We had another successful open house last weekend! Approximately 100 people stopped by to enjoy a display of campus and football history memorabilia and view some vintage videos. Dads (and moms) and undergrads spent some quality time in the Archives throughout the day.

Did you know Dad’s Weekend started in 1933 making this the 80^th Anniversary? I’ll admit that we didn’t know either when we planned the day, but now we regret not buying cake!

Super SCARC student worker Mike D. reported that

one of the highlights of the day for me was to experience young OSU Freshmen connecting with their Beaver heritage. No matter what school they were a part of, Mechanical Engineering, Oceanography, or the ever popular: “undecided,” these students learned that there is something for everyone in our collections. The day proved that you don’t need to be a stodgy old history researcher to darken our doors. I’m confident that these new students will be back in the archives throughout their college career at OSU.

Truth be told, it was our collection of Beaver yearbooks that received an extra rigorous workout that day — particularly the issues from the 1980s. Dads browsed and relived their college days through the pages and photographs, sharing stories with all of us.  Mike appreciated hearing  (more than once) “you had hair then!” It was gratifying to see all of the dads connecting with their kids through Beaver history!

Yearbooks and Barometers and Memorabilia… How we loved sharing it… The display of OSU history sparked many questions throughout the day. We all told the story of the First Morrill Act, which established land grant colleges, to interested alumni and students.  I concur with Mike’s “note to self” to read up on early OAC history, re-read the 1862 Morrill Act, and spend some time with our Land Grant documents.

Mike has a “box of goodies” he pulls out for these events that is full of historic ephemera like a rook cap (which was a green beanie worn by all freshmen boys) and a rook bible from 1926. Mike spent a lot time talking with one student, a member of the oldest sorority houses on campus Alpha Chi Omega, and her dad. The students was enthralled by the history of freshmen at OAC in the early days and spent over an hour reading the rook bible, finally finding the name of the original student owner. Then she wanted to actually “find” him, so she and her father poured through yearbooks trying to find information on this OAC student from days of yore. It was gratifying to see a young student taking such a personal interest in her campus history.

Larry spent a lot of time sharing his vast knowledge of university history. He’s elbow deep in a pictorial history of OSU, so it’s certainly fresh in his mind! He also had an interesting visit with one of the mothers, a caregiver for Douglas Strain (our reading room bears his name) at the end of his life. Tiah spent time with a father and daughter who were searching for poetry written by their grandfather in an early OAC yearbook. They got a little distracted by other fun finds, but were able to catch this bit of family on our Bookeye scanner. The final visitor was the Student Station Manager from KOAC — who was so excited about our holdings of her station’s early history! She plans to use our collections to find old KOAC photographs to use in recruiting new students, returning as an actual researcher to dig into the history of our radio station. KOAC, by the way, is celebrating its 90^th anniversary this year! Mike says “yay! More cake!”

The SCARC Dad’s Weekend open house was memorable in many ways. The event was highlighted by the sheer volume of interested families who came through our doors from 10:00am to 2:00 (and later…), and the genuine engagement and interaction we experienced from all who attended.

We were all exhausted but in a good way!

Weatherford Hall – New Photo of the Tower Finial! Super student researcher Mike Dicianna has given us another fun post about OSU history.

One of the most iconic buildings on the Oregon State campus is Weatherford Hall. Completed in 1928 as part of a massive building program began by Oregon Agricultural College President William Jasper Kerr, the new dormitory would house 344 male students for the growing institution. The newly completed building cost $460,000 – including furnishings! The university financed the huge project by means of a bond issue that was retired gradually with usage fees paid by the men who lived in the dorm. The residence hall wings were named after Austin T. Buxton, Daniel V. Poling, Thomas J. Cauthorn, and Curtis L. Hawley. From the beginning, the men of these dorms were known as “independents,” that is not affiliated with the fraternities on campus. Watch a video history of this picturesque building on YouTube.

Weatherford Hall served as a dormitory and focal point for the university for many years, but time was not kind to the stately building. Leaks destroyed plaster in the interior, wiring and plumbing became dated and dangerous, and the building was deemed unsafe. The dorm closed at the end of the 1993-94 school year. In 1997, a renovation of the historic dorm was planned, and Weatherford reopened in 2004 as the new home of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program.

Recently, a donor called SCARC with a question about a photograph from her grandfather, Lloyd Bonney’s estate with a possible connection with OSU. Nan Harrison, of Springfield, Oregon described a photograph of her grandfather with the new “copper finial to be placed on the new O.A.C. Dormitory, Corvallis, Ore.” The copper finial was manufactured by Strobel & Miller Metal Works, of Eugene, Oregon. Nan agreed to send SCARC the original photograph and negative to include in our collection.

My first thought was it possibly could have been the decoration for the first men’s dorm, Cauthorn Hall (now Fairbanks) dating just before the turn of the century. Upon receiving an initial scan of the photo, I could tell it was later than 1892, but where could this finial have been installed? Searching through SCARC’s collection of historic O.A.C. photographs, the huge copper finial revealed itself! The tower of the new dormitory, Weatherford Hall sported the beautiful creation. The date of the photograph was confirmed as 1928!

This one photograph enhances our collection of Weatherford Hall in a special way. There are a few construction images from 1928, and numerous photos throughout Weatherford’s eighty-five year history, but this individual detail shot of the finial is a true find. As a thank you to our donor Nan and her family, I spent some time restoring the old photo digitally. Removing cracks and stains, the original “patina” of the photograph was retained, and a high resolution copy was made available to the family.

Sometimes it is the small things that excite an archivist. This single photograph revealed a part of OSU history that has been undocumented in our collections. Weatherford Hall was built exclusively by Oregon sub-contractors during 1928, something the Architect firm of Bennes & Herzog was proud to feature. And now, through this donation of a single photograph, the firm of Strobel & Miller of Eugene can be documented as part of this achievement. The photograph is available for researchers in Harriet’s Collection (HC), at OSU Special Collections & Archive Research Center.

You may not give much thought to the tremendous amount of work that goes into describing collections and putting that information online. Not being the one who works at that end of the archival workflow in SCARC, I can tell you that the staff and students are hard at work!

Participants at Phi Delta Theta barn dance (1950s), from MSS Choate.

You may also not give much thought to the steady stream of materials we are lucky enough to receive each week. We have alumni, department staff, and many others who are looking out for collections that would make great additions as we work to document the history of our university. I wanted to share a sampling of the collection guides that SCARC staff have updated or created over the past couple of months. Though these fall in the “students” and “sports” categories, because that’s what on my mind these days with the new school year and exciting football season, there are many more gems that now have new guides!

One thing to note: you’ll see two links and may wonder why… We have guides on our SCARC site, but also in the Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA), a database of collections from around the northwest. If you are interested in a topic or person, and want to see if there are other research possibilities in our region, NWDA is a great place to explore.

From the Football Photograph Colection

Football Photograph Collection, 1894-2000 (P 004)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv94665
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/p004/index.html

This collection consists of approximately 800 photographs of football games, practices, players, and coaches. Images of athletic facilities such as Bell Field and Parker Stadium are also included. An item-level list of the images, with links to those images that are available online, is part of this guide.

Arbuthnot, James G., Photograph Collection, 1909-1915 (P 191)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv69671
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/p191/index.html

These photographs document Arbuthnot’s life and activities in and near Corvallis as well as Oregon Agricultural College athletic teams and sporting events. James G. Arbuthnot was Athletic Director from 1906 to 1918 and the coach of the wrestling team in 1911-1917 and 1920. The collection includes 318 photographs.

Smith-Western Co. Photographs of Oregon State College, c. 1955/56 (P 164)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv02270
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/p164/index.html

This collection of 89 photographs consists of images (primarily negatives) of Oregon State College campus buildings and sorority and fraternity houses. The negatives were printed as postcards and sold in the College bookstore.

Lepper, Helen, Diary, 1938-1931 (MSS Lepper)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv99447
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/lepper/index.html

This diary documents the daily activities of Helen Marie Lepper during her student years at Oregon State College. She attended OSC from 1927 until 1930 and studied music.

Choate, Virgil L., Collection, 1953-1957 (MSS Choate)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv21252
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/choate/index.html

The Choate Collection consists of ephemera and photographs assembled by Choate during his student years at Oregon State College. Virgil L. Choate earned a BS in Agricultural Education in 1958. The collection includes 25 photographs, primarily depicting activities of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Mason, Donald L., Photographs, 1915-1935 (P 290)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv56347
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/p290/index.html

The Mason Photographs depict the Oregon State College foundry facilities, items made in the foundry, and students in foundry classes. Donald L. Mason earned a BS in Industrial Arts from Oregon State College in 1937 and was Foundry Instructor in the Industrial Arts Department until 1943. The collection includes 51 photographs.

Oviatt, May, Collection, 1903-1912 (MSS Oviatt)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv91265
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/oviatt/index.html

This small collection documents Oviatt’s work as a public school teacher in Benton County (Oregon) and includes certificates and contracts. May Oviatt earned a BS in Household Science from Oregon Agricultural College in 1908.

Mike Dicianna gives us another fabulous feature this Friday — enjoy!

We have all worn these from time to time. They are usually scribbled on with a sharpie with your name, sort of readable, and maybe a title or hometown. By the end of the conference or event, these name tag stickers are usually torn off your jacket, folded in half and stuck in a pocket, only to be found months later…

VFW Encampment badge, 1938

Perhaps the “golden age” of name tags has gone the way of cheap convenience in recent times. SCARC’s recent accession of the Governor Douglas McKay collection (MSS McKay) contains a wealth of artifacts and ephemera that highlights the elegance of personal identification of decades past. Convention attendees of the 1930s and 40s would sport some of the most decorative nametags to their gatherings. These badges were something you kept as a remembrance of attending that special meeting, convention, or in McKay’s case – the 15^th Annual VFW Encampment.

AFL Labor Convention, 1950

Douglas McKay was the 25^th Governor of Oregon, 1949 through 1952. His political career dates back to the 1930s in Salem, Oregon where he was Mayor and State Senator.  All of these activities necessitated his attendance at meetings, special events and political conventions. The McKay artifacts represent this career in a tangible way.  Some of the name tags include his title, Governor, but most are simply typed with his name. And yes, no scribbled sharpie names, they were typed, on a good ole’ Underwood or Royal manual typewriter.

During World War I, McKay served with the American Expeditionary Forces (the US Army) in Europe, where he advanced to the rank of First Lieutenant.

American Legion 15th Annual, 1933

On October 4th, 1918, about a month before the end of WWI, he sustained severe injuries in battle to his leg, right arm and shoulder, for which he was awarded the Purple Heart.

His involvement with veteran’s groups in Oregon is represented in the collection through convention nametags. McKay was an active member of both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars organizations. Badges from “encampments” during the 1930s were quite decorative, and became souvenirs of the events. Our collection contains examples from both of these groups.

I took the time to check the Webster’s definition of ephemera, and found it to be contradictory to a historian’s sensibilities:

ephem·era noun \i-ˈfe-mər-ə, -ˈfem-rə\ : things that are important or useful for only a short time : items that were not meant to have lasting value.

The value of the McKay artifacts to the researcher is only magnified by this rather depressing definition.  We are lucky to have these items in the collection. Ephemera can help to tell the story of a person’s life. Boxes of dusty old records or scrapbooks are important tools to all researchers, but pausing to experience a box of artifacts in a collection can bring the story to life. Granted, collections as rich as MSS McKay are not the archival norm, but when you find gold…mining is in order.