Things are different this year… But we are still excited to share our treasures and connect with you all.
Enjoy student imagination with a showing of student produced films transferred from KBVR-TV! These short films, some of which were assignments for a New Media Communication class, feature action sequences, toys that come to life, and trees with eyes!
Hops have grown many places in the US, but since the 1890s, the Pacific Coast has dominated production. Learn about hops history and watch a short 1931 film about spring field operations and fall harvest.
Valeria Dávila shares her preservation work experiences with “Farmers of the Sea,” a film documenting aquaculture practices. Blog post and behind the scenes images on October 27.
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.
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 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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In late fall 2019, Sujittra Avery Carr, approached us about doing an internship. We had various projects in the brainstorm phase for the Suffrage Centennial in summer 2020, but besides a Wikipedia editathon to improve or add articles on Pacific Northwest women and a vague idea for an exhibit, we were wide open for whatever she wanted to do. Little did we know what was on the horizon. A series of cancellations and closures for physical events, but limitless options for online projects.
Carr put together a terrific exhibit on women in medicine and two very talented graphic design students helped bring color to her content. The full exhibit can be found in ScholarsArchive, our institutional repository, but the text of this post contains her introductory panel.
DECEMBER 2021 UPDATE: The panels are up!
They are on the 5th floor in the new display alcove on the south side of the hallway in the middle of the library. Look for the clock!
This exhibit was designed to increase awareness of the stories and voices of women who are not heard enough in our Oregon history of women’s rights. Systemic white supremacy, racism, and sexism combine to render some women less visible than others in our history. These women might not have been written about in their own time; past historians, researchers, writers, and archivists may have overlooked them or de-prioritized them; or the information about them, whether plentiful or scarce, may have come from biased perspectives. By bringing the voices and stories of these women into the forefront of our history, it is possible to show that we, as a society, value the experiences of women like them, both in the past and in the present. While this exhibit is linked to the commemoration of the centennial of national women’s suffrage, it is also important to recognize that not all women were able to vote following the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920.
The curation and the development of Beyond Suffrage: Giving Voice to Oregon’s Unsung Women in Medicine has taken place almost exclusively remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was done using born digital or digitized archival materials. We recognize that it’s impossible to represent everyone within the scope of this exhibit and that the work of including traditionally underrepresented voices in Oregon’s history is an ongoing collaborative effort.
We also acknowledge that Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR is located in the traditional territory of the Chepenefa (“Mary’s River”) band of the Kalapuya. After the Kalapuya Treaty (Treaty of Dayton) in 1855, Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to what are now the Grand Ronde and Siletz reservations, and are now members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
We would like to acknowledge the work done by the Oregon Historical Society and the Century of Action – a project of the Oregon Women’s History Consortium, as well as the work done by our archivists Tiah Edmunson- Morton and Natalia Fernández, our graphic designers Kallie Hagel and Emma Pattee, and our intern who led the development, curation, and writing of this exhibit, Sujittra Avery Carr. This exhibit would not be possible without them.
An elfin Ariel playfully peering down from her rocky ledge to meet the eyes of a bespectacled and bearded Prospero looking upwards at her with a rather pedantic glance.
Scott Gilbert as Prospero and Julyana Soelistyo as Ariel in The Tempest, 1989.
This photograph from a 1989 production of The Tempest staged at Oregon State University enchanted me from the very moment I accessioned the print as an addition to the University Theatre Photograph Collection (P 112). The image resides among several thousand other views of campus theater productions here in the holdings of the OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center. Other archival items documenting OSU’s lively and rich legacy of theater include scrapbooks, play programs, posters, director prompt books, and letters to theater faculty from their former students with updates of their acting careers.
Little of this history would have been preserved were it not for a long and fruitful relationship between the Archives and Professor Emerita of Theatre Arts Charlotte Headrick. With a deep respect for the study of history and 35 years of directing and acting on campus, Charlotte has been a true advocate for our work to ensure that the stories from the OSU stage be saved and shared.
A longtime friendship with Charlotte has placed me in the role of her research assistant many times. So when she approached me last summer for help in researching the history of Shakespeare productions at OSU for a presentation, I donned a very familiar hat and eagerly dove into collections I knew well! Among the resources I uncovered were a set of photographs depicting Charlotte’s 1989 staging of The Tempest, one of Shakespeare’s most memorable plays. The images, taken by Charlotte and another OSU staff member, beautifully captured a production full of energy and color with vibrant costumes, monumental set design, and expressive faces.
It is little wonder then, that when Charlotte agreed to reprise her Shakespeare at OSU lecture as an event for Oregon Archives Month, I remembered the Tempest images fondly and decided to feature a shot of that magical encounter between Ariel and Prospero (described above) on the poster publicizing Charlotte’s presentation.
Buffy Bowman as Miranda and Scott Gilbert as Prospero.
For those who saw the curtain rise for the 5-night run of The Tempest at the Mitchell Playhouse in April 1989, the stage resembled a stony landscape of blues and greys with a series of cliffs and corridors. The play is set on an island where magic and reality are intertwined by spells cast by the exiled Duke of Milan Prospero and a sprite, Ariel, who conjures up a storm to shipwreck a group of travelers upon the isle with ties to the Prospero’s past.
Charlotte vision’s for staging this interplay of characters (realized by set designer Richard George) was reserving the upper “plateau” of the rocky stage as the magical realm where Ariel flits about and sends enchantments (at the command of Prospero) to those on the earthly plane below. Prospero resides down on the “terrestrial” level of the stage interacting with both worlds. While he confers with Ariel above, Prospero is also communicates face-to-face with daughter Miranda and the many shipwrecked “guests” he brought to the island.
Soomi Kim as Ariel, adding a gymnastic flair to the role!
Charlotte gave the character of Ariel a unique twist in this production by casting two students, Julyana Soelistyo and Soomi Kim to both play the same role. The scenes were carefully directed to have only one Ariel appear on the stage at a time, requiring Soelistyo and Kim to coordinate a sort of choreography where they alternately darted back and forth onto their rocky bluffs. The images of the show depict the silvery-suited Ariel(s) in a constant state of motion, casting spells and spying on the islanders unaware of her presence above. As one of the images reveals, Kim used this kinetic role to highlight some of the moves she picked from her experience on the OSU Gymnastic Team.
To enhance the magical ambience of the production, Scott Gilbert in his role as Prospero incorporated a few slight-of-hand tricks and employed a little flash powder to give his stage presence a little added magic.
For the overall look of the characters in the show, Charlotte wanted a Renaissance feel inspired by the sumptuousness and vibrant colors captured in the paintings of the 19th century Pre-Raphaelite artists. Miranda’s white dress was directly modeled on a subject in a Pre-Raphaelite work Charlotte saw in a London exhibition. That costume designer Marie Chesley was able to painstakingly reproduce the beautiful draping quality of this garment is still one of Charlotte’s favorite memories of her Tempest production.
Staging The Tempest required a sizable cast and among the 28 actors and technical crew members who made it possible were what Charlotte affectionately referred to as the “three Pauls.” This trio was made up of J. Paul Hopkins (Stephano), W. Paul Doughton (Caliban), and Paul Seipp (one of the mariners). For the power in his facial expressions and movement Doughton was a clear standout in the cast as the roguish and anguished character of Caliban. Playing a character that is essentially indentured to Prospero on the island, Doughton vividly conveyed Caliban’s sense of feral rage, guile, curiosity and self-pity. The images also highlight Doughton’s mastery of physical comedy in Caliban’s zany interactions with the characters of the drunken butler Stephano (one of the other Pauls!) and the jester Trinculo (played by Brent Norquist).
W. Paul Doughton as Caliban and J. Paul Hopkins as Stephano.
For many of the “alumni” of this production of The Tempest, there would be many more roles to come after 1989. Both Soelistyo and Kim have had active careers on stage in a diverse range of productions in New York City, Seattle, and Denver. Soelistyo has gone on to play the character of Ariel two more times. One of these performances, at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, won wide acclaim (with Christopher Plummer as Prospero) and was profiled in the Winter 2011 issue of the Oregon Stater. Kim, who describes herself as a performance artist as well as an actress, returned to OSU in April 2014 to give a weekend workshop in the Lab Theatre. Other Tempest actors Michael Lowry (Sebastian) and Jorji Knickrehm (Ceres) have appeared in a variety of stage and TV productions since their days at OSU.
These colorful glimpses of the Bard on the OSU stage is a reminder that life is made up of fleeting moments of amazing and intense experiences that can be captured. And in sharing these fun images of historically staged drama available, perhaps we can make our current drama a little more bearable.
This morning I send this query to Rachel Lilley, Public Services Archivist, “Who’s Graf? Walking challenge.”
Here’s what she found!
Designed by architect John Bennes, Graf Hall was completed in 1920 for a total cost of $134,933 (it would have costed $1,729,766 today); it originally included a materials lab, a hydraulics lab, and a steam and gas engine lab, all served by a 5-ton electric crane. Samuel Herman Graf, for whom Graf Hall is named, was born in Portland, Oregon – technically speaking, Bethany, Oregon, a small community northwest of Portland – August 4th, 1887 to Samuel Graf and Emilie W. Schlueter Graf.
Graf matriculated at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in 1903 to study engineering, graduating with his first degree – in Electrical Engineering – in 1907. He would go on to complete four more degrees at OAC: a post-baccalaureate degree in Electrical Engineering, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, both in 1908; a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering in 1909; and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, also in 1909. Between 1909 and 1954, Graf held several faculty positions in Engineering at Oregon State, beginning as an Assistant in Mechanical Engineering in 1908 while still taking classes. From 1909 to 1912, he was an instructor in Mechanical Engineering; from 1912 to 1920, he was the head of Experimental Engineering; he served as head of the Department of Mechanics and Materials from 1920 to 1934, and of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1934 to 1954. Graf additionally served as Director of Engineering Research from 1928 to 1944, and the Director of the Engineering Experiment Station from 1944 to 1954.
Not long after graduating from OAC, Graf married his first wife; the couple had two sons, Thomas (1913) and Ralf (1915). After his first wife’s death, Graf married Blanche Ann Edlefsen, and the couple had two children, Therese and Samuel, together. Blanche died April 28, 1952, and Graf remarried a third and final time (Violet).
In addition to his teaching and research, Graf served as American Society of Mechanical Engineers(ASME) chapter representative for all states west of Colorado, and later served as the Western Regional Vice President of ASME. Graf was a member of the State Board of Engineering Examiners for 22 years, and served as the Board’s President from 1939 to 1949. In 1949, Graf was named an honorary member of the Professional Engineers of Oregon, an honor conferred to those members of the society whose “achievements and service to engineering have been outstanding.” In 1955, Graf was chosen to serve on the Board of Trustees for Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon; the science building at Linfield – also Graf Hall – was later named in his honor.
This post is the last in a series on the effects of the “Spanish Flu” pandemicin 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 18th and 19th centuries, including smallpox, malaria, measles, influenza, cholera and typhoid fever. Some of the diseases recurred periodically, sometimes on an annual basis.
Costume of a Callapuya Indian, 1841, by Alfred T. Agate
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 18th and early 19th 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 19th 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.
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.
This post is the fourth in a series on the effects of the “Spanish Flu” pandemicin 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.
Corvallis citizens saying goodbye to OAC cadets, circa 1918, Oregon State University Military Photographs Collection, 1875-1975 (P 002)
As Oregon Agricultural College students began to arrive back on campus for the start of classes in October 1918, the “Spanish” Flu had not yet arrived in Corvallis, but measures were in place to take care of sick students and to help prevent the spread of the virus. The presence of the Students’ Army Training Corps (SATC) on OAC’s campus greatly affected the efficiency of caring for sick students, which in turn encouraged Corvallis to follow suit.
SATC field maneuvers and mock battle west of Corvallis, Harriet’s Photograph Collection, 1868-1996 (P HC)
Tracking of cases on the college campus started Tuesday October 1, 1918, the day classes commenced. The “Report of the College Health Service” in the College Biennial Report of the Board of Regents, 1916-1918, gives an excellent narrative of how the epidemic was controlled on campus, especially among the SATC cadets. 1918 was the first year that treatment was split based on gender. Male students who fell ill were treated by a medical officer and dentist attached to the SATC, and 8 local physicians. With the campus Medical Adviser, Dr. Wendell J. Phillips, away on medical leave, female students on the other hand, were treated by the resident nurse, Amy Cyrus, who saw patients in her offices on the ground floor of the Home Economics building and at students’ residences. From October through December, she attended to 159 cases of “Spanish influenza” and there were no female deaths reported on campus. The “Report” attributed her success to her efforts to prevent the disease in the first place by teaching students to diagnose the symptoms of the flu, and to protect themselves from it. As a whole, OAC suffered a total of 785 cases, with only 4 deaths at the end of 1918.
The flu, naturally, impacted student life as well. Student activities were cancelled or suspended and interactions were limited. However, despite the restrictions, the football game on October 12, 1918 was allowed to proceed as scheduled. But others later in the season were played without an audience. And come spring, the impact of the flu on the basketball season was a major concern. In the 1920 Beaver yearbook, which covers the 1918-1919 academic year, the Vigilance Committee commended the Freshman class for having shown “a fine spirit of willingness and helpfulness toward the institution and its customs” despite having lost three months of college life due to the cancelation of activities in the Fall 1918 term.
On October 11, the Gazette-Times announced that there were no cases of influenza in Corvallis and OAC students were being given medical attention at the first signs of colds or grippe in order to monitor for development of influenza. However, the SATC reports paint a different story. During the second week of classes, the cases numbered close to 200 and an appeal was made for expert medical assistance.
The third floor of Waldo had been converted into a thirty bed infirmary for male students, similar measures had been taken to isolate sick female students as well. Courses in hygiene and pharmacy adapted and added lectures in the management of colds and grippe, and also the nature of the Spanish flu. Sororities and fraternities were closed to visitors, and house mothers received training and supplies to care for their female students. Any student with a cold was instructed to stay home and not attend any classes.
In early November, US Major Cross of the medical corps attributed the relative success of the Corvallis epidemic to “above average intelligence” and a successful newspaper education campaign. At that time, there were only 2 deaths out of 400 cases in Corvallis and 4 deaths out of 600 on campus. This success was emphasized by the satisfaction of a state official who visited campus after complaints that the school was still operating. However, when he inspected campus and looked at the statistics, he allowed the college to stay in operation. In his final report about his visit at OAC, Major Cross reported “that the epidemic had been more successfully controlled at the Oregon Agricultural College than at any center of military training in the country where an equal number of men were concerned.”
By early January 1919, Corvallis reported a decrease in the number of cases reported, despite rumors that there were new cases and the town would have to be quarantined. On January 9, it was reported that no deaths had occurred since December 26. But there seems to have been a spike in mid- to late-January 1919 that made it necessary to use Shepard Hall on OAC campus as a hospital, which opened on January 11, 1919. This was due to a shortage of nurses and the difficulty of isolating students in dorms and other living communities such as sororities or fraternities. Although beds were provided, students had to provide their own linens in the hospital. By the 13th, 19 more cases were reported, bringing the total to 51, but officials maintained that there was no need to worry about the increase.
February continued to see impacts to life on campus. Although the demobilization of troops was a bright spot, a second quarantine prevented a return to normal and an impact on the college basketball season. Later in the month, there was also no indoor memorial service for college librarian Ida Kidder, who passed on February 28, 1919, because of the influenza epidemic. Instead, a memorial service was held in the open space in front of the library and she laid in state in the main corridor of the library on March 2.
As the epidemic subsided, thoughts turned to the future. Due to the need for nurses demonstrated by the pandemic, OAC began offering home nursing classes spring term 1919.
This post was contributed by Anna Dvorak. Anna is a Processing Archivist and Historian of Science, and serves as SCARC’s social media coordinator.
This post is the third in a series on the effects of the “Spanish” Flu pandemicin 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 course of illness in Corvallis and on the Oregon Agricultural Campus campus was more contained than in other regions of the state, especially the larger city of Portland. Corvallis took measures to limit gatherings before Portland and OAC had wards set up to isolate sick students. The presence of the Students’ Army Training Corps (SATC) on OAC’s campus greatly affected the efficiency of caring for sick students, which in turn encouraged Corvallis to follow suit.
In late September 1918, just as OAC students were arriving in Corvallis to start their classes in October, Benton county residents were requested to contact their local health officer, H. S. Pernot, on the authority of the Surgeon General of the United States if they exhibited symptoms of the flu. This measure was enacted to create as little impact on war work as possible and help prevent the epidemic from spreading. However, more extreme measures were not put in place.
The Spanish Flu was first mentioned in the Gazette-Times in relation to practices troops overseas were implementing to combat the flu on August 20, 1918. The first Corvallis death would come a month later when Mrs. Vena Rickard Clark, a former Corvallis resident who called Portland home, succumbed to the virus on September 28 while visiting New York City. It was believed she had contracted the flu while sightseeing in Boston.
As of October 11, the Gazette-Times announced that there were no cases of influenza in Corvallis and OAC students were being given medical attention at the first signs of colds or grippe in order to monitor for development of influenza. On the 14th, the Gazette-Times announced that with the situation under control, the number of cases of influenza were decreasing. The SATC Commander Colonel A. C. Sharp found the situation very encouraging and elaborated that it did not even compare to “real epidemics” he had witnessed. A census of nurses already planned to be completed by Christmas, was fast tracked in order to supply the War Department with the numbers of nurses available for future need.
A week later on Saturday October 19,a Gazette-Times article announced that churches and schools would be closed starting the next day and although more information was not available yet, the situation looked promising. They reported only several cases in Corvallis and the campus was “very much better.” Most of the cases in Corvallis at that time seemed to be downtown. The newspaper advised “To sit tight, keep cool, and spray.”
Albany and the rest of Linn County followed suit on November 2, 1918, when they closed schools on orders from the State that all schools be closed. At the time, they reported having no deaths due to the flu.
On November 8, 1918, Major Cross of the United States’ Medical Corps, attributed the relative success of the Corvallis epidemic to “above average intelligence” and a successful newspaper education campaign. At that time, there were only 2 deaths out of 400 cases in Corvallis and 4 deaths out of 600 on campus.
After the middle of November, the intensity of the epidemic began to weaken. It was fortunate that was the case, since the official announcement of the armistice on November 11 caused jubilant rejoicing and plans for a large celebration in Portland on the 16th. But this rejoicing and groups celebrating the end of the war brought on another wave of the flu.
Corvallis Gazette-Times, December 5, 1918
The city of Corvallis locked down in early December and instituted a ban on “unnecessary gatherings,” which was very loosely defined and understood to allow for school attendance and businesses to keep their doors open.The city wanted to make sure the flu would not impact Christmas celebrations and “In the meantime, the public is advised to take care of itself, sit tight and to investigate all rumors before passing them on.”
By early January 1919, Corvallis reported a decrease in the number of cases reported, despite rumors that there were new cases and the town would have to be quarantined. On January 9, the Gazette-Times reported that no deaths had occurred since December 26. But there seems to have been a spike soon after this report in mid- to late-January 1919 that made it necessary to shut the town down again. At this time, City Health Officer Dr. R. L. Bosworth printed reports about homes under quarantine, with addresses, but did not list the numbers of residents infected. The reports did note that many times whole homes were sick, so the number sick was much greater than the number of homes under quarantine.
Corvallis fared much better than other places and those in quarantine were less than 1% of the total population. However, cases continued to be reported, and more and more homes were placed under quarantine than were released. Residents were encouraged to do all that they could to “stamp out the disease.” On January 17, the city council voted to close the town, which would include closing schools, churches, theaters, and pool and dance halls. It was also reported that there were no recent deaths from the flu and there were plans to establish a hospital at the Evangelical Bible School in hopes of copying the college’s success in isolating flu cases.
Example of homes listed under quarantine. Corvallis Gazette-Times, January 15, 1919.
On February 7, 1919, there were no new cases on campus and only 5 homes in Corvallis under quarantine. By February 13, the Gazette-Times reported that Corvallis was flu free, and had been for several days, and was the first of the larger towns to report being so.
The pandemic in Corvallis lasted through Spring 1919. Frank McCready, who died April 11, 1919, was reported as the last casualty of the flu pandemic. Two weeks later on April 25, 1919, fear of a new outbreak was raised when neighboring town and state capital Salem reported five new cases. However, that outbreak didn’t spread to Corvallis.
Fear of another outbreak during the 1919-1920 flu season was high, and preparedness was the key for any potential new outbreak. From the previous year, Corvallis had already established effective measures to prevent the spread of disease and these would need to be put in place again if necessary. Corvallis planned on quarantining those infected as the main measure.
This post was contributed by Anna Dvorak. Anna is a Processing Archivist and Historian of Science, and serves as SCARC’s social media coordinator.
