Touring Cars on the Beach

More about this item

Description

Two touring cars parked on the beach. There is a large rock or sea stack in the background in the surf. Three men are visible seated inside the car in the foreground and one woman in the car in the background. The driver of the front car appears to be Burton Walrad. There is a rack attached to the first car's running board.. People identified: Walrad, Burton Walrad, LaVerne (Caffee)

Provenance

Burton Walrad was born in 1902 and moved with his parents to Gresham in 1912. They purchased a mercantile store on Main and 1st Street that became Walrad Mercantile. Burton graduated from Gresham Union High School in 1921 and started his first business, Gresham Transfer Co., in 1922. He drove his delivery truck locally all day and made all-night deliveries to The Dalles, sleeping in the truck while it was unloaded and wetting his shirt in the creek to stay awake. His next venture, Walrad Insurance, remained in business from 1928 until his retirement 50 years later. In 1931, he became the first president of the new Gresham Chamber of Commerce and was instrumental in bringing a new bank to Gresham after both of the town’s previous banks had failed in the stock market crash. He became known for charitable giving and investment in civic improvement, purchasing the Gresham Fire Department its first fire truck. Burton and LaVerne had no children. Burton died in 1990 and LaVerne in 2001. Their friend and neighbor David Widmark donated the photos after their deaths.

Date

1925-08-30

Subject

Photographs

Automobiles

Automobile driving

Beaches

Sand

Rocks

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

ghs20010330022

Contributor

Gresham Historical Society

Extent

Print, Photographic

Type

StillImage