What's In A Name? & Update

This article originally appeared in the American Locals Political Item Collectors Newsletter in the Summer 1991 issue. It was written by APIC member David Shanton. We have added more photos to supplement the original article and provided a short update on Neubergers life from 1991-2000.

As crass it may sound, for most of our nation's history, the single most direct route to the United States Senate for a woman was through the cemetery. With the exception of Margaret Chase Smith, the ten women who served in the Senate prior to the 1978 election of Nancy Kassenbaum arrived there by virtue of the death of their husbands.


Oregon's Maurine Neuberger was no different. Her husband, Richard L. Neuberger was the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Oregon in 40 years when he took the seat in 1954. His sudden death in March 1960, just days before he planned to file for re-election, left Oregon Democrats in a quandary. Most realized that Maurine Neuberger would be a formidable, perhaps unbeatable candidate, but would she run?

1960 Bumper Sticker

Wayne Morse Christmas Surprise

The year was 1959, and the Christmas season was in full swing here in Oregon. Families were gathering and preparing to celebrate the end of a busy year. President Eisenhower was entering his last year in office and candidates from all around the country had been announcing their intentions to run to replace him all year. A late entrant to the Democratic nomination came on December 22,1959 out of Oregon.

Morse Talks to Young Voters after event in Maryland

Senator Wayne Morse, a man who had been supposedly uninterested in running for President announced his candidacy. Appearing above the front page headline in the Oregonian read: "SEN. WAYNE MORSE ENTERS PRESIDENTIAL RACE". It was a Christmas surprise that some Oregon Democrats loved and other Democrats cringed at unwrapping. There were several factors that led Morse to announce and they all played a part in his campaign. Be it ego, pressure from a citizens petition drive to place him on the ballot, Jack Kennedy's unimpressive progressive credentials, a hope that Adlai Stevenson may still be willing to run at the convention and finally fears that Republicans would place him on the ballot to embarrass him for his 1962 re-election campaign.

Morse for President Bumper Sticker

1982 Oregon RNC Ribbon

This great ribbon was recently offered up on ebay from a seller in Iowa. It is from the 1892 Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis, Minnesota and given out to Oregon delegates.

Kitzhaber 1994 Opponents: Smith & Hickam

John Kitzhaber, the current Governor of Oregon, has just announced his intent to run for re-election for a historic fourth term as Oregon's Governor. If he wins nomination, he will be only the second person in Oregon history to have been nominated 4 times by a major state political party to run for governor (the first being Bob Straub). If he win in November of 2014 he'd be the first Governor in Oregon history to win 4 terms. The Humprhey School of Public Affairs noted that if Kitzhaber is elected and serves his full four years he will be the 2nd longest serving governor in United States history. Iowa Governor Terry Barnstad comes in at number one and Kitzhaber will manage to beat out Californian Jerry Brown.

Elmo Smith 1960 button

As Kitzhaber prepares to take on this feat we'll take a look at some of his campaign items from his last three campaigns, as well as the items of his various opponents over the years. In a well documented political move Kitzhaber met with sitting Governor Barbara Roberts to let her know that he intended to run against her. This event is documented in her 2011 autobiography Up The Capitol Steps gives her perspective on this event. Kitzhaber of course remembers differently and perhaps one day when he gets around to writing his autobiography we will hear his full thoughts on that meeting. The two governors have since put the meeting behind them and Roberts endorsed Kitzhaber in the 2010 general election.

Des Connall Remembered

Another former District Attorney has passed away this year. You might recall we had a previous post about Harl Haas, today, as reported through local media sources, former Multnomah District Attorney Des Connall passed away due to complications from heart surgery.

He served as district attorney of Multnomah county from 1970-1972. Connall was defeated by Haas for re-election as DA in 1972. Here are two pins from his 1972 campaign.

Keynoter: Retire Kennedy in '64 Taken Seriously by Grassroots

John Vargo had an excellent article in the Fall 2013 issue of the APIC Keynoter about the startings of the various movements of the 1964 election prior to the death of JFK. There are several really nice paper items put out by the RNC and pro-Goldwater forces advocating to retire 'The Kennedys'. The thinking was that if the GOP did a good job in the 1964 elections, JFK and RFK would be out of the White House and 'Teddy' Kennedy would be defeated in the Massachusetts Senate race. Two bumper stickers featuring the famous rocking chair and a RWB item from the Midwestern Regional Leadership Conference that was taking place in St. Louis, Missouri. The conference was taking place November 22-23, 1963. At similar conferences a set of three rocking chairs would be set up near the lobby of the conference for display.

Vargo's article mentions a mailer the RNC started sending out to raise funds for JFK's retirement fund. Upon some further research, it was discovered that some Republicans in the early fall of 1963 took this solicitation request seriously and were not very happy about it. The Toledo Blade covered one such Utah Republicans response to the fundraising request. The RNC wanted individuals to donate $10 dollars to help fund efforts for the party at defeating JFK in the upcoming election. A man in Utah sent back his mailer to the RNC with this response, "I think this is silly. Why can't the Kennedys live on the liberal provisions provided for upon retirement the same as Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower are managing to do? I'm not interested in contributing to any additional retirement fund for them."Sometimes things just go over our heads.

A Time For Greatness

Here is an example of a JFK Oregon campaign poster. 

This poster showed up on ebay a few months ago, and it was the first time I had ever seen this style of poster in an Oregon version. It looks to be printed on heavier cardboard stock and has the Oregon campaign information on the bottom.

JFK 50 Years Later

With the approaching 50th Anniversary since JFK's passing I went through my collection and pulled out all my JFK pins. It isn't much, but when you've been in college and working part time for the better part of the time you've been collecting you don't get much of a chance to get some of the 'good stuff', as JFK items have always been desirable.

From Carl Fisher Collection

Oregon member Grant Schott wrote up a great recap of JFK's visits to Oregon in the lead up to the 1960 Oregon Presidential Primary over at BlueOregon (one of the leading political blogs of the state). 

Veterans Day 2013

With Veterans Day 2013 soon upon us, it seemed appropriate to look at some of the political items used by and to appeal to veterans during our heated political campaigns. 2012 marked an interesting moment in American politics. It was the first time that none of the major candidates were veterans themselves. John McCain was the last veteran to be nominated by a major political party back in 2008.

McCain 2000 Pin

2008 Bumper Sticker

Political Halloween: Alf Landon Cape

I have no idea if it was the intent of the campaign to have this as a Halloween item, but a cape is a staple of our modern super heroes. What republican youngster in 1936 would have passed up the chance to be Super Landon or Super Knox for Halloween? The cape measures 23 x 37", a perfect fit for that super hero in your life. What super powers do you think you get with a cape like this?

Alf Landon of course never became a trendy enough Halloween costume to propel him to the White House. He lost to FDR by a staggering 523-8, carrying only Maine and Vermont. While FDR would go and serve and die in office just after winning his fourth term, Landon would live well into the 1980s. He passed away three days after his 100th Birthday in 1987. Perhaps longevity is a super power?

Political Halloween: Goldwater for Halloween

Here are three versions of one of the Halloween themed political buttons that pretty much ensured a tradition of a Halloween themed buttons for each candidate in every election from 1964 onward. These are actually anti-Goldwater pins issued by supporters of LBJ. APIC member Tom Peeling covers these pins on his Collectors Quest blog.


More Halloween themed items to come!

Political Halloween: McCain for Halloween!

Over the next couple of days we'll profile some Halloween themed political items. This 3" pin from Wisconsin is a take on a classic anti-Goldwater pin. 2008 saw a lot of excitement and there were several different Halloween themed items. More details on this pin can be found at politicalcollectors.com.

If you have a favorite Halloween item, send us a photo!

Michael Landon Campaigns in Oregon

In the recent Old Politicals auction going on right now there is a special Oregon lot of items from April of 1980. While then Governor Ronald Reagan was campaigning around the country he sent out lots of his friends around the country to stump for him. One of those friends was T.V.'s Michael Landon from Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie fame. Landon and Reagan ran in the same circles from California. Here is a video from later in 1980 before the election at a fundraiser featuring Landon and several other familiar faces.

Auction Alert: Old Politicals & Anderson Auction

Just FYI, Old Politicals by Gene Dillman is up and open for bidding. The Auction closes October 17th.

Anderson Americana will be up later at the end of the month so be checking them out soon.

Happy Bidding!

Top Ten Oregon Items

This post will be an ongoing project over the next several weeks as the Oregon APIC members try and decide what items from Oregon merit to be the Top 10. They might fit on this list because of rarity, desirability or just because they are so cool. The order in which items appear for the time being bear no indication of where we think they belong on the list. Once we have a list of  at least 10 items nominated we'll vote and open the voting up other APIC members and friends.

A) Tom McCall for Congress Eisenhower Coattail poster (1954)

This was back when Tom McCall, was still being referred to as Thomas Lawson McCall. Eisenhower items are always in demand and add to it that this is a McCall item and you've got yourself a real gem! Some of our fellow political junkies claim to have seen at least one such poster floating around in Eastern Oregon, possibly coming from the McCall Ranch estate sale back in the 70s and 80s. This example is from Oregon Historical Society McCall holdings and is pictured in Brent Walth's Fire at Eden's Gate.

Start sending your nominations, and we'll fix up a ballot.

Vic Atiyeh Archives

The Victor Atiyeh Archives are held at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon for the purposes of documenting the life and times of Governor Atiyeh and Oregon during his vast career in public service. There are several great examples of campaign buttons, brochures and photos for Atiyeh on the campaign trail available for viewing in the online exhibit of the archives.

Here are some of the items:

1972 RNC Platform Convention Ribbon

Collectors Archive: Collector has over 3,000 Campaign Pins

This article appeared in The Victoria Advocate shortly after the 1952 presidential election. For some perspective; that was over 60 years ago. Even as far back as then, political collectors had thousands of items in their collections. Joe Fuld is the APIC member featured in this article. 

From Political Collectors dot com

HAILEY, Idaho, Dec 4. The "I like Ike" button or the "Stevenson for president" pin you sported durin the presidential campaign isn't worth a continental now--except to Joe Fuld and his fellow members of the American Political Item Collectors Association.

Fuld, who is president of the collectors association, has the den of his home lined with cases of political insignia. He has more than 3,000 campaign buttons, banners and pins, dating as far back as the 1840 election. One of his four items from that campaign carries William H. Harrisson's famed slogan "Tippercanoe and Tyler too."

The Universal Party's Oregon Connections

I was doing some reading of some old Keynoter magazines that I was able to find and found an article by Stephen K. Hauser in the Summer of 1998 issue. His article is about the several campaigns ran by the Universal Party of the 1960s and early 70s. The Universal Party was founded by various UFO enthusiasts and contactees (for those of you who have never seen the X-Files, this was a term popularized in the 50s and 60s for individuals who have supposedly have contact with extraterrestrials).

Harl Haas Remembered

HAAS for AG 1980 Pin

The Oregonian reported recently that retired Multnomah Co. Judge Harl Haas passed away at the age of 80. Earlier in his career he had been elected to the Oregon House and was later appointed to the Oregon Senate. For at time Haas served as District Attorney. He sought nominations for Congress, and Governor in 1974. Later, in 1980, he won the Democratic nomination for Attorney General. While he would end up losing that race, he eventually found a a seat as a Multnomah Co. Judge in 1985 where he served until his retirement in 2001.

Guess The Connection

So here's a fun little game. Can you guess what the connection is between all these pins are?

Don't click READ MORE or Scroll down further until you've made your guess.

Keynoter: The 'Holy Grails' of U.S. Senate and Governor Items

Photo Credit: All Americans Local Auction #58

In the Summer 2013 issue of The Keynoter, contributor David Quintin writes about what he calls the 'holy grails' of locals items for senate and gubernatorial candidates across the country. These items of difficult quest have sometimes only been spotted once out in the wilds of the hobby. This doesn't mean that it is the only known example, just the only known example that has risen to the surface. Like a Cox-Roosevelt jugate, someone could have a bag of them in their grandparents trunk that sits up in the family attic.

Tom McCall Dress from 1970

Dress Found on Ebay this week

Sometimes us Oregon political junkies have to wait and wait...and wait for an interesting Oregon item to find its way to ebay. If you are a regular searcher of Oregon related political figures then you have probably seen this item. It is a paper dress from his re-election campaign in 1970. Paper clothing items were cheap and very popular in the 1960s. It was seen as sort of a fashion novelty and lots of campaigns used them in an attempt to boost their vote getting abilities.

Tom McCall's Grandads Not Hughes Fans

From Tom Huston Collection

APIC Member Tom Huston recently posted a picture of this book by a Thomas W. Lawson. Oregonians may recognize that name, as Dorothy Lawson McCall's father. He was a rather wealthy man in the era of the Rockefellers and Astors at the start of the 20th Century. He used his wealth to buy a home for his daughter and her husband to raise their kids in Eastern Oregon. One of those kids was future Oregon Governor Tom McCall. Young Tom would travel often between Oregon and Massachusetts to spend time at Thomas Lawson's home and the family ranch in Eastern Oregon. His other grandfather, Samuel W. McCall, happened to be Governor of the Bay State in 1916.

A Look at Bob Straub (1954-1962)

At the recent meeting of the Oregon Political Item Conservators in Salem, Oregon author Charles Johnson shared with us some highlights of his recently completed book, Standing at the Water's Edge: Bob Straub's Battle for the Soul of Oregon  

 Members were captivated by the contrasts between Governor Tom McCall and Governor Bob Straub, who both vied for the Governor's Mansion at the same time during the 60s and early 70s. Many of the McCall environmental initiatives are owed to the work Straub did to bring those issues to the front of McCall's attention. In their attempts to one up each other, they made each other better candidates and public servants.

Update: Hosch b'Gosh

This little pin fetched 100 dollars in the All American Locals Auction. Just thought you'd like to know.

Remembering Richard Nixon: Nixon Now! & Mike Curb's Connection to Richard Petty

April 24th marked the 19th year since the passing for President Richard Nixon in 1994. The controversial president had done much in his later years to meet the needs of the role of elder statesman and by late 80s found himself back in the White House, back doing more foreign trips for the Reagan and Bush administrations. Nixon was back. By the early 90s he was even getting along with Democrat Bill Clinton.

Oregon McKinley Ribbon: Gold Standard & Corvallis Ladies Club

In response to the Bryan 1897 ribbon, who was a free silver man, I have found this McKinley Our Standard care of Old Politicals Auction # 8 in 2010. It was being offered at $595.00, but didn't attract any bids.

5" Silk Ribbon

A fantastic ribbon. The gold really stands out. 1896 saw the gold standard supporters wage ideological war with the free silver advocates. Here is a McKinley Hobart jugate ribbon from the collection of Oregon APIC member John Silvertooth. It is from the Ladies Club in Corvallis, Oregon.

Anderson Auction 167 Oregon Items

For those of you curious, here are the Oregon related items selling in the latest from Anderson Americana Auction 167. It closes on May 7th.

screenshot from Anderson Auction: Search Oregon

1897 William Jennings Bryan Oregon Ribbon!

Talk about a blast from the past. This ribbon comes from the collection of APIC member Tom Berg. He shared it with us on the APIC Facebook page.

From the Berg Collection

Portland Mayoral Campaign 2012

One of the great things about being a locals collector is the sheer amount of materials out there in the locals field. Everything from a Ronald Reagan for Governor pin to a Al Smith for Sheriff pin is out there for fans of the candidates who later run for president. Then there are the items for folks who run for water board, school board, city council, auditor, county commissioner and then the biggest office in most municipalities across the country is that of mayor.

Founded in 1845, Portland is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Oregon. Portland is governed by a commission style government. The Mayor of Portland sits on the commission with 4 elected City Councilors and the City Auditor. All are elected to 4 year terms. These six folks govern the 100 or so neighborhoods that make up the city of Portland. As of 2011, it is estimated that nearly 600,000 people call Portland home. While the elections are all non-partisan, the city is known for it's abundance of Democratic candidates and office holders. All of the members of the state legislature from Portland are Democrats. The last Republican to be Mayor of Portland was Connie McCready, completed Mayor Neil Goldschmidt's term after he was appointed to the Carter Administration. The last Republican to be elected Mayor of Portland was Terry Schrunk.

2012 represented another campaign for Mayor of the Rose City, and it was an interesting campaign. There were 23 candidates on the ballot in the May primary. People of every walk of life stepped up to the task of running for mayor. There were college students, writers, engineers, real estate agents, artists, a CEO, a former city commissioner, and a member of the legislature all running for the same office. There was even an Occupy Portland supporter in the mix. Tre Arrow even popped up again. Instead of perching himself on a window ledge, he perched himself on the ballot.

Adventures of the Search 4/20/13

Went on a little trip down the highway on the hunt for the more elusive political items. The first real antique shop on HWY 99 in Sherwood is the Trading Post. It is a neat little shop. Has lots of stuff that folks who are not looking for political items would love.

Keynoter: Stevenson Hole in Shoe Update

In the Spring 2013 issue of the Keynoter, an update is given on a Winter 2012 article regarding Adlai Stevenson famous hole in shoe photograph and the items that surround the famous photo both from the Stevenson campaign and the Eisenhower campaign. Richard Rector and John Vargo both submitted additions. I found another such throwback to the Stevenson campaign.Here is a photo is from Gary Hart in 1984.

Farmers Committee Hosch b' Gosh pin

Doc Hosch for Governor pin from 1938

The late 30s were certainly an interesting time in Oregon. The normally Republican state had swept Democrats into office at various levels during the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt had carried the state in the last two presidential elections. It was unprecedented in Oregon history. The Democratic party had only carried Oregon twice since statehood in a presidential contest. It had now voted for a Democrat twice in the same decade! The governor, Charles Martin, was a Democrat. Elected in 1934 with the New Deal wave sweeping the nation, he was not a natural ally of Roosevelt. Many Republican business interests were backing him, especially in his dealings with labor and the Bonneville Power Administration.

Collectors Archive: Lenox Library Collection

We dug way back for this edition of Collectors Archive; all the way back to 1904! It is from The New York Times. It is regarding the creation of a grand collection of political cartoons and memorabilia from the early days of political campaigns to the modern (1904 remember) times. Makes you wonder if the collection is still in intact after 109 years.

Andrew Jackson Political Cartoon. Found on Google Image Search

 

OLD POLITICAL CARTOONS.

Lenox Library Collection Begins with Jackson in 1824.

Some of the most interesting and bitter campaign literature in New York just now has nothing nothing whatever to do with this election. Some of the most caustic cartoons have no reference whatever to Roosevelt, Parker, Herrick, or Higgins. A visit to the Lenox Library is necessary to see them, and for students of political history the time is profitably spent.

Oregon Democratic All-State Picnic's of the 1930s

1937 Program

Nothing brings out the crowds in a warm Oregon summer than an all state picnic. During the 1930s, the Oregon Democratic Party held an annual picnic during the summer to build up excitement for going into the fall campaigns. In today's campaign calendars the summers right before an election can be a desert for news and attention. During presidential campaigns, the attention is on the national conventions. The years when there is no convention...like the year after the election, it takes a little more to get the people interested in building the party. 

The Democrats of the 1930s did have one thing going for them: FDR. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a unifying figure for both political parties in Oregon. For the Democrats he was the hero of the New Deal, defeater of the Depression, and fascism in Europe. For Republicans of his day, FDR was the embodiment of big government, high taxes, and out of control spending. The New Deal wasn't so great in their view. 

1938 Program Committees Page

It was during these years that FDR was held in such fondness by his party and constituents that his face was put on many party documents. I have been able to find three of these Democratic Party of Oregon State Picnic programs over the years. They are very interesting documents and tell a great story of what people did for recreation as groups. These picnics were highly organized, consisting of many different committees that were in charge of like: The Sports Committee ( I assume they organized the team and individual sports at the picnic), The Honored Guests Committee, The Registration Committee, The Reception Committee, The Hostess Committee...from the looks of it, if there was a job, there was a committee for it.

The whole affair had a State Fair like aspect to it, with contests and awards for activities. There was even a swimsuit competition! With the political correctness that prevails at political events, I doubt a swimsuit competition would have a home at any political party event today....though, perhaps it is time to bring back some traditions. If only Mitt Romney and Barack Obama been forced to dawn their swim trunks and  take a walk down the boardwalk we may have a more laid back campaign in 2012.

1938 Program Cover

It would appear that from the programs I have found, these statewide Democratic Party of Oregon picnics started the summer of 1932. From online newspaper archives, it would appear they lasted well into the late 1970s. The picnics appear to have been held at a variety of locales early on. I am unsure when Oregon Republicans started having their State Picnics and when they stopped, but they were having them as early as 1960, when they invited Barry Goldwater to be the guest speaker. 

Here is a story from 1936 that appeared in the Bend Bulletin inviting Democrats to that years picnic. In the article, it references that there will be singing, music, dances, and sweepstakes. Democratic National Chairman James A. Farley was the keynote speaker along with the various candidates vying for statewide office. 

The story also mentions the 'bathing beauty contest', "Democratic county chairmen have been solicited for entrants for the bathing beauty contest which will be one of the spotlights of the picnic. The sweepstakes winner will be crowned 'Miss Democracy Oregon'. The Oregon Young Democrats apparently were working on something called 'Justice of the Peace Supreme Court' and had issued over 2000 summons statewide to Democrats to attend. 

1939 Cover

The picnic tradition is kept alive in Oregon by all political parties, they just don't happen statewide very often. They are mostly done by counties and don't have 'bathing beauty contests' (as far as I know of). These three programs I have received over the years have come from ebay and friends. I am most fond of the 1937 program. The scanner does not do it justice. It is a bright yellow and orange program. The cover art is fantastic, just what you would expect of something from that era. It highlights all the various New Deal expenditures, including Timberline Lodge. 

 

1938 and 1939 programs are relatively bland compared to the fantastic 1937 cover.  The 1938 program contains many campaign ads for candidates of the era, including Henry Hess, who was the nominee for Governor of Oregon that year. It includes an advert for Willis Mahoney, the nominee for U.S. Senate and two women candidates. Nan Wood Honeyman for Congress and Emily Edison for Secretary of State. Students of Oregon history will note that we never had a Senator named Mahoney or a Governor named Hess. 

Hess was the Roosevelt backed Democrat in the 1938 Primary, incumbent Democratic Governor Charles Martin was more conservative and against many aspects of the New Deal. In a three way race for the nomination, Hess would eek out a 49%-44%-7% win over Governor Martin and a little known state representative named Henry Oleen.Hess would lose to Republican Charles Sprauge later in the Fall. 

I have never seen a Oleen for governor item. Hess and Sprauge items come up fairly often on ebay. If anyone has any other examples of the these Democratic picnic programs from the 30s and 40s that include FDR on them feel free to share. Below is a reception committee ribbon I picked up in Salem this last year. It is from the 1935 picnic held at Blue Lake.