Gerlach, Claude T
From Lane Co Oregon
Claude Gerlach was mayor from 1945 to 1948. Claude grew up in Philometh and married his wife Dorothy in 1937. He attended Oregon State University (known then as ORegon Agricultural College) and completed his post-graduation internship at Coos Bay Pharmacy. He moved to Springfield in 1937 and opened Gerlach Drug Store. During Claude's tenure as mayor a town became city. The population was 3,800 people and the city limits extended to 19th Street but effectively no homes could be built past 10th Street since there were no sewers and septic tanks had become illegal. Claude supported the installation of sewers past 10th Street, supported the annixation of the area from 19th to 31st, oversaw the adoption of the City Manager System and the formation of the Central Lane Planning ORganization which brought the first land use planning to the region. Claude likes to be known s the Grandfather of Springfield which in effect he is. Claud and Dorothy had two children, a daughter and a son who died in 1999. They have 5 grandchildren and 8 grreat-grand children.
Longtime Resident Celebrate 65 years by Kara Cogswell, 2001
In an age when nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, 20 years of matrimony is a long time, but for one Springfield couple, more than six decades together have flown by.
"I can't believe it," Dorothy Gerlach said. "The yers go."
Dorothy and her husband, former Springfield Mayor Claude Gerlach, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary Saturday with a reception at the Valley River Inn.
About 150 friends, family members and community Senior Forum.
"They go and solve all the problems of Springfield and the world, and then they see nothing has changed, so they go back next week and discuss it again," Janet Gerlach said.
In their spare time, the couple keeps busy with hobbies. She enjoys oil painting and creating dried flower wreathes and researching family's history. His hobby is woodworking. He has made furniture for their home, and the Rotary Club and the church and toys for the grandchildren. The Gerlachs have five grandchildren and eight great-great grandchildren.
Many members and community leaders attended the event, hosted by the couple's daughter, Janet Tracy,and her husband, Daniel, both of West Hartford, Conn.
The Gerlachs were married in Dorothy's hometown of Adrian on August 2, 1937. Claude grew up in Philomath.
The couple met in 1933 when they were both students at Oregon State University, then known as the Oregon Agricultural College and while Claude completed his post-graduation internship at a Coos Bay pharmacy.
They moved to Springfield in 1938 and opened Gerlach's Drug Store. Dorothy worked with Claude in the store the first year it was open and then stayed home to raise their two children, Janet and son Raymond, who died in 1999.
In 1944, at the age of 31, Claude was elected mayor of Springfield. During his term in office, he led the way to make improvements in the santiary sewage system and to extend the city limits to 28th Street. He also installed Springfield's first city manager, a position that has changed the way the city is run.
Despite his success as mayor, he dediced not to run for reelection because he needed more time for his family and business.
At time when Main Street was the main location for business, only a few large stores existed in Springfield, and Gerlach's Drug Store was one of them. During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, the store employed 14 to 15 people and offered everything from cameras to cosmetics to fountain drinks.
In 1972, the Gerlachs sold the business to employees and retired, but they have remained active in the community. Dorothy, 88, and Claude, 89, are members of several local groups, including the Springfield Rotary Club, which Claude chartered. They are also longtime congregates of Ebbert Memorial Methodist Church.
And every Monday at 9:30 a.m. Claude still meets with other retired Springfield civic leaders in a group called the...
...great-great grandchildren.
The couple also enjoy hunting, fishing, and draveling. They have visited a long list of foreign countries in Europe, Africa, and Australia and for more than 40 years they were members of the Wally Byam Trailer Club.
One trip they'll make several times this year is to Corvallis to watch their favorite football team, the Beavers. The Gerlachs have been OSU season ticket holders for 58 years, and they already have their tickets for this season.
Dorothy credits the success of their marriage to a mutual understanding.
"We realize we have different temperaments and we understand and complement each other," she said.
Love has something to do with it as well, added their daughter, Janet.
"They accept and love each other as they are," she said.
| Mayors of Springfield | |
| Albert S. Walker (1885-1886) • S.I. Lee (1887) • Albert S. Walker (1888) • Simon Tuttle (1888-1889) • T.O. Maxwell (1889) • Albert S. Walker (1889-1890) • Albert Wheeler (1890-1892) • L. Gilstrap (1892-1893) • Albert Wheeler (1893) • J H Van Schoich (1893-1894) • Albert Wheeler (1894-1895) • Eugene C Martin (1896-1899) • John B. Innis (1900-1902) • H.A. Skeels (1902-1903) • R.A. Jayne (1903-1907) • Mark M. Peery (1907-1909) • W.M. Sutton (1909-1911) • Welby Stevens (1911-1913) • Charles L. Scott (1913-1915) • Elmer E. Morrison (1915-20) • Charles F. Eggiman (1921-1924) • George G. Bushman (1925-1929) • Charles O. Wilson (1929) • Wilfrid P. Tyson (1930-1934) • Ernest H. Turner (1934-1935) • W.A. Taylor (few minutes, November 27, 1935) • Ed Waltman (1935-1936) • William H. Pollard (1936-1940) • Charles Chandler (1940-1945) • Claude T. Gerlach (1945-1949) • B.P. Larson (1949-1953) • Edward C. Harms, Jr. (1953-1961) • B.J. Rogers (1961-1965) • David L. Scofield (1965-1967) • John E. McCulley (1967-1970) • William Morrissette • Maureen Maine • Sid Leiken |  |
