In the dawn of our first world war, with Christmas right around the corner, the people of Portland in December of 1914 seemed to enjoy the basic shopping and merriment that comes around the holiday season. With articles detailing the war occurring across the seas, and ads portraying the coats, hats, and suits on sale for Christmas, two articles found in the Oregon Daily Journal and the Morning Oregonian stood out amongst the rest.
The first article, found in the Oregon Daily Journal and posted in the December 20th issue, talks about the Oregon Prisoner’s Aid Society’s mission to raise money -- mentioned in the ad as the “prison fare” -- in order to get the prison wards, prisoners and the prisoner’s families some goodie baskets to enjoy over Christmas time. To help raise the money to get the “six-hundred pounds of cake and jelly” for the inmates and their families, the Burnside theater had agreed to help out in holding a benefit show two nights before Christmas Eve, where the proceeds would go directly to filling the cake and jelly goodie baskets. Though neither article went into detail as to what specific films would be shown, they did mention there being vaudeville acts showcased in addition to the motion pictures.
The second article, found in the Morning Oregonian and posted in the December 22nd issue (two days after the Oregon Daily Journal), touched more on the prisoners at the penitentiary and their own attempts to raise money for the famine-stricken Belgians taken over by Germany at this time during the war. W.G. MacLaren, the superintendent of the Prison Commons and the Prisoner’s Aid Society -- mentioned in both articles -- is quoted in discussing the efforts of the inmates to put together a small donation to the Belgian relief fund.
Though these articles briefly touch on small details of the Burnside theaters’ benefit show, it’s important in realizing the promotional attributes the theater had, including showcases to raise money for those less fortunate, such as the prisoners and their families during this time.
