Old Buildings

This photo of Portland’s old Multnomah Hotel hangs in the office of Mackin’s Auto Repair, a family-run business for almost 80 years. The old hotel had an amazing grand-opening in about 1912: someone flew an airplane from the rooftop and landed it a few miles away; the stunt was repeated in 1995, with a different plane.
We’ve been talking about my niece quite a bit, including about the Dayton family of Minnesota. Her husband was a stepson of Bruce Dayton, whose grandfather started a chain of department stores that eventually became Target. Bruce himself also started B. Dalton Bookseller. His son Mark was a Minnesota senator and governor. The first Dayton Department store was in the background of the opening Mary Tyler Moore Show where she tosses her knit hat into the air.
Can you tell I’m feeling fragmented, a bit shattered, have had too much sugar and will be happy for Christmas to be over.