Chemistry Building (now Gilbert Hall)
Corvallis-ites know that life in our little parcel in the Willamette Valley has changed quite a bit!
In our newest Flickr Commons set, “Build It Up,” we’d like to encourage you all to think of progress and development from lots of different angles… From above, from the past? In color or in paint?
Times they are a’changing, this set will help you remember where we’ve been. And yes, we still love it here.
Enjoy!
Oh the places you’ll go… Oh the places those Giffords went…
You’ve had a good long wait for a new Flickr Commons set — and this one will not disappoint. Those fabulous Giffords, with their fabulous picture taking skills, have left us with such an amazing legacy of stunning photography. Pulling together a set of pictures for this “Travels with the Giffords” set was a cinch. So many stunners to choose from!
Ice Garden, 1925
My favorites include the “Ice Garden,” above, which shows a frozen fountain and pond at Gifford home in Salmon River, Washington. Another spectacular shot, “Hot springs near Lakeview” is seen below.
Hot springs near Lakeview, Oregon
Want some more details from the finding aid?
The Gifford Family is considered Oregon’s first family of photography. Beginning in 1888, when Benjamin A. Gifford emigrated to Portland from Kansas, they began a photographic tradition that lasted into the 1950s and spanned three generations. Benjamin A. Gifford worked as hotographer in Portland and The Dalles, Oregon, from the late 1880s until about 1920, when his son Ralph took over his studio in Portland.
Ralph I. Gifford with dog and horse, circa 1945
In 1936, Ralph became the first photographer of the newly established Travel and Information Department of the Oregon State Highway Department, a position he held until his death in 1947. After her husband’s death, Wanda Muir Gifford took over the family’s photography business and continued to take and sell photographs through the mid-1950s.
Ben L. Gifford, the son of Ralph I. and Wanda Gifford, joined his mother in the family’s business in early 1950s and also worked for a Salem photography studio from 1951 until 1955. Three generations of Gifford photography began to come to a close when Ben took an engineering job with the State Highway Commission in 1955.
Enjoy!
Trysting Tree, circa 1938
Last week the Trysting Tree was named a State Heritage Tree and Special Collections & Archives Research Center director Larry Landis spoke at the dedication ceremony. For those of you who weren’t able to make it, here’s what you missed! Pretend like the wind is blowing and you can see the tree out of the corner of your eye…
During its 144 years as Oregon’s land grant institution, Oregon State University has had many strong traditions and iconic symbols. One of her most well-known symbols and traditions has been the Trysting Tree.
This tree, a Gray Poplar — not considered to be a highly valuable tree by most arborists — was a popular gathering spot for couples from the late 19th century (soon after Oregon Agricultural College moved to its present location in 1889) through the first half of the 20th century. The tree has been idolized in poetry and song. OSU’s golf course is named for the tree. A conference room in the CH2M Hill Alumni Center, a meeting room in Weatherford Hall, and a lounge in the Memorial Union all carry the Trysting Tree name. And the tree is the source of many family stories, anecdotes, and yes, legends.
But what is the backstory of the tree? Who planted it and when?
Trysting tree, circa 1910.
Some accounts state that George Coote, an early horticulture faculty member and superintendent of the college grounds, planted the tree in the early 1880s. I have doubts about this story, as Coote was not appointed to the college faculty until 1888, although he had lived in the Corvallis area since 1877. My guess is that it may have been planted by a previous landowner prior to the college’s acquisition of this parcel as the original college farm in 1871 – a February 1960 Oregon Stater article indicates that many “old-timers” believed the tree was one of several gray poplars planted on the original donation land claim. It is also possible that someone else associated with the college planted it. Another account states that originally two gray poplars that had been planted, but that one was cut down due to damaged limbs.
Regardless, by the late 1890s the tree had become a romantic gathering spot for students. Despite admonitions from College President Thomas Gatch about this type of activity, as well as the installation of arc lights on Benton Hall’s cupola, the tree remained a popular destination. President Gatch is credited with giving the tree its “Trysting Tree” moniker, and the Class of 1901 formally named it as such.
For the next 60 years or so many students experienced their first kiss, were pinned, or became engaged under the tree’s expansive branches. It was also focal point for the many picnics, reunions and other events that were held in the area.
As the tree and its popularity grew, its presence in the culture of the college also grew. The 1908 Orange, the predecessor to today’s Beaver yearbook (and actually published in 1907), included a poem in tribute to the tree. Homer Maris, a graduate student at OAC in the late 1910s, continued this literary tradition with the writing, in 1917, of the poem that would become alma mater, Carry Me Back, in 1919.
By 1960, the Trysting Tree was suffering from disease, rotting from the inside out. By 1980 this was becoming visibly apparent. In a sad, but celebratory, ceremony on September 27, 1986 (not 1987 as the nomination states), the Trysting Tree was cut down after it had been eulogized and given a toast with sparkling apple cider. Fortunately OSU had the foresight to anticipate the removal the Trysting Tree – cuttings had been taken from the tree and propagated under the guidance of horticulture professor Jack Stang, so that a genetically identical descendant would carry on the Trysting Tree tradition. Propagating the tree in this manner had been proposed in 1960. Trysting Tree II was planted on October 15, 1982 by the OSU Mothers’ Club.
In 1988, the tree was honored yet again, when OSU’s golf course, just across the Willamette River north of Highway 34, was named the Trysting Tree Golf Course.
Ribbon cutting ceremony, 1988
It is appropriate – some would say long overdue – that today we recognize and honor the legacy of the original Trysting Tree and the current Trysting Tree II as an Oregon Heritage Tree.
I’d like to close with this last stanza of the poem that appeared in the 1908 Orange:
Long may’st thou live, thou worthy friend,
Thou dear old Trysting Tree;
Long may thy branches proudly wave
Majestic’ly and free,
To mind us of those happy days
Spent at old O.A.C.
Hello Walk, image courtesy of Google Maps
“The Hello Walk”
As late as World War II, the “Hello Walk” encouraged a friendly greeting among students in the MU Quad. Originally along the diagonal between Kidder Hall and the Dairy Building (today called Fairbanks and Gilkey Halls), anyone walking along the path was expected to offer friendly greetings in any encounters, whether friend or stranger. The Barometer even reported that President Kerr particularly liked to start his mornings along the walk as a way to interact with students and faculty. In 1943, with a few veterans beginning to appear on campus, the tradition started to wane as co-eds worried that their greetings might be too forward and improper.
During the 20th 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!
Burning of the Green, circa 1960
“The Rook Green”
Beginning in the early 1900s, all freshman used to be required to wear the “rook green.” Men had rook “lids” (small green caps) while women wore green ribbons in their hair. Until the early 1930s, cadets also wore a green armband while in uniform. The green was worn during the weekdays and was useful for upperclassmen to identify any rooks in the area—rooks had several rules which, when violated, earned discipline carried out by the sophomore class. In the 1940s, the “rookess” ribbons were worn only on Wednesdays, and in 1960, the rook lids also switched to only Wednesdays. In a rite of passage, the freshmen would burn their green—hence the name “Burning of the Green”—at the annual Junior Weekend held at the end of may, signifying their advancement into the sophomore class. By the 1960s, the Burning of the Green had moved to Homecoming in the fall.
During the 20th 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!
Skier on Mount Hood
Maybe you’ve noticed, we really love showing off fabulous pictures of our special state. Enjoy this new set in Flickr Commons, mountain top to sparkling beach.
This set is packed with pictures from all over the state, in all kinds of weather, from all sorts of angles. You never know what you’ll find in our Flickr Commons account!
Crater Lake Phantom Ship
Grooves: carving up a tabletop
Have you ever heard the story of the “Senior Tabletops”?
Starting in 1915, the seniors carved their names and other designs on the top of the “senior table” at a popular restaurant in town. Each year the restaurant furnished a new tabletop, while the old ones were stored at “the co-op building,” and later, the MU basement. The tabletops were put on display in the MU in 1932 as a way to revive interest in the waning tradition, but apart from brief revivals in the 1950s and 1960s, the movement was unsuccessful. The tabletops were displayed in Gill Coliseum in the 1950s before moving to the newly remodeled McAlexander Fieldhouse in 1984.
During the 20th 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!
Fire in downtown corvallis, 1930
No Smoking!
In 1890, faculty at the State Agricultural College (now OSU) worried about an alarming habit gaining in popularity relating to dried leaves of “Nicotiana Tabacuni,” formally banned smoking from campus. Although technically more of a rule than a tradition, it was often fondly recalled as a valuable tradition. As class structure (graduation class, not social class) altered during and after World War II (some “Rooks” were not 18 and fresh out of highschool, but in many cases were older than upperclassmen, and had war-time experience), the rule relaxed, first with designated smoking areas in 1944, and then further in 1947 when the ban was lifted after a student vote. By the mid-1960s, there were even ashtrays located throughout the MU. Despite the changes, smoking has never been allowed in the classroom.
During the 20th 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!
E. E. Wilson feeding a chicken, circa 1915
We wowed you with a small Flickr set in 2009 called “William Finley and Herman Bohlman: American Birds.” This week we’re back with the birds, this time flying through the E.E. Wilson, Edwin Russell Jackman, and the Fisheries and Wildlife Department Photographs with our new Flickr Commons set “It’s for the birds.”
Desert grouse, 1938
Always a treasure trove!
Smokey the Bear
Most of you would recognize that fuzzy face of one fire preventing bear. Smokey the Bear has captured the hearts and minds of the American public since he came onto the stage in 1944 – during World War II. He was a blend of advertisement genius and Forest Service policy, the story of a real black bear cub orphaned by a forest fire. Beyond the cute mascot lurked real fears of forest fires, especially since the Japanese attempted to light SW Oregon coastal forests on fire (read more about the Lookout Air Raids of 1942 and fire balloons launched into the jet stream between November 1944 and April 1945). Though the attitudes, policies, and messages about forest fire and wild land fire management has changed, Smokey continues to be the major symbol for the Forest Service.
How about one funny looking owl name Woodsy who came onto the scene in 1971?
Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Hardin meet Woodsy Owl. Woosy is the newest environmental symbol of the United States.
Woodsy was the new environmental symbol for the forest service, protection of wildlife, and promotion of wilderness appreciation. His motto “Give a hoot — don’t pollute!” was modified in 1997 to “Lend a hand — care for the land!” And yes, you can “like” Woodsy on Facebook and follow him on Twitter!
Then there are those symbols that didn’t make it… Who remembers the “Keep Green” campaign that ran alongside Smokey? Yes, it was left by the wayside after the fears of World War II died down. Throughout the 1940s, various Keep Green programs proved to be incredibly successful in educating the public about the importance of forest fire prevention. They also provided an excellent foundation for the later success of the Forest Service’s Smokey Bear campaign. While the popularity of Smokey Bear as the dominant symbol of fire suppression caused the Keep Green campaigns to eventually fade to the background, these campaigns are still noteworthy for their incredible success.
U.S. Forest Service sign : Mr. Fisherman! Green Forests Good Fishing : Forest Fires Destroy both
Images from the US Forest Service, Civilian Conservation Corps, and more can be found in the OSU’s digital collections and on Flickr Commons. Come take a look you never know what is going to make you think, smile, or just laugh out loud.
Article by Susanne Ranseen
Learn more about Smokey’s Journey and see some great posters!
Learn more about “Forgotten Character from Forest History” on the blog “Peeling Back the Bark.”