Today, Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke on my campus to a crowded room of university and high school students.  The Civil Rights leader and former presidential candidate (1984 and 1988) spoke of the hurdles Civil Rights activists faced including the famous Selma Bridge moment, Emmitt Till, and the Woolsworth Sit-In, as well as those of other minority groups including women and students.  Students applauded and cheered at mentions of President Obama’s election, calling it an end to a 60 year battle. Students were also a topic, advocating for an elimination interest on student loans, “Why should banks get bailed out with zero percent interest when you, students, who aren’t even guaranteed a job upon graduation, be forced to pay seven percent interest?”  Good question!

Rev. Jackson’s main focus was the importance of voting.  Voting is the right of citizens, and the way that America can voice its opinion and practice democracy.  To calls of “Amen” and repeated phrases, he spoke of Haiti, and that the United States had a debt to pay since the Napoleonic era, and that it should not be pitied, but instead lifted up, rebuilt and respected.  Since Jackson’s speak was one directed at students, he really pushed forward the message of voting, and how it will impact the future.

Last week I discussed Portland’s first female mayor, Dorothy McCullough Lee, as part of sharing my research on my Vice in the Rose City essay.  Tonight, I bring you Tempest Storm (yes, the Tempest Storm) and the time she spent in Portland.

Perhaps the most famous burlesque performer was Temptest Storm, who moved to Portland in 1953 shortly after her marriage to John Becker.

The move was to escape Becker’s ex-wife, another burlesque star, Arabella Andrea.  Storm opened The Capitol Theatre, which she bought for $15,000 and “spent a few thousand more fixing it up”.  But the move to Portland did not get Arabella out of their hair.  She moved to Portland and began performing at a rival burlesque house, the Star, which billed her as “John’s Other Wife”.  Not content, and convinced Becker married Storm before his divorce with her was over, Arabella then went as far as to come to Storm’s home; “One night, the doorbell rang, and Johnny opened the door.  There stood his ex-wife with a glass in her hand.  She had threatened many times to pour acid on my face, so I was hysterical when she threw the contents of the glass on me. It turned out that the glass held nothing but water”.

Storm’s husband had Arabella arrested and they asked for her to be placed into a mental hospital.  When that failed, Arabella sued Storm and Becker for $50,000 for false arrest.  The group eventually settled out of court, paying Arabella and her attorney $1,500 each.  But this settlement was not made before Life magazine got a hold of the story and ran with the headline of “Burlesque Wives War in Portland”.  And so ended Tempest Storm’s Portland experience, they moved to San Fransisco shortly after the settlement.

At 81 years old, Tempest Storm is alive and well and still performs in Las Vegas.  And her cult following has not faded.  She is continually an inspiration to women seeking to move into the world of burlesque.

Sources: Temptest Storm: The Lady is a Vamp, 1987 and Life Magazine, November 30, 1953.

My overall research for my essay is coming to a close.  I am trying to sort out the details, since there are quite a few stories that don’t add up.  The trip to California and holiday at Disneyland I am hoping won’t slow me down.

Well, I think I’ve finally gathered together all of my research for my essay on vice in Portland.  After plowing through the majority of it, I’m sitting down and writing summaries for each piece to figure out how I want to work it into my essay.  Additionally, I’m a very visual person, usually need to spread out in order to figure everything out, thus I’ve started what I’ve pretty much deemed my investigator wall, since I liken it to the walls detectives create when they are trying to solve a case.

I used foam-core board to nail to my wall, creating a massive board to tack up a timeline and list of key players.  I’ll be sure to post a picture of it once I’m done.

I am working off of about 25 newspaper articles, and five City Club reports, as well as a handful of autobiographies, secondary sources, and Robert F. Kennedy’s book The Enemy Within, which covers the McClellan Committee’s investigation into corrupt labor unions.

As you can see, it’s a lot of information to digest, and it is very difficult piecing it all together.  Remember, I’m dealing with people who were involved in the vice rackets, doing a lot of illegal things, so there are many contradicting stories.

As I continue my journey through this, I figured I’d provide some highlights.  Today I’d like to highlight Dorothy McCullough Lee.  In 1949, Lee became Portland’s first female mayor, but prior to that, she was pretty groundbreaking.  She graduated from the University of California at Berkley, earning a Law degree.  She practiced law for a year in San Francisco, and after her marriage, she and her husband moved to Portland in 1924.  After failing to be hired by Portland’s firms based upon her gender, she opened her own office and in 1931 she formed a partnership with another female lawyer, creating Oregon’s first all women law firm.  In ‘32, she sat on Oregon’s Senate, and in ‘43 was appointed to the City Council, and became the first woman to serve as the city’s commissioner.  In the ‘48 mayoral election, she won the vote by 70 percent, beating incumbent Earl Riley.  Early in office, she started a crusade against vice, and got the city council to outlaw pinball machines and went after slots, and punchboards as well.  Slots were not just in after hour clubs though, they were also in private clubs such as the Press and Veterans clubs.  The operators of these clubs felt that Lee had gone too far, since the slots provided extra revenue.  Press Club manager Charley Summer reported that the slots raked in $4,000 a month.  And Mrs. C.S. Johnson of the Veterans club referred to Lee as “Mrs. Air-Wick”.  She also gained the nick name “Dotty-Do-Good” and in Portland Confidential she is called “No Sin” Lee.  Lee’s warpath on vice ended when she lost to Fred Peterson in 1952.

After holding the mayor’s seat, Lee was appointed the to the federal Parole Board  in DC by President Eisenhower, a position she held until ‘56, and then served on the Subversive Activities Control Board as their chairwoman from ‘57 to ‘62.  After the national scene, Lee returned to Portland and to practicing law.  She passed away in 1981.

Sources: Rose City Justice by Fred Leeson, 1998 and Life Magazine, March 21, 1949

Well, I know it’s been awhile since I last updated, but with good reason.  I’m literally buried in corruption, or rather papers discussing corruption…

For the last week, I’ve been in and out of the library making photocopies out of old Life magazines, finding newspaper articles in the microfilm department, downloading and printing Portland City Club reports (seriously a solid inch of paper so far), as well as hunting down out of print books.  Then I have to read it all! *sigh* Anyhow, that’s pretty much all my life has been.  But never the less, it’s been an interesting and eye-opening journey so far.  I’ve been in contact with several other writers on the topic, including Phil Stanford, the author of Portland Confidential.  And I’ve put in a request to talk to the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Wallace Turner who wrote the expose that shocked the Rose City.

Additionally, I just got done with an essay on Lewis and Clark for my American West class, and next week brings midterms…This just ain’t cool, Daddy-O. Anyhow, on a lighter note, tomorrow I’m heading up to Portland, but not for research, but for the October Palmer-Wirfs antique show at the Expo Center! The last show in July offered up a lot of reasonably priced goodies.  So I gotta get up bright and early tomorrow morning!