Celebrate Leo Adler’s birthday June 21

Published 5:30 am Monday, June 17, 2024

A birthday party on Friday, June 21, will celebrate Leo Adler, whose gift of $20 million upon his death in November 1993 has benefited Baker City and Baker County with scholarships and grants.

The celebration will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Adler House Museum, 2305 Main St. Food and cake will be served, and everyone is encouraged to bring a gift to donate to CASA of Eastern Oregon.

Adler was born June 21, 1895, in Baker City.

By age 9, he was peddling the Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal, and by age 20 he’d created a major magazine reshipping business based in Baker City.

He retired at 77. Adler never married, and was known for generous gifts in the community to support the fire department and the hospital. He was also a baseball fan and attended 20 consecutive World Series, while also financially supporting local baseball programs at the high school, Little League and Babe Ruth levels.

He died Nov. 2, 1993. He was 98.

The Leo Adler Foundation began in 1994, and celebrates its 30th year in 2024. Since its start, the foundation has awarded nearly twice the amount that Adler originally left to benefit Baker County and North Powder.

Adler left most of his fortune, $20 million, to establish the foundation. Since 1995, the foundation has awarded a total of $39,943,115 — $24,872,423 in scholarships, and $14,092,301 in grants.

A book detailing his life, titled “The Spark and the Light: The Leo Adler Story” by Adair Law, is available at the Adler House and the gift shop of the Baker Heritage Museum, 2480 Grove St.

The Adler House, which was his home for 94 years, has been turned into a museum. It is open Friday through Monday from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.