Monday Bits: Dr. Lovejoy at Deepwood, Keep Highland Fun

In the popular imagination there's a strong connection between women's suffrage and bicycling.

Lovejoy from Wikipedia

On Tuesday at Deepwood, Kimberly Jenson will give a talk on Dr. Esther Pohl Lovejoy, "Oregon’s Doctor to the World, Esther Pohl Lovejoy."

While the talk isn't going to be about bikes or transportation, it is interesting to note that Lovejoy herself bicycled in the 1890s and early 1900s when it was popular, but moved in 1906 to the car when she acquired one for herself.

The story of women and bikes is complicated by class, and as cars became markers of higher status, and offered greater speed and shelter from the elements, higher-status women who could afford them moved on to this newer - and more expensive - ground transportation technology.

London Suffrage Advocates, 1913

Here in Oregon, during the 1912 campaign, the "Suffrage Truck" was a dominant image, and not so much the bicycling suffragette.

Portland Suffrage Advocates, 1912

It is not possible to insulate even the story of women's suffrage from autoist triumphalism!

Anyway, Lovejoy seems like an interesting character, and the talk will likely be a good one.

(Suffrage Truck clip: “‘Neither Head nor Tail to the Campaign’: Esther Pohl Lovejoy and the Oregon Woman Suffrage Victory of 1912.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 108:3, Fall 2007)

Keep Highland Fun

Over the weekend a video about the Highland neighborhood started making the rounds, and it's great to see that it highlights bikes!

Clips from Keep Highland Fun

The Highland and Grant neighborhoods are some of the most bikeable in Salem, and it's nice to see how that works its way into everyday living and everyday fun. (Video after the jump.)



KHF from Brian Watson on Vimeo.