Pottsmith, Marie Holst, b. 1882-

Marie M. Holst Pottsmith (1882-circa 1973) was drawn to Oregon from the Dakotas by the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. The young school teacher decided to remain in Oregon and taught at Keizer, 1905-1907, to earn tuition for the University of Oregon’s teacher training program at Eugene. Pottsmith was advised to teach in a mountain school, where the school year runs from spring through early fall, to make the most of her time before college started. She began her journey to the mountains in March 1908, arriving by railroad at Seaside. From there, she traveled on horseback eight miles to the village of Hamlet.

Hamlet, which was accessible only by pack trail from Necanicum, was populated by Swedish Finns. The villagers were homestead farmers who led self-sufficient lives and supplemented their incomes with fishing out of Astoria. Pottsmith boarded with the Alfred Hill family and earned $55 per month. She sent for a camera outfit from Salem: an Eastman folding Kodak, a tripod, equipment, and instructions for developing film and making prints. Knowing nothing about photography, she pored over the instructions, used the Andersons’ sauna for a darkroom, and set out to document her experience in photographs. She made family portraits and sold the prints for $1.00 per dozen, giving many family groups in Hamlet their first opportunity to have portraits made.

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