Monday, January 27, 2014

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.

3 comments:

Lee said...

Awesome video, but those establishments on Broadway are definitely not in the Highland Hood.

Brian Watson said...

Thanks for sharing the KHF video!

Hi Lee, glad you enjoyed the video. We were simply wanting to highlight some of our favorite establishments that are within walking/biking distance of the Highland hood.

Lee said...

I totally understand, I was just being a smart *ss.
As someone who moved to Salem knowing nothing about the place, or never having been here before a video like this would have helped. I think Salem does an awful job of marketing itself as a livable/fun place to be. I'd like to see more of a push to promote our inner hoods in Salem because they are walkable, bikeable, affordable and have great potential to be vibrant places to be.