In 1911, Montavilla held its first “safe and sane” Independence Day celebration. In that year, Portland joined the national effort to reduce July Fourth deaths and injuries—to both adults and children–caused by various types of pyrotechnics. In 1903, when the national campaign began, Independence Day celebrations across the country resulted in 466 deaths and 4,449 injuries. As “safe and sane” policies were adopted city after city and as safer activities replaced dangerous ones, injuries and deaths began to fall. By 1911, Portland was among the 161 cities holding safe-and-sane events.
Montavilla’s July 4th celebration began with a parade. It started at the intersection of NE 80th Avenue and NE Glisan Street, then proceeded to Stark Street. The Grand Marshall, William DeVeny (1853-1918) —Montavilla’s Buffalo Bill look-alike — led the way on horseback. This honor was typically bestowed upon a renowned community leader, and he was certainly that. He was living in Montavilla by 1899 and, from then on — as an active member of the Montavilla Sub-Board of Trade — he was in the forefront of practically every Montavilla improvement effort in the early 1900s.
Grand Marshall William DeVeny-as he appeared in an ad for his chiropodist business. Source: Immaculata Academy (Portland, Or.) Yearbook
Men on horseback led the parade, followed by a line of automobiles. One of the cars held the Goddess of Liberty—an Independence Day staple–and her entourage. The Goddess was elected in a contest for the prettiest and most popular young woman in Montavilla. At a penny a vote, 18-year-old Caroline Buehler was elected Montavilla’s goddess for the 1911 celebration. She garnered 12,480 votes, far ahead of the runner-up, Luly Bryson, who received only 1,768. It was “the most exciting contest held in Montavilla,” the Oregonian proclaimed, and it raised a little over $200.
Other neighborhoods—like Mt. Tabor—held their Independence Day events in public parks. In 1911, Montavilla did not yet have a park, so the day’s festivities were held at the new Altamead subdivision, which had not yet put lots on the market.
All of Portland was invited to Montavilla’s grand celebration. Newspapers estimated that from 1500 to 2500 attended.
A band was playing as people arrived at the Altamead. Master of Ceremonies, John M. Conway – of the Montavilla Board of Trade—welcomed them to a sane and safe July 4th celebration.
The program began with a speech by Robert C. Wright of Mount Tabor, a well-known attorney and a Republican politician. Instead of a patriotic speech, he addressed a current Montavilla issue. Since Montavilla did not have a purpose-built public library, the Montavilla Board of Trade was seeking a Carnegie library grant. Wright spoke against this. He spoke of the dangers of the accumulation of vast wealth. Andrew Carnegie may be a philanthropist, but he was a steel-industry monopolist. The Republican Party, under the recent president Theodore Roosevelt and the current president William Howard Taft, tried to break up industrial monopolies.
Clearly, the Montavilla July Fourth celebration was a community-building event as well as a commemoration of the beginning of America’s break with Britain. The formal program ended with the Goddess of Liberty witnessing the American flag as it rose to the tune of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
After the formal program, it was on to the picnic and the games: races, baseball, a tug-of-war, a greased pig chase, and prizes awarded by Rev. Father James Fitzpatrick, pastor of the nearby Church of the Ascension.
The celebration ended in the evening with a band concert and fireworks rising, safely, over the unbuilt subdivision land. Even the weather cooperated for the sane and safe celebration. It was, after all, a perfect, balmy day in contrast to the killer heat wave that plagued the eastern half of the United States.
It was a grand—and safe—Independence Day in Montavilla.
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Title image digitally restored
This is part of Montavilla History Questions Answered, a series of history related articles. If you have questions about Montavilla’s past that you’d like answered, local historian Patricia Sanders will investigate your question. Please email your questions to history@montavilla.net and we may feature it alongside Patricia Sanders’ research in a future.