After graduation, the Pierce family returned to Oregon, where Walter set up a sucessful law firm in Pendleton. Between 1896 and 1906, he would manage a power company, speculate in land, and become one of the state's most renowned Hereford Cattle breeders. He won election to and resumed the office of County Clerk, between 1899 and 1903.
Pierce would sucessfully run for a seat in the Oregon State Senate in 1902. In his first term in the Senate, he unsuccessfuly attempted to win passage of prohibition legislation, while sucessfully winning passage of a state subsidy of $6 per child for education. He was defeated at the polls for reelection, and retired from politics for a decade begining in 1906.
While out of politics, Pierce continued local and statewide activities. He took part in founding the Oregon Farmer's Union and the Public Power League, headed the State Taxpayers League, and took a seat on the board of Regents of Oregon Agricultural College from 1905 to 1927. He began advocating for using the Columbia River for hydroelectric electric power during this time.
Pierce attempted a run for the Democratic nomination for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1912, losing to Harry Lane in the general election. In 1916, his constituents elected him to once again serve in the State Senate. Pierce then unsucessfully ran against incumbent Governor James Withycombe in 1918 as a progressive Democrat. In the next election, 1920, he lost his senate seat by only twenty-seven votes.
The loss of his State Senate seat did not stop Pierce from further pursuing the Governor's office. In 1922, he ran a successful campaign against Ben W. Olcott, with aid from the Ku Klux Klan.
At the time, the Klan was growing in influence and power across the state, and had crafted an overtly anti-catholic and anti-sematic Cumpulsory School Bill. Governor Olcott was percieved as Catholic, and defiantly refused to work with the Klan in any way. Pierce had no such qualms, but was instructed by his advisors to not acknowledge any ties to the Klan. He lent his support to the school bil, and was swept into office with the largest margin of victory recorded in an Oregon Governor's race.
As governor, Pierce had to battle with a Republican-dominated legislature. His administration was able to continue the road-building policies of the previous two administrations, but could not win passage of a state income tax or assessed value license fees for automobiles. He attempted to gain support from progressive Republicans on issues of prison reform, reforestation, and hydroelectric development, but divided the state Democratic Party by endorsing Robert M. La Follette for President in 1924. In March 1925, his second wife, Laura, succumbed to cancer.
In the 1926 elections, Republican I. L. Patterson defeated Pierce. Upon leaving the Governor's office, Pierce returned to his ranch in Eastern Oregon to reflect upon his future political prospects.
Pierce decided that he wasn't through with politics, and unsucessfully ran for the 2nd Congressional District seat in 1928. This same year, he married Cornelia Marvin, the first State Librarian of Oregon, his third and final wife. He declined to run for a second, inconsecutive term as governor in 1930.
Pierce tried once more for Congress in 1932, a good year for progressive Democrats. He was elected amid exitement over the landslide Presidential election victory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Pierce would become a staunch supporter of FDR's New Deal, serving in Congress until his electoral defeat in 1943.
One of the oldest politicians in Oregon history, Pierce retired from politics at age 81. He died near Salem, Oregon on March 17, 1954.
I. L. Patterson
Isaac Lee "Ike" Patterson, (September 17, 1859 - December 21, 1929) was a Republican Governor of Oregon from 1927 to 1929.
Patterson was born on his family's "King's Valley" estate in Rural Benton County, Oregon September 17, 1859. His parrents were emigrants to the Oregon Territory, having made the overland trip from their previous home of Bellvue, Illinois. Until he reached the age of 18, he worked his father's farm. He later attended Monmouth's Christian College, for one year. Patterson supported himself as a grocery clerk in Independence, later earning his way into a position there as a business partner. His participation in the grocery store would last for 22 years.
In 1898, Patterson entered politics, gaining election to a seat in the Oregon State Senate representing Marion County. At the time, he was one of the youngest State Legislators ever elected, having been sworn in at age 32. President William McKinley appointed Patterson to the post of Collector of Customs, Portland District in 1898, and was reappointed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, serving there until 1906.
In 1899, Patterson sold off his share in the grocery store, and purchased a 300 acre ranch in rural Polk County. The farm would prove profitable, and paved the way for Patterson's later venture into a successful wool and hide business in Portland.
After serving out his term as Collector of Customs, Patterson managed his business affairs and kept workinng politicaly inside the Republican Party. In 1918, the citizens of Benton and Polk Counties elected him to represent their district, returning him to the State Senate. In the Senate, he moved his way up and served as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Patterson attempted to secure the Republican nomination for Governor in 1922, coming in a distant third in the primary in a six-man race. Despite this poor showing, Patterson had strong ties with the party's old guard. He won the Chairmanship of the Oregon State Republican Party Central Committee in 1924, going on to chair Calvin Coolidge's Presidential campaign in Oregon.
His profile statewide rose, and this secured him the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1926. He would go on to defeat Walter M. Price in that year's general election.
Using President Coolidge as an inspiration, Governor Patterson would govern the state in a financialy conservative manner; streamlining agencies of the state and vetoing legislation which would threaten balancing the state's finances. By 1920, the state balanced its budget for the first time in its history.
His administration notably continued improving state roads and highways, established the state's system of higher education, and directed the state prison system to house adult and juvinile criminals seperately.
He was considered a popular and well-respected figure by rivals and supporters alike, but suddenly died in office of Pneumonia on December 21, 1929.
A. W. Norblad
Albin Walter Norblad, Sr., (March 18, 1881-April 17, 1960) was a prominent citizen of Astoria, Oregon and the Republican Governor of Oregon from 1929 to 1931.
He was the father of Representative A. Walter Norblad (Albin Walter Norblad, Jr.), Member of the United States House of Representatives, from the 1st Congressional District of Oregon between 1946 to 1964.
Norblad was born in Malmo, Sweden in 1881 to parents Peter and Bessie Youngsberg. The family's last name was changed by the Swedish Government to avoid confusion in military records. The family emigrated to the United States while Albin was very young, settling in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
At age 12, Albin decided to support himself, mostly by means of odd jobs. He would later recount that the most notable jobs held during this time were newsboy, hot dog vendor, and clairinetist for the circuis.
He managed to earn enough money to return to Grand Rapids, taking night classes at the Grand Rapids Business College. After earning enough credits there, Norblad was able enroll at the Chicago Law School, supporting himself as a reporter for the "Chicago American" newspaper's crime beat. Graduating in 1902, he quickly passed the bar exam and moved back to Michigan.
Once in Michigan, he set up a law firm, and was elected District Attorney for Delta County.