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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBrower Newspaper ArticlesThe mystery letter Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE Ashland City Recorder Barbara Christensen retrieves the letter and locks up the city document vault Tue,, Century-old message to be unveiled By Myles Murphy Ash]and Daily Tidings Ashland City Recorder Barbara Christensen has waited six long years to open a letter that has been sealed for a centur~ "I found a number of interesting documents when I was doing an in- ventory of the city document vault. This was by far the most intrigu- The letter is in a plain, un- opened, undamaged and barely wrinkled envelope. Typed on the front is the name of Dn M.D. Brow- er and a request that the envelope not be opened until Jan. 1, 2001. The doctor's name was Marcus David Brower, who practiced in Ashland in the late 19th century and the early 20th centur~ Christensen will open the letter, with lit- he fanfare, Brower Tuesday, Jan. 2 at her office in City Hall on the Plaza, 20 E. Main Street. "The most interesting thing about the story is that a small letter is over a hundred years old and that people have honored the re- quest not to open it," said Ashland historian Kay Atwood. The letter was found among Oth- er documents dated around 1910, but with no date on the letter. Its ex- act age is unknown. Brower was born in 1858. He re- ceived a medical degree from Willamette UnivereiW in 1888 and started practice in Ashland in 1893. He lived and practiced in Ashland for the rest of his life. Brower treated typical maladies of the day, and reported in Septem- ber 1928 that he had aided a patient injured after being dragged around by a runaway cow and a woman who fractured her wrist while hand-cranking a Ford. He died in 1939. Early in his career, he focused on the unhealthy conditions in Ashland which spread disease. Atwood quotes Brower on those concerns in her 1985 book, '~kn Honorable History: 133 Years of The outside of the plain, manila-colOred envelope reads: 'To be opened Jan. 1st, 2001. Deposited by D.M.. Brower M.D.LL.D. 216 Central Ave. Ashland, Oregon.' Medical Practice in Jackson Coun- ty, Oregon." '~Ashland at the time of my com- ing was a very unsanitary town," Atwood quoted Brower as saying. "Diseases that were gendered and spread by frith and poverty were common. The following winter there was an epidemic of scarlet fever spread all over the town. Af- ter it got well scattered, the Town Council appointed me as chairman of the health beard. The stopping of the epidemic was some job. Nev- ertheless, by establishing an efI~l- cient quarantine and a campaign for sanitation, there were no more new foci and the epidemic was stayed. "When the danger was on, the officers were very smooth and friendly, but when the danger was past and I presented my bill of $10 which ought to have been twice as much, my popdlarity waned promptly," Brower continued. "The council demurred at the bill; I ex- plained; it did a lot of good. Now, the council, following the advice of the City Attorney, whom they paid $50 a month, allowed me $5 and fired me off the board. LESSON: If you hold an office in which the pub- lic should be served, do nothing, ff you want to get public approval." Brower had a hard time getting city officials to take measures against the unsanitary conditions in town, a frustration made worse by the death from scarlet fever of many Ashland children, including his own daughter in 1894. "He'd had some bitter expert- ences," Atwood said. But if these bitter experiences colored the contents of the letter, or ff Brower is simply wishing the town a Happy New Year 2001, At- wood would not hazard a guess. But Brewer lived through some of Ashland's most interesting times, and could be sending city residents a message about any number of people or events. Could he know why Dr. Francis B. Swedenburg, who moved to Ash- land in 1907, replaced Dr. Joseph Herndon as physician in charge of the Ashland sanitarium? Did he have inside information on Ash- land's f~rst physician, David Sisson, who also became Asbland's first murder victim (still unsolved) in 18587 Or what about the fire that brought down the Southern Ore- gon Hospital in 19097 What did he think of Lithia Park, started in 1908, or the Carnegie Library in 19127 Brower was here tbr the Spanish influenza epidemic, which caused the city to cancel all public meet- ings and shut down schools and churches in 1918. He saw the clos- ing of the Natatorium and Chau- tauqua shortly after World War I, and the opening of the Lithla Springs Hotel in 1925, and South- ern Oregon State Normal School in 1926, now Southern Oregon Uni- versity He witnessed the bitter feud be- tween city physicians and big- spending eccentric Jesse Wrmburn, who bought the old Granite Street Hospital, f~xed it up, and gave it to the city as a gift. Winburn was ru- mored to have offered large amounts of money to influence city council votes. Winbur n also refused to stop let- ting his cows and horses foul the upper reaches of Ashland Creek, the town's water supply, That was another soutx~ of friction. Third-generation Ashland resi- dent R. Gene Morris, 74, who owns Oak Street Tank & Steel, knew Brower's second daughter Voda Brewer (now deceased). He has lit- tle recollection of the doctor him- self and no idea what might be in the letter. "I'll be there for the opening of the letter if I can make it," Morris said. "I lived up the street from Vo- da and I can vaguely remember Dr. Brower. That's all I know about the Brower family," After waiting six years to open the letter, Christensen had a mo- ment of worry earlier this week when the letter went missing. "I was so nervous," she said. "To have something like that and lose it would be not only d,isappeint to me, but a loss for histow." But the letter, safeguarded in a desk, turned up, much to Chris- tensen's relief. "Now it's going in the vault and it's going to stay there until Tues- day,'' she said. Historical information and photo courtesy Kay Atwood and her books, "Jackson County Conversations," 1975; '~4n Honorable History," 1985; and, ?Ashland Community Hospital: A Century of Caring, "1996~ Missive focuses.. :,' e' on global order, 'perpetual peace' By Myles Murphy The contents of a 64-year-old letter opened at the Ashland City Hall this morn- ing were a surprise to aU present. The letter was written by Ashland doctor David Brower, who lived in Ashland fi'om 1893 until his death in 1939, and experienced many of the city's historic occasions. But in his letter, Brower adopted a global view as he outlined a recipe for world order. '~t the present rate of progress Interna- tionalism should be in full flower. It is the hope of the writer that itmay be useful ... to show the way out to perpetual peace on the international highway to perpetual peace," Brower wrote. "We were all a little disappointed that it wasn't more directed at community issues of the time," said Barbara Christensen, Asbland's city recorder and treasure. A small crowd had gathered for the opening, including Ashland Mayor-elect Alan DeBoer and Councilmen Cameron Hanson and David Fine. Brower penned four type-written pages -- a cover letter and a document titled "Pr~ posed Constitution of an International Union of States" -- on Oct. 26, 1936, bis 78th birthday. The missive was put into the trust of former City Recorder James Adams at the time, and has been kept by seven city recorders, includtug Christensen. Brower asked that the letter be opened Jan. 1, 2001, and Christensen chose to open it today, the first day that city offices were open. City officials have been aware of the let- ter since it was discovered buried in the city document vault six years ago by Cl~ris- tensen. "I was hoping he'd make a prediction about Ashland's future history," DeBoer said. Though the letter was interesting, said Hanson, '~ confession or something would have been great." In the letter, Brower carefully laid out his ideas on internationalism and a "Uulon of States" that would span the globe and have Bethlehem as a world capital. His constitution was composed of pre- amble and seven articles which spelled out his vision of government in the future. Brower described the conditions of mem- bership in the union, a representative form of government, and how the state would in- teract with industry and mete out justice. He advocated f~ee speech, press, and as- sembly. Brower also called for non-violent police actions. "Except with the violently insane, non- violence shall always be used," he wrote. Fine, a history teacher for 15 years, said he was not too surprised at the letter, which expressed disappointment with the falter- lng of the post-World War I ethic of inter- nationalism in the years leading up to World War II. "That's rea)Jy a typical document of the era," he said. Christensen said she had contacted Brower's grandson, who lives in Cal~farula, but he wished not to be identified. "He was very interested in the letter and he gave me the impression that his grandfa- ther was philceophlcal," Christensen said. "He was right on." Brower was also a man of faith, and hoped his writings would be insp~rattonal '~ careful, critical study (of the letter) will disclose that more would be too much and less would be too little. It is of no avail until adopted but when it is would create, will lead on to what the poets have (said) would be the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man. It is the hope of the writer the reader will read, discuss and preserve it for future generations to become a blessing to all The Lord Ged will preserve men."