Category Archives: Finding Aids

Friday Feature: new finding aids in May!

Look at what we were up to last month! We added finding aids for 8 new collections this May, bringing the SCARC total to 767 finding aids in the Northwest Digital Archives finding aids database!

All are available through the NWDA and on the SCARC website. MARC records for the collections are available through the OSU Libraries’ Catalog, Summit Navigator, and Worldcat.

This month’s batch consists of guides for 4 “new” collections that were received in 2013, 3 maps collections, and one collection for which there was previously only minimal information available online.

Alpha Zeta Oregon State Chapter Records, 1918-1933 (MSS AlphaZeta)

These records document the membership, governance, and programs of the agricultural honor society at Oregon State University. The Oregon State Chapter of this national organization was established in 1918. The collection includes paper records as well as 89 photographs.

Johnson, A. Grace, Collection, 1918-1933 (MSS JohnsonA)

This collection consists of bulletins, circulars, and manuals assembled by A. Grace Johnson to support her teaching and study in household administration at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC). Johnson was a faculty member at OAC from 1915 until her death in 1933.

Obo Addy Legacy Project Collection, 1970-2013 (MSS Addy)

This extensive collection consists of administrative records, promotional materials, and various forms of media related to the Homowo African Arts and Cultures Organization as well as personal materials of Obo Addy. Obo Addy, a master drummer at the age of six, established the Homowo African Arts and Cultures organization with his wife and manager Susan Addy as a way to celebrate and preserve the traditional music of Ghana and Africa. The organization was established in 1986 and is currently active with community outreach and concerts. The collection includes more than 1500 photographs, 172 videotapes, and 50 CDs and DVDs. A detailed description of the collection contents is part of this guide.

Olson, Geraldine I., 1992-2000 (MSS Olson)

The Olson papers document Geraldine Olson’s teaching, research, and international activities as a home economics faculty member at Oregon State University (OSU). She joined the OSU School of Home Economics in 1975 as head of the Home Management Department. Olson served as a faculty member at Oregon State until her retirement in 2000. The collection includes 85 photographs and an audiocassette.

Lincoln County, Oregon, Chronic Geologic Hazard Maps, 1994 (MAPS LincolnHazard)

This collection consists of superseded maps depicting geologic hazards that do not stem from one event and constantly affect the coast, such as landslides and shoreline erosion. In addition to 19 maps, the collection includes a report and database of erosion rates.

Oregon State University Campus Maps, 1894-1994 (MAPS OSUCampus)

These 187 maps document the development of the Oregon State campus from the 1890s through the 1990s. The collection includes campus guides and visitor maps; detailed surveys; campus plans; and maps showing buildings, roads, and walkways. An item-level list of the maps is part of the guide to this collection.

Wetlands Inventory and Survey Maps, circa 1976 – 1990 (MAPS Wetlands)

These maps document the National Wetlands Inventory as conducted in the western United States and the central Willamette Valley and Pacific Coast in Oregon by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services.

Intercollegiate Athletics Records, 1908-2013 (RG 007)

The Intercollegiate Athletics Records document the operation, marketing, and performance of athletics at Oregon State and the pursuits of thousands of student athletes. The collection is especially strong for the 1930s-1950s and 1970s-1990s and includes an eclectic mix of materials, including game programs, sound recordings, and a few moving images. A folder-level list for the collection is part of the finding aid.

Friday Feature: more finding aids!

Following is a list of 9 finding aids for SCARC collections that were completed during March 2014. All are available through the NWDA finding aids database as well as on the SCARC website. MARC records for the collections are available through the OSU Libraries’ Catalog, Summit Navigator, and Worldcat.

This month’s batch consists of guides for 5 “new” collections that were received in 2013 and 4 maps collections. As of March 28, 2014 the OSU Special Collections & Archives Research Center had 749 finding aids in NWDA.

Tripp, Rodney, Collection, circa 1870 – 2001 (MSS Tripp)

: Rodney Winfield Tripp, ca 1940.

These materials document Tripp’s association with Oregon State University and consist primarily of ephemera, memorabilia, and artifacts. A life-long resident of Albany, Oregon, Tripp earned a BS in Secretarial Science from Oregon State College in 1940.

Andrews, Carol, Papers, 1991-2012 (MSS Andrews)

These materials were generated and assembled by Andrews in the course of her work on website design and construction for Oregon State University, including the University’s first web page in 1995.

Booth, Claud L., Photograph Album, 1919-1973 (P 300)

This photograph album includes 66 photographs assembled by Claud L. Booth to document his student years at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC); the photographs depict student activities and athletic teams and events. Claud Lorraine Booth attended OAC in 1919-1923 and 1926-1927 and earned a BS in Industrial Arts in June 1928.

Forestry Media Center Slide Collection, 1942-2000 (P 299)

This extensive collection of color slides (approximately 18,800 images) were created, assembled, and maintained by the Forestry Media Center as a source of images for instruction and outreach in the Oregon State University College of Forestry. The collection also includes slides created by W.F. McCulloch, Dean of Forestry from 1955 until 1966. The slides depict forests and landscapes in North America; timber management, harvesting, and processing; and College of Forestry students and faculty.

Carey L. Strome, 1916.

Strome, Carey L., Papers, 1911-1914 (MSS Strome)The

Strome Papers document his agriculture courses at Oregon Agricultural College in the early 1910s. The Papers include class notes, course materials and class assignments, and publications. Strome earned a BS in Agronomy at Oregon Agricultural College in 1916.

Bureau of Land Management Maps of Oregon, 1944-1993 (MAPS BLM)

BLM map segment of the Prineville Unit, 1970.

This collection of 100 maps includes maps published by the Bureau of Land Management for the public as guides for outdoor recreation and prepared for management of forest lands, primarily in western Oregon.

Forest Type Maps of Oregon, 1900 – circa 1995 (MAPS ForestType)

Detail from a map of the northern portion of the Cascade Range Forest Reserve, 1901.

The Forest Type Maps document forest composition at the county, region, and statewide level in Oregon from 1900 to the mid-1950s. They were prepared by the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. The maps depict type and quality of timber in a given area as well as non-forested and de-forested land. The collection includes 95 maps.

General County Highway Maps, 1951-1963 (MAPS CountyHwy)

This collection of 70 highway maps were prepared by the Oregon State Highway Department in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. Maps for Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Harney, Lane, Lincoln, Polk, Tillamook, and Yamhill Counties are included.

Willamette Valley Sketch Map, 1851 (MAPS WVSketch)

This map depicts purchases and reservations made by the Board of Commissioners with Native Americans in Oregon. The map was prepared by George Gibbs and Edmund A. Starling. Gibbs was a geologist and ethnologist who participated in treaty negotiations between the U.S. Governments and native tribes. This collection consists of three reproductions of the original map, which is held in the National Archives.

Friday Feature: Finding Aids

SCARC staff completed 11 finding aids in January 2013. This month’s batch consists of guides for 5 “new” collections that were received in 2013, 4 maps collections, and 2 collections that previously had minimal descriptive information available online. As of January 31, 2014 the OSU Special Collections & Archives Research Center has 731 finding aids in NWDA.

Whew, that’s a lot of guides! Good thing we have some maps.

Willamette Meridian township plat, 1913. From Central and Eastern Oregon Township Plats (MAPS GLOPlats).

American Fisheries Society Oregon Chapter Records, 1963-2011 (MSS AFS)

These records document the research, education, and public policy activities of the organization in addressing the protection of fish populations and habitats. The Oregon Chapter was established in 1964 as a professional organization of fisheries and aquatic science professionals. The collection includes 107 photographs as well as born-digital materials on floppy disks and CDs.

Alice Fisher Community Drama Class Scrapbook, 1931 (MSS FisherA)

Alice Mary Fisher, 1932.

This scrapbook consists of materials created and assembled by Fisher for a community drama class she completed at Oregon State College in 1931. Alice Fisher earned a BS in Vocational Education from Oregon State in 1932.

Zoa Lowthian Photograph Album, 1928-1934 (P 297)

Zoa Lowthian, 1932.

This album documents Lowthian’s student years at Oregon Agricultural College in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The photographs include snapshots of campus buildings and scenes, student activities, and Lowthian’s friends and family. Zoa Lowthian earned a BS in Pharmacy in June 1932.

E. Roxie Howlett Collection, 1948 – circa 2005 (MSS Howlett)

This small collection consists of 6 issues of the Journal of Home Economics with annotations by Howlett, who earned a BS in Home Economics from Oregon State College in 1945. She held several home economics and public relations positions prior to establishing her own public relations firm in 1968.

John L. Robbins Photographs, 1966-1972 (P 295)

This collection consists of about 4500 photographs taken by Robbins during his student years at Oregon State University in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The images document campus events, student activities, athletics, and campus views and scenes. Robbins earned a BS in Industrial Arts Education from Oregon State in 1973.

Central and Eastern Oregon Township Plats, 1858-1939 (MAPS GLOPlats)

This collection consists of 556 maps that are reproductions of the original manuscript plat maps for townships in regions of Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains. Most of the plats were prepared in the 1870s-1890s. The plats show section lines as well as natural features and vegetation such as prairie; timber; soil types; rivers, streams, sloughs, and wetlands; and fields.

Oregon Central Military Road Map, 1865 (MAPS MilitaryRoad)

Detail of the Oregon Central Military Road Map, 1865.

This single map depicts a portion of the Oregon Central Military Road as surveyed in July-September, 1865. The Oregon Central Military Road was constructed and maintained by the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road Company that was incorporated in Eugene, Oregon, in 1864.

Plans and Profiles of Oregon Rivers, 1923-1971 (MAPS RiverPlans)

This collection consists of 215 detailed maps and profiles of rivers and streams, dam sites, and reservoirs, primarily in Oregon.

Rangeland Resources Department Maps, 1936-1967 (MAPS Rangeland)

These maps (about 120 total) document range type surveys and studies in the Lower Powder River basin, Vale District, and Squaw Butte Experiment Range in eastern Oregon.

The Royal Jackson Papers and WWI Poster collections previously had minimal information available online, but now have full guides.

Royal G. Jackson Papers, circa 1905 – 1992 (MSS JacksonR)

Logging operations, c1970s.

The Jackson Papers consists of materials created or assembled by Royal Jackson in the course of his research. The bulk of the materials pertain to the history of the Oregon State University College of Forestry, McDonald – Dunn Research Forest, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp Arboretum, and nature-based tourism in central Oregon and Costa Rica. Jackson was a faculty member in the Oregon State University College of Forestry from 1970 until his retirement in 2004. The collection includes more than 1000 photographs, 214 sound recordings of oral history interviews, and maps. This guides includes a detailed description of the collection contents.
http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv31518
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/jacksonr/index.html

World War I Poster Collection, 1917-1919 (MSS WW1Posters)

YMCA war poster, 1918.

This collection consists of 144 war propaganda posters supporting the United States and its allies in World War I. The posters were generated by the United States Food Administration, the United States Treasury Department, the American Red Cross, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), and other charitable organizations. The collection includes numerous posters related to food austerity, U.S. war bond and stamp sales, and the United War Work Campaign of 1918. This guide includes an item-level list of the posters.

These guides and many others are available through the NWDA finding aids database and on the SCARC website. MARC records for the collections are available through the OSU Libraries’ Catalog, Summit Navigator, and Worldcat.

Friday Feature: Fabulous Finding Aids

Winter storms and holidays limited the number of finding aids completed during December… But there were still guides written for 5 collections, including 3 new collections (received in 2012) and 2 map collections. Arrangement and Decription Archivist Elizabeth Neilsen says “we will return to our normal pace in January,” so be looking for an even bigger list next month!

Rep. Ben Westlund speaking at the dedication of Cascades Hall

Ben Westlund Papers, 1976-2010 (MSS Westlund)

http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv34484
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/westlund/index.html
This collection documents Westlund’s political career in Oregon. Ben Westlund served as a State Legislator and State Senator from central Oregon from 1997 until his election as State Treasurer in 2008, a position he held until his death in 2010. Westlund advocated for higher education in central Oregon and was instrumental in the establishment of the Oregon State University-Cascades campus in Bend. The collection includes a full range of formats including photographs, videotapes and DVDs, compact disks with digital photographs and sound recordings; and born-digital materials on floppy disks.

Leland F. Skillin Collection, 1935-1973 (MSS Skillin)

http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv36660
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/skillin/index.html
These materials document Skillin’s work as a mechanical engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Willamette Iron and Steelworks from the late 1930s through the 1960s. Skilled worked on the design and construction of several dams in Oregon. The collection includes 55 photographs.

William H. Taubeneck Papers, 1881-2010 (MSS Taubeneck)

http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv91897
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/taubeneck/index.html
These papers consists of materials generated and assembled by Bill Taubeneck during this course of his research and teaching career at Oregon State. Taubeneck earned his BS and MS degrees in Geology from Oregon State College, completed a Ph.D. at Columbia University, and was a faculty member in the Geology Department at Oregon State from 1955 until his retirement in 1983. The collection includes 550 photographs.

Maps collections:

Crater Lake National Park Maps, 1903-1962 (MAPS CraterLake)

http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv70452
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/craterlake/index.html
This collection of 17 maps includes topographic, shaded relief, and bathymetric maps of Crater Lake, Oregon, and vicinity.

Native American Maps Collection, 1875-1972 (MAPS Native)

http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv59588
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/nativemaps/index.html
These maps depict the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in north central Oregon as well as reservation lands in the United States. An 1875 map of native tribes in Alaska is also part of this collection. The collection includes 64 maps.

All these guides are available through the NWDA finding aids database as well as on the SCARC website. MARC records for the collections are available through the OSU Libraries’ Catalog, Summit Navigator, and Worldcat.

All “new” collections received in calendar year 2012 now have a finding aid available through the SCARC website and NWDA as well as a MARC catalog record. As of December 27, 2013, the OSU Special Collections & Archives Research Center has 721 finding aids in NWDA.

Go team!

Friday Feature: E. Dale Trout Papers

SCARC is pleased to announce a newly-released finding aid for the E. Dale Trout Papers.

This collection highlights the work of Dr. Edrie Dale Trout (1901-1977), a leader in the fields of radiology and radiation safety and the founder of OSU’s X-Ray Science and Engineering Laboratory. E. Dale Trout, a native of Indiana and a Franklin College graduate, began work at the Victor X-Ray Corporation in 1928 after a brief stint as a high school science teacher. Victor X-Ray later merged with General Electric and, during World War II, Trout managed GE’s Industrial Technical Department developing technologies for the war effort. Following his retirement from GE in 1962, Trout accepted a position as Professor of Radiological Physics at Oregon State University. At OSU, he worked with his colleagues to establish the Radiation Center and founded the X-Ray Science and Engineering Laboratory in collaboration with the U.S. Bureau of Radiological Health. He served as Director of the laboratory until his retirement in 1976. With the help of John P. Kelley, his Assistant Director, Trout developed x-ray training courses for undergraduate and graduate students, conducted extensive testing of various x-ray instruments, and contributed to ongoing radiation safety research. A prolific researcher, Trout published more than 100 papers over the course of his life, many of which he co-authored with Kelley.

The E. Dale Trout Papers include extensive correspondence assembled by both Trout and John Kelley, administrative records relating to the X-Ray Science and Engineering Laboratory, x-ray course instruction materials, many of his published papers and seminars, materials dating from his position as Vice President of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement, and a significant body of collected research materials. The Papers belie Trout’s deep interest in the future of radiology and his drive to inspire, train, and ensure the safety of future generations of researchers.

This collection offers a rich look at the history of radiology as it developed through the second half of the 20^th century. It details the advancement of radiological techniques, practices, and instrumentation and provides a unique understanding of the contributions by corporate, academic, and government entities to the field. The work of E. Dale Trout and John P. Kelley also serves as a wonderful record of the development of radiology instruction and the growth of the OSU Radiation Center, one of the top ranked institutional programs of its kind in the country.

The Trout Papers joins a growing body of work relating to radiation research and policy held at the OSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives Research Center. Related materials include the Barton C. Hacker Papers, the Barton C. and Sally L. Hacker Nuclear Affairs Collection, the OSU Radiation Center Records, the History of Atomic Energy Collection, and the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers.

New finding aids from August to October

The following 10 guides (finding aids) for Special Collections & Archives Research Center collections were completed or updated in August thru October 2011. Most have been loaded to the NWDA finding aids database; all are available online through either the Archives’ or Special Collections’ website. MARC records for most of the collections are available through the OSU Libraries’ Catalog, Summit Navigator, and Worldcat. Five of the guides are for new collections acquired in 2011; one is for a collection received in 2010. Two of the guides are for collections for which we previously had no information available online [Admissions Office Records (RG 163) and Lora Lemon Scrapbook] .

At the end of October 2011, the OSU Special Collections & Archives Research Center had 588 finding aids in NWDA.

SCARC finding aids : August – October 2011

New finding aids for April 2011

Find out more about our collections online with these new April 2011 finding aids!

Updates!

We left you hanging with new online exhibits, new collection guides, and some mountains in the Holy Lands — and yes, that was a long, long time ago …

So what has been going on in the Archives since then? New students have been hired and others have finished their internship projects, vacations have been taken, public school children have returned to their scholarly pursuits, and we are all jazzed up to start another great academic school year with Benny the Beaver finding historical materials and all those in Beaver Land lining up to do some research!

Elizabeth has continued to produce great collections guides, as we now fully expect that she will every month… You can read about them all in the August 2010 Finding Aid file.

We also added one last set, Rivers of the World, to the Take a Trip: Traveling and touring with the Visual Instruction Lantern Slides Collection.

And to start off the month right (or to celebrate the middle of the month right?), we’re celebrating what was billed in 1910 to be “a frontier exhibition of picturesque pastimes, Indian and military spectacles, cowboy racing and bronco busting for the championship of the Northwest.” Oh yes, I’m talking about the 100th Anniversary of the Pendleton Round-Up.

Gorgeous images of women in their fullest regalia!

Ladies in a line!

Men on bucking broncos!

A man and his mule?

There is something for everyone in this set. And for those who want even more — isn’t there always even more to be wanted?

Oregon Public Broadcasting has a new Oregon Experience piece entitled “Oregon Experience: The Wild West Way.”And yes, you can now watch it online!

OregonLive has a great group of blog posts pertaining to the Round-Up.

There is a nice Wikipedia article on the Round-Up for those who want a short synopsis, a few pictures, and lots of links to rodeo related articles.

And, as you might expect, the Round-Up site itself has a great history section …

As they say “Let ‘er buck!” — oh, and enjoy the images!

Driven by curiosity?

Guide to the Oregon Community Surveys, 1925-1936

Another great collection level finding aid just waiting for a researcher interested in playing a history detective!

This very rich, albeit very small measuring in at a 1/2 cubic foot, collection has scads of data about 4 small communities in Oregon. The Oregon Community Surveys consist of data and narrative summaries documenting the schools, churches, social organizations, and economic status of the rural communities of Clatskanie, Condon, Cottage Grove, and Riddle, Oregon.

Why is this collection worth looking at? Data for the Oregon Community Surveys was compiled in 1925, 1930, and 1936, with the latter being done by C.S. Hoffman, Assistant State Supervisor of Rural Research, under the auspices of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Works Progress Administration. But what makes this really great is the historical detail you get about these communities in the early part of the last century.

Each survey includes information about the demographics of the community. Predictably, this includes the total population, but it also provides incredible information about the number of individuals identified as “native born,” “foreign born,” and “negroes;” the number and type of farms and agricultural cooperatives; the types of industries and businesses; the names of influential individuals in the community; the medical services available; and information about charities, crime, social activities, and civic organizations.

You’ll also find extensive information about the community’s schools, including information about enrollment, facilities, the library and equipment, teachers, and school clubs and organizations. You’ll also find detailed information about each church in the community, with data on the church facilities, finances, membership, and religious education programs. Finally, the surveys also include narrative summaries and comments written by the surveyors.

The provenance and custodial history are unclear, hence the call for a sleuth, but we’d love you to dive into the box!

Curious about the images in this post? You’ll find many, many more of the great pictures of Oregon’s rural communities in our digital collections, especially the image-heavy and delightfully robust Gerald W. Williams Collection …

And while we have your research interest piqued …

Make sure to check out the Rural Communities Explorer, an Oregon Explorer digital library portal that “provides public access to reliable and up-to-date social, demographic, economic, and environmental information about Oregon’s rural counties and communities.”

Horner Museum Oral History Collection

Fabulous new collection guide now available online! Horner Museum Oral History Collection 1964-1992

We love it when Elizabeth N. describes something as the “granddaddy of them all” for our oral history collections … not one to use superlatives lightly, when Elizabeth does use one, she means it!

So why is this so special?

The Horner Museum Oral History Collection consists of approximately 290 oral history interviews conducted or assembled by the Horner Museum. The run the gamut, covering a variety of topics including the OSU campus community and development of academic departments, Corvallis and Benton County, the diversification of a “resource-based economy” in Bend and Deschutes County, Native Americans and other ethnic minorities in the region, and the establishment of the CH2M Hill engineering firm.

For those of you who like the numbers, this collection is 17.75 cubic feet, including 681 audiocassettes and 200 photographs — yes, that’s 34 boxes worth. And for those of you who delight in details, there is a preliminary container list available (linked from the collection guide).

Want to know more? Elizabeth has written a wonderful background history for the collection, including more about on the physical details and other related collections for companion research projects.

Interested in where the physical artifacts found their home?

You can find the contents of the Horner Museum in Philomath at the Benton County Historical Society and Museum.

Special Collections and Archives Research Center

Oregon State University Libraries and Press