Author Archives: edmunsot

ART 494 illuminated manuscripts display

Illuminated Manuscripts display

Priscilla West’s ART 494 class visited the Special Collections & Archives Research Center during spring term to see the illuminated manuscript Gradual in our collections. Seeing and experiencing a real manuscript, bound in leather and metal and written with ink on parchment, inspired many students for their final projects.

Alexis Brown

The goal of their final project was to incorporate paleographic analysis into the production of their own illuminated manuscript. The assignment required a text of 2000 words produced in a medieval or Renaissance style. Each student selected their own stylistic approach. Several students composed their texts, and others chose especially meaningful excerpts from favorite authors.

Martha Baker

The students’ final projects are boundlessly creative, using a variety of media in both traditional and new ways. Many used gold leaf or gold ink in their works to mimic the intricate gold detailing of many illuminated manuscripts. They found a multitude of ways to give an “old” look to paper and to duplicate the aged parchment of the Gradual and other manuscripts they saw: some stained the paper with tea, some burned the edges of the paper, some crumpled then flattened the sheets, some used a vellum-like paper. One student used actual sheep parchment! Several students were impressed at the metal studs used in the binding of the Gradual, and reproduced the look with upholstery tacks and gold thumb tacks. And though students were not required to bind their manuscripts, many chose to, and used an exciting spectrum of durable materials: denim, leather, faux leather, even rabbit fur!

Kjersti Ostner

Through this fantastic project, students got a glimpse of the immense artistry and intense effort of medieval monks and scribes, and created their own lasting illuminated wonders.

Karen Ceboll

The display of the students’ projects will be available for viewing during normal library hours during September and October, just outside of the Special Collections & Archives Research Center on the 5th floor of the Library, near the elevators. You can also find a set on Flickr with more images for your viewing pleasure.

If you have any questions, contact History of Science Collections Librarian Anne Bahde at anne.bahde@oregonstate.edu.

Malheur County judging team

Last summer we virtually traveled the state to celebrate the OSU Extension Service Centennial. Since it was such a fabulous trip, we decided to pull a few more pictures out of our stacks just to reminisce a bit…

Check out the “Just can’t get enough! Extending the Extension celebration” set — and then take a bit of time to poke around what we did last summer.

OSU Extension Agent Glenn Klein

Glenn Klein talks about the 1959 Wagon Trek!

Glenn Arthur Klein, 84, of Corvallis died on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. Klein retired from OSU in 1990 after 40 years of State 4-H Extension Specialist at Oregon State University, but he continued to be involved with campus activities, volunteering on special committees.

He also loved to talk about being a part of the leadership team for a special 1959 4-H Wagon Trek from Jacksonville to Corvallis to celebrate the Oregon Centennial — including visiting us for Oregon Archives Month in 2009.

If you’d like to hear more about Klein in his own words, check out the “Oregon State University Extension Service Faculty and Staff Oral History Collection, 2007-2009.”

See the set of Flickr pics from his talk.

Read his obituary online.

Starting August 6th we’re closing one door and opening another!

Ed Allworth viewing Beaver door handle on the Memorial Union.

Starting August 6th, the 3rd floor public service desk will be closed for archival reference services. Instead, we’ll be providing reference services at our new service point on the 5th floor in the Special Collections reading room! You can find us in person between 8:30 and 5:00 (Monday through Friday), all the time at scarc@oregonstate.edu, or on the tele at 541-737-2075. Find us online all the time at scarc.library.oregonstate.edu!

Make a note — the desk is still open for maps, microforms and government documents reference services from 10:00 to 2:00, Monday though Friday. For assistance outside these hours, please contact the Information Desk at 541-737-7293 or see the staff on the 2nd floor.

1912 “The Orange” yearbook online!

"The Orange" yearbook page

In days of yore, the Beaver Yearbook was known as “The Orange.” Crazy kids those days…

The 1912 yearbook is now up on Scholar’s Archive and ready for your perusal. Take a tour and check out the pageantry, the history, the mascots, and the women reflecting on suffrage!

The 1912 Orange was compiled and presented at Oregon Agricultural College by the Class of 1912 during its Junior year, 1911. A physical copy of this yearbook can be viewed in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center on the fifth floor of The Valley Library at Oregon State University.

The Day Peavy’s House Rolled Away…

Peavy House

Last weekend the 101-year-old Peavy House moved to an open lot at Northwest 30th Street and Northwest Johnson Avenue!

The original owner was George Wilcox Peavy. He headed the forestry department in 1910 and in 1934 was named president of what was then Oregon State College. He also was elected the mayor of Corvallis in 1947. Peavy lived for many years in the house with his wife and children; he died in Corvallis on June 24, 1951.

Read more about the move and the plans for the site on the Gazette-Times web site.

Ben Forgard and his Benny the Beaver adventure!

Benny's head!

Over the past few months, I have enjoyed doing research on Benny Beaver while working on my senior project. Benny was not the focus of the project, but as a rabid Beaver fan, he took up a fair amount of my time and interest anyways. Using materials from within the OSU Archives, I slowly began to piece together the untold history of Benny—how many versions of the costume were used and when, why the name “Benny,” and other details and anecdotes. After my project ended, my research continued, sometimes in work for patrons, and other times out of continued personal interest. Then, in a culmination of my research into Benny, I hit the jackpot.

I had heard rumors of a secret “Benny room” held by the Athletic Department. A member of the Marching Band staff saw the room once and vividly recalled the creepy sight of numerous Benny heads atop a shelf in the room. Karl, our archivist responsible for accessioning new collections, even recalled that the heads were offered to the OSU Archives a few years ago, but we had to decline them because we had no space for such large items. If the Athletics Department still had the Benny heads, why not ask to see them? At best, it might confirm some of my research, and at worst, I would add a big highlight to a rewarding year working at the OSU Archives. After calling around, I got in touch with the Athletic Marketing office, and after a few days, granted me special permission to enter the room, armed with my camera.

Since Karl had been largely responsible for getting the idea in my head, he came along for our trip. We were led through the basement of Gill Coliseum where we eventually found ourselves in Benny’s locker room, where numerous heads returned our stares. We took a copy of each head (there were two of each) out to the hallway and took pictures for posterity, though we got a few poses of ourselves while we had access, before capping it all off with a picture of a few of them sitting above some of Benny’s lockers—Benny has one locker for each sport at OSU.

As if the trip was not already fruitful enough, Karl and I next headed over to an office in the Memorial Union. Karl had to pick up some new materials in a storage area, but more importantly, he knew about a mysterious plastic mold stored near the new materials. Sure enough, it looked like a Beaver, but no one knew its origins, at least until our visit. Immediately upon my first glimpse of the mold, I easily identified it as Benny’s head from 1959-1969. It was the second head used for the Benny costume, and the first of a plastic material. Apparently, it was found stored away in the Memorial Union a few years ago, and thankfully its discoverer did not throw it away!

During our trip, I felt like a giddy schoolboy. Between the two locations, we saw each incarnation of Benny from 1959-1969 and the early 1980s to the present. For a “Beaver Believer” like me, it was a dream come true!

Check out the Flickr set from our trip “Ben & Karl visit with Benny.”

Shorter hours for 3rd floor reference desk starting June 18

Children with produce, circa 1914

Our hours have changed for summer. From June 18 to August 3, the 3rd floor Archives reference desk is open 9-3. No, we’re not out picking veggies, just scaling back since everyone else is!

Remember, even when we’re closed you can leave us a message at (541) 737-2165 or send us an email at scarc@oregonstate.edu.

Carry Me Back

Although the hoopla surrounding graduation and the end of the term are behind us, we’re still basking in some intense school spirit, humming, and getting carried back…

“Carry me Back,” the 1917 alma mater of Oregon Agricultural College, was written by W. Homer Maris while he was a graduate student at OAC and a member of a popular campus male quartet. The song was first presented publicly by the quartet at a general convocation of students and faculty. Maris earned a graduate degree from OAC in 1918, and died in a tragic bicycle/automobile accident in Tacoma in 1933. His brother, Paul V. Maris, was director of the OAC Extension Service from 1920-1934. His wife, Buena Margason Maris, later served as Dean of Women at OSC from 1941-1948.

Maris’ alma mater also enjoyed a longstanding tradition of being sung after every football game to the band’s accompaniment — no leaving early to avoid the crowd! The tradition has had its fair share of declines and revivals… Today, the tradition has been partially revived and the band, regardless of victory or defeat, solemnly plays the Alma Mater after each game, although only a handful of fans remain to hear it played.

So stick around or take a listen!

During the 20^th century, spirit at Oregon State went through a lot of change as many traditions have come and gone. Some of the traditions have involved athletics, while others have simply embraced our alma mater. Enjoy your daily sampling of some of guest blogger Ben Forgard’s favorites!

School Traditions at OSU #5

The AWS Carnival in the 1940s. (P017:1894)

“Junior Weekend”

Also known briefly as “Campus Weekend,” Junior Weekend was one of the largest events of the year. Originally organized by the junior class, the weekend was held at the end of each May. It celebrated the advancement of class status during the Burning of the Green, and also featured the “Rook-Soph Tug-of-War” in which the freshman and sophomore classes would complete in the classic contest held over either side of a muddy creek. One of the highlights of the weekend was a preview of The Beaver, the yearbook put together by the junior class. By 1940 the AWS carnival merged with the weekend before being renamed as the Junior Carnival, a popular attraction as late as the 1970s.