Background: 65% reduction when compressed. Foreground: small cube equals two generous servings, circa 1940. From the Food Science and Technology Department Photographs Collection.

Coming to OSU, I knew that it was a heavily science oriented university. However, I did not realize how ingrained food technology was in the early and mid 20th century. Being able to dig through the various collections that SCARC has, has been a lot of fun, especially with seeing the wide variety of food research that can be done.

Fun fact: The Patent Committee Records collection holds the patent for maraschino cherries (my favorite things when I was little!) It also holds the patent for canned crab, as well as yeast ready-mix. 

Another thing I found out through researching this week, there are a lot of past professors from the university that have buildings named after them (especially in the food technology and agriculture departments). Obviously the names of buildings come from somewhere, I just didn’t realize the heavy emphasis on those in the food technology department. 

There are also a large amount of pictures (and collections) of the testing of foods from the early 20th century. Looking through Oregon Digital has produced some great finds, like the picture above. It’s a picture of dehydrated beef (sounds a bit wonky) circa 1940. 

The next section I’ll be researching is Food Technology, which is really similar to Food Research (the topic I researched this week), but I think it will also yield some interesting finds!

According to the OAC catalog, this class was “a course designed to give advanced students of Home Economics training in application of principles of cookery to conditions found in the camp.” P047:0013, 1918.

This first week has been very fascinating and eye opening! I didn’t realize just how many different facets of food topics and sources we have here at Oregon State. From personal notes detailing camp cooking to very old books telling you how to make your own vinegar and how to make long lasting butter, this week has been very informative!

Side note: Did you know that according to a scientist roughly 100 years ago, you can determine the sex of an egg by if the ends are wrinkly or smooth? If wrinkly, it’s a male egg, if smooth all over it’s a female egg. Don’t just take my word for it though, take Dr. Chase’s http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/books/drchase/chas.pdf!

There were also some challenges that I didn’t expect (i.e. some of the collections didn’t have easily navigable collection lists, or some didn’t have all that much information about what was in the box.) Also, there are a TON of different avenues to find information, so learning to methodically check through various search engines and sites was quite the task. Spiraling down a rabbit hole is easy to do when you find a fascinating topic!

Now that I’ve figured out a good system (or at least a method to my madness), I think the rest of the term will go smoothly. I’m looking forward to finding much more information, and most of all, history!

Benton County Extension service Master Food Preservers provide information at the Corvallis Wednesday Farmers Market in the parking lot east of the Avery Square building, 1986. From P062:Series VII

We like food and we like history, and of course we like sharing the food history resources we have in SCARC.

Winter term we are hosting a student intern, Alexys Gibson, a History student in her final year at OSU. She’ll be digging into our archival and library collections looking for materials related to recipes, home gardening, food and fermentation science, farming, the domestic economy, and local history. The goal isn’t to write a history on these topics, rather to create a guide to give you a jump start on your own research.

Each week she’ll be sharing what she found in a blog post — so be on the lookout!

What’s the best service project for a bunch of archivists? Sorting and boxing and labelling.

In lieu of our Thursday morning we all headed to the Linn Benton Food Share warehouse to volunteer for a couple of hours, where we bagged and boxed about 600 pounds of filberts (hazelnuts if you want to be fancy).

And then we sorted through about 1000 pounds of donated canned food.

Separating them into soups, protein, fruits, and vegetables, with a good range of foods for each 24# box. I can tell you from dipping my hands into each of these bins that people donate a variety of foods. Green beans and chicken noodle soup are great! But so are canned peas, coconut milk, and lima beans.

For those who are interested, you can learn more about the program at http://communityservices.us/nutrition/detail/category/linn-benton-food-share/.

For more than 30 years, Linn Benton Food Share has been feeding Linn and Benton counties, because we are committed to the idea that no one goes hungry in the two-county area we serve. In order to efficiently move food to those in need, we work closely with local nonprofit groups throughout Linn and Benton counties.

Through this network of local partner agencies—emergency shelters and food pantries, soup kitchens, child and senior care centers, shelter homes, and gleaning groups—we attempt to reach every person in our area who cannot find enough resources to adequately feed themselves or their families. Last year Food Share distributed 5.4 million pounds of food to our 74 member agencies.

There is a monthly open house on the last Thursday of the month from 6:00-8:00PM, so if you want to drop by to help out please do so. They can also host groups (like ours) during the week.

Ellis Hadley (left) William Finley (center) and Herman Bohlman wading across a river on their way to a red-tailed hawks’ nest, circa 1900.

Oregon State University’s Special Collections and Archives Research Center is participating in a LSTA grant project to digitize the papers and photographs of naturalists William F. Finley, Herman T. Bohlman, and Irene Barnhart Finley.  The intern will assist with various aspects of the project:

• enter metadata used to access the digitized manuscript files based on a data dictionary created by the Center for Digital Scholarship and Services in conjunction with Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

• ingest that content into Oregon Digital

• refolder or take other steps to preserve the original materials appropriately

• write a post about the project for the Special Collections & Archives Research Center’s “Speaking of History” blog.

Required Qualifications: Course work or experience with applying metadata to archival collections

Preferred Qualifications: Undergraduate degree in a related field

The intern will work an average of 12 hours a week, or 312 hours total, over a six month period of the project.  Work hours will be scheduled Monday – Friday between 8 a.m. to 5 pm. at OSU’s Valley Library. Will require working on site in Corvallis, Oregon.

Hourly wage: $12.50 per hour.

Apply by January 24, 2017. For application and full position description see: http://jobs.oregonstate.edu/postings/36212

The OSU Valley Library is proud to announce the fourth year of our sponsored Book Collecting Contest!

Generously sponsored by the Himes & Duniway Society, a group of book collecting enthusiasts in Oregon, this contest is intended:

• to encourage students in the collection and enjoyment of their own personal libraries,
• to aid students in developing an appreciation for the special qualities of printed or illustrated works, and
• to encourage students to read, research, and preserve these works for pleasure and scholarship.

The collection can focus on any subject, and the contest is open to all full-time students.

Prizes:

Three prizes will be awarded to student winners:

1st prize: $1,000
2nd prize: $500
3rd prize: $250

Prizes are generously funded by the Himes & Duniway Society.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE Friday, March 10, 2017 by 5:00 PM.

How Do I Enter?
The Application Package should include the following:

• The application form;
• The essay, which should be at least two and no more than four pages in 12-point type with lines double-spaced describing how and why the collection was assembled;
• A bibliography of the collection preferably using the MLA Bibliography format with each individual title numbered and annotated. The annotations should reflect the importance of each item to the collection as a whole
• An annotated wish list of up to five other book titles that you would like to add in the future to complete or enhance your existing collection; and
• digital images of at least 5 representative items in the collection, with 10 or more images being preferable.

You can submit your application in one of two ways:

1. Email your application package to Anne Bahde at anne.bahde@oregonstate.edu

2. Drop off your application package to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center, 5th floor of Valley Library.

What’s a “Collection?”
A collection

• Consists of items that a student has come to own following a particular interest, or passion, which may be academic or not
• May consist of all books or a combination of books and other formats. For instance, a collection on a geographical topic may include a map, a collection on a playwright may include a poster or playbill, or a collection about an historical event may include ephemera.
• Consists of not less than 15 items or more than 30 items of which the majorityshould be books, but related materials such as photographs, illustrations, maps, ephemera, CDs, music scores, posters etc. may be included.
• Can be on any topic; subjects can be contemporary or historical and may stress bibliographical features such as bindings, printing processes, type, editions, illustrations, etc. Rare books are not expected. Comic books and graphic novels are acceptable; ephemera alone if of historical interest is acceptable; historical–not current–textbooks may be included.

Examples of Previous Winners (2016)

• Marie Bello, Fisheries and Wildlife: “Drawn to Inquiry: Scientific Illustration and Field Sketching as a Method of Exploring the Natural World
• 2nd prize: Kelsey Cronin, Biology: “Maps, Trails, and Navigation”
• 3rd prize: Victoria Drexel, MFA Program in Creative Writing: “Under My Skin: Collecting Sinatra”

How Do I Win?
Criteria for selection:

• Clearly state the purpose or unified theme of the collection;
• Explain the extent to which the collection represents the stated purpose;
• Evidence of creativity in building the collection;
• Originality, innovation, and uniqueness;
• Quality of the collector’s essay describing the collection

A team of judges from campus and The Himes & Duniway Society will determine the contest winners.

The Fine Print:

Students are limited to one entry. The student must be a full time student and the sole owner of the collection. The winners may be eligible for entry into The National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest supported by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS) of which The Himes & Duniway Society is a member, the Center for the Book and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division (the Library of Congress) with major support from the Jay I. Kislak Foundation. http://hq.abaa.org/books/antiquarian/abaapages/contest

If you have questions about book collecting or this contest, contact Anne Bahde at anne.bahde@oregonstate.edu or 541-737-2083.