Silverton Loses a Living Piece of History: Jack Hande

SILVERTON, Ore. — Jack Hande, a volunteer and key figure at the Silverton Country Historical Society, died recently, with the historical society announcing his passing on March 31, 2025.

Born in 1931 to Carl and Irene Hande, long-time Silverton community activists, Hande grew up in Silverton during World War II, witnessing the town’s wartime transformation firsthand. At age 11, he volunteered as an aerial observer alongside friend Dick Froude, watching for enemy planes from a hillside post—a role later commemorated by an interpretative sign at the society’s museum. He attended Silverton schools and, after the war, taught industrial arts at Silverton High School until his retirement, shaping students with the same hands-on skills he later applied to historical projects.

A regular host at the historical society’s museum on the first Saturday of each month well into his 90s, Hande captivated visitors with stories of Silverton’s past. An accomplished carpenter, he built a covered wagon for the Homer Davenport Days Parade and crafted 20 strawberry carriers for a museum fundraiser, using leftover broom handles from the Winfield Broom Factory, salvaged from his parents’ store, Hande Hardware. His push to preserve the WWII-era Observation Post reflected his personal connection to that history.

In an interview, Hande recounted his wartime childhood, including Silverton’s blackouts, rationing, and victory gardens, alongside his efforts to document the era. He contributed to “Silverton Stories from the 1920s, '30s, and '40s,” collecting and illustrating locals’ accounts, and built replicas of Japanese warplanes for display, preserving the town’s wartime legacy for future generations.

“We are so very sad to report the recent passing of Jack Hande, to many of us the face of the Historical Society,” the historical society said in a Facebook post. “Jack was our special volunteer, hard working and totally committed to preserving Silverton’s history.”