Another recipe flashback perfect for fall! The pumpkin in these dodgers really ups the flavor of a bread similar to corn bread. This recipe is based on an old southern recipe handed down through several generations, and could go either savory or sweet.

Pumpkin-Corn Meal Dodgers

1½ cups cooked pumpkin

1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups corn meal

3 tablespoons shortening

2 tablespoons syrup

1. To the pumpkin, which has been cooked very tender and mashed free from lumps, add the salt, syrup, melted shortening, and corn meal and mix thoroughly.
2. Have mixture just soft enough to take up by spoonfuls and pat into flat cakes in the hand.
3. Place on a griddle or greased baking sheet and bake about 20 min. in a hot oven (I did 350*).
4. If desired, the corn meal may be added to the hot pumpkin and allowed to steam with it for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients.
5. Also cooked or baked sweet potato may be used as a substitute for pumpkin.

Featured in the “Farmers’ Bulletin,” 955 Use of Wheat-Flour Substitutes in Baking, March 1918

These we so quick and easy to pull together! Everything was something I have on hand in the fall. The only change I would make is the cook them in a skillet. I don’t think the baking sheet I use browned them enough. Cooking them on the stove in a bit of oil would also be good!

As an added bonus, they also reheated nicely in the toaster and were delicious with the Raspberry-Apple Butter I also made 😉

We wish we could enjoy a meal together with you to celebrate Oregon Archives Month, but since that’s not an option this year, serve this delicious fall recipe up for your friends and family at home. As an added bonus, this was even better as leftovers for lunch the next day…if you have some left!

Potato Chowder

• 6 Medium sized potatoes, sliced
• 1 lb. salt pork, diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 pint milk (2 cups)
• 1 pint water (2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Fry the pork and onions together until they are a delicate brown.
2. Put a layer of the sliced potatoes into a kettle, then a layer of the pork and onions, and sprinkle with salt.
3. Repeat this until all materials are used.
4. Pour over them the grease from the pan in which the pork and onions were fried and add the water.
5. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
6. Thicken the milk with flour mixed with the butter and pour it over the potatoes.
7. Stir carefully, so as not to break the potatoes.
8. Serve very hot.

Farmers’ Bulletin 712 School Lunches March 1916

Oh. My. Goodness. This chowder hit the spot! It has gotten cooler here these past few days and this came together for a quick, warm, and filling dinner. I used a mix of bacon and ham instead of the salt pork, along with a whole onion (my guess is that the chopped onion in this recipe was actually dried onion). I also used more water, as the two cups listed barely covered my pot, let alone the potatoes!

Enjoy!

‘Tis the season for pumpkin everything! This pie is just the one to give you all the fall feelings. And the best part is that it is SUPER easy to pull together!

This pie came together so quickly! Although it has all the flavor of a traditional pumpkin pie, I loved that this was silkier and not as dense. This might be my go to fall dessert and pumpkin pie recipe now!

Described by the Oregon Agricultural College Extension Service as a “war cake,” this recipe is a flashback to 1917 and then again  to 2008 when it was discovered and recreated for the “Taste of the ‘Chives” Recipe Showcase.

Not remembering much about the 2008 version, I approached this first as a curiosity and then as a challenge to make something other than a dense “prune brick.” It would be my first time cooking with prunes or lard. 

Eggless, Butterless, Milkless Cake  

• 2 cups brown sugar    
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups hot water         
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons lard (or other shortening)   
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 2 cups of raisins or dried prunes or dried apricots
• 4 cups of flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Cook everything together, except the flour and soda, for 5 minutes until it begins to bubble.

Cool mixture and then add flour and soda sifted together.

Bake in 2 loaves for 45 minutes at 350 degrees (this is not clarified in original recipe).

Best after standing a week.

(Featured in the Oregon Agricultural College Extension Service Boys’ and Girls’ Industrial Clubs Extension Bulletin 242, November 1917.)

What emerged from my oven (after only about 25 minutes) was dense, but also sweet and moist. Not brick like at all! The pairing of prunes and apricots worked well to keep everything solid and moist, while lending a tasty fruity texture to the cake. It has the feel of a more-filling cousin to Mom’s legendary banana bread. Autumn is a good time to warm up and rediscover this cake, which will give you an excuse to haul out all those holiday aromatics-cinnamon, brown sugar, and cloves.

SCARC completed two new or updated finding aids in September 2020. 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”). All of these materials are available to researchers.

A new collection that was previously not available to researchers:

Roman Schmitt Papers,  1961-1988 (MSS Schmitt)

The Roman Schmitt Papers are comprised of materials generated and collected by chemistry professor Roman Schmitt that document his research and instruction. Among the materials in this collection include: article reprints, committee records, a grant proposal, lecture notes, photographs, and research data. Schmitt worked for Oregon State University from 1966 until 1999 in a joint appointment with the Chemistry Department and the OSU Radiation Center. Specializing in the field of cosmochemistry, Schmitt used neutron activiation analysis in the research of moon rocks collected as a part of the NASA Apollo Sample Return Program.

A finding aid for a collection that was previously under-described with an incomplete guide: 

Western Small Fruit Pest Conference Records, 1968-1999 (MSS WSFPC)

The Western Small Fruit Pest Conference Records document the establishment and annual meetings of the organization.  The first meeting of the Western Small Fruit Virus Disease Conference was held in Portland, Oregon, in January 1950 for breeders, plant pathologists, and entomologists to report on the detection, identification, and control of small fruit viruses, especially of raspberries and strawberries.

One of our favorite Oregon Archives Month events is “Taste of the ‘Chives.” This exploration of recipes past, is both tasty and not so tasty, but either way it is a great way to experience the past and learn about changes in the foods we eat on a daily basis.

Since we’ve gone virtual with all our events, this year we’re bringing you a recipe every Friday. One of our archivists will try it out and review it, complete with pictures!

Quick Aprecan Loaf                                                    

3 cups flour                                        ½ cup chopped pecan meats
1/3 cup sugar                                     ½ cup dried apricots, cooked
4 teaspoons baking powder            1 egg                                                   
1 teaspoon salt                                  1 ½ cups milk  

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add the pecan meats and the dried apricots cooked and cut in pieces. Beat the egg slightly and to it add the milk. Stir the liquid lightly into the dry ingredients. Bake in a moderate oven 350 degrees F, about one hour. Remove the loaf from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.                       

(Source: 1945 “Cooking Club Tested Recipes” Wall Calendar)

This loaf surprised me! I was hesitant to bake something without any fat (No butter? No oil? How is that possible?!?), but it turned out just perfect (even though they look quite anemic). It tastes like a pancake..slightly sweet and nice and fluffy! I would love to try this with other add-ins.

SCARC completed 7 new or updated finding aids in July and August 2020. 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 OSUL discovery system (a.k.a. “the catalog”). I have provided a link below to the guide in Archon. Links to the guides in Archives West and the catalog are available on the a-d slack channel.

• Two of these guides are for new collections:
• Five of the guides are enhanced finding aids for collections that were previously under-described with preliminary or incomplete guides.  

All of these materials will be available to researchers when SCARC resumes full reference services.

Finding aids for new collections:

Fermentation Science Program Records, 1955-2017 (RG 296)

The Fermentation Science Program Records consists of publications collected to support program faculty and students in teaching and research.

Food science and studies on fermentation have long been a part of research at Oregon State University. In 1996, the Department of Food Science and Technology became home to the nation’s first endowed professorship in Fermentation Science. It was also one of the first colleges to initiate a Fermentation Science degree and quickly grew into an internationally renowned graduate brewing research program. The Fermentation Science program, one of just a handful in the nation, has always focused on “hands-on” applied science, including the use of microorganisms as processing agents in the production of wine and beer, as well as a variety of other fermented foods such as cheese, yogurt, soy sauce, pickles, breads and fermented vegetables.

The Lavender Network Newsmagazine, 1986-1992 (MSS LavenderNetwork)

The Lavender Network Newsmagazine collection contains copies of the newsmagazine The Lavender Network, a monthly publication focused on the LGBTQ+ communities of Oregon, published by Ronald B. Zahn.

Finding aids for collections that were only minimally described and are now fully processed and described:

Grace Gramms Scrapbook, 1937-1941 (MSS Gramms)

The Grace Gramms Scrapbook consists of materials documenting her activities as a student at Oregon State College in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Grace Gramms graduated from Oregon State College in 1941 and was a drum majorette with the ROTC Cadet Band.

Hattie Hanna and George B. Hovenden Collection, 1880-1932 (MSS Hovenden)

The Hattie Hanna and George B. Hovenden Collection is comprised of materials assembled by alumni Hattie Hanna and George B. Hovenden that document their experience at Corvallis College. This collection is made up of commencement programs, diplomas, newspaper clippings, photographs and a handwritten manuscript of George’s graduation speech. Hattie graduated in 1880 and George in 1883. The two married in 1893.

Percival Nash Collection, 1870-1929 (MSS NashP)

The Percival Nash Collection consists of copies of Nash’s diary of his time spent as a fur trapper and trader in the Yukon Territory in Canada (1904-1906); two pieces of correspondence, including a 1903 letter from Percival Nash to his stepbrother Gifford Nash; article manuscripts by Nash; and copies of photographs of Percival Nash in the Yukon and of Nash Family members. Percival Nash attended the State Agricultural College of Oregon between 1888 and 1893, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture.

Oregon Sea Grant Communications Videotapes and DVDs, 1977-2011 (FV 185 SG 1)

The Oregon Sea Grant Communications Videotapes and DVDs consist of multimedia recordings either created or collected by Oregon Sea Grant staff. The materials generally concentrate on topics related to ocean research, marine resources and coastal life, though items related to rivers, forestry and land management are included as well. In addition to finished educational productions meant for a mass audience, the collection also features video recorded lectures, raw research footage, conference proceedings and annual reports. A large portion of this collection, including all of it DVDs, has been digitized and made available online.

Milton O. Stemmler Student Diary, 1891-1896 (MSS Stemmler)

The Milton O. Stemmler Student Diary consists of a typed transcript of a day-by-day record of experiences as maintained by Stemmler, an Oregon Agricultural College student in 1892-1895.  Stemmler earned an agriculture degree from Oregon Agricultural College in 1895. 

SCARC completed 7 new or updated finding aids in June 2020. 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 OSUL discovery system (a.k.a. “the catalog”). I have provided a link below to the guide in Archon. Links to the guides in Archives West and the catalog are available on the a-d slack channel.

• Six of these guides are for collections that were only minimally described and are now fully processed and described.
• One of the guides is for a new collection.

All of these materials will be available to researchers when SCARC resumes full reference services.

Finding aid for new collection:

Mt. Angel Abbey Hops Photographs, circa 1925 – circa 1960s (P 349)

The Mt. Angel Abbey Hops Photographs consist of pictures from the Abbey dating from circa 1925 and circa 1960s. They show the hop process from planting to harvest. The Mt. Angel Abbey was founded just outside of Mt. Angel, Oregon in 1882. This collection consists of digital images scanned from original negatives owned by the Mt. Angel Abbey and loaned to Oregon State University for digitization. All of the images are available in Oregon Digital.

Finding aids for collections that were only minimally described and are now fully processed and described:

Robert Crookham and Marjorie Enos Scrapbook, 1937-1943 (MSS CrookhamEnos)

The Robert Crookham and Marjorie Enos Scrapbook contains materials collected by alumni Robert Crookham and Marjorie Enos that document their student experience at Oregon State College. Both Crookham and Enos studied business and earned undergraduate degrees in 1941 and 1944, respectively.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Oregon State University Student Chapter Records, 1913-1985 (MSS IEEE)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers OSU Student Chapter Records consists of materials documenting the activities of this and affiliated student organizations. The OSU student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers was originally established at Oregon Agricultural College in 1908 as the American Institute of Electrical Engineers; it was renamed the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1963, in keeping with the name change at the national level.

Charles H. Martin Papers, 1939-1942 (MSS MartinC)

The Charles H. Martin Papers consist of three narrative research reports on garden symphylids compiled by Martin while he was a researcher at the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.  Martin joined the faculty of the Oregon State College Department of Entomology in 1946.

Hugh E. Morrison Papers, 1937-1974 (MSS Morrison)

The Hugh E. Morrison Papers document Morrison’s research on vegetable crop and hop pest control, symphylids, and the application of pesticides including DDT.  Morrison was a research entomologist with the Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station from 1937 until his death in 1967.

John Owen Papers, 1971-1987 (MSS Owen)

The John Owen Papers are comprised of materials generated and collected by Electrical Engineering Professor and College of Engineering Dean John Owen. This collection documents Owen’s research activities and is made up of article reprints, research reports, and grant proposals. Owen worked for Oregon State University from 1977 to 1997.

Barbara B. Peck Papers, 1922-1987 (MSS PeckB)

The Barbara B. Peck Papers consist of essays and publications written and collected by alumna Barbara B. Peck that reflect her involvement with the American Home Economics Association. Peck graduated from Oregon State College with a degree in home economics in 1932.

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”).   I have provided a link below to the guide in Archon.  Links to the guides in Archives West and the catalog are available on the a-d slack channel.

• Six of these guides are for collections that were only minimally described and are now fully processed and described.
• One of the guides is for an essentially new collection that was formed from a substantial donation received in 2017 that was added to earlier smaller transfers received in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• One of the guides is an update to reflect a major addition to the collection.

All of these materials will be available to researchers when SCARC resumes full reference services.

Finding aids for a new collection received since 2015:

T.J. Starker Papers, circa 1890-1996 (MSS Starker)

Starker earned an undergraduate degree in forestry from Oregon Agricultural College in 1910 and returned to campus in 1922 to assume a faculty position in the School of Forestry. At OSC, Starker worked as an instructor and researcher until 1942, when he left to pursue his private forestry and nursery business fulltime. The company formed by Starker, Starker Forests, Inc., continues to operate today as a family-owned business. Starker died in 1983.

The T.J. Starker Papers consist of materials generated and collected by alumnus, forestry professor, and timber businessman Thurman James (T.J.) Starker. This collection documents Starker’s forestry instruction and research at Oregon State College, management of a diverse range of property holdings, involvement in community and professional organizations, family life, student experience, work with the United States Forest Service, and writings on various subjects. Among the materials included in this collection are correspondence, lecture notes, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, maps, photographs, research data, and scrapbooks.

Finding aids for collections that were only minimally described and are now fully processed and described:

Haskell C. and Sarah E. Carter Memoir, 1982 (MSS Carter)

The Haskell C. and Sarah E. Carter Memoir was written by Haskell C. Carter and documents his upbringing, college experience, marriage to Sarah Eidal, career, travels, and family.  Haskell Carter graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1923 with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering.

Pete Dunlop Papers, 1852-2020 (MSS Dunlop)

The Pete Dunlop Papers consists of both born digital materials and electronic copies, which were assembled by Dunlop in the course of researching and writing the book Portland Beer: Crafting the Road to Beervana. Dunlop is a Portland resident and has an active blog calledBeervana Buzz where he talks about Oregon’s micro breweries.

Florence Gradon Scrapbook, 1920-1926 (MSS Gradon)

The Florence Gradon Scrapbook was assembled by alumna Florence Gradon and is comprised of materials that document her student experience at Oregon Agricultural College. Gradon graduated from OAC in 1924 with a degree in home economics.

Heart of the Valley Homebrewers Records, 1982-2004 (MSS HOTV)

The Heart of the Valley Homebrewers Records are comprised of a wide variety of materials that document the club’s activities and outreach. The Heart of the Valley Homebrewers club was founded in Corvallis, Oregon in 1982.

William F. Herrin Papers, 1872-1910 (MSS Herrin)

The William F. Herrin Papers consist of an essay and several orations written and delivered by Herrin.  William Franklin Herrin graduated from Corvallis College in 1873 with a B.S. in Agriculture.

Leander N. Liggett Papers, 1869-1873 (MSS Liggett)

The Leander N. Liggett Papers are made up of two school composition journals containing essays written by alumnus Liggett as a student at Corvallis College. Liggett attended Corvallis College from 1869 to 1873.

Finding aid for a collection with major addition:

Buena Maris Mockmore Papers, 1916-2010 (MSS Mockmore)

The Buena Maris Mockmore Papers consist of materials created and assembled by Buena Margason Maris Mockmore Steinmetz documenting her life and work, both at Oregon State College (OSC) and Iowa State University, and her work for the Manhattan Project. Mockmore earned a Master of Science degree in Home Economics at OSC in 1939, and taught family relations and child development at Oregon State until 1941, when she became Dean of Women, a position she held until 1948. In 1943, Mockmore was asked to serve as the “Director of Women’s Activities” at the Manhattan Project site in Hanford, Washington, and took a yearlong leave of absence from OSC.

This post is the last in a series on the effects of the “Spanish Flu” pandemic in 1918 and 1919. In light of the recent situation with COVID-19, SCARC archivists Anna Dvorak and Larry Landis explore how past epidemics and pandemics have impacted the Oregon State and Corvallis communities.

The 1918-19 influenza pandemic was well documented, in part because of broad newspaper coverage, photography, and advances in medical science. Despite the pandemic’s detrimental effect in Oregon, where tens of thousands of people became ill and more than 3,600 succumbed, earlier disease outbreaks and pandemics proportionally had a greater impact, especially among Native communities. Most major diseases ravaged Oregon and the Pacific Northwest at one time or another in the late 18^th and 19^th centuries, including smallpox, malaria, measles, influenza, cholera and typhoid fever. Some of the diseases recurred periodically, sometimes on an annual basis.

Although disease was common among the mostly white emigrants on the Oregon Trail, historian William Lang has concluded that most outbreaks occurred prior to their arrival at Ft. Laramie in Wyoming. Many of the disease outbreaks in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries transformed into epidemics that decimated the region’s Native populations, due to their lack of immunity because of no prior exposure. It is estimated that between about 1780 and 1850, 97 percent of Oregon’s Native population perished due to introduced diseases. Anthropologist Robert T. Boyd estimated that the population of two western Oregon Native groups, the Chinookan and the Kalapuyan peoples, declined from a pre-contact population of 32,000 to approximately 2,100 by the late 1830s. By the 1850s, disease outbreaks and epidemics had reduced Native populations to a fraction of their pre-contact numbers. However, many chronic diseases, such as tuberculosis, continued to affect the survivors in those communities.

According to Boyd’s Oregon Encyclopedia essay on disease in Native communities, a smallpox epidemic around 1781 was the first documented in Oregon. The documentation included oral tradition from the Clatsop Tribe on Oregon’s north coast and entries in the journals of Lewis and Clark noting pockmarked people in various Native communities. It is likely that this smallpox epidemic spread among many indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest. 

Subsequent smallpox epidemics occurred almost each decade through 1870. A smallpox epidemic in 1853 struck the lower Columbia River region, wiping out as much as half the Native population in some communities. It was the last major epidemic among Native communities, as those populations had already suffered enormous population decline over the previous seventy years. Among non-Native communities, a smallpox epidemic in 1862 was particularly hard on the Aurora Colony. Jacksonville experienced a significant smallpox outbreak in 1868-69, and in 1870 western Oregon experienced a smallpox epidemic.

Outbreaks and epidemics of malaria, called “fever and ague,” in the early 1830s may have been even more virulent and destructive to Native communities than smallpox. It also greatly affected the Anglo population in the area; at one point in 1830, seventy-five people at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort Vancouver were ill with the disease, though proportionately far fewer died than among the Native population in the region. In 1832 a malaria outbreak at the fort affected an estimated 137 out of 140 people, though few apparently died.  Malaria also affected the Willamette Mission near Salem, established in the mid-1830s. Boyd speculates that the malaria epidemics of the 1830s may have been accompanied by influenza, possibly accounting for the high mortality rate since pneumonia is a complication of both diseases. An influenza epidemic in 1836 on the central Oregon coast and an 1844 outbreak of dysentery on the Lower Columbia also took many lives in Native communities. 

A major measles epidemic in the Pacific Northwest in 1847-48 ravaged the Cayuse Tribe in the mid-Columbia River region, especially its children. This epidemic had a connection to the Whitman Massacre at Waiilatpu in the Walla Walla Valley in 1847, as it is thought that Marcus Whitman was killed by a band of Cayuse because of his inability to cure tribal members of the disease. The epidemic affected Native communities as far north as Sitka, in present-day Alaska, and south into the Willamette Valley.  This was the first recorded measles epidemic in the Pacific Northwest, though the disease may have been present in the region as early as 1812.

The last major pandemic of the 19^th century was an influenza pandemic in 1889-90. It was commonly called “La grippe” and later known as the “Russian influenza.” An estimated 1 million people succumbed to it worldwide, 13,000 in the U.S. It appeared in Oregon in December 1889, with initial newspaper reports of outbreaks in Astoria, Portland, Pendleton and Albany.  Statistics for Oregon on the extent of the disease, the number of people affected, or the number of deaths are not known. The 1889-90 pandemic was a foreshadowing of what was to come less than twenty years later.

For additional reading on epidemics in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest among Native communities, see Boyd’s Oregon Encyclopedia essay, “Disease Epidemics among Indians, 1770s-1850s” and his Oregon Historical Quarterly article, “The Pacific Northwest Measles Epidemic of 1847-1848” (Vol. 95, no. 1, Spring 1994).

This post was contributed by Larry Landis, Director of Special Collections and Archives. Larry Landis is the director of OSU’s Special Collections and Archives Research Center, and has worked as an archivist at OSU since 1991. He is the author of A School for the People: A Photographic History of Oregon State University. Larry is retiring from OSU on July 1.