Friendly, Sam
From Lane Co Oregon
“I lead but never follow” was his slogan, and he lived it. He built a successful mercantile business, served on the Eugene City Council and a term as mayor, and was instrumental in bringing the University of Oregon to Eugene. He was born Samson H. Freundlich, in New York City. But for fifty years, Eugeneans would know him as Sam Friendly (1840-1915).
He arrived in Eugene in 1865 and went to work at both a general store and the Wells Fargo office. Shortly thereafter, he and his brother-in-law had their own mercantile, where they not only sold dry goods and clothing to locals, but also shipped Lane County products — hops, wool and wheat — to other regions. Store owners at the time filled their walls with merchandise and left a center aisle open so people could see the wares, recalled Daye Hulin, granddaughter of Lane County pioneer Mahlon Harlow. At the Friendly store on Willamette Street, she remembered round wooden stools placed on both sides of the counters. “They were a thoughtful accouterment,” she said. “The shopper could sit in comfort and the tired clerk could rest between customers.”
Well-liked throughout the town, Friendly was a hero at the university. Records show that during the earliest days of construction, he bought the wheat that area farmers had donated to help finance the school building. He later served as a regent for fifteen years, and was widely known for his generosity toward students and enthusiastic support for athletic teams. When the first UO dormitory was built in 1893, it was named Friendly Hall.
Sam Friendly was also fond of the good life. He and his wife, Mathilda (1850-1921) decorated their house in Eugene with their name engraved in the transom glass above the front door. Friendly would stand with his thumbs tucked in his lapels and call for a carriage by saying in his thick German accent, “Please send me mine team.” When he died, his funeral was attended by 1500 people at Villard Hall on the UO campus.
EUGENE CITIZENS SORROWFUL OVER DEATH OF MR. FRIENDLY, the Daily Guard reported on its front page. ALL OREGON MOURNS LOSS OF NOTED CITIZEN, added the Morning Register. “Mr. Friendly was essentially a big man,” said UO President Prince Lucien Campbell. “His views were broad and he was willing to give much time to the good of the university or city.”
Today his name lives on, not only through Friendly Street in west Eugene, but also in the larger surrounding area — called the Friendly Neighborhood.
