Early Saturday Market History

This poster, hand printed, was in Lotte's archives. It was most definitely from the first Market in 1970. I'd love to find out more about it, if anyone knows anything. Possibly Lotte made it, but it could have been another artist. 

Instead of working on my taxes I have been archiving Saturday Market materials, my own and a box of things I got from Lotte's family. She had saved and pasted in albums every article written and some of the newsletters and things from the beginning of Market. It's three volumes but here's some of what I gleaned from the first volume:

The people in the group did have some sales before this, known as the EPIC sales, (acronym for Eugene Peace Information Center) each Christmas for about a decade. Lotte did spearhead the effort to go to the City Council and an Urban Renewal group, SCORE, and the Council approved this one-day Market. 29 people sold in the rain. After the one day it was evaluated by the Council. Two hundred people went to the City Council to support the Market. 

After a lot of discussion the Council allowed another in June.

It was held June 6th and they were allowed to continue for the summer.  The first one cost 50 cents. The second one cost a dollar.It was located by the Overpark on Oak, in the alley. It wasn't a good place for it, and it soon outgrew the space. Dogs caused a lot of problems, apparently, but the people were all delightful it seems.

The City gave three months, then in September let them sell until Dec. 19th. Even though it was rumored that it would not be held on the Saturday of the October Renaissance Fair, it was. (That was the second "OCF".) By then there were over a hundred "booths." People sold on blankets and low tables then, very minimal. The City was always supportive, but some downtown merchants were not, so often the Council votes were tight. Hundreds of people would come to the meetings with petitions, and tourists would write letters. Locations on the Mall didn't really work well, so the group petitioned the county for use of the Park Blocks in February 1971.

The County Commissioners denied the use of the Park Blocks, 2-1. Nancy Hayward wouldn't even second the motion to deny. They offered the top of the Butterfly. The City had offered a courtyard of City Hall, but neither location had the visibility and aesthetics the Saturday Market Committee wanted. They went back in April and asked for Courthouse Plaza (which has since been redesigned) and again the commissioners voted no, 2-1.

The Market people had jumped through a lot of hoops, hiring a lawyer, moving toward incorporation, etc., and were surprised at the no. The Market was homeless. Then Eugene Downtown Association and many citizens and business owners came out in support of the Market, and on May 12, 1971, the County okayed the use of the Courthouse Plaza, for a three-month trial period only.

The first year they held a market on the day of the first "Renaissance Fair" but the second year they waited until June 19th to have a strong opening (Fair was June 5th). They hired M'Lou Carden as part-time manager and charged $1.50 to sell. The county only gave them June, July and August. They had rules, including No Dogs, a simple jury by Board members to keep it handmade only, and the hours were 10-5. Food sellers had to have temporary restaurant licenses. The second week it rained, but Rain or Shine was already the rule.

They bought insurance for $800,000 in coverage for the three month “trial period”. After total success, in the middle of August the commissioners had gone back to their 2-1 opposition. After some drama with black armbands and bunting, and rain on the second-to-last day, the Market Board decided to move to the less-desirable Butterfly lot. The last day on the Plaza, Sen. George McGovern came and shook some hands! Coburg also offered to host the Market.

Courthouse Plaza permitted 250 booths but people were asked to limit themselves to a 3’x 6’ space. Vendor totals were up to about 120 regularly, and it thrived. They signed a two-year contract for the Butterfly, but it was larger, sloped, and there were fewer people selling, but the rent went down from $25 a week to $10 a week, and I think they paid that to the City.

Even Sunset magazine featured the Market. It was appreciated much like it is now, with most of the opposition to it coming from people who didn't even go see it, but feared political action, the hippies, and so on, although there were always, as now, many people who did not fit the counter-culture stereotypes.

That's it for Volume 1. I'll post more about this as I go through her notebooks. What a treasure.