“Historic Marion” was a periodical of the Marion County Historical Society. In 2001, slightly over a year after I moved to Salem, Kyle Jansson, then Director, encouraged me to contribute. Research for the four articles included here gave me an opportunity to become acquainted with families and traditions important to my new hometown. Although no longer published, copies from previous years are available at Willamette Heritage Center. Each issue provides many informative and entertaining articles about Oregon history.