1948

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1940s:

1930s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s

1948.

Contents 1 Springfield 1.1 Businesses 1.2 Transportation 1.3 Government and Utilities 1.4 Organizations 1.5 Education 1.6 Agriculture

Springfield

Businesses

• Booth-Kelly enlarged and modernized its Springfield mill in 1948.

• In 1948, the U.S. National Bank opened a branch office, Springfield Motors (the Buick dealership) built a showroom and garage, a Safeway grocery opened, and the new Pay ‘N Takit shopping center (renamed Pay ‘N Save in 1952) opened at 44th and Main. When it opened this shopping center included a grocery, barber shop, beauty shop, clothing store, jewelry store, and hardware store.

• Springfield’s first radio station got its start in 1948 when KORE (Eugene’s oldest station) opened a studio in Springfield (Springfield News 1948).

Transportation

• In 1948, the Southern Pacific Railroad began using new 6000 horse-powered diesel-electric locomotives on the “Shasta Route” passenger line through Springfield (Springfield News 1948). Rail transport for freight purposes continued to be important throughout this time period.

Government and Utilities

• A bond issue to fund the new City Hall was not passed until 1948.

• Post Office substations opened in Glenwood (1948).

Organizations

• The Business and Professional Women (BPW) starts a local chapter in 1948.

• In 1948, the Catholics purchased a surplus chapel from Camp White in Medford and relocated it for use as the St. Alice Catholic Church in Springfield. Hope Lutheran Church was organized that year, as was the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Camp Creek Church, constructed in 1943, was destroyed by fire in 1948 (Springfield News 1948).

Education

• The old Maple School on east Main Street became known as the Gorrie School and was sold in 1948 (Springfield News 1947).

• School enrollments in 1948 continued to swell with an estimated 2600 in the grade schools and another 1000 students in the high school. Despite the recent additions to existing schools and a new addition under construction at the Thurston grade school, the district identified the need for at least two new schools to accommodate the growth (Springfield News 1948).

Agriculture

• After the war, however, its importance dwindled and crop failures in [[1948] resulted in the closing of the state-owned Fibre Flax Plant in Springfield (Springfield News 1948). Hops made a small comeback in the late 1940s and early 1950s, although it would never reach the volume it had in the 1920s and 1930s. Bulb growers, nurseries and greenhouses were found in the Thurston area, and dairies and livestock dotted the landscape throughout the county.