#and in a way you could say that like. i need to renew my p3 license LMAOOO but god some parts of p3 still have such a huge death grip on me

[sapphic-scylla]

Things to know when getting into the Persona Series

Since the remaster of Persona 3, there’s been a lot of renewed interest in the series as well as a few people, not just from here, but in my real life, inquiring to me about what you should know before getting into the series, so here is a list of general tips you should know and to keep in mind:

Content Warnings. This is straight up just a point. As out there and as crazy as the Persona World can get, Persona is grounded in the struggles of people, of humans and the human condition. Things like suicide, abuse, loss, death, pain, emotional trauma. It’s not for the faint of heart, so I recommend bracing yourself.

Time Commitment. I know it doesn’t look like it, but most Persona games are a 200 hour commitment to one playthrough. Not even kidding. P5R takes me 130 and I know that game like the back of my hand and skip through a fair amount of dialogue because I know where the fluff is. Prepare yourself for that kind of time sink.

Stats vs Friends. The endless Persona debate. Which is more important? On a first playthrough, my recommendation. Focus on stats and the characters that intrigue you the most. Stats get you access to more people so you don’t feel like you’re running into walls everywhere. Also, be aware of their stories. Sometimes, if a character is important enough, their story takes a halt and is postponed until later. Learn to be flexible and managing your time properly will come with more experience.

Persona Preferences. I view Persona in the way that a lot of people view Pokemon. Sure, I could ramp all the way to the high level Personas if I really wanted to, but then I’d miss out on a lot of gems along the way. Nekomata is a level 2 Persona in P3R and I kept her viable the entire game AND used her in the final fight. So I cannot stress this enough: USE YOUR FAVORITES. Persona has the incredible perk of leaning into the myriad of mythos and legends the world has to offer, so explore them all. Also, every persona has the capacity to do most whatever you want it to, so as cool as Satan is, he can still do about the same thing that Nekomata can and Nekomata is available all game. Satan is not.

Where To Start. This is really the main question I get asked the most and with a series like Persona where every game tells a different story, it’s hard to decide where to begin. Here’s the answer I give everyone: P5R. I know, a lot of people will say “but what about regular P5?” Trust me, you get the same game in P5R just with more content. And why P5R? P5R puts you at the starting block in the best way. Great story, great graphics, and it gives you the simplest version of the story that pervades all Persona lore while helping you discover it yourself instead of always feeling like you’re behind other characters. Also, the combat, while incredibly varied, is much easier to succeed at than in P3 or P4 because there are so many skills and tools and it helps you grasp the concepts easier before stripping you of them in P3 or 4.

How to Decide when to Enter/Leave the Dark Hour/Palaces/Mementos/TV World. Time blindness is a lot of people’s worst enemy and that doesn’t change when you make it a video game mechanic. The best tip I can give you is this: limit yourself to one or two trips per story chunk. Especially if you want to dig into character stuff. Characters usually aren’t doing much at the beginning or end of the story chunks. Beginning is more viable because you’re not in crunch time at that point. The end gets more finicky because characters start to worry if you don’t complete your current main objective/palace before the due date. TLDR: Finish the main objective ASAP. Try to complete it in one day if you can. Then, you can spend more time romancing/team building/hanging out with people while waiting for the next due date and if you need to take another trip to complete Compendium stuff or Requests from the Velvet Room or Phan Site if you’re in P5R, wait until the last 2 days.

[thundergirl007]

I remember you saying that you had a persona 5 + tag au and I'm so sorry for getting back to you do so late but I'm so goddamn down for that like tell me everything... their personas.... their arcana..... e v e r y t h i n g

ALRIGHT BUCKLE UP GUYS I PUT TOO MUCH EFFORT INTO THIS

Full disclosure here, but like, I created an OC to be the Wildcard Character. For the sake of simplicity, let’s just pretend they aren’t a thing. I also couldn’t decide to make their personas based on Egyptian or Norse mythology, so let’s roll with both.

ANYWAY ON TO THE GOOD STUFF (feat. terrible edits. No really, some of them are AWFUL).

Scott is of the Emperor Arcana, specialising in physical skills, because Big Bro would absolutely fight anyone and anything head first.

His initial persona is Heimdall, (Norse Mythology, Guardian) and his Second Awakening would be Horus (Egyptian Mythology, war/sky/falcons). Wanting to protect the others but also taking the lead, the hotheaded leader and everything, doing what they have to do for their dad.

I had the idea that his social link would be based on needing to take the reigns after their father’s disappearance, which he sometimes doesn’t really feel like he is living up to very well.

John is of the Hermit Arcana, and he is the navigator of the group.. (I mean, EOS could be his Persona but when I thought of this I set it in the boy’s school days, so EOS wasn’t a thing in context). It should be obvious why I made John the navigator in this little Persona crossover.

His initial persona is Bragi (Norse Mythology, poetry and eloquence) and his Second Awakening would be Thoth (Egyptian Mythology, knowledge and wisdom). Just, the Hermit Arcana absolutely ties into him being up away from the action but watching on to help from the sidelines.

I had the idea that his social link would be based on coming out of his shell a little more in the real world (Futaba SLink much??) even though he is great as a navigator when he is in his element.

Virgil is of the Strength Arcana, specialising in Zio skills as well as the group’s main healer. He is the Big Strong One and that’s why he’s the Strength Arcana, because he is very much the rock that helps them up when they fall down.

His initial persona is Geb (Egyptian Mythology, Earth) and his Second Awakening would be Thor (Norse Mythology, lightning god). Being the healer of the group but also a powerful attacker is a beautiful image in my head.

I had the idea that his social link would be based on embracing his creative side a bit more openly and not being worried about what others think of it. Idk, I struggled for this one.

Gordon is of the Magician Arcana, specialising in Bufu skills (IT’S CLOSEST TO WATER OK). Of course he’s Magician Arcana. The happy-go-lucky prankster with some sad tragic backstory (aka. Hydrofoil accident?) is just GREAT to think about.

His initial persona is Hapi, (Egyptian Mythology, Nile) and his Second Awakening would be Aegir (Norse Mythology, the sea). I had to make his personas water based I’m sorry it would be an insult to the Fish Boy to do any other!

I had the idea that his social link would be based on putting down his facade of a happy-go-lucky person when he needs to. Maybe people don’t always take him seriously because he is insanely smart but a bit of a smartass, and he needs to learn to maybe focus on the task at hand where something serious is at stake.

Alan is of the Star Arcana, specialising in Hama, Mudo and Almighty skills. He’s the little spot of happiness that helps keep them together, just being total raw almighty potential wrapped up in a smol body???? Yes.

His initial persona is Balder, (Norse Mythology, love and light) and his Second Awakening would be Ra (Egyptian Mythology, King of Gods). 

I had the idea that his social link would be based on wanting to be treated like a full member of the team and not asked to stand back and let the others handle situations, but also needing to know that they love and care about him and just don’t want to lose him too.

Kayo is of the Hanged Man Arcana, specialising in Garu skills. Honestly I don’t think I need to say more about her Arcana other than Nyx’s quote “in the face of disaster lies the opportunity for renewal...” just because of her connection to the Hood, and the way she tries to hide it.

Her initial persona is Serket (Egyptian Mythology, cures sickness) and her Second Awakening would be Syn (Norse Mythology, defence, truth, “refusal”). Syn’s meaning is basically what I envisioned her with from the start, need I say more?

I had the idea that her social link would be based on proving that she is not the same person as her uncle. She can’t choose her blood family, but she chose her found family and that it is better this way. (Just assume that the fact that the Hood is her uncle is not revealed until partway through the link).

Penelope is of the Empress Arcana, specialising in survivability skills and buffs (with a touch of Psi). She’s literally a Lady. Empress. I don’t think I need to elaborate here. She needs to be the headstrong young woman that she is, taking the lead where it matters of course.

Her initial persona is Hel, (Norse Mythology, pure nature, afterlife) and her Second Awakening would be Isis (Egyptian Mythology, healed the sick). Ngl I struggled with her personas here, but 

I had the idea that her social link would be based on keeping up a high profile lifestyle, attending charity functions and the like, but also needing to learn to relax and unwind from time to time.

And because we need a villain, The Hood has either Seth (Egyptian Mythology, god of chaos) or Vali (Norse Mythology, vengeance) as his Persona. I don’t have an edit for him, sorry.

---

When I initially thought this through, I did it true Persona style where it’s set during their school days, so their SLinks were based around that one or two times (*cough* Gordon *cough*).

I thought that their supernatural world would be something entered naturally (like in P3, but not with technology like in P4 or P5), like behind a waterfall (on either Tracy Island or in their hometown, whichever way you’d imagine it to be). A dark and dying world where people needed saving from bad things that someone kept causing (sort of like P4 in a way??).

I also couldn’t decide on how their Personas would be summoned. Definitely not with an Evoker, maybe in P4 style with the tarot cards, but I sort of like the idea that they have a little chain when they awaken their persona, a chain that symbolises their bond to one another, that they have to open to summon their Persona (sort of like P5)

TOO. MANY. SPECIFICS. I’M SORRY.

I think that’s everything???

This is a long post. Sorry.

[p3marketing]

What Is Retargeting And Why Your Business Should Be Using It

What is retargeting? And specifically, why is retargeting warm traffic so critical to your business?

To answer these question, let me share some things we have discovered while talking to other business owners. A lot of business owners right now, feel that their industry it is getting more competitive every single day, and they don’t know what to do about it.

We also found businesses are struggling more today than ever, at making their website more effective in getting more business. And lastly, we found a lot of business owners are stuck, without any real strategy to try and get in front of more potential clients.

Why Is Website Traffic Important?

What’s the number one way to get new business to your site? What is the number one way to get new clients? What’s the number one way to get your business new clients, RIGHT NOW?

Well, the answer is simple. When you need to get more people in front of your products and services, the answer is MORE TRAFFIC.

There are three major ways to get traffic to your website, SEO, PPC, and Display Ads. Now since literally the dawn of the internet, SEO has been the most prominent option. And you are probably familiar with PPC such as Adwords, also very popular but very expensive. And then you have display ads.

Read this for more detailed explanations on the types of website traffic.

Are People Visiting Your Website?

You know people are visiting your website. Your Google stats show them visiting and staying on your site, but they are not converting to leads or customers. They don’t pick up the phone, sign-up for your email list, or contact you.

Is something wrong with your site, or your message?

Probably not.

(Download our FREE report on “HIGH CONVERTING WEBSITES,” if you think your website could use a facelift.)

This is a common traffic problem for many businesses. Statistics show that almost 96% of first-time website visitors don’t take any action. They visit your site, look around, and then leave. You need this traffic to convert to paying customers for your business to succeed, but they don’t stay there long enough.

How do you change this traffic behavior?

So, it’s a very target market, unlike sending out a postcard, right? Have you ever spent thousands and thousands of dollars sending postcards to random homes, not knowing if they need your products and services?

Yet you have people coming to your site every single day, that are your perfect target market. 

We just need to figure out a way to speak to what they’re looking for when they come to your site, and give them a really good reason to contact you. Then, we want to follow up with them when they’re ready to buy.

So is there a way to grab their attention, so they come back and buy later?

Yes there is, and it’s called retargeting.

Using retargeting ads allows you to grab their attention and renew their interest. Retargeting ads allow you to put your message in front of past visitors to your site, even when they aren’t visiting it. Your ads run on websites in your category who are using similar keywords or have similar interests.

Would you like a complete report on website traffic complete with a real life case study? Download our retargeting report to reference later.

Types of Website Visitors

So, let me ask the question to you. Why do the 96% of the visitors not contact you?

Well, we did a lot of research on this, and here’s what we found…

The problem is every visitor IS a potential buyer from today to up to 90 days. So, that’s the maximum within the specific buying cycle for most products and services. But there’s no way of knowing who’s who. If they’re ready to buy today, or 45, or 60, or 90 days from now.

But we do know they fit into 1 of 3 categories.

Category 1 – Bargain Hunters

They came to your site looking for a good deal, and they didn’t find it. So, they bounced. That’s why we created what we call Offer Ads. They showcase a specific offer.

Category 2 – Reputation Valuers

They’re looking for a reputable company. In today’s market, it’s amazing to see that more people look at reviews than they do for good offers. And that’s why you will see that these types of ads convert so well. It’s because most people coming to that site or most people that are looking for that type of service, we’re people that are looking for a reputable company, not the lowest price. And we solved that by creating Reputation ads.

Category 3 – Knows Exactly What They Want

Some people are looking for a very specific product or service. so we created Branding Ads to solve that problem.

See, each visitor is looking for something very specific. And maybe, they’re looking for a good deal with a certain product; or they found the certain product but not a good deal; or maybe they’re looking for a reputable company that’s got a good deal. But maybe it could be a combination of these three.

These are some of the main reasons why people DO NOT contact you. If we’re not speaking their language when they come to the site, they end up leaving the site.

The P3 Marketing Strategy Retargeting Secret

So, here’s the secret that your competition doesn’t know yet. You can literally 10X your results if you retarget each visitor for 90 days and switch up the messaging to speak their language. This helps get rid of what is called Banner Blindness.

Now, we’ve spoken to a lot of businesses that have done retargeting and it has not been effective. Why?

Well, they’ve used only 1 message for the whole year. And what happens is after 1, or 2 or 3 times of seeing the ad, people develop what we call “Banner Blindness”, where they no longer see the ad anymore. So, it’s absolutely ineffective.

Fight the good fight against banner blindness with our 10X Retargeting Strategy.Click to Tweet

Our P3 Secret Solution

We’ve solved this entire problem with our proprietary program called The 10x Retargeting Funnel.

See, we know that there’s only 72 hours when someone comes to your site when they’re in buying mode to get their attention. So, we created a really good discount offer ad for them. And then after 72 hours, we show them what a reputable company you are. And then 72 hours later, we give them another offer, and another different opportunity for them to engage with you.

If that doesn’t get them, then we show them your reputation again. But then we realized that maybe they’re looking for a specific product or service that wasn’t easily found on your site. So, we want to show them other services, to let them know that you’re not a one-trick pony. You’re a company that can offer different levels of service and different levels of products.

And then day 25 we do the same thing; day 30; day 45; and day 60; day 75; day 90.

So, this is our proprietary 10x retargeting funnel. Hitting the messaging that those prospects are looking for, at the perfect time that they’re looking for it. So that, you stay top of mind. And more importantly, they see you as the company to do business with.

How Do Retargeting Ads Work?

It all starts with a cookie. You add a retargeting code to your website which adds a simple retargeting cookie to the web browser of your site’s visitors. These cookies help you build a retargeting list. Once your list reaches 100 unique visitors, you can start using retargeting to put your message in front of past site visitors.

Here is how the sequence goes. A potential customer visits your site. The retargeting cookie is added to their browser. You create retargeting ads. When they visit similar websites, they see an advertisement for your website and can click it to return to your site. Does that make sense?

Let’s examine a real-world example. A prospective home buyer visits the home listings on your real estate website. They spend some time browsing the selections. Like 96% of all other people, they leave your site without contacting you. You could have lost an opportunity to make a sale, but not with retargeting. Since your site placed a retargeting cookie in their browser, you can remind them about your business and homes you have for sale. You make it easy for them to do business with you.

Why Are Retargeting Ads Important For Your Business?

You probably already use follow-up phone calls, follow-up email, and other methods to stay in contact with clients. Retargeting is a follow-up for visitors to your website, a very simple concept. There are three primary reasons you should use them:

1. Stay Engaged With Warm Prospects

Retargeting allows you to stay engaged with prospects who just visited your website. They are interested now. By keeping your business at the forefront of their mind, you have more opportunity to make a sale. This is essential in highly competitive businesses, where keeping your business name first in their minds can mean the difference from making a sale, or not.

2. Increase Returning Website Traffic

Have you ever said, “I want fewer visitors to my website?” No, you didn’t. You want increased traffic, especially traffic which is already interested in doing business with you. Retargeting provides another way for visitors to find your site again, even if they don’t do another search. Your retargeting ads give them a quick reminder and may lead them to say, “That’s right, that is the company who had the great offer!”

3. Lower Cost Advertising With Higher Rewards

Here is the shocking fact! In most cases, the cost of getting a click (CPC) for a retargeting ad is cheaper than standard search ads. In some competitive industries, the cost per click for search ads can cost $20, $40, $60 or more. The cost of retargeting ads can be as low as $1 per click for the same audience.

The advantage is even greater. You are getting clicks from a previous visitor to your site who you know is already interested. They are easier to convert. You are getting highly targeted leads for your business at 5% of the cost of standard search engine ads. Your return on investment is higher.

What Real Retargeting Numbers Can Look Like…

Let’s use some real life numbers from a local spa business. Follow along and plug in your own numbers as we go. So first, how many website visitors do you get every month?  Now, I realize you may not know the exact number. But if you have to guess how many do you think?

For our spa example, we are going to use the conservative number of 500 visitors a month.

Next, what’s the average yearly revenue per customer?

Our research shows the average client is about $1200 in spas and similar businesses?

If we were able to follow up with the 96% of website visitors that aren’t contacting you. And, if 500 people come to your website, that means about 480 people aren’t contacting you each month.

But what if we were able to follow up with those 480 people? How many of those people do you think we could get back to your website if we followed them for the next month, or 2 months, or 3 months?

And think very minimalistic. How many do you think?

With our spa client, on the low side we can end up getting a minimum of 5 or 6, and they become new clients. That’s $6,000 a month in extra business. And we can do that each and every month. That’s an extra $72,000 per year just from retargeting.

How much more per month could you bring in per month? Per year?

So, what we’re doing is putting ads on sites, and then redirecting them back to your website.

Why Haven’t I Heard of Retargeting Yet

So, with the 10X retargeting funnel, can you see how this is different from what you are currently doing? And more importantly, what your competition is doing?

Can you see how we’re hitting different interests over a 90-day buying period, to be able to bring more people back and keep you in front of prospects?

Well, here’s one of the reasons why most businesses never do this strategies. Because up until now, it’s really only been reserved for the top tier companies, like Fortune 1000 companies.

And here’s why….

Market your business like the big dogs with our 10X Retargeting Program!Click to Tweet

To be able to create just the ads, effectively, with all the different sizes, and the design, and then the re-designing. Each ad set is about $700. So when you think of creating 10 ad sets, that’s $7000 just to start.

And then when you think of setting up 10 campaigns, with an average cost of $300 per campaign, that’s another $3000. So, just to start, most business would start paying $10,000, just to set up a campaign like this.

And we hadn’t even spent a dime on ad placement yet.

This is why most businesses, including your competition would never do these strategies.

Well, we have great news!

We just released a beta retargeting program that allows companies to retarget for less than the cost of a postcard. Click here for more information on our Beta Retargeting Program with limited time pricing.

How P3’s 10X Retargeting Program is Different From Facebook Retargeting?

P3’s 10X Retargeting Program goes above and beyond the simple Facebook retargeting that many businesses including your competition is doing. Let’s face it, there is more to the world than Facebook.

Using retargeting ads as part of your paid advertising campaigns will keep your business at the forefront of hot prospects. Therefore it is a simple method to increase your sales and improve brand recognition in your market.

With our strategies, we go out into the online world and place your ads for your target to see. We are not limited to Facebook alone. If your target audience is online, we can get ads in front of them, from CNN, ESPN, Pandora and so many more.

So why limit yourself to only platform when your ads could be everywhere.

It just doesn’t make sense.

Take Action

One thing we know for sure is that there are people showing up on your site every single day. And 96% of them are not contacting you.

We are offering to put this entire process together for you for less than what it costs to send out a postcard. Now, remember just to create a postcard and send it out to ONE zip code would cost thousands and thousands of dollars, without any real clarity on who the target market is or if they’re really interested in your products and services or not.

CLAIM YOUR SPOT NOW

We have a solution to capture 100% of your website visitors and turn them into customers, an it’s the 10X retargeting strategy. This offer is available for a limited time and at any time we can shut it down.

So if you’re looking to get more opportunities onto your website and more opportunity about getting your products and services in front of more people, then I strongly suggest that you take your spot in our 10X retargeting strategy funnel.

More Information About the 10X Retargeting Beta Program

If you still have questions about our 10 retargeting strategy, or are still wondering what is retargeting, please email us your questions info@p3marketingstrategies.com

or set up your free 30 minute consultation.

  The post What Is Retargeting And Why Your Business Should Be Using It appeared first on P3 Knowledge Lab.

from P3 Knowledge Lab http://p3knowledgelab.com/what-is-retargeting/

[thebrewstorian]

A somewhat deep dive into saloon bonds in Oregon.

I ended my last post on a low/high point by reflecting on the nature of what gets recorded and the impact on historical research.

For this post, I’ll jump back into the business of Albany brewing in the 19th century. I will share more about the family in the next post, and though I won’t end this series with some silver bullet of information about Louisa Kiefer, I did find some details about her daughters, nieces, and travel activities that I think are quite interesting.

But first the beer!

In this post, I want to do some deconstructing and share how I would use something simple and short as a jumping off point for more research.

I found a few postings about saloon bonds linked with Kiefer, and got curious.  

June 1883: saloon bonds approved for Charles Kiefer, JE Sorbin, FL Reis, Max Baumgart, Wm Voigt, JA Gross, and Wm Faber. The state rights democrat., June 29, 1883, p3   

June 1884: saloon bonds approved for Kiefer, Wm Faber, Adam Ihrig, M Baumgart, JA Gross, Ad Harmon, T Anderson, and Harry Waters. The state rights democrat., June 27, 1884, p3 

June 1884: saloon bonds approved for Kiefer, Max Baumgart, Adam Ihrig, Harry Walters, JA Gross, and Wm Faber. Regrettably for Ad Harmon, his were denied. The state rights democrat., December 26, 1884, p3 

December 1885: saloon bonds approved for Kiefer, M Baumgart, Harry Walters, Adam Ihrig, M Peyser, Peter Schlosser, and the Faber Bros. The state rights democrat., December 25, 1885, p3 

Putting on my teacher hat: these are moments in history that can be deconstructed, pulled apart, analyzed to give us a chance to think about what small things or minute mentions say about the larger time period or context. 

 But we need to be curious and we need to notice things. 

Which brings me to saloon and saloon bonds. 

I’d seen a lot of ads and articles about saloons in the newspapers; and I knew these could be “trouble spots” (fights, prostitution, spent wages) in many communities. The saloons of Oregon were often cited by the Prohibition movement (Anti-Saloon League) as a spot of wickedness and danger. Nothing I found in these searches for saloon bonds shed any real light on that interpretation, but it is interesting to consider the impact saloons had on the town in terms of revenue, which I’ll talk about a bit at the end. 

I went online and found these sites: 

The Anti-Saloon League on the UO blog 

The Anti-Saloon League on this “other OSU” blog 

Repeal of Prohibition at 75 on the OR Liquor Control Commission blog 

You can also do your own search in the newspaper database for the phrase "anti saloon league" to see what you get. I found 3791 mentions, but used superhuman control to stay the course on this post. 

I brainstormed some questions: 

Who goes to them? 

Do they serve food? 

Are they are attached to breweries? 

Who makes the beer/spirits they are serving? 

Does it come from far away or is it local?  

What else did I find? Because I have more than one year I found more complete information on names. I know M Baumgart is Max Baumgart, Harry’s surname could be either Waters or Walters, Wm Faber was joined by his brother between 1883-1885, and that T Anderson only had a bond for 6 months in 1884.

I also saw that some bonds were denied, like that of Ad Harmon.

The state rights democrat., December 26, 1884, p3

A bigger question: what are the criteria for approving or denying bonds and what is their function (regulation of trade, taxes, record keeping?). A smaller question: is Ad short for Adam as Chas is for Charles and Wm is for William?

But beyond all this, I needed to know what a saloon bond was. And how it was different from a business license or a tax.

I did a Google search and got a list of results that included salons, James Bond, glue, small cars, and things in Las Vegas. Rather than falling into the pit of unfocused online searching, I decided to go with what I assume the phrase means – business taxes or a liquor license. Spoilers: I found out it was neither. 

What I would find if I searched the state papers for “saloon bond.” I got 79 results containing the phrase “saloon bond.” Articles and ads showed that these bonds were used in cities throughout Oregon, and were issued in all months of the year. They didn’t seem to need to be renewed monthly, but they did need to be renewed more frequently than annually. For examples, this November 9, 1899 notice for license is only good through Jan 1, 1900. (The Plaindealer, p2).

I sorted by date to find the oldest reference in the database and found one close to home. Poor Mr. Joseph McTimmons was in trouble with the City of Corvallis for violating a saloon bond. 

The Corvallis gazette., March 16, 1883, p3 

November 30, 1894, Harper Cranor had his bond approved and license granted, which suggests that a saloon bond is different from a liquor license. (The state rights democrat, p3). This 1884 piece in the Daily Morning Astorian backs up this separation between bond and license. 

May 22, 1884, p1 

But this note from 1895 suggested that saloon bonds were linked to licenses? 

The Plaindealer., January 07, 1895, p3 

There’s a nice level of detail in this 1895 city notice in the Independence West Side, which moves beyond saloons and into mayoral candidates and “bills.”   

October 03, 1895, p3 

This notice about bonds issued in Roseburg isn’t unique in its content, but I did want to share the adjacent articles on lumber and a sink hole. 

The Plaindealer., January 13, 1896, p4 

Also of note in Roseburg is this announcement of the opening of the Senate saloon on the corner of Oak and Jackson streets, which is under Sam Bailey’s new management. The rooms have been “handsomely fitted up” and the bar “thoroughly equipped with the best quality of goods.” The opening itself is described as having an “elegant lunch” that was enjoyed by a “large throng.” Elegant isn’t a word I associate with the saloons described in the temperance / prohibition literature! 

The Plaindealer., April 13, 1896, p1 

On the same page, we learn that Sam did get his saloon bond approved, but also that there was debate about when a tailor needs a license and how the number of chairs in a barber shop effects the price. 

The Plaindealer., April 13, 1896, p1 

And, whew! Ad Harmon got his license back – but he’s now in Roseburg.

The Plaindealer., October 12, 1896, p3 

While I didn’t find the reason Harmon wasn’t approved for his bond in Albany, I did find this article about Ben Woldt losing his license in Corvallis. The reason is pretty clear: he was selling to minors.

The state rights democrat., January 15, 1897, p3   

This was a big deal – two other papers mentioned it.

Daily capital journal., January 16, 1897, p1 

Coquille City herald., January 26, 1897, p2 

Speaking of trouble, August Fetsch had his bond approval noted in the Rogue River courier January 10, 1901, but by 1905 he was also operating his Eagle Brewery and outside the city limits operating without a license. It burned down after his bartender lit it on fire. 

See other posts on Fetsch and Grants Pass. 

Cleveland Distilling Co.? I don’t know what that is, but I do know that Ad Harmon still had his license, so he must have kept his changed ways.

The Plaindealer., July 15, 1897, p3 

My parents grew up in Junction City, so this caught my eye even though it’s not unique. But again, this notice gives us other information about bills and audits. 

Junction City bulletin., July 04, 1901, p1  

Another random placement of news and information: saloon bonds to chickens to fire. Is this getting stranger? 

Rogue River courier., December 25, 1902, p1 

Here’s one not related to a saloon bond, but a Bond in a saloon. Offensive language aside, this gives us a sense of the environment of the community. 

Morning Oregonian., April 06, 1901, p7 

There is a lot of different news reported in the local papers, today and in yesteryear, and here is a great example. A diverse paragraph that covers funding for labor to repair streets, mattresses for city jail, lumber for a bridge, sewer pipes, a “driving city team” (?), and “bread for prisoners.” Oh yes, and there’s a mention that the saloon bonds of these four guys were approved. 

Rogue River courier., June 26, 1902, p2 

Here’s an interesting notice that gives us some information on exactly how much money was being collected. In Cottage Grove, the city sought to increase saloon bonds from $400-800 (Lane County leader., April 17, 1903, p1). In this 1904 article from the West Side Enterprise in Independence (January 21, 1904, p8), we get a good sense of how much revenue was being collected from the saloon business. 

Licenses are far and away the largest amount in this list.

In both 1887 and 1891, the Albany paper posted taxes paid by Charles Kiefer.

1887 taxes paid $7450 The state rights democrat., October 07, 1887, p3 

1891 taxes paid $5325 The state rights democrat., October 09, 1891, p1 

Another set of facts that made me curious.  Why did I only get two hits for Kiefer’s taxes? Weren’t they posted every year? Was there something special about 1887 and 1891 that necessitated sharing taxes payments publicly? Did the tax rate change or did Kiefer make less money in 1891? Were tax rates the same for all businesses or higher for the saloon and brewing industries?

This brings me back to my bigger picture questions: what did taxes, license fees, and bonds fund? And really, why were these different types of revenue collected from saloons?

In 1903, I found a curious notice. Toledo’s E.F Gaar was asking to be “released” from the saloon bond of Olson & Heckel; this request was granted. Wm. F. Enos was accepted as the “new surety” on the bond of Olson & Heckel. I wasn’t sure what this meant, and I didn’t find anything useful in my newspaper search for Olson & Heckel and saloon. E.F Gaar was a businessman and an Alderman for the city council, so my assumption is that someone had to either guarantee the bond financially or sponsor it in local government. Wm. F. Enos was the owner of a sawmill and in court being sued a lot, so my conclusion is that surities were guarantees on the bond (Lincoln County leader., April 24, 1903, p1). 

But next in my search, I found a reference to the introduction and emergency approval to pass an ordinance for acceptance of “Fidelity companies” as surities on saloon bonds. 

Rogue River courier., June 11, 1903, p3 

I wondered whether this was the same Fidelity that is the financial company in present day, but wasn’t sure how that even fit.

I Googled “business bond” and found that the important difference between surety and fidelity bonds is that surities are required by a third party (usually a government) to protect itself or the public, and fidelity are insurance for the business. My final-ish conclusion is that these bonds acted as insurance in case the saloon business and its customers in some way damaged the town property or people, as well as the more standard insurance bonds for the business. This also explains why these bonds are separate from a license, since the former is insurance and the latter allows the business to operate.

I didn’t actually do the research on many of my questions about how individual cities used the money or why there were multiple types of payments required from saloons, but I hope this post gives you an idea of how I think through what to research next.

At the end of the day, it’s about pulling a thread and being curious. All the facts and names I found in the MANY saloon bonds references really did give me a much better understanding of the serving industry.