Monthly Archives: September 2011

Want to watch your history?

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You know how picky archives can be about eating and historical collections? Two film events offer you a great chance to watch some historical and eat some lunch. Best of both worlds, I tell you.

Thursday, October 13 (12:00-1:00, Willamette Room East-Library)
Rewind in time to campus ca. late 1960s and early 1970s through a showing of 3 films that document OSU’s efforts to attract minority students and observe the university’s centennial in 1968.

Wednesday, October 19 (12:00-1:00, Willamette Room East)
Learn more about the life and times of native Oregonian and alumnus Linus Pauling in a showing of a recent production by Oregon Public Broadcasting on the brilliant Nobel Prize-winning chemist and peace activist.

People going back to school: grab your pencil cases!

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People on the first day of school, circa 1940

People on the first day of school, circa 1940

It’s that time of year — the rain falls, the sun shines, the leaves turn, and our town swells as university students & faculty pour back in to teach, learn, and have fun.

Enjoy the latest addition to the People Doing Stuff collection in Flickr Commons, aptly called “People going back to school: grab your pencil cases!” It is chock full of Oregonians with chalk and lunch boxes, celebrates the littler people doing stuff at school.

It’s Oregon Archives Month, celebrate with a story!

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Linus Pauling, circa 1905

Linus Pauling, circa 1905

Learn about the amazing legacy of documentation from alumnus Linus Pauling and other gems in the OSU Library’s Special Collections. Chris Petersen of Special Collections will be your guide to the diverse and fascinating Pauling Collection, which illuminates the brilliance, creativity, and conviction of the Nobel- Prize winning Chemistry professor.

When & where? Wednesday, October 5 from 2:00-3:00 in Special Collections (5th floor, The Valley Library).

Oregon Archives Month: Celebrating archival anniversaries at OSU with tours, film, and food!

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Honoring 50 years of the University Archives and 25 years of the Special Collections at OSU, we’re celebrating our merger this year with a palette of events highlighting Beaver history!

Lace up your sneakers and join us Saturday, October 1 from 2:30-4:00 for a fabulous outdoor historical walking tour of campus buildings! Some lost, some forgotten, some just moved to another spot… OSU Archivists Larry Landis and Tiah Edmunson-Morton will walk you through history to discover the “forgotten landscapes” of campus.

Using historic maps and photographs, Tiah and Larry will reveal what’s here, what’s gone, and what is somewhere else. We’ll bring places like the campus gazebo, brooder house and octagonal barn back to life! Please let Tiah know if you want to join us! tiah.edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu

Meet in the Valley Library on the 3rd floor in Archives reference room.

Faces of Extension

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Home Demonstration staff, 1935

Home Demonstration staff, 1935

All summer we’ve traveled through the state celebrating the activities, events, and education OSU Extension Services supports.

In this final set of the OSU Extension Service Centennial collection, called Faces of Extension, we want to celebrate another great things about Extension – or should I say the great thing about Extension – the people.

Enjoy.

Extension Agent Oris Rudd, 1972

Extension Agent Oris Rudd, 1972

Farewell Senator Hatfield

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Governor Hatfield with Beaver Boy

Governor Hatfield with Beaver Boy

Senator Mark O. Hatfield ’43 passed away peacefully on Aug. 7, 2011 at the age of 89.

A native Oregonian, Senator Hatfield was born in Dallas, the son of a railroad blacksmith and schoolteacher. He attended Willamette University until the U.S. entered World War II, at which point he enlisted in the Navy. After his tour of duty, he received a Masters degree from Stanford and taught at Willamette — and then he began his long career of public service.

Both Oregon’s youngest elected Governor and longest serving Senator, Hatfield quickly proved to be an adept politician. During the Vietnam War he was given the title “The Conscience of the Senate” for his staunch anti-war position. Hatfield’s political efforts centered on education and civil rights programs. When he left office in 1997 he had never lost an election.

Senator Hatfield has a long history with OSU having signed the legislation that changed its name from Oregon State College, to its present Oregon State University on March 6, 1961. He also secured much of the funding for the University’s Marine Science Center which now bears his name.

For more on Hatfield’s life and work, visit Willamette University’s “Farewell to Senator Mark O. Hatfield” page.

We’ve created a Flickr set of Hatfield’s time at OSU, visit for some wonderful images!

Extension in the State

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4-H flower identification contest, circa 1975

4-H flower identification contest, circa 1975

Eating watermelon, examining alfalfa fields, certifying oats? Building a flume, holding a flower, finding some fruit? Must be another set of images from Extension Services! It’s an amusingly mixed bag of shots that didn’t link directly to a specific county set, so we’ve culled them all together in a big set with a statewide focus.

Mobile Kitchen, 1938

Mobile Kitchen, 1938

Full of what can only be called “Extension magic,” you’ll find images of turkey and beef exhibits at the state fair, a corn show, and people talking about tuna.

Dan Panshin and Bob Jacobson talk to an albacore tuna fisherman, 1965

Dan Panshin and Bob Jacobson talk to an albacore tuna fisherman, 1965

Apart from being full of fabulous photos, this set is also a gem historically. I love the demonstration trains and traveling instruction sessions, which allowed agents to visit communities throughout the state, teaching people skills in canning, provide information about the cost of electricity, give stump burning and dairy demonstrations, demonstrate poultry culling, display the “mobile kitchen,” or provide lectures on wool production and marketing. There are also pictures of traditional “brick & mortar classes,” such as flower identification or “Furnishing the Modern House.”

Furnishing the Modern House course announcement, 1930

Furnishing the Modern House course announcement, 1930

You’ll also find a man with a beaver, woman with a cow, man with a fish, and a boy with a sunflower — I told you it was eclectic!