Dogs & Chinook, horses hauling and fish spawning, elevators and jump traps? Yes, it must be a set about salmon fishing!
The images in these sets are from our “Pacific Northwest Stream Survey” digital collection, which includes over 1000 field images taken between 1934 and 1945 and spanning the 390 streams in the Columbia River Basin. They are also part of our Western Waters collection in Flickr, which is full of more salmon pics and some great images of dams!
Chris from Portland sent us this wonderful image of OSU’s lower campus, which likely dates from 1911.
Why do I love this photo? Babies in strollers, no matter the era, are just great fun … Especially if they have a bonnet and 2 attendants!
This is also fabulous because it shows the itsy, bitsy trees — which are now great big trees that shade visitors to the DaVinci Days festival in the summer and delight us with bright yellow foliage in the fall. Thanks to Flickr user “Geronimo the Elder” for this shot!
Do you have photos or memories of this little piece of park bliss?
Lots of great news coming out of the OSU Libraries this week!
Oregon Spatial Data Library launches in conjunction with national GIS Day
“A powerful new data-access tool for Oregon researchers, students, public agency staff, private industry and the public at large was launched today in conjunction with national GIS Day… The Oregon Spatial Data Library provides easy and convenient ways to find, access and share geospatial data at no cost to the user. Currently, more than 200 datasets can be displayed and downloaded, with more to be added as they become available. Developed in partnership with Oregon State University Libraries, the Institute for Natural Resources and the Oregon Dept. of Administrative Services Geospatial Enterprise Office (DAS-GEO), the Oregon Spatial Data Library features access to all statewide “framework” data available for Oregon. These are the datasets that serve as “base data” for a variety of GIS applications that support important research, business and public services.” Read more here!
Learn about wetlands online through ‘Oregon Wetlands Explorer’
“A far-reaching, highly interactive Web experience that provides deep, richly illustrated insight on the historic and current states of Oregon’s wetlands is the newest member of the critically acclaimed Oregon Explorer family of sites produced by Oregon State University Libraries, the Institute for Natural Resources and, in this case, The Wetlands Conservancy. Oregon Wetlands Explorer takes users virtually to areas throughout the state, from coastal salt marshes to mountain fens desert salt grass flats and many points in between, providing information on wetland ecology, history, wildlife and restoration opportunities. Oregon has lost more than half of its wetlands since European settlers arrived in the 1800s, and producers of the site hope the information will be helpful in encouraging protection of the areas that remain.” Read more here!
OSU Library earns grants to support digitization of key pieces of Oregon history
“Oregon State University’s Valley Library is the recipient of two new grants that will support digitization of key images from the state’s past, a new Web-based portal where the images will be publicly accessible and digital archive assistance for cultural institutions around the state that otherwise might not be able to afford such services. The grants and the Oregon Digital Library Project (ODLP) that they’ll help create will enable the Valley Library to build on its critically acclaimed role in preserving material documenting the history of Oregon and its people, said Terry Reese, who holds the Gray Family Chair for Innovative Library Services at OSU.” Read more here!
New set of Celilo Falls images scanned by Flickr user Espressobuzz
Lucky for us, Espressobuzz stopped by an estate sale, bought & scanned these beautiful images of Celilo Falls, and shared the link with us! All color shots from 1954, and (presumably) taken by George Morihiro, who recently passed away in Seattle, Washington.
What do Dad’s Weekend, pumpkin bread, poached salmon, and a bunch of guys in gear rattling an inflatable helmet have to do with the OSU Libraries? And how does Doug Schulte fit into the mix?
Saturday brought Sue Kunda, Tiah Edmunson-Morton, and (super famous) student employee of the year for Oregon (Doug) to the President’s Breakfast and fancy football game suite! Joined by his dad, Doug spoke to a small gathering of student and university leaders in the Alumni Center, reflecting on both his experience in ROTC and the limitless fun he has working for the OSU Archives. After filling ourselves with a delicious breakfast, we headed over to the VIP entrance of the stadium and up to the exclusive 4th floor suites, where we ate more, drank a little, and enjoyed the blowout game against the Huskies — all from the comfort of our movie theater style chairs, covered in Beaver orange blankets, with the sun warming us behind the retractable windows.
All glitz and good food aside, it was an honor to be there with Doug and his father to recognize the great contributions he has made to the Archives. We are really lucky to have such a talented bunch working here, and I was proud to introduce Doug, who is certainly Powered by Orange, to an even wider audience!
And yes, there is a Flickr set… See the Flickr set.
Say “welcome!” to a new Flickr Commons collection dedicated to all things water — or at least all things water related … Or at least all things related to waters in the west …
The idea came from OSU Libraries’ own Michael Boock and the members in the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), who wanted to showcase and spotlight the great collections featured in the Western Waters Digital Library (WWDL). So we’re doing our part to share OSU’s contributions with the Flickrverse!
The images in these sets are from our “Pacific Northwest Stream Survey” digital collection, which includes over 1000 field images taken between 1934 and 1945 and spanning the 390 streams in the Columbia River Basin. But the collection is also part of the Western Waters Digital Library, which includes classic water literature, government reports, legal transcripts, water project records, personal papers, photographic collections, and audio/video materials associated with the major river basins of the Western United States.
Cleverly called “Dam It,” the November 4th set includes images of roaring and rushing water, folks fishing, and a few salmon swimming … Enjoy these 19 images, straight from the late 1930s!
Keep your eyes open and your RSS feeds on, November 18th we’ll launch another set with a new set of images of people fishing at Celilo Fallls. Can’t wait until then? Check out the Celilo Falls images in the Gerald Williams Collection Flickr set, where you’ll find images like this one …
and this one …
and another one of my all-time favorites, this one …
Want to learn more about the Western Waters Digital Library?
Want to learn more about the Greater Western Library Association?
Thanks “vintagepix”!
This beautiful & beguiling photo has graced the cover of our Oregon Multicultural Archives brochure, but when I tried to research Ruth Nomura for our International Womens Day set for Flickr Commons, I couldn’t find a thing … We knew the picture had been taken by an OSU photographer, John Garman, but basically we knew nothing about the context.
Who was she? Why did Garman take her photo? Was she a student? Where was the photo taken?
And so it remained one of those clichéd mysteries… Until “vintagepix” asked this question: “Any chance the name might be Nomura?” It was a great afternoon in the Archives, with staff scurrying around and clapping, pulling yearbooks off the shelves, retrieving student academic records, and really just smiling.
Because we were able to find her in the yearbooks, combined with the leads of “vintagepix,” we’ve pieced this little bit of her life together. She was born in 1907 in Portland, and was one of the first Japanese Americans born in Oregon. She graduated from Jefferson High School in 1924. According to the Japanese American Citizens League, Twin Cities chapter obituary for Nomura, “In 1926, as a winner of an essay contest for Nisei students, she traveled by steamship to Japan. She wrote that this trip ‘enriched my life and gave me a deep appreciation of Japan, its people, arts and civilization. It encouraged me to study the language, flower arrangement, holiday festivals, the tea ceremony, daily customs, Japanese cooking and serving, music, arts and crafts, particularly pottery, painting and calligraphy.’”
Then she came to OSC, as “the first Nisei woman from Portland to enroll in what is now Oregon State University.” She lived in Margaret Snell Hall all 4 years and graduated in 1930 with a BS in Home Economics.
And, I tell you she was quite active on campus! Look at this list, it will make most feel like under-achievers.
And so … She left OSC in 1930 … But where did she go?
Again, turning to the obituary posted on the Japanese American Citizens League site we find an answer. She married Earl Tanbara at the Centenary Wilber Methodist Church in Portland, on September 16, 1935. When World War II, and relocation, began the Tanbara’s were living in Berkeley, CA. In 1942, they moved from Berkeley to a farm in Reedley, CA, in an attempt to avoid wartime internment. According to Earl Tanbara’s obituary, “[t]he bad news was that the boundaries for relocating individuals of Japanese ancestry were moved further inland and they were facing relocation. The good news was that the U.S. Army officer who visited the farm to inform them of the need to move to an assembly center was a former high school classmate of Ruth from Portland. The officer offered them an opportunity to move anywhere East if they had friends who would accept them. They contacted friends in Minneapolis and they were placed on a military train headed for the Twin Cities … Earl and Ruth assisted over a 100 evacuees to leave camp and find a place in the Twin Cities.” Ruth wrote, “Our main assignment was to build community acceptance. So each week, Earl and I were invited to different church groups, youth groups, schools, colleges and farming communities to give talks on Japanese Americans … As there were only 10 Japanese families living in St. Paul before the war, many Minnesotans were not acquainted with Americans citizens of Japanese extraction.”
At the end of the war, they decided to stay in Minnesota and in 1953, Ruth received her master’s degree in home economics from the University of Minnesota — as one of the first second generation women to earn a graduate degree. There is a letter in her OSC student file from 1953, written by her thesis advisor in Minnesota, with this wonderful quote: “I have never known anyone who was so versatile and could do well so many different things—from arranging flowers to organizing programs for the YWCA; from teaching foreign foods to writing publicity material. She is a charming, gracious person.”
What else do we know now? She was the Adult Education Director and International YWCA Program Director for the St. Paul YWCA from 1942 to 1972. She directed the participation of Japanese Americans in the first Festival of Nations in 1947, was one of the founding members in 1955 of the St. Paul-Nagasaki Sister City Committee (serving as president of the board from 1966-1972), and was a charter member of the Japan America Society when it was formed in 1972 and served on its board of directors. Ruth was a longtime member of Unity Unitarian Church in St. Paul, where she arranged flowers for Sunday morning services for more than 35 years, and the Japanese Garden at the YWCA on Kellogg Blvd. is named in her honor.
Ruth Tanbara passed away Jan. 4, 2008, at age 100. A small collection of her personal papers are available at the Minnesota Historical Society.
I loved “Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities,” especially once I realized it was reviewed by David Byrne in the NY Times… But when I read that Jeffrey Kovac, author of “Refusing War: Assuming Peace: A History of Civilian Public Service at Cascade Locks” was coming to OSU, I knew I had to pass it on to all our blog readers!
Kovak will be in Corvallis Oct. 18 for a 3 p.m. talk, presentation, and discussion at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. The event is free and open to the community.
Here’s a blurb from the OSU Press site:
“One of the untold stories of America’s World War II experience belongs to the thousands who refused military service for reasons of conscience, instead serving their country through non-military alternate service. Refusing War, Affirming Peace offers an intimate view of a single Civilian Public Service Camp, Camp #21 at Cascade Locks, Oregon, one of the largest and longest-serving camps in the system—and one of the most unusual. Under the leadership of a remarkable director, Rev. Mark Y. Schrock, and some outstanding camp leaders, the men at Camp #21 created a vibrant community. Despite the requisite long days of physical labor, the men developed a strong educational program, published a newspaper and a literary magazine, produced plays and concerts, and participated in a special school and research project called the School of Pacifist Living. They also challenged the Selective Service System in two political protests—one concerning the threatened removal of a Japanese American, George Yamada, and a second concerning a war- related work project.”
“Kearney Hall at Oregon State University has received gold certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program of the U.S. Green Building Council, the second major facility at the university to achieve the recognition for environmentally sensitive design and construction.”
“The recognition for the building comes 110 years after Apperson Hall was built at the intersection of 14th Street and Monroe Avenue. The $12 million restoration, completed earlier this year, was made possible in part by a $4 million gift from OSU alumnus Lee Kearney and his wife, Connie Kearney. He graduated in civil engineering in 1963, and she, after starting her studies at OSU, earned a degree in education in 1965 from the University of Washington. The building was renamed in their honor.”
Want to know more? Check out the Gazette-Times article “Historic OSU building earns ‘gold’ rating for green energy“.
“A Bracero’s Story: Farm labor is a family affair”
“It started with Salvador, the patriarch. In 1959, he left his wife and children near Guadalajara, Mexico, to work the fields of California. Salvador Castillo was a Bracero — one of more than 4 million who came to the United States from Mexico under an agricultural worker program that lasted from 1942 to 1964.”
Want to read more of Celene Carillo’s story, hear University Archivist Larry Landis talk with Tasha Galardi about OSU’s Braceros Collection, and hear more about Galardi’s research? Check out the article!
Want to check out the Braceros in Oregon Photographic Collection?