How the Salem Public Library Meeting Rooms Got Their Names

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.

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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

This article originally appeared on the original Salem Online History site and has not been updated since 2006.