From Bertha Burger to Henry E. Dosch

In this letter and its response, Bertha Burger of Denver, Colorado, seeks a job at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition and Oriental Fair in Portland. Henry E. Dosch, a German-immigrant and Civil War veteran who became a successful Portland merchant, was the exposition’s director of exhibits. People throughout the U.S. wrote to exposition organizers about employment opportunities.

The Lewis and Clark Exposition, from June 1 to October 15, 1905, promoted Portland as a gateway city for trade between the Pacific Northwest and Asia. Almost 1.6 million people visited the fair to see exhibits featuring the commercial products of Oregon counties, states, and Asian countries. For entertainment fairgoers visited amusements such as the “Temple of Mirth” and could learn about scientific advancements at the display of babies inside newly-invented incubators. Most of the exposition buildings, made in Spanish Renaissance style, were constructed cheaply with lath and plaster on wooden frames.

The exposition backers were wealthy Portland businessmen who wanted to lure investors and immigrants to the region to assure Portland’s position as the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. While the exposition was credited with bringing the city growth, however, Seattle had 30,000 more residents than Portland by 1910.