The first Miss Rogue Valley?
by Bill Miller for
the Mail Tribune.
Monday, July 22nd 2019
After six weeks of voting, she was
still in second place by a mere 1,200 votes. Yet when it was all over, Laura
Neuber had trounced her competitors by over 400,000 votes.
There wasn’t a crown at the end of a
runway for Laura, nor the title
of Miss Rogue Valley, but Laura was the first
to do what no other woman in the area had ever done; win the unofficial title
as the most popular woman in Southern Oregon and claim first prize by driving
away in a showroom fresh, 1908 Reo roadster automobile.
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| Laura Neuber, 1908 |
Rather than a beauty contest, this was
a newspaper circulation contest to promote subscriptions for two relatively new
Medford newspapers, the Medford Daily Tribune and the semi-weekly Southern
Oregonian.
George Putman, owner and editor of the
two papers, was in heated competition with Medford’s major newspaper of the
time, the Medford Mail. To gain an advantage, Putman hired O.J. O’Dell, a
promoter of newspaper circulation contests throughout the West.
For six weeks, beginning Jan. 13, 1908,
and ending Feb. 22, “the fairest women” of Southern Oregon competed for 17
prizes valued together at $2,500. All the women had to do was convince friends,
relatives or even strangers from anywhere in the world to subscribe to Putnam’s
newspapers.
“Enter your name and let your friends
do the rest,” Putnam said. “You will never know who your real friends are until
you have entered a contest of this kind.”
Contestants had two ways to score
points. Collect and register the coupons that were printed in the newspapers
each day (each worth only one vote), or “the better and quicker way,” getting
newspaper subscriptions. The longer the length of the subscription, the more
votes awarded; up to 20,000 votes for a 5-year subscription.
After awarding the $1,150 Reo roadster,
first prize, the runner-up would claim title to a $350 home site in the newly
platted Queen Anne Addition in east Medford. The next five contestants would
receive one of five Waltham gold watches, and the next five, scholarships to
any business college in the state. The final five women received a $100 gift
certificate good toward purchase of a piano from a local dealer.
At 10 in the evening, Feb. 22, the
contestants and their supporters gathered in the Medford Opera House at the
corner of Main Street and Central Avenue to see the final tally and the
awarding of prizes.
Of the 4,174,998 votes recorded, Laura
received 1,726,920.
Born in June 1894, Laura Neuber was the
daughter of Jacksonville saloon owner and avid sportsman George “Bum” Neuber
and his wife, Hattie.
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| Laura Neuber at the wheel of her Reo with friend Frances Kenney |
Laura was only 13 years old when she
won the car.
Apparently no one interviewed her after
she claimed the prize; although, the Southern Oregon Historical Society has a
photo of Laura and one of her friends sitting behind the wheel of her Reo.
In March 1914, Laura married Harry
Porter, son of a local timber dealer. The couple settled in Portland. After
Harry died in 1969, Laura remarried and moved with her daughter to New
Hampshire. There she died, Oct. 12, 1983.
Maybe Laura wasn’t officially Miss
Rogue Valley, but after rounding up nearly two million votes, she certainly has
an interesting claim.
Writer Bill Miller is the author of
“History Snoopin’,” a collection of his previous history columns and stories.
Reach him at newsmiller@live.com or WilliamMMiller.com.
