There’s a lovely four part “Pauling in Memorium” that concluded last week. It’s quite lovely, so I recommend setting aside some time!
Linus Pauling giving an interview at Deer Flat Ranch, September 1993.
Look no further — here’s what happened in July!
J.C. Clark Papers, 1893-1967 (MSS ClarkJC)
J. C. Clark with colleagues at Shanghai YMCA
This collection documents Clark’s 40-year career with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in the United States and in China as Boy’s Division Secretary and World Brotherhood Secretary. The papers also document elements of his personal life, including his marriage to Oregon State Dean of Home Economics Ava Milam. These materials were previously described as part of the Ava Milam Clark Papers and were separated to form this collection in 2016.
Fred Eckhardt Papers, 1879-2013 (MSS Eckhardt)
Fred Eckhardt with the beers he loved, 1992
This extensive collection covers a broad range of topics related to craft beer brewing as well as sake and wine making. Otto Fredrick (Fred) Eckhardt was a well-known advocate, critic, educator, mentor, and historian and a beloved member of the brewing community.
William H. Galvani Rare Maps Collection, circa 1570-1909 (MAPS Galvani)
Adirondack Survey 1873 – Specimen of Preliminary Reconnaissance Sketch Showing the Approximate Positions and Names of Thirty Nine Ponds or Lakes Important and New to the Maps (Pl. 11), circa 1870
The Galvani Maps include maps and atlas pages depicting various regions of the globe during the 16th to 20thcenturies. Many of the items in the collection document military history in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially during the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the United States Civil War, the Crimean War, and the Russo-Japanese War. Galvani bequeathed his private library, including his map collection to the Oregon State College Library in 1947. These items were recently transferred from the Library’s historical maps collection to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.
Helen E. Plinkiewisch Papers, 1888-1995 (MSS Plinkiewisch)
Helen Plinkiewisch, 1920s.
The Plinkiewisch Papers document the education, music teaching career, and related activities of this music educator. The collection includes diaries and journals, teaching records, musical compositions, a sound recording, and photographs. Plinkiewisch graduated from Oregon State Agricultural College in 1929 and had a long and successful career as music educator in the public schools of Garden City (Long Island), New York.
More films for you to enjoy — online and from the comfort of wherever you are!
“Discover Universatility,” OSU student recruitment video, ca. early 1980s.
Athletics
Presidents of OSU
Promotional Films
Research
Thanks to SCARC Natural Resources Archivist Ruth Vondracek for this post!
Peavy Hall Awaiting Demolition 2016
What happens when a College decides to demolish an existing building and rebuild? How do you relocate everyone and what happens to the 45-year accumulation of papers, research data, films, videos, photographs, slides and CDs, carefully tucked away in closets and storage rooms, or faculty offices? Well, you call in the archivists (and others of course, but we are mostly concerned with the archivists.) That’s exactly what happened last year when the College of Forestry decided to build a new Peavy Hall on the site of the old building.
The current Peavy Hall, constructed in 1971 and dedicated in 1972, created much needed space for the fast-growing School of Forestry. It was noted then that the School of Forestry “took a big leap of progress this year moving from the old forestry building built in 1917 to Peavy Hall, an attractive and modern structure… ” Since then hundreds of forestry students, faculty members and staff have passed through its halls. At least one retired faculty member, Mike Newton, remembers when Peavy Hall was built and when he moved into his first office in the building.
Dean Carl Stoltenberg and T.J. Starker Peavy Hall Groundbreaking 1969
Peavy Hall 1972
Last May, Ruth Vondracek, SCARC’s Natural Resources Archivist, began discussions with College of Forestry departments and faculty members about what materials might be appropriate for the SCARC collections. As can be expected the last months before the move-out were hectic as long-stored collections were revealed and transferred. Ruth and Karl McCreary, SCARC’s Accession Archivist, made many round trips between Peavy Hall and SCARC, loading and unloading boxes. They reviewed and transferred over 15 separate collections to SCARC. Included in the transfer were faculty papers from John Bliss, Loren Kellogg, Mike Newton, Bill Ripple, and Steve Tesch, among others. Additions to the Office of the Dean, Research Office, Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory (ERSAL) Records, Forest Fire Research, Communications (Publications) Group, and the College’s Photograph Collection also made their way to SCARC. Because of the volume of the transfers it may be awhile before the collections are processed and made available.
Karl Wrangling Reprints
This post was written by Lauren Goss, MLIS student at San Jose State University and student assistant in SCARC.
Born in Russia in 1864, Galvani emigrated to the United States by way of New York in 1882. He headed west to Oregon, where he worked as a civil engineer for various companies including the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company, the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, the Oregon Electric Railway Company, Pacific Power & Light Company and the Walla Walla Valley Railway Company. Outside of his engineering work, he was active in civic duty, and was appointed by Governor Benson (OR) to represent Oregon at the 1909 National Peace Congress. He later served as mayor of Seaside, OR in the 1930s. Galvani was a member of the Masons, the Oregon Peace Society, and the Oregon Vegetarian Society.
Galvani pursued varied intellectual interests. In 1894, he wrote a book titled, Crime of 1893, about foreign relations between Russia and the United States.
In December of 1920, he wrote an article for the Oregon Historical Quarterly entitled “The Early Explorations and the Origin of the Name of the Oregon Country.” Galvani appeared regularly in Oregon newspapers with opinions on the benefits of vegetarianism, advocating for peace, and commenting on the Russian Revolution.
Galvani’s connection with Oregon State University began in the early 1900’s, even though he never attended the school. In 1904, he appeared before the Board of Regents to discuss the admittance of foreign students from India. The meeting minutes note: “moved and carried that Mr. Galvani be admitted to address the Board on the subject of the education of the people of India. Mr. Galvani addressed the board at some length on the subject and thanked them for their courtesy. It was then moved and carried.” Galvani’s advocacy was recognized in the creation of the college’s international student program. In 1936, the Oregon State System of Higher Education Chancellor Emeritus, W.J. Kerr, corresponded with the Dean of Science, F.A. Gilfillan about Galvani’s significant personal library. Kerr mentioned the possibility of splitting the large collection between Oregon State and the University of Oregon, though it appeared Galvani had not formally decided the future of his personal library. In 1943, Gilfillan and Galvani began a correspondence regarding the influx of soldiers to Camp Adair, and the Russian language class that Gilfillan taught. In fact, some of their correspondence was in Russian. In May of 1943. Galvani received an honorary doctorate of engineering at the annual commencement ceremonies. Gilfillan wrote to Galvani: “the college was glad to have this opportunity to honor a pioneer engineer of Oregon.”
In relation to obtaining Galvani’s book collection, Gilfillan was a member of the Friends of the Oregon State College Library, an organization that advocated for donations of book collections, and monetary support. In their correspondence, Gilfillan mentioned the group to Galvani at the end of 1943. When Galvani died on October 23, 1947, his last will and testament detailed the terms of the bequest of his entire library to Oregon State College. By the end of 1947, the library was in receipt of approximately 5,500 books, as well as over 1,000 maps. Cataloging his book collection was a significant task for the post-war era library. In an edition of the 1951 Booklist, a monthly library publication, W.H. Carlson (director of libraries) reported they were still cataloging Galvani’s books. Below is the bookplate affixed to all of his volumes, featuring Galvani’s bust sculpted by his widow.
Galvani’s personal book and map collection were significant contributions to the library. In the Special Collection and Archives Research Center, his books sit on the shelves of the various rare books collections. One in particular seems a fitting component of Galvani’s collection: The Amenities of Book-Collecting and Kindred Affections, by A. Edward Newton, published in 1918. It was a popular guide on the vicissitudes of book-collecting with such chapter titles as “Old Catalogues and New Prices,” “What Might Have Been” and “A Ridiculous Philosopher.” Newton observed: “book-collecting has all the advantages of other hobbies without their drawbacks. The pleasure of acquisition is common to all – that’s where the sport lies; but the strain of the possession of books is almost nothing; a tight, dry closet will serve to house them, if need be” (p. 3). It is a short leap to apply the same observation to historic maps. In a further attempt to understand Galvani’s voracious collecting of historical materials, I found some answers in a small publication, By-Ways Among Books, by David J. Mackenzie in 1900. While this specific book was not part of Galvani’s personal library, it illustrates the characteristics of book collecting that may cause someone to amass over 5,500 books and over 1,000 maps. Mackenzie compares book-hunting to sport and remarks: “book-hunting takes precedence of other sports in nothing more than in this – its infinite variety. It can never be said that there is a sameness in books, or a monotony in book-hunting” (p. 52-53). The William H. Galvani Rare Maps Collection is fascinating, complex, and far from monotonous. The collection’s unprecedented variety, while presenting challenges for arrangement and description, will entice scholars of all academic disciplines.
This post was written by Lauren Goss, MLIS student at San Jose State University and student assistant in SCARC.
The William H. Galvani Rare Maps collection consists of over 1,000 maps spanning the entire globe. Equipped with a background in history and geography, I was pleased to take on the challenging and complex task of arranging and describing this collection. This blog post features a few maps giving a glimpse of the breadth and depth of this fascinating collection.
Map of Africa Showing Railway and Telegraphic Lines, Elevations and Latest Geographical Data
From: The National Geographic Magazine, (Vol. XX, No. 3), March 1909
Editor: Grosvenor, Gilbert H.
Publisher: The Matthews-Northrup Works
Item 11: Croquis de Positions Francaises et Chinoises dans la Region de Chu (Loch-Nan) du 7 au 14 Octobre 1884 (Carte 11)
From: Journal des Sciences Militaires
Geographic Location: Vietnam
Printer: Dufrenoy
Publisher: Baudoin
Carte pour Suivre Les Operations du Siege de Paris avec l’indication des Secteurs , 8a, 1878 From: Panorama de la defense de Paris contre les armes allemandes par Philippoteaux. Explication precedee d’une notice historiique avec carte du departement de la Seine By: DuPont, Paul
Engraver: La Beolle, A.
Geographic Location: Paris (France)
Printer: Dupont Jr., Paul
Adirondack Survey 1873 – Specimen of Preliminary Reconnaissance Sketch Showing the Approximate Positions and Names of Thirty Nine Ponds or Lakes Important and New to the Maps (Pl. 11), circa 1870
From: Report on the topographical survey of the Adirondack Wilderness of New York for the year 1873. By: Verplanck, Colvin; New York (State) State Land Survey
Geographic Location: Adirondack Mountains, New York (United States)
Lithographer: Weed Parsons & Co.
Surveyor: Colvin, Verplanck
Map of Eastern Honduras, showing the gold and silver regions of Olancho & Tegucigalpa; and the Valley of the Guayape, 1857
From: Explorations and adventures in Honduras. By: Wells, William V
Cartographer: Well, E.
Engraver: C. Copley
Geographic Location: Honduras
Sketch Map Showing the Mineral & Silk Districts of the Province of Shan-Tung (China) to accompany the paper by J. Markham, Esqre (Vol XL, Page 207), 1870
From: Journal of the Royal Geographical Society
Cartographer: Wellen, Edward
Geographic Location: China
Three young barn owls in a row on a fence, hissing. 1904. OHS Research Library, Org. Lot 369, Finley A572.
William L. Finley photographing heron nests in the treetops. San Francisco Bay, 1904.
OHS Research Library, Org. Lot 369, Finley A532.
Long before the people of Oregon took to their local parks in search of Pidgeys and Spearows on Pokemon Go, William Finley and his childhood friend Herman Bohlman were out with their cameras on breaks from school capturing Oregon’s pigeons and sparrows on film. Finley’s early fascination with birds blossomed into a lifelong passion for ornithology.
Today we celebrate William Finley, Oregon’s pioneering wildlife photographer, conservationist, and author. He was born August 9, 1876 in Santa Clara, California. After moving to Portland, Oregon in 1887, Finley went on to become one of the biggest advocates for birds and wildlife in the state. Along with his wife, Irene Finley, and Bohlman, Finley photographed and wrote extensively about birding in Oregon. He also was a founding member and president of the Oregon Audubon Society, founded the Oregon Sportsman magazine, and served as Oregon Fish and Game commissioner, state game warden, and state biologist. His photographs and advocacy helped pass laws protecting birds from overhunting and pushed President Theodore Roosevelt to establish national wildlife refuges at Three Arch Rocks, Klamath, and Malheur.
Ellis Hadley (left) William Finley (center) and Herman Bohlman wading across a river on their way to a red-tailed hawks’ nest, circa 1900. William L. Finley Papers, 1899-1946 (MSS Finley)
Nature had few obstacles too great for Finley and Bohlman in their pursuit of the perfect shot. The pair scaled countless trees and forded many a river in search of some of the West’s rarest bird species, most notably the California condor. Even going so far as to hide for hours in haystacks and donning goat costumes in an effort to photograph their subjects unnoticed (more on these in a future blog post, I promise it is worth the wait).
Want to learn more? Read on in the Oregon Encyclopedia: William L. Finley (1876-1953), and be sure to check up on the Reuniting Finley and Bohlman Collection on Oregon Digital throughout the year as additional materials are uploaded.
This month we are celebrating Finley’s 140th birthday by kicking off a yearlong partnership between the Oregon Historical Society Research Library and Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives to digitize the Finley and Bohlman photograph and document collections held by our libraries and to unite them online through Oregon Digital and the OHS Digital Collections website. Stay tuned in coming months for future installments about Finley, Bohlman, and their birding adventures around the state.
This project is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library.
Welcome to my 12 year old daughter, Ella. She’s written this lovely post about a trip we took last week – she wrote it all and took all the pictures!
Last Friday, my mother and I visited Agrarian Ales, a small, family-oriented brewery and restaurant located just north of Eugene, Oregon. We were given a farm tour before they opened by a farmer named Maia. She showed us around the hop yards, greenhouse, growing fields, and outdoor seating area.
Read the whole post and see all the lovely pictures on the blog!
Last week I was lucky enough to share the story of the Fred Eckhardt Papers at a History Pub at the McMenamins Kennedy School. Since I heard from lots of people (from all over the country) that they were sad to miss it (you know, because they were all over the country), I thought I’d post my slides and talk notes.
Also included are details about being an archivist, information about the topics represented in the collection, and my thoughts about the importance of saving local history (and keeping it saved locally).
This is part 2 of 4 of an examination of the final years of Linus Pauling’s life.
In February 1992, Linus Pauling announced publicly that he had cancer. His critics responded with sentiments that were, at times, distinctly unsympathetic. In their view, since Pauling had been advocating vitamin C as a preventative treatment for cancer for years, his diagnosis undermined those decades of work. Pauling retorted that most elderly men develop hyperplasia or cancer in their prostates, often by age 70. Pauling believed it was quite likely, although not provable, that his high intake of vitamin C delayed the inevitable by decades.