Two friends , a burned down Capitol and the key
by Jamie Harwood
Lake Oswego, OR
My great-grandfathers were good friends as well as colleagues in the house. One, was the Secretary of State, Earl Snell and the other was Daniel J. Fry, the Democratic Representative from Marion county. Dan was given the key to the capitol by Earl on February 5 1935. The capitol then burned down on April 25 1935. I have the key; it too got a little burned! Dan completed his term and Earl went on to be the Governor. He died during his second term in a plane crash that killed him, the pilot, and the Secretary of State. That was in 1947.
