On the topic of talented women, a recent newsletter from the Oregon Historical Society featured photographer Marie M. Holst Pottsmith (1882-1980), and her stunning black and white images in the society’s digital collections at tiny.cc/mpottsmith.

Pottsmith, a teacher, came to Keizer from the Dakotas. She wanted to earn enough money to go to the University of Oregon’s teacher training program, so in 1908 she took the train to Seaside, then traveled by horseback 8 miles to the village of Hamlet to teach at the local school. 

At the time, Hamlet was composed mainly of homestead farming Finns. She boarded with the Alfred Hill family and earned $55 a month (about $1,850 now), which gave her enough money to send away for a Kodak camera, a tripod, darkroom equipment and instructions on how to shoot photos and develop prints.

Using the Andersons’ sauna as a darkroom, she created a photographic diary of her stay in Hamlet. She also had a side business taking family portraits that she sold for $1 a dozen (about $33.50 today). The photo shown is of the Hamlet schoolhouse. On the stump, from left, are Eli Lampi, Fred Mattson, Alfred Haikura and Alex Sarpola. Alfred Hill is standing beside the stump.

Pottsmith only stayed in Hamlet for eight months, but she left behind a photographic legacy that eloquently preserved that time and place.