his role in territorial politics as Oregon became a state. The article was written by Barbara Mahoney, who made use of the Museum's archives in her research. The Summer issue will be sent to Oregon Historical Society members this month, or you can purchase a copy from OHS when it becomes available.

Your Photo Here!
The Bush House Museum and Bush's Pasture Park have been beloved resources for generations of Salem residents. If you have a photograph of yourself or a family member taken in the Park or around the Museum, we invite you to submit it to our upcoming exhibit. Photos will be on display in the Museum through August 9; please visit our website or call us at (503) 363-4714 for more information.