The Story of Aaron Meier by Loyce Martinazzi Contacted the Family, Who Paid the Debt in Back in the Day If You Said “Meet Me Under Gold Coin
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PAGE X FEBRUARY 2015 Itinerant Peddler to Merchandising Magnate: The Story of Aaron Meier BY LOYCE MARTINAZZI contacted the family, who paid the debt in Back in the day if you said “meet me under gold coin. Tualatin Historical Society member the clock” everybody knew that meant the Edie Crissell Torgeson is William Whitney’s clock in the middle of the main floor at great granddaughter. She told me about the Meier and Frank in downtown Portland. loan made to Aaron Meier. (Edie is 94 years old, and according to her daughter, she is Aaron Frank was born in Bavaria in 1831 thrilled that I remembered the story and am and immigrated first to California, where writing about it. Somewhere in her boxes he purchased wholesale goods, then up to of papers she has the note marked paid.) Oregon where he secured one of the last Donation Land Claims. He Meier was an astute business was most certainly not a man. When crossing farmer, but hey, 160 Taylor’s ferry across acres of free land the Tualatin river, he was good. His always held out DLC, poor rocky a $20 gold coin ground, was for payment. located in Ferrymen would the area now usually wave known as him across, as Tonquin. He they didn’t immediately have enough started walking up and down the valley change. But Sarah Taylor, who often with a pack on his back holding goods that ran the ferry when her menfolk were Aaron Meier co-founder of the famous Meier and Julius Meier, son of Aaron and Jeanette Meier, served he peddled to local farmers. According to away, saved up enough change and Frank store in down town Portland. as governor of Oregon from 1931 to 1935. family history, Meier stopped to visit William took his coin, saving it for years. Whitney and his family near Butteville. Meier asked Whitney if he could sleep in the Meier returned to Germany in 1864 when yard overnight. Whitney said “I will give his father died, and received his inheritance. you a bed in the house. We are having our He married Jeanette Hirsch, and brought her evening meal and you are welcome to eat back to his business in Portland. In 1873, with us.” Thereafter he always stayed with the Emil Frank became a partner and the store Whitneys on his trips. He said that Portland was then given the famous name, Meier & could become a much larger and better Frank. A Meier daughter married a Frank son. city than Oregon City, as the Willamette and Columbia Rivers could accommodate Julius Meier, Aaron and Jeanette’s large vessels. He wanted to start a store in son, became the only Independent Portland, but lacked enough funds. Whitney candidate to serve as Oregon’s governor lent Meier $3,000 in 1857 to build a store from 1931 to 1935. He founded the on Front Street in Portland. Although he Oregon State Police and the Oregon always paid the interest, he made no payment Liquor Commission after prohibition. of the principal, and after he died, the family The famous store changed locations several times, but in 1915, the new store opened with 15 floors and 11 acres of selling space. That’s where the clock stood as a meeting place, and where shoppers rushed to be first in line to go down into the basement for “Friday Surprise” sales. The “Georgian” tea room was lavishly furnished, and elevators Mono-rail at Meier & Frank’s Santaland. were handy for shopping every floor. Both Jeanette’s family established we would visit Meier & Frank and ooh Frances (Perry) and Helen (Koch) Wager, the White Stag business, and until and ah at the lovely merchandise, then Tualatin girls, worked as elevator operators recently, the White Stag sign lit up walk a block or so further and spend our at M&F. Frances told me recently that the every evening, and at holiday time berry picking money at the dime stores, elevator girls would go up to the roof on their sported a red nose, just like Rudolph. Woolworth’s, Newberry’s and Kress. breaks, and one day she saw Aaron Frank, president at the time, standing on the very “Style and Tradition” and Money So the itinerant peddler who acquired rim of the roof, looking at a fire several blocks Back Guarantees were slogans for a donation land claim right here in our away. Aaron’s son Gerry Frank now writes M&F. By 1966 the store, as well as area, went on to become a most successful travel items for the Oregonian newspaper. branch stores in several locations, was merchandiser. And some of us will not soon acquired by the May company, who kept forget Meier & Frank. During the Great Depression, Aaron the name. In 2006 the business was Frank, manager, ran a one page article acquired by Macy’s and in 2006 the name Loyce Martinazzi was born in the Oregonian with the word Meier and Frank was discontinued. and raised in Tualatin and is “Confidence”. Over 100 people brought passionate about Tualatin their savings to the store for safe keeping. During the 40s after the chores were History. She is currently finished, lots of we local kids walked Lecturer of the Winona The Meier & Frank department store, in downtown Grange, Co-Founder of the Portland, covered an entire block, 5th and 6th Avenue, During World War II, M&F supported down to the white store in Tualatin on the Tualatin Historical Society and Morrison and Alder streets Completed in 1915, the allied forces, conducting the largest sale of corner of Seneca, (now gone) and caught and Co-Author of Tualatin… the store offered fifteen floors of quality goods. war bonds in the country-$32 million worth. the bus to downtown Portland, where From the Beginning. .