Sally Bush, daughter of Asahel Bush and Eugenia Bush, was the third of their four children. When she was three years old, her mother died of tuberculosis. She attended Sacred Heart Academy in Salem, and graduated high school from Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. After attending Martha Burnham school in Northampton, Massachusetts, she graduated from Smith College in 1883. While she was still at Smith, she chose furniture for the new Bush residence in Salem, Oregon, which was eventually completed in 1887.
"Lady of the House"
For the next thirty years, Bush hosted guests from the town, as well as her father's business and political acquaintances. She was also
...the loving caretaker of the home; the hostess at her father's dinner parties; the avid gardener, cultivating the flowers of the newly constructed Conservatory near the house, managing the vegetable beds and fruit trees on the property; the animal lover, tending to the cows and other farmyard creatures, caring for the dogs and cats — particularly the cats — which people left at her doorstep, knowing that each would be given a home.
She "carried on her many charities without ostentation", encouraging and sometimes financing the early careers of young writers and artists. Although she was a "complete vegetarian", she offered guests main courses of fish, fowl or meat, as well as many vegetable choices. She was a member of the Salem Garden Club and the Unitarian Church. Bush purchased a 1909 Baker electric car, but stopped driving it after her first outing, when she drove it through the front window of a local pharmacy. Subsequently, chauffeurs drove the car. By 1912, she had become the vice president of the Ladd and Bush bank established by her father.
Photography
Along with her brother A. N. Bush, Sally Bush became a proficient photographer. The Salem Public Library archives include over 2200 of their photographs, more than half taken by her, some using glass plate negatives. She created both portraits and candid photos of her friends and family, Bush House, the grounds, and conservatory.
Legacy
Bush is remembered as "a kind, generous, and compassionate woman, always prepared to assist families in need of food or clothing". In her honor, the Bush House Museum has established an annual Sally Bush Memorial Food Drive, in conjunction with the "Women Ending Hunger" campaign of the Marion-Polk Food Share. She has also been honored for her stewardship of Bush’s Pasture Park and Historic Deepwood Estate, in an exhibition at the Bush Barn Art Center, Parks for People: Lord and Schryver's Legacy.
