Category Archives: New Accessions

Friday Feature: notes from the field or “a trip to collect the Edith Yang collection”

Summertime isn’t just for vacations and lounging at a lake, it’s also a big time for transferring collections! Last week Karl & Mike traveled to Salem to review the Governor Douglas McKay collection, and earlier this week I wrote about a few items Karl found in a collection delivery from the Hyslop Crop Science Field Research Laboratory.

Yang residence

This week Karl, Natalia, and Larry made a trip to Edith Yang’s house to pick up materials pertaining to her work as an architect in Corvallis. The collection is rich with architectural plans and sketches, but the group also found materials related to her work (e.g. professional correspondence, initiatives and petitions, project notes and reports). This is a big project and the materials are still in the processing queue…

Edith Yang passed away in May of 2012 after an active career. In looking at the many rolls of plans currently in our workroom and reading about her work, it’s clear that Yang made quite an imprint on the buildings in our community. Born in Portland in 1918, Yang was an art major at the UofO, completing her a masters degree in 1948 and a bachelors degree in Architecture in 1950. She won a Woman of Achievement Award in the 1970s and was the 8th woman in architect in the state to get a license — she was also the first minority to get a license.

She worked at OSU for 12 years as a staff architect and had her own architecture practice from 1954 to 2000. Though most of her work at OSU was in architectural drawing, for all of her career she did both design and planning work. She was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs, which is reflected in a very special building to her — her own house in NW Corvallis.

She was also very passionate about the arts, serving as president of the Arts in Oregon Council and chair of the The Arts Center in Corvallis. Her vision of the riverfront evolved into what the riverfront is today.

We look forward to offering you more information on this collection as we unroll and process it!

What were students studying 99 years ago?

A collection delivery from the Hyslop Crop Science Field Research Laboratory included a few items from OAC alum Casey Strome. I’m perpetually delighted by these little glimpses into academic world of woebegone days!

The collection isn’t processed for viewing, but you can always email us if you are interested and we’ll let you know when it’s ready.

Friday Feature: 15 Views of Oregon Agricultural College

Great things come in little packages, right?

“15 Views of OAC,” front view

Measuring 5 1/2″ x 3 1/2″, the “15 Views of Oregon Agricultural College” includes 15 pictures of various spots on campus (each measuring a mere 3 1/2″ x 2″). It is just a bundle of fun! There is a whole Flickr set, so while the day away and explore the days of yore!

This is part of a new addition to the George P. Griffis Portfolio and Scrapbook collection, assembled by Griffis to document his career with The Oregonian newspaper and the Pacific National Advertising Agency in Portland, Oregon. The materials were donated in 2010 by Griffis’ daughter, Joan E. Griffis. Another accession in 2011 added materials on Griffis’ student experience at OAC, as well as a hand-drawn card to commemorate his promotion to the Oregon Advertising Club. The new addition to the collection, of which this little gem is a part, is mostly photographs. You can read about the particulars of the collection online.

George Griffis attended Oregon State College from 1926 to 1929 and studied engineering and business. During his student years, he was national advertising manager for the Barometer campus newspaper; he continued this work as promotion manager for The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon, from 1929 until 1951. In 1951, Griffis left the The Oregonian to work for the Pacific National Advertising Agency where he worked until 1963, when he formed his own advertising firm. The George P. Griffis Publishing Internship at the Oregon State University Press was established in 2010.

Friday Feature: class pictures!

Line up!

Photo of the OSC student body, 1931

Taken in 1931, this lovely & long landscape picture is probably most of the student body in 1931. It looks to be taken from the “OAC Cadet Bandstand,” which was removed when the current library was built.

My favorite is the late arrival sauntering across the quad!

Late arrival!

In case you are looking for it or others like it, you’ll find it in Harriet’s Collection. And if you’d like to know more about the bandstand, George Edmonston has written a short piece about it, and the Lady of the Fountain, on the Alumni Association site.

Friday Feature: rolling in the new accessions

It’s that special time of year when archivists get all sorts of wonderful gifts. This year we had an especially good haul from the Facilities Services department, which added many boxes of campus building plans!

Want to know more about campus planning?

In addition to the Facilities Services Records, 1888-2003, there are also several great places to look for information. The Memorabilia Collection includes brochures and general information about Facilities Services, about individual structures, and materials pertaining to campus planning. More detailed information about the construction of some major buildings is available in the records of the corresponding office or department; for example, information about construction and remodeling of the Valley Library (and its predecessors, the Kerr Library and Kidder Hall) are available in the Library Records (RG 009).

Capital Construction Funding Records, as well as other materials pertaining to buildings and facilities, are part of the Business Affairs Records (RG 017). Additional correspondence from Gordon V. Skelton is available in the Civil Engineering Department Records (RG 030).

We also have several great online exhibits for your viewing pleasure including OSU Building Construction and Holsteins, Horses, and Hogs: the Barns of Oregon State. Another resource is the Chronological History of OSU, which is invaluable for those landmark dates, developments, and events.