Collections
| Back New Search Tips |
Chase, Eleanor
| Last Name: | Chase |
|---|---|
| First Name: | Eleanor |
| Dates: |
*1918 (Date of Birth)
*2002 (Date of Death)
|
| Biography/History: | James Chase arrived in Spokane from Texas in the middle of the Depression. At the Spokane Hotel, he shined the shoes of city visitors. Later, he and Elmo Dalbert opened a body and fender shop on Indiana Avenue. Once established, he married Eleanor Barrow, granddaughter of Reverend Peter Barrow, who came to Spokane in 1890 to help found the Calvary Baptist Church. Chase was president of the local NAACP chapter and grand master of Prince Hall Masonic Grand Lodge. After Spokane City Council service, he won 62 percent of the vote to become the city’s first African American mayor in 1982, and formed the youth commission that now bears his name. Eleanor (born Dec.12, 1918) studied music and voice at Whitworth College and was a respected soloist at Westminster Congregational Church. She worked as an adoption and juvenile court officer and social worker for many years and served the city alongside her husband during his term as mayor. |
| Related Participants: | |
| Related Objects: |
3861.7 (Plaque, Award, Plaque, Eleanor Chase, Award of Harmony)
3861.8 (Plaque, Award, Plaque, Eleanor Chase, Whitworth Trustee Emeritus, 1989)
|