Monthly Archives: August 2014

A bit tardy ~ new guides for July!

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Finding aids are maps to collections and the following is a list of the 6 finding aids for SCARC collections that were completed or updated during July 2014.  All are available through the NWDA finding aids database as well as on the SCARC website, and MARC records for the collections are available through the OSU Libraries’ Catalog, Summit Navigator, and Worldcat.

This month’s batch consists of guides for  5 “new” collections that were received in 2013 or 2014 and  1 maps collection.  As of July 31, 2014 the OSU Special Collections & Archives Research Center had 780 finding aids in NWDA.

New collections received in 2013 or 2014:

Badura, George J. and Florence, Collection, 1921-1947 (MSS Badura). The materials in this collection, which include 6 photographs, document the Baduras’ student years at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in the early 1920s.  George J. Badura graduated from OAC in 1923 with a BS in Commerce.  Florence Bedell attended OAC for two academic years in 1920-1921 and 1921-1922.

Environmental and Molecular Toxicology Department Faculty Research Publications, 1973-2010 (RG 255). These publications consist of journal articles written by faculty and graduate student researchers at Oregon State University conducting toxicology-based research on the effects of chemicals on humans and the environment.

Maple Manor Cooperative House Records, 1940-1995 (MSS MapleManor). These records document the establishment, members, and activities of this men’s housing cooperative at Oregon State College and the activities of the members during and following World War II.  Maple Manor was established in 1940 and operated until the spring of 1943.  The collection includes 150 photographs.

McKay, Douglas and Mabel, Papers, 1905-2014 (MSS McKay). The McKay Papers document Douglas McKay’s student years at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC), his military service during World Wars I and II, and his political career.  Douglas McKay graduated from OAC in 1917 and married Mabel Christine Hill that same year.  McKay was a successful businessman and politician, serving as an Oregon State Senator, Oregon Governor, and Secretary of the Interior in the Cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  The papers include 850 photographs.

Oral Histories of the 1959 Oregon State College Wrestling court, 1983-2013 (OH 27). This collection consists of born-digital audio files and transcripts as well as supporting research materials compiled by Brittany Backen, an OSU undergraduate student, for her research on the wrestling court and the controversy it provoked.   The collection includes interviews with members of the court, the former editor of the campus newspaper, and a former member of the 1959 wrestling team.

State of Oregon Maps Collection, 1866-2000 (MAPS ORMaps). This collection consists of more than 500 maps and includes a diverse selection of maps of the full state of Oregon as well as counties, cities, and regions.  Topics of the maps include geology, soils, agriculture, recreation, traffic flow, dams and reservoirs, land use, and physiography.

 

Friday Feature: an inspired post, two strange portraits

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Collections Archivist Karl McCreary has had a crazy summer, bringing in scrapbooks from the closing Co-ops and slides from the relocating School of Design and Human Environment, but I admit that this is the strangest thing since we accessioned a keg.

The treasures this time were woodcut faces of past Deans, 3-D though you can’t tell.

This is Karl’s story.

The fence along Benton Place was long and impenetrable. If my mission
were to succeed I would need to negotiate the bushy dark wilderness
skirting Kidder Hall. Emerging from the thicket, I came before the temple of Business, known to the locals as “Bexell Hall.” The task at hand required
tact and precision, as I passed by the ancient wood murals on the wall to
the inner sanctum. Moments later, the harsh summer sun blinded my eyes
as I re-emerged with an armful of history salvaged from the temple.

As I surveyed the spoils to be added to the Library’s Special Collections, my
eyes felt the gazes of others upon me. Then I noticed the wooden faces of
Deans Clifford Maser and Earl Goddard staring up from the library cart and into my soul. “These were the guardians of the temple” I muttered to myself, long histories of service to the college and revered in those halls of Bexell.