Oscar W. Magnuson
Oscar Williams Magnuson, circa 1931
OSCAR WILLIAMS MAGNUSON was born in Philadelphia PA in 1891 to Wilhelm and Frederika Magnusson, who had come to America in 1888 and 1889 respectively. He married Bertha Mae Murphy on August 24, 1923 in Philadelphia.
At the time of the 1930 census Oscar and Bertha Magnuson were living in a rented house at 119 South 27th Street in East Camden. Mr. Magnuson was then working for the City of Camden, while Bertha Magnuson was the office manager for a company involved in direct advertising. Also at home were Mr. Magnuson’s elderly parents. The couple had children after the census was taken.
Oscar W. Magnuson served as Deputy to Parks Commissioner Clay W. Reesman during the administration of Mayor Winfield S. Price, which ran from 1927 through 1931. During the 1930s the Magnuson family purchased a home at 365 Burwood Avenue in East Camden. Oscar Magnuson’s mother passed away during the 1930s, as did his father, Wilhelm Magnuson, on June 16, 1939 at the age of 84.
After leaving city government in the 1930s, Oscar Magnuson worked as a reporter for the Camden Courier-Post, and stayed with that paper for many years. In his later years with the Courier-Post he was the obituaries writer.
Oscar Magnuson passed away on May 11, 1956 of cancer of the tongue. Bertha Magnuson remained a Camden resident until her death on June 7, 1975, a month before her 82nd birthday. The Magnuson family remained in Camden as late as the fall of 2012.
Camden Post Office Business Has Huge Increase Under F.R.
Camden Courier-Post —
Mrs. Hyland Cites Gain of $78,827 Over Last Year of Hoover Regime; Says Records Are Barometer of Trade Activity
By OSCAR MAGNUSON
An outstanding illustration of business recovery in Camden, brought about by the methods placed in operation by President Roosevelt, is contained in figures of business done through the Camden post office.
Postmaster Emma E. Hyland, in making public the business of the various departments of the office for the last several years, said:
“The figures show unmistakably the progress which has been made in business in Camden and the surrounding territory, all of which is directly attributable to the administration of President Roosevelt and the grasp which he has on the general situation, looking toward betterment for everyone.”
“Not only do the figures of the busines [sic] done furnish a picture which is irrefutable,” continued Mrs. Hyland, “but the business people with whom I have come in contact, as postmaster, have on many occasions stated that it is their honest belief that prosperity is here to stay.”
Mrs. Hyland pointed to the gross receipts of the post office for the year 1932, the last year of the Hoover administration. “In that year they dropped to $683,138.49,” she declared, “and immediately after President Roosevelt took office and started to place his ideas in effect, they began to rise. In the year which ended with June 30, the figures for which have just been compiled, gross receipts showed a jump of $78,827.37.”
“That,” continued Postmaster Hyland, “is the largest total for any year in the last five fiscal years of the Camden postoffice, which certainly shows how business has improved in Camden.
“While the gross business of the entire office is a good indication, I think that for out and out confidence in the administration of President Roosevelt, there is nothing better anywhere than the record which has been marked up for the amount of money and the number of accounts which have been opened in the postal savings funds department of the Camden post office.
“The large majority of the accounts in that division of our business are small—they represent the small wage earner who wants to store away some funds for the future, and I think the growth in this department’s business is the finest tribute that a President of the United States could ever have of the confidence bestowed in him, the absolute proof that the acts of his administration are approved and that the feeling of trust, reliance and dependence are wrapped up in the President.”
Huge Gains in Deposits
“Also, the increase in this business shows that general business among the industries and anywhere else where people work has improved, else without that work people would not be employed and could not deposit money in savings accounts.
“In 1931 at the end of the fiscal year—that was under Hoover—there were 675 accounts in the postal savings division, with a balance of $118,975 to the credit of the depositors.
“Now here is what happened after President Roosevelt took over the reins of the federal government. By the end of June, 1933, the number of accounts rose to 2429, an increase of 1754 depositors. But still that doesn’t tell the story of the confidence abroad in the land. The amount on deposit to the credit of those 2429 depositors had risen by the end of the June, 1933, fiscal year to $1,318,613, a gain of $1,199,638.
“And another thing which the figures of savings show, is the return of confidence, a confidence that had been sorely shaken during the last days of the Hoover administration, when banks were failing and people generally were hoarding all of the money which they could get their hands on.
“Each year since President Roosevelt took control, there has been a continued upward surge. At the end of June 30, this year, the number of accounts stood at 4209, an increase of 3534 over the 1931 low mark of 675. At the same time the total deposits were $1,657,505, or an increase of $1,538,530 as compared with 1931. Both of these figures, too, are the best in this department that the Camden post office has had in the last seven years.
“President Roosevelt’s administration, judged by the Camden post office figures alone, has met with approval in this area—business shows that and business speaks from the standpoint of business done.”
Checked and Double Checked by JIMINY
Camden Courier-Post —
Personals: Vic Scharle’s oldest daughter, Mary E., marries James R. Epperly at St. Monica’s in Philadelphia today…Vic will hold open house tonight, if Oscar Magnuson can get there…Bill (Pretzels) McCloskey is recovering at the Wills Hospital after an eye operation…
Old GOP Headquarters Being Razed For Stores at Broadway and Stevens
Camden Courier-Post —
Old GOP Headquarters Being Razed For Stores at Broadway and Stevens
Wreckers Now Busy Where Party Bigwigs Once Made Historic Decisions; First Used in 1923 for Political Purposes
By OSCAR MAGNUSON
The building which housed the headquarters of the old Republican Organization at Broadway and Stevens’ street is being torn down to make way for two stores.
By the end of next week the building will have been razed and carried off by the wreckers. About the middle of September, it is explained, a shoe store and a hosiery shop will be opened on the site.
Much political history of Camden county was written in this building, which came into being as a headquarters for the Camden County Republican Executive Committee after the first election in 1923 for city commissioners.
Change Came In 1923
After Camden citizens, in 1923, decided to change the form of city government from councilmanic to city commission, thereby handing the Republican Organization a defeat at the polls, leaders of the party decided in the revamp of the Organization to have a headquarters that would be open the year round for party activity.
Planned As Permanent
Decision to have a permanent home, open the year round and which would be used as campaign headquarters, came as the party was being built up after the first city commission election. Prior to that it was the practice to open headquarters a couple of months before a campaign. Either the old Goff building on Broadway or the old Frost building, Federal street at Hudson street, were utilized for such purposes.
In 1925 the building was obtained and from then on to 1940 it was the headquarters of the party organization. There the county committee met for regular sessions, there the leaders of the party met to decide upon candidates and other matters political.
There was a second floor conference room, a room on the third floor where the speakers’ bureau gathered at the beginning and during campaigns and where the county committee members met. The basement was outfitted for luncheons and dinners. The first floor was outfitted as an office where election records were kept and as a reception room.
From this headquarters was conducted the successful campaign in 1927 when the organization elected its ticket of five city commissioners, the first of many successes that were to be attained there. On the winning ticket were Gen. Winfield S. Price, later named mayor; T. Yorke Smith, now deceased; Dr. David S. Rhone, at present a city commissioner; William D. Sayrs, now deputy city clerk, and Clay W. Reesman, now city clerk.
Replaced Old Group
They replaced the members of the first nonpartisan city commission of Victor King, mayor; M. F. Middleton, Jr., director of revenue and finance; H. Raymond Staley, director of parks and public property, now deceased; Carroll P. Sherwood, director of public works, and Frank G. Hitchner, director of public safety.
Many political personages were in the old headquarters from time to time. There were the late Dwight W. Morrow, later U. S. Senator and Ambassador to Mexico; Walter E. Edge, governor and later ambassador to France; U. S. Sen. Hamilton F. Kean, Gov. Morgan F. Larson, Congressman Charles A. Wolverton, to mention but a few.
While the headquarters itself is gone, yet the political history that was made there will ever remain with the people of Camden city and county.
Though the building is disappearing, there are no longer year round headquarters, yet Republican party leaders are going on with their work of maintaining the two party system in politics, the American way of democracy.