Page 38 - SOM Summer 2017

HISTORY
buzz | tidbits

MARIAN TOWNE

OREGON’S FIRST WOMAN LEGISLATOR
By Alice Mullaly of the Southern Oregon Historical Society

omen’s right to vote in Oregon was passed in 1912. Marian Towne, from
WPhoenix, Oregon, had worked for the county clerk for several years after
high school and part of her job was to read and file state laws that might affect
the county. “Surely these could be better written,” she thought. So, Towne ran
for the state legislature in 1914—the first election in which women could vote.
Most candidates made speeches and sought the backing of newspapers. Towne,
instead, went door-to-door and listened to people. She won. As the first woman
in the Oregon Legislature, she was barely tolerated. Still, she introduced bills on
juvenile justice, education of orphans, and efficiency in government.

World War I was raging in Europe and in 1917 the United States entered the
fray. The Navy determined that if they recruited women to do office jobs, more
men would be free for fighting. This was the founding of the rank Yeoman F
(soon to be popularly known as Yeomanette). Marian Towne signed up, and was
soon a leader among the women. As a Yeomanette, Towne helped run the pay-
master’s office at the Bremerton Navy shipyard in Washington. After she had
gained the highest noncommissioned rank, she applied to become an officer and was denied. After her military service, Towne
moved to California where she worked for several years for the California Bar Association and, during and after the Depression,
for the Women’s Division of the San Francisco Public Health Department. In 1957, Marian Towne retired to her family home in
Phoenix. She died there in 1966, but she will always be remembered as Oregon’s first woman legislator.

The Southern Oregon Historical Society Research Library is open Wednesdays through Fridays from noon to 4 p.m.
www.sohs.org

HANLEY FARM

JOINING A LONG HISTORY OF OUTDOOR CONCERTS

By Alice Mullaly of the Southern Oregon Historical Society
ummertime outdoor music concerts have a long tradition. In 1889, more than
S2,500 people attended a band festival in Jacksonville. All day bands played on the
balcony of the U.S. Hotel while crowds listened from the street. The Ashland City
Band has held concerts since the 1890s. The Britt Festival in Jacksonville and Ashland
City Band Concerts continue this tradition today. Some towns went to great lengths to
have concerts. To accommodate summer events in Medford, the Greater Medford Club
built a band-shell and the city strung lights and constructed benches to accommodate
listeners at Liberty Park.

This summer, people can enjoy a new music festival under the trees at the Historic
Hanley Farm. On August 5 from noon to 8 p.m. five great eclectic bands will enter-
tain festivalgoers. Food, beer and wine, a market, and a great raffle will round out this
Southern Oregon Historical Society fundraiser

36 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | summer 2017