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Loucks Lecture Hall
On February 24, 1991, the lecture hall at the remodeled
Salem Public Library was dedicated. The hall was named after
Al Loucks, Salem’s mayor from 1951 to 1954. Loucks died
June 3, 1990 of cancer. Loucks was a long-time civic activist
and an avid supporter of the Library. He had been a two-term
Salem mayor and a one-term State Representative. But, mostly,
Loucks worked behind the scenes - - goading elected officials
on various issues such as lowering taxes and improving Salem.
He was also an avid fund-raiser for the Salem YMCA and Willamette
University, and an inventive storyteller - - ready with an
amusing yarn for most situations.
On December 11, 1990, Salem City Council voted to name the
auditorium after Loucks because he was an avid supporter of
the Library. Council member Warren Thompson said, "I
support naming the auditorium after Al Loucks. It will be
a place where people will meet. I think Al Loucks would be
excited about it."
Nora L. Anderson Auditorium
Nora L. Anderson Auditorium was named after a civic minded
woman who contributed to time and efforts to the Salem community
to beautify and improve the livability of her town. The Auditorium
was dedicated at the time of the construction of the Salem
Public Library in 1972. Before World War I, she was involved
with the Salem Women's Club and its effort to found the Salem
Public Library. A bequest from her to the Library in 1972
was appropriately used for the Nora Anderson Auditorium. In
addition to supporting the Salem Public Library she helped
found the Salem Garden Club, she promoted Salem's Junior Symphony;
helped organize the forerunner of the Assistance League
The tribute was more than deserved, because among other services
to the community, Nora had helped found the Salem Garden Club.
She was also an organizer of the Oregon State Federation of
Garden Clubs and served as its first president. Perhaps her
most dramatic experience as a community volunteer was when
the Salem Art Center Association headquarters at Pringle Park
flooded in 1942. Nora was among the community members who
rescued the association's belongings from the rising flood
waters. In 1947, she revived the Art Center Association under
the Salem Art Association name and began fundraising for the
purchase of the Bush House's original furnishings.
Discovery Room
The Children's
Discovery Room at the Salem Public Library began on December
10, 1986 as a portion of the main floor of the Library devoted
to allowing children to explore inter-active displays and
learn about their surroundings. Children use their senses
by touching, examining, and exploring objects, thereby stimulating
thought, imagination and understanding. It began with funding
from the Salem Rotary Club. The room was named by the then
Salem Public Library Director, George Happ. The Discovery
Room was moved to its upstairs, triangle room location during
the remodeling of the Salem Public Library during the 1990-91
remodel of the Salem Public Library. The Salem Rotary, Boise
Corporation and other businesses have sponsored inter-active
learning displays for the Discovery Room over the years.
Heritage Room
The Heritage Room and its research computer are the result
of the generosity and the foresight of the descendants of
two Salem Area families. It honors Max and Martha Gehlhar
and Gov. Douglas and Mabel McKay. Daniel Schneider and Allison
Hadley, representing the youngest generation in each of those
families, cut the ribbon at the opening of the Heritage Room.
The cabinets and furniture in the Heritage Room are the creations
of Dave Anderson, and his father, Dr. Bob Anderson. Dave Anderson
is a master furniture craftsman and shop teacher at North
Salem High School. Bob Anderson is a retired orthopedic surgeon.
His fine furniture graces First Presbyterian Church, and the
YMCA, among other places. He built the desk and cabinets for
then President Jerry Hudson’s office at Willamette University.
Dave and Bob Anderson brought the lumber to their Salem shop
where it was carefully cataloged and dried. It was there they
built the magnificent cabinets and furniture as their contribution
to the Salem Public Library's Heritage Room.
Bibliography:
Statesman Journal newspaper, December 12, 1990 and February
24, 1991
Interview with Linda Bellock and B. J. Quinlan in Youth Services
Division, March 2003
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