I knew when I read Democracy and the Suffrage [see previous post, here] that there was more to know about Charles D. Mahaffie, Sr.’s politics and his time in Portland.
In the family archives, there are multiple Portland, Oregon news clips and other documents from Charlie’s starting out years there. These got me intrigued. What did he do there? In later life, he reminisced about Portland and it took him some years after taking a job in Washington, DC to let go of the idea he would be going back. It clearly meant a lot to him.
I pulled the Portland materials together and used on-line newspaper archives to dig further. What I found was astonishing. Charlie was connected to all sorts of municipal matters; seemed to know everyone, served on all sorts of committees, all the while living a busy social life and competing at a serious level in tennis.
It is the breadth and spread of his activities in Portland that is the “artifact” in this post. The city was young in the 1910, growing fast, and full of opportunity. Charlie was young, energized and thrilled at that opportunity.
His first moves and involvements could have led him in different directions; working for the city, city politics, state-wide politics, and an array of different sorts of law practice.
As it was, he got involved in land use, agricultural development, developing recreational and cultural opportunities for the citizens, suffrage, fighting predatory lending, legal aid, and tennis. He helped orchestrate a change in the form of city government to a commission basis, then managed his friend and law partner William Brewster’s successful election to the Commission.
The list of his activities is long and exhausting. I suggest you read through briskly–he clearly lived his years in Portland that way.
Here goes:
December 28, 1911. Dinner party—the first newspaper mention of Charlie in Portland
June 1912. Suffrage meeting: Civic Progress Circles—he reads his paper, “Democracy and the Suffrage”
September 5, 1912. Publishes article in favor of presidential candidate Woodrow Wilson, focusing on his politically brave reforms when President of Princeton.2)The Oregon Daily Journal [Portland], September 5, 1912.
October 1912. On committee for promoting and orchestrating legal aid work
February 12, 1913. Helps form group to work to end loan sharking
February 14 and 16, 1913. Part of group assembled to improve Portland city government
April 14, 1913. Continues work to overhaul the city government – they were successful
May 8, 1913. Presides over meeting of people evaluating interested candidates for office under Commission government.
May 16, 1913. Letter to the editor to push back on charter opponents
May 18, 1913. Backs William L. Brewster for commissioner
July 6, 1913. Mahaffie joins Kingman Brewster in law partnership
August 9, 1913. Fighting onerous court fees
August 23, 1913. In Long Beach for tennis
October 2, 1913. Continues work on reforming and refining municipal government
October 16, 1913. Joins a Recreation League to promote recreation across the city
November 13, 1913. Further work on legal aid, joins the effort as a paid attorney to do the work
May 16, 1914. Mahaffie prevails in singles tennis
May 17, 1914. Continues work in Recreation League
May 1914. Continues to win at tennis
May 1914. Director, Douglas County Fire Patrol Association
May 24, 1914. Attends, and speaks at the Commonwealth Conference, Eugene
May 28, 1914. Reaches finals of tennis tournament
May 29, 1914. Speaks on municipal reform
May 30, 1914. Goes down to Dick Jones in the tennis final
June 1914. Travels to inspect new Umatilla lands agricultural development
July 5, 1914. Helps organize the state tennis tournament
July 8, 1914. Comments in the newspaper about a court ruling related to lands under and (islands) in stream beds.
July 18, 1914. Mahaffie works with The Taxpayer’s League
July 18, 1914. Investigates fraudulent purchasing of “bed bug juice” by the city
August 12, 1914. Joins delegation inspecting new highway. The committee also investigated the construction of courthouse.
November 13, 1914. Asked by Taxpayer’s League to assess schools
November 19, 1914. Gains membership in the State Bar Association and is elected treasurer for the ensuing year.
December 15, 1914. Mahaffie and others entertained by Miss Ruth Teal as guests for the Multnomah Club Show, a benefit.
December 20, 1914. Assistant Secretary of the Oregon Conservation Commission
January 1, 1915. Delegate to the Irrigation Congress
September 9, 1915. Advisory Budget Committee, Portland Chamber of Commerce
September 19, 1915. Opens law office with William L. Brewster
September 15, 1915. Asked to a meeting on the University of Oregon by the university’s president.
November 4, 1915. Chairman of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on the city budget
March 9,1916. Engaged to help Hood River Lumbermen
November 22, 1916. Completes the work under contract to codify the Portland Penal Codes
This is one of a series of posts that explore the life of Charles D. Mahaffie, Sr. through family memories and items from a family archive. Charles was the author’s grandfather. He left a remarkable collection of papers, photos, and mementos which offer a lens through which to explore his life and legacies. For the full collection, click here.
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