SCARC completed five new finding aids from January to March 2022! 

These finalized finding aids are available through the Archives West finding aids database, our website, and the OSUL discovery system a.k.a. “the catalog.” The links below are to the guides on our website.

Five New Collections:

Robert Dalton Harris Jr. Collection of Atomic Age Ephemera, 1897-2017

The Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. Collection of Atomic Age Ephemera consists of printed ephemera produced from the late 19th century to the present day. The materials comprise broad coverage of many scientific, religious, cultural, industrial, political, environmental, and other aspects of nuclear history. Items are arranged chronologically by date of creation. Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. and his partner Diane DeBlois are authors, editors, historians, independent scholars, and long-time proprietors of aGatherin’, a business that deals in ephemera and original source materials.

African American Railroad Porters Oral History Collection, 1983-1992

The African American Railroad Porters Oral History Collection is primarily made up of thirty reel-to-reel sound recordings containing interviews between filmmaker Michael Grice and African-American railroad porters employed in the Portland area. The interviews cover a variety of topics, including the day-to-day work of porters, labor unions, and racism in the Portland area. These recordings formed much of the background research used for Grice’s 1985 film, “Black Families and the Railroad in Oregon and the Northwest.” Copies of the film are included in the collection and is available online.

A website for the oral history interviews including digitized audio along with interview transcriptions can be found at: http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/oh29/index.html

College Bulletins, 1902-1932

The College Bulletins consist of bulletins published by Oregon Agricultural College, and later Oregon State College, to promote the academic programs and outreach activities of the College.  Almost 500 bulletins were published over 30 years from 1902 to 1932.  Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

Anne Frewerd Scrapbook, 1945

The Anne Frewerd Scrapbook consists of mementos from her time working at Los Alamos, New Mexico for the Manhattan Project in 1945.  Included are souvenir and personal photographs, newspaper clippings covering the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and other ephemera related to her work in Los Alamos, including a telegram and pin.

Annual and Biennial Reports, 1872-2007

The Annual and Biennial Reports consist of reports from the earliest years of Oregon State University in the 1870s through the early 2000s and document the administration and all functions and activities of the institution.

Items in this collection are available online in Oregon Digital.

SCARC completed 6 new or updated finding aids October – December 2021. The following is a list and a little information about what we accomplished.

These finalized finding aids are available through the Archives West finding aids database, our website, and the Valley Library catalog.

Four New Collection Guides Were Created

• Karl F. Drlica Papers, 1909-2018 – The Karl F. Drlica Papers are comprised of materials generated and collected by Oregon State College alumnus, physical education professor, and crew coach Karl F. Drlica. This collection documents Drlica’s management of the Oregon State University crew teams, instruction of courses, involvement in organizations, and work as an educator for the United States Military in post World War II Japan. Among the materials included in this collection are correspondence, game programs, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, photographs, a scrapbook, artifacts, and a thesis. Drlica graduated from Oregon State College with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education in 1940 and 1952, respectively. From 1950 to 1983, Drlica coached and coordinated crew activity at OSU.
• Barometer Campus Newspaper (PUB 015-11b) – The Barometer Campus Newspaper consists of Oregon State University’s student-published newspaper and documents the full range of campus programs and activities, as well as local and regional news and events.  The first issue  — The College Barometer — was published in March 1896 in a magazine format.  In 1906, a weekly publication in a newspaper format was launched and by 1923 the Daily Barometer was published every weekday during the academic year. Many issues of the Barometer are available online in Oregon Digital.  Comprehensive digitization of the campus newspaper began in 2020 and will continue until completed; issues are added to the site regularly.

• Hmong at OSU Records (MSS HmongOSU) – The Hmong at Oregon State University (OSU) Records provide insight into the operations of the Hmong at OSU student organization. This student organization was founded to foster awareness of Hmong culture at OSU, as well as provide social support and skill-building opportunities for members of the organization. The entire collection is digital and fully available upon patron request or for use in the SCARC reading room.

• Memorial Union Records (RG 099) – The Memorial Union Records document the administration of this organization and its role in managing services and events at the two student union facilities at Oregon State University: the Memorial Union and the Memorial Union East (also known as Snell Hall). Spanning the years 1922 to 2012, these records include: annual reports, correspondence, course materials, digital files, financial records, flyers, handbooks, meeting minutes, photographs, posters, publications, scrapbooks, and sound recordings. The Memorial Union has served as OSU’s official student union facility since 1928. Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

Two Existing Collection Guides Were Updated

• Oregon State Yank Collection, 1942-1945 (MSS Yank) – The Oregon State Yank Collection consists of correspondence from Oregon State College alumni serving in the military during World War II to Elaine Kollins Sewell and Jane Steagall, editors of the Oregon State Yank.  Digitized versions of all the letters are available for use in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center Reading Room or upon request.
• Japanese-American Association of Lane County, Oregon, Oral History Collection, 1994-2008 – The Japanese-American Association of Lane County, Oregon, Oral History Collection consists of digital recordings of oral history interviews of Japanese Americans living in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, and the vicinity. These oral histories document the immigrant experiences of the interviewees’ parents and grandparents; the World War II experiences of the interviewees in internment camps; and their lives in Eugene and neighboring communities in the years following the war.

Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital. The collection materials are also available via the Japanese-American Association of Lane County, Oregon, Oral History Collection website.

In celebration of Oregon Archives Month, SCARC staff have pulled together a few of their favorite things in our collections. This is the fourth in the series.

The Barometer is an amazing resource for learning about Oregon State through the years…and also other news like:

• An opinion headline in January 27, 1995: “Internet Surfing, Home Computer Craze: Is It Worth It?”
• News from the summer of 1969: major protests, arrests, and convictions of protestors related to the denial of promotion to English instructor Frank Harper and subsequent dismissal of same. Also, continued protest against closing women’s dorms at night.
• More fun: November 6, 1969 Barometer was printed with blank pages except ads in protest of ASOSU senate effort to review editorial board to potentially change editorial staff. The bill passed but was vetoed by ASOSU president.
• In Fall 1968 MU board of directors exclude military recruiting inside MU.
• November 7, 1928: It is official, Corvallis voters have lifted the ban on Sunday movies by a 2 to 1 margin. Also, Hoover wins in a landslide!
• It was reported in the Barometer May 19, 1981 that the investigation into a graduate student that disappeared off a research vessel off the coast of Hawaii ended after 18 months, concluding the student was alive and well, though whereabouts unknown. He seems to have not wanted to go home.
• Cases of measles on campus in April, 1973. Yikes!
• April 19, 1996, the Barometer included a story from the Associated Press titled, “Expert says police in need of ethics training.” Whelp…
• November 15, 1990: It was reported that a 6 year old boy in France shot his mom in the stomach with a rifle after she refused him a Coca-Cola. And that’s the way it is.

Check out more from the digitized collection!

Kevin Jones is SCARC’s metadata and digitization specialist extraordinaire.  SCARC would be lost without him! He likes to play all kinds of games, run, and play ultimate Frisbee.

In celebration of Oregon Archives Month, SCARC staff have pulled together a few of their favorite things in our collections. This is the third in the series.

The After 8 pins are part of the After 8 Records, a collection that documents the political activism and community outreach work of the After 8 organization, an group which operated in Benton County from 1989 to 2002, but was primarily active during the 1990s.

“After 8” is in reference to and a response to Ballot Measure 8. In November of 1988, Ballot Measure 8 passed in the state of Oregon, effectively rescinding Governor Goldschmidt’s 1987 Executive Order 87-20 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the executive branch of the state government. In addition to the dismantling of this previous protection, Ballot Measure 8 introduced a new law allowing state officials to take the sexual orientation into account in making personnel decisions, and preventing them from acting on reports of such discrimination. Thus, the ballot measure effectively made it legal to discriminate at all levels of state government on the basis of sexual orientation, then defined as homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual.

In response to Ballot Measure 8, a group of women in Benton County met in the week following its passage to discuss the potential for mobilization within the local gay and lesbian community. By December of that same year, a group of lesbian and gay community members and their allies were meeting bi-weekly, and in January of 1989, the group was given a name—”After 8″. Their mission became “To create conditions which ensure that all persons are protected from any discrimination based on sexual orientation.” Throughout the group’s lifetime, After 8 sought to achieve this mission through education and advocacy—working with members of the community, engaging in political activity, networking with individuals, organizations, businesses, and institutions, and effectively making themselves visible as active participants of the local community. After 8 operated in Benton County from 1989-2002.

Pins are an easily visible, portable, and effective form of community activism, and the After 8 pins are both fun and informative. Some of the pins such as “Stop the OCA” reference the Oregon Citizens Alliance, a conservative Christian political organization that proposed the anti-LGBTQ+ rights Measure 9; some pins like “Straight but not narrow, vote no on 9” show the allyship from non-LGBTQ+ community members; and some pins like “leather lesbo” are timeless. 

In addition to their historic value for researchers to incorporate in their scholarship, the After 8 pins are always a hit when used as part of SCARC instruction sessions and they make for great exhibit pieces.  

Natalia Fernandez is currently serving as SCARC’s Interim Director. In her permanent role, she is the curator of the Oregon Multicultural Archives, OSU Queer Archives, and OSU DisAbility Archives; she also serves as the Supervisor of the OSULP Diversity Scholars Program.  She has been with OSU for over 10 years and her office is located in the 3rd floor archives workroom.

On a crisp autumn morning on November 3, 1894, the Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) Coyotes hosted the University of Oregon Lemon-Yellows for the inaugural football game between the two schools. The game was played on a field east of Community Hall (formerly the Administration Building), just north of present-day Callahan Hall. The game wasn’t much more than a scrimmage, and it didn’t draw any spectators. OAC had the edge, having established their football program the season prior, and they won the game handily, 16-0. For the next few years, the schools met in similarly low-stakes contests with little fanfare, or fans. There weren’t many in the Pacific Northwest who knew much about this new sport, often called gridiron football due to the field’s resemblance to a gridiron. Subsequently, coaches often moonlighted as officials, teams played with fewer players, and the general sentiment in Oregon was that it was a long, boring, and clumsy game. From the very beginning, the Coyotes and the Lemon-Yellows took turns hosting the game in either Eugene or Corvallis, sometimes playing twice in one year, once in each town.

What set the stage for the first game in what would become a nearly 100-year long tradition, came eighteen years prior, in 1873. The Massasoit Conventions – meetings of student leaders from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia – standardized the rules of American Football. These four schools were early pioneers of the sport and, along with Rutgers and Tufts, adapted American Football from British sports like rugby and soccer. Though the way the sport was played would see many changes in the years following the Conventions, these meetings marked the beginning of the expansion of organized college football. News of the meetings, and the finalized set of rules, was picked up by newspapers and publications across the nation, and the game’s popularity boomed. As more schools established their own programs, the rules were further refined. With its roots as a “mob game,” where the goal was simply to get the ball across the goal line by any means possible, in the early days of football a game could see as many as 25 players on the field for one team. By the time the Coyotes and the Lemon-Yellows first faced off in 1894, the number of players had been whittled down to the modern-day limit of 11 per team. In fact, by 1912, the game looked remarkably like it does today. The field had been scaled to its present-day dimensions: 120 yards by 53 1/3 yards. The most noteworthy differences between football of the 1900s and today are the scoring conventions. Unlike today, where the main scoring mechanism is a six-point touchdown, at the turn of the 20^th century it was a five-point field goal. In 1894, touchdowns were worth four points, and conversions – a successful kick between rugby uprights – were an additional two points. Just four years later, in 1898, the scoring system was further revised, with touchdowns worth five points, field goals worth four points, and conversions scaled back to a single point.

After the two teams had a few seasons under their belts, the contest between OAC and the University of Oregon began to amass a dedicated, and sometimes rowdy, following. In 1908, the Aggies and the Webfoots faced off for the very first time in Multnomah Stadium [now Providence Park] in Portland, drawing a sellout crowd of 15,000, and completely shattering their previous record of just under 3,500 spectators. Oregon won that game, 8-0, with two field goals. The rivalry had gained traction in the state, but with that traction came conflict. Fights often broke out on train platforms after games, and just two years after the sellout in Portland, some “rowdy hat-grabbing behavior” prompted the OAC student body to unanimously vote to sever ties with Oregon athletics. Two years later, in 1912, the schools negotiated a truce, and agreed to play on Hudson Field in Albany, neutral territory. They continued to play in Albany until 1914, returning to alternating fields between Corvallis and Eugene.

The rivalry continued to grow, both in popularity and in contention, between the two schools. Due to the increasing attention garnered by the rivalry, each team’s gridirons were upgraded in the late 1910s and early 1920s. In 1910, OAC constructed Bell Field, on the very same spot where present-day Dixon Recreation Center now stands. Oregon built Hayward Field in 1919; in 1967, with the construction of Autzen Stadium, Hayward became Oregon’s dedicated track and field stadium. Tensions surrounding the rivalry continued to run high, and often reached a boiling point; fights were not uncommon, as were kidnappings of mascots and homecoming courts. The conflict surrounding the contest prompted Oregon head coach John McEwan (1926-1929) to refer to it as “the great Civil War.” The nickname slowly caught on in subsequent years, and by the late 1930s the rivalry was exclusively referred to as the Civil War (the 1938 Beaver yearbook was the first OSU student publication to use the moniker). This carried over almost immediately to contests in other sports played by the two teams. Whether it be football, basketball, baseball, or any other sport, fans referred to any head-to-head match between the schools as the Civil War game of that particular sport.

The football Civil War game was frequently played at Portland’s Multnomah Stadium during the 1930s, with games alternating annually between Hayward Field, Bell Field, and Multnomah Stadium. In 1943 and 1944, no football season was played by either team, as they simply couldn’t field enough players due to World War II. Between 1952 and 1953, Oregon State College built Parker Stadium (renamed Reser in 1999),  and the University of Oregon built Autzen Stadium. Having built new stadiums, and considering the age and general neglect of Multnomah Stadium, a more permanent location rotation was put into place for the Civil War, with the game alternating annually between Corvallis and Eugene. 

The game continued to grow in popularity into the 1960s, with tens of thousands of spectators regularly in attendance. The rivalry remained as heated as ever, and though there may have fewer physical altercations, the contest itself resulted in some truly memorable, and historic, games. Who could forget the humiliatingly named Toilet Bowl of 1983, a game plagued by turnovers and missed field goals, one in which the Beavers and Ducks fought their way to a nothing-nothing tie (the last scoreless tie in college football history)?  Or the 1998, double-overtime OSU victory, which Beaver fans celebrated by tearing up the artificial turf? Most recently, in the midst of a pandemic and in a stadium empty of fans, the Beavers squeaked out a three-point victory over the 15^th ranked Ducks, the first time they’d beat a ranked opponent since 2014. As of 2020, the Civil War had been played 125 times, putting the rivalry in the top ten of the most-played college football series.

The history of the OSU-UO Civil War mirrors that of many other rivalries across the nation, in particular the other schools in the PAC-12 conference. All these schools have a similar rivalry, each with a name representative of their locale or history. The University of Washington plays Washington State University in the Apple Cup; Stanford University plays the University of California-Berkeley each year in the Big Game; the University of Southern California plays the University of California-Los Angeles in the Crosstown Cup; the University of Arizona plays Arizona State in the Territorial Cup; and the University of Colorado plays the University of Utah in their alliteratively-titled rivalry game, the Rumble in the Rockies. Each year, all these schools face off on the same weekend in November, fondly referred to as Rivalry Week. 

In 2020, after over 100 years, the University of Oregon and Oregon State University jointly announced they would no longer refer to the annual rivalry game as the “Civil War.” Amid protests surrounding racial injustice, and the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the two schools decided the name was insensitive, as it referenced “a war fought to perpetuate slavery.” In a statement on the decision to repeal the title, OSU President Ed Ray commented that “while not intended as reference to the actual Civil War, OSU sports competitions should not provide any misconstrued reference to this divisive episode in American history.” The announcement was met with mixed reactions, with many claiming the moniker “never made sense” in the first place, and others asserting the change was “needless virtue signaling.” A new name has yet to be announced. 

Though the name will change, the rivalry and its physical expression will persist, as it has through six scoreless ties and two World Wars. The changing of the name moves OSU one tiny step closer to becoming a more welcoming and inclusive community, and comes with the opportunity to fashion a new name, one which will embody the true character of the rivalry and its schools. It could be called something elegant and historical, like the Oregon Classic. Perhaps it should hearken back to the little-known platypus trophy, given to the winner of the contest in the 1950s and 1960s – a trophy stolen so many times it was eventually locked in a closet at McArthur Court on the University of Oregon’s campus. Given the schools’ mascots, the Platypus Cup does seem entirely appropriate. Regardless of what it is called, there is no doubt, with its long and storied history, the Oregon-Oregon State rivalry will live on.

Works Consulted

1. “1983 Oregon State vs. Oregon Football Game.” Wikipedia, 17 Jan. 2021. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1983_Oregon_State_vs._Oregon_football_game&oldid=1000872423.
2. Adelson, Andrea. “Oregon, Oregon State Drop ‘Civil War’ Moniker.” ESPN.Com, 26 June 2020, https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29370252/oregon-oregon-state-dropping-civil-war-name-rivalry-games.
3. Canzano, John. “Canzano: 121 Things You Don’t Know about the Civil War Game.” Oregon Live, 22 Nov. 2017, https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/2017/11/canzano_121_cool_things_you_do.html.
4. Caputo, Paul. “Getting Our Webfeet in a Row: The Story Behind the Oregon Ducks.” SportsLogos.Net News, 27 Sept. 2014, https://news.sportslogos.net/2014/09/27/getting-our-webfeet-in-a-row-the-story-behind-the-oregon-ducks/college/.
5. Carlson, Kip. Oregon State Football. Arcadia Publishing, 2006.
6. “Chronological History of Oregon State University – 1950 to 1959.” OSU Libraries University Archives, 26 Sept. 2012, https://web.archive.org/web/20120926004224/http:/archives.library.oregonstate.edu/chronology/chron_1950.html.
7. Edmunston, George. Up Close and Personal: Greatest Civil War Games. https://osughost.imodules.com/s/resources/templates/login/index.aspx?sid=359&gid=1&pgid=454. Accessed 21 July 2021.
8. Etheridge, Steve. “The Original Rules of College Football.” ESPN.Com, 15 Aug. 2019, https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/27356104/the-original-rules-college-football.
9. “Gameday Traditions.” Oregon State University Athletics, https://osubeavers.com/sports/2013/7/9/208626262.aspx. Accessed 21 July 2021.
10. History of Football – Football History | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site. https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/history-of-football/. Accessed 21 July 2021.
11. Marwit, Dan. “Walter Camp: The Man Who Gave You Football.” The New York Public Library, February 3 20016, https://www.nypl.org/blog/2016/02/03/walter-camp-father-football.
12. “Oregon–Oregon State Football Rivalry.” Wikipedia, 10 July 2021. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oregon%E2%80%93Oregon_State_football_rivalry&oldid=1032987468.
13. Oriad, Michael. “Gridiron Football | Definition, History, Leagues, Rules, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/sports/gridiron-football. Accessed 21 July 2021.
14. Prince, Seth. “Civil War: The Complete Game-by-Game History.” Oregon Live, 23 Nov. 2008, https://www.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2008/11/civil_war_the_complete_gamebyg.html.
15. Rodman, Bob. “It’s Reser Stadium Now, OSU Fans.” Eugene Register-Guard, 15 June 1999, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-1ZWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=o-sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6205%2C3959757.
16. The Beaver 1938 | Oregon State University Yearbooks | Oregon Digital. https://oregondigital.org/sets/osu-yearbooks/oregondigital:3t945r17t#page/1/mode/1up. Accessed 21 July 2021.
17. University of Oregon. “Hayward Field.” University of Oregon Athletics, 5 Aug. 2003,https://goducks.com/news/2003/8/5/22187.aspx.
18. Where’s Waldo? Exploring Waldo Hall History – Special Collections & Archives Research Center. http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/waldo/wartime/wwii. Accessed 21 July 2021.
19. Ylen, Mark. “A Civil War History Lesson.” Albany Democrat Herald, 17 Nov. 2012, https://democratherald.com/news/local/a-civil-war-history-lesson/article_ddf67730-3088-11e2-aa43-0019bb2963f4.html.

Sydney Klupar graduated from Oregon State University with an Honors Bachelor of Science in environmental economics and policy in June 2021. She has worked at SCARC since September 2018, helping with a myriad of projects including transcription, processing, and description of archival collections. During her time at OSU, Klupar participated in many clubs, including the Spirit and Sound of OSU, the Oregon State University Marching Band. She is moving on to Lewis and Clark Law School and will graduate with a J.D. and L.L.M. in environmental, natural resource, and energy law in 2024.

In celebration of Oregon Archives Month, SCARC staff have pulled together a few of their favorite things in our collections. This is the second in the series.

When I first learned of Professor Betty Lynd Thompson and saw photographs of the enigmatic and graceful modern dance movements that were part of her instruction from the 1930s through the 1950s, it was truly an enchanting moment. One of the joys of being an archivist for me is the chance to discover different worlds of knowledge and art through the lens of preserving OSU history. If seeing those images was fun and inspiring, receiving examples of Thompson’s “danceramics” to add to the Betty Lynd Thompson Papers took that sense of enchantment to a whole another level!  

Thompson taught modern dance in the Physical Education Department from 1927 until 1972. During a sabbatical leave in New York City in the 1930s where she studied with modern dance pioneer Martha Graham, Thompson also developed an interest in clay sculpture. In a wonderful fusion of interests, Thompson started to form clay figures engaged in modern dance moves. She called this new art form “danceramics.”   

This image documents the amazing range of danceramic figures that Thompson sculpted. The example that Thompson is holding in this view was produced in multiple quantities and given as awards to outstanding student members of the Orchesis National Honorary Society.

This actual example of one of Professor Thompson’s sculptures was awarded to alumna Phyllis Brown in 1950. It was donated to the Special Collections and Archives in 2017 by the OSU Alumni Association and is now described as part of the Betty Lynd Thompson Papers.    

As someone who has dabbled in clay craft for a number of years, these sculptures speak to me on many different levels. Aware of how tricky handbuilding sculptures in clay can be, I recognize Thompson’s skill in creating these figurines while at the same time admire that she formed a wonderfully creative way to document her legacy of instruction and dance to the university!   

Karl McCreary is a Collections Archivist, and has the opportunity to review, transfer, and describe many of the incoming additions to the collections.  His particular specialty within SCARC is working with materials documenting the OSU community and the myriad facets of it’s world-alumni, faculty, departments, clubs, and associated organizations. The variety of subject matter is bewildering!

In celebration of Oregon Archives Month, SCARC staff have pulled together a few of their favorite things in our collections. This is the first in the series.

I love Maud Wilson. I sense in her a kindred spirit – the spirit of the Virgo. 

Maud Mathes Wilson was born in Pike County Illinois on July 6, 1882. In 1913, she graduated from the University of Nebraska, and subsequently spent the next five years there, working as a Professor and Extension Agent. In 1925, having received funding from the U.S. Office of Experiment Stations to conduct a study concerning itself with the “character of the job of the homemaker,” she joined the staff of the Oregon Agricultural College. More specifically, Wilson’s “time study” sought to “show in what respects and to what degree homemaking is affected by certain circumstances under which it is done, such as the location of the home, the occupation of the chief income earner, the number and the ages of children and the equipment of the house.” Wilson was the first faculty member at OAC to conduct research full-time in home economics; specializing in the study of housing design, she also served as head of Home Economics for the Agricultural Experiment Station. 

Between 1940 and 1944, she worked with the Oregon Experiment Station’s Department of Agricultural Engineering to develop architectural plans for homes suited to the conditions specific to rural Oregon, using space standards determined in previous studies. This work helped to establish nationwide housing construction standards for essentials such as kitchen cabinets and appliances. 

Wilson retired from OSU as Professor Emeritus of Home Economics Research on June 30, 1950. In 1951 she spent five months in Japan, where she helped the Japanese Agricultural Improvement Bureau with plans for setting up a department of Home Economics Research. Maud Wilson died October 31, 1972 in Portland, Oregon.

Like so many of the papers of home economists in SCARC’s holdings, Wilson’s papers unequivocally illustrate the scientific nature of Home Economics as a discipline. Consequently, I felt hard pressed to pick any single favorite thing from Maud’s papers. I was sorely tempted by several of the “Station Bulletins” she published as part of her work for the Experiment Station: Planning Kitchen Cabinets and Patterns for Kitchen Cabinets, to name just a few. Both are representative of the decades of work and research Wilson invested in rural home design efficiencies and standards. That being said, deep down I know my favorite item in Wilson’s collection is…The Peanut. Featured in an article entitled, “This is the House that Not Much Jack Built,” from the January 1949 issue of The American Home, the Peanut was the Tiny Home of the 1950s. Designed by California architect Albert Henry Hill, the Peanut cost just $4,100 to build ($46,804.77 today), and came in at just under 500 square feet (485, to be exact). With its floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room / bedroom, and wood paneling throughout, it’s both a Mid-century Modern Fanatic’s paradise, and a Tiny Home Dreamer’s, well, dream.

Rachel Lilley is the Public Services Unit Supervisor (PSUS) for SCARC, and has been a member of the department – and the OSU community – since 2017 (and is a proud OSU alumna!). In her role as the PSUS, she manages SCARC’s Reading Room on the 5th floor of the Valley Library, supervises student employees, and assists with research requests, both in-person and remote. She loves long walks on the beach unironically.

SCARC completed 6 new or updated finding aids from July-September 2021. The following is a list and a little information about what we accomplished. 

These finalized finding aids are available through the Archives West finding aids database, and the OSUL discovery system (a.k.a. “the catalog”).   

Five guides are enhanced finding aids for collections that were previously under-described:

Harold W. and Charles H. Johnson Collection, 1923-1982 (MSS JohnsonHC)

The Harold W. and Charles H. Johnson Collection consists of materials documenting the student experiences and careers of father-and-son Oregon State alumni Harold William Johnson and Charles Harold “Woody” Johnson. Harold Johnson graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1923 and studied Industrial Arts. His son Charles completed two degrees from Oregon State College in Engineering (1957) and Business (1958).

Lillian Jeffreys Petri Collection, 1924-1927 (MSS Petri)

The Lillian Jeffreys Petri Collection consists of piano instruction and technique publications, Mind Over Muscle and Music Fundamentals Correlated, written by Petri.  Lillian Jeffreys Petri was a faculty member in music at Oregon State College from 1924 to 1947.

Virginia Esther Simmons Sewing Book, 1896 (MSS Simmons)

The Virgina Esther Simmons Sewing Book was assembled by alumna Virginia Esther Simmons as an assignment for a home economics class. Simmons graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1896.

Donald Snyder Scrapbook, 1929-1941 (MSS Snyder)

The Donald Snyder Scrapbook was assembled by alumnus Donald E. Snyder and documents his student experience at Oregon State College. In addition to event programs and dance cards, the scrapbook contains greeting cards, ticket stubs, grade reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, watercolor drawings, and decals. Snyder graduated in 1938 with a degree in engineering.

Mark V. Weatherford Papers, 1851-1951 (MSS WeatherfordMV)

The Mark V. Weatherford Papers consists primarily of reproductions of documents created in 1851-1856 pertaining to interactions between Native Americans and the U.S. Army, local militias, and volunteers in the Rogue River Valley region of southern Oregon.   Mark V. Weatherford graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1907 and was an attorney in Albany, Oregon, from the 1910s through 1950s.

One guide is for a new collection received in 2015 that is now fully processed and described:

Oregon Brewers Guild Records, 1988-2015 (MSS OBG)

The Oregon Brewers Guild Records offer a look into the early, formative years of one of the nation’s oldest craft brewer associations, as well as their work in more recent tyears.

The Oregon Brewers Guild was founded in 1992 and is a non-profit trade, marketing, and lobbying association that represents the Oregon craft brewing industry. It’s mission is to protect the brewing industry of the state and the interests of Guild members through education, advocacy, and events.

For Oregon Archives Month, OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center has shared history in many different ways and this year is no exception!

OSU Library History Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt!

Visit the OSU Valley Library for a self-guided exploration of the past lives of this dynamic building and collect random stickers too! Historic images of the Library will be posted as a part of “Finder Fridays” in October. There will be clues with these images as to their current location (which in most cases look very different today!). At these spots, there will be envelope “sticker stations.” Take a sticker or two as a reward for being a history sleuth and share your adventure! Share with selfies of your adventure or places you’ve seen change on campus with us on Instagram. 

Our Favorite Things: SCARC Archivists Spotlight our Collection Highlights!

This will be both an online exhibit through blogposts and an onsite exhibit in our mini display case outside our Reading Room in the Valley Library.  

Find out what particular items in the SCARC collections get us really excited as we describe our “faves” in a series of posts on our “Speaking of History” blog (that’s right here!). Each week in October, we’ll feature a post from a different archivist in SCARC writing  about something they really like and why. There will also be an onsite exhibit about these “faves” on the 5^th floor of the Valley Library.  

We’re Celebrating 10 years as SCARC!

Did you know SCARC used to be two separate departments? Did you know that SCARC was established ten years ago? Did you know we have a veritable treasure trove of old photos to share with you?

Check us out on Instagram every Wednesday when we share a photo from our past!