1525 Fairmount Ave 

Eleanor Sarah Fellows was born 4 Sep 1898 in Highland, Oregon to Daniel Marion and Grace [Jewell] Fellows. She had one brother, James Arthur that was two years older. She attended public school in nearby Estacada. Her mother left the family and remarried by the time Eleanor was 11 years old. Both of her children maintained a relationship with her throughout their lives.  

She married Ercel Wallace Kay on 28 Aug 1918 in Portland, OR. At the time of their marriage Eleanor was 19 years old, her groom was 28. She lived at the Royal Arms Apts. in Portland in a clerical occupation. The couple was married by Reverend H.H. Griffis in the First Christian Church of Portland in a simple ceremony with close family and friends. Eleanor wore a dark blue traveling suit with a corsage of bride’s roses. Following the ceremony, the couple honeymooned on the Oregon Coast, then made their home in the Court St. Apartments in Salem.  

Ercel was the assistant manager of the family owned woolen mill. In 1919, Eleanor saw a way to help out in the family concern. The mill, which primarily made blankets, would often receive requests from the local community to sell their woolen offcuts or remnants. They were happy to do so, but had no designated space, staff, or procedures to do so. Eleanor went to her father-in-law Thomas B. Kay and asked permission to operate a store space in the upstairs of the old office building, with fixed hours where people could come to purchase the factory’s wool remnants. She worked there part-time until 1921 and considered it a great way to help the family mill and make acquaintances in a new city as a young bride.  

Eleanor and Ercel had a mutual hobby, golf. They belonged to the Portland Golf Club and spent many weekends on the green. In 1921, she became the only Salem resident ever to win the State Women’s Amateur Golf Championship. The 1920s were a period of growth and prosperity for the family. Their son Thomas B. Kay was born 10 Sep 1923. They built a home at 1525 Fairmount Ave. in 1924. They organized the Salem Golf Club in 1926 and laid out, in two phases, Salem’s first public golf course that opened in 1928. Ercel was active in the development and operation and served as manager until his death.  

The 1930s brought challenges for the family and the woolen business. Father-in-law Thomas B. Kay died unexpectedly of a stroke in 1931 and Ercel became the manager of the woolen mill. It was a difficult period for the mill with the Great Depression in which many of the mill’s customers went bankrupt and the demand for fabric was reduced. In 1934, there was a National Textile Strike that workers at the Kay Woolen Mills joined. They walked off the job until negotiations and an agreement regarding wages, hours and unionization could be reached.  

Then with the advent of World War II in the 1940s, the mill experienced a brief boom period in the form of government contracts for blankets and uniform fabric. The mill operated around the clock to meet the demand. Eleanor’s son Tom was a teen during this period and began to take an active role in learning the different aspects of the family business. Following his graduation in 1941, he attended the University of Oregon just as the U.S. went to war. In 1943 he was inducted into the U.S. Army and served on the European front until discharged in July 1945. He returned to graduate from the University but remained in the U.S. Army Reserve, which led him to be called up for the Korean Conflict in 1950. He then returned to active duty in Japan for two more years.  

Back home in the early 1950s, the woolen mill struggled as consumer demand for wool plummeted in favor of synthetics. Eleanor’s husband was in his 60s and though manager in title, left the day-to-day running of the mill to a superintendent, and his son Tom after he returned from military duty. Then Ercel and the family made the difficult decision to close the mill and focus on Salem Golf Club.  

Eleanor’s husband Ercel died 2 Jan 1966 from a heart attack when he was 77 years old. At the time of his death, he was still listed as manager of Kay Woolen Mills and the Salem Golf Course, though his son Tom had taken the active role of managing the shutdown process at the mill. Eleanor Kay died 15 May 1979 in Salem, OR. Both were buried in Belcrest Memorial Park. 

1928  Kay Ercel W (Eleanor) home 1525 Fairmount Av 

1930  Kay Ercel W (Eleanor) president, Salem Golf Club home 1525 Fairmount av 

1932  Kay Ercel W, manager, Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Co. home 1525 Fairmount av 

1934  Kay Ercel W (Eleanor S) manager, Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Co. home 1525 Fairmount av 

1935  Kay Ercel W (Eleanor S) manager, Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Co. home 1525 Fairmount av 

1910  Sarah Fellows. Age: 11. Birth Date: 1899 in Oregon. Home in 1910: Highland, Clackamas, OR. Single, daughter to HOH. Additional household members: Dan Fellows, age 48 (father), Arthur Fellows, age 13 (brother). 

1920  Eleanor Kay. Age: 21. Birth Year: 1899 in Oregon. Home in 1920: Court St. Salem Ward 2, Marion, OR. Married, wife to HOH. Additional household member: Ercel W. Kay, age 30 (husband). 

1930  Eleanor S. Kay. Age: 31. Birth Year: abt 1899 in Oregon. Home in 1930: 1525 Fairmont, Salem, Marion, OR. Married, wife to HOH. Additional household members: Ercel W. Kay, age 40 (husband), Thomas B. Kay, age 6 (son).   

1940  Eleanor S. Kay. Age: 41. Birth Year: abt 1899 in Oregon. Home in 1940: 1525 Fairmount, Salem, Marion, OR. Married, wife to HOH. Additional household members: Ercel W. Kay, age 50 (husband), Tom B. Kay, age 15 (son).  

1950  Eleanor S. Kay. Age: 51. Birth Year: abt 1899 in Oregon. Home in 1950: 1525 Fairmount, Salem, Marion, OR. Married, wife to HOH. Additional household members: Ercel W. Kay, age 60 (husband), Thomas B. Kay, age 26 (son). 

Ercel Wallace Kay. Birth: 13 Sep 1889 in McMinnville, Yamhill County, OR. Death: 2 Jan 1966 (aged 76) Marion County, OR. Burial: Belcrest Memorial Park, Salem, Marion County, OR. Plot: Block 1, Section 23, Lot 3. Memorial ID: 81021969 

Oregonian 1 Sep 1918, p. 2 – Marriage 

Oregonian 17 Oct 1921, p. 13 – Winner of State Women’s Amateur Golf Championship 

Oregon Statesman 16 Oct 1921 – Winner of Oregon Women’s Amateur Golf Championship 

Capital Journal 11 Jun 1924, p. 5 – Building Permit, 1525 Fairmount Ave. home  

Capital Journal 26 Jul 1924, p. 2 – Fine Residences, Fairmount Hill 

Capital Journal 28 Jan 1928, p. 7 – New $50,000 Golf Course 

Oregonian 17 Jul 1928, p. 23 – New Golf Club to Open in Salem 

Oregonian 13 Nov 1940, p. 12 – Strike Closes Mill at Salem 

Oregonian 18 Sep 1959, p. 1 – Kay Woolen Mill Calls It Quits 

Oregon Statesman 3 Jan 1966, p. 1 – Death Takes Head of Kay Woolen Mills 

Capital Journal 3 Jan 1966, p. 1 – Ercel W. Kay Dies at 77 

Oregon Journal 24 Jun 1976, p. 20 – OGA Honors Past Champs 

Oregon Statesman 17 May 1979, p. 30 – Obituary, Eleanor 

M3 1994-016-0049       Oral History Interview (Eleanor Kay) 

1983.049.0001               Engraving Plate