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Manuscript Collections
Ardis W. Koester Papers, 1962-1996*
The Ardis W. Koester Papers consist of materials assembled and created by Koester in her role as Extension Textile and Clothing Specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service from 1974 until 1996. The materials include extensive reference materials as well as publications, instructional kits, and slide presentations on textiles used for clothing and interior design.
Roberta Frasier Anderson Papers, 1959-1974
The Roberta Frasier Anderson Papers document Anderson's work as Family Life Specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service from 1959 to 1974 and include publications, conference papers, speeches, clippings and correspondence.
Florence Lynds Shuff Collection, 1940-1957
The Florence Lynds Shuff Collection consists of 2 scrapbooks and a Handbook for Officers of Marion County Home Extension Units (1943- 1944). The collection documents the early years (1940-1944) of the Home Extension program in Marion County (Or.), and the role of the Oregon Home Economics Extension Council in the establishment of Azalea House, a cooperative house for women students, at Oregon State College.
Helen Cowgill Papers, 1914-1956
The Cowgill Papers consist of 4-H circulars written by Helen Cowgill, family history information, and a diary of her 4-H work during the 1910s with women and young girls throughout Oregon.
Janet Taylor Papers, 1942-1954
The Janet Taylor Papers document Taylor's role as a clothing specialist with Home Economics Extension in Clackamas County (Oregon) and include appointment calendars and schedules, brochures, correspondence, employment records, fabric samples, newspaper clippings, photographs, and an artifact.
Photograph Collections
Extension Service Photographs, 1900-2007
The Extension Service Photographs document Extension programs, activities, and staff throughout Oregon as well as Oregon agriculture. The bulk of the collection pertains to the three traditional Extension programmatic areas -- agriculture, home economics, and 4-H. The photographs depict Extension Service programs and staff from all regions of Oregon; however, Benton, Clatsop, Klamath, and Lane Counties are strongly represented.
Extension Bulletin Illustrations Photograph Collection, 1915-1963*
The Extension Bulletin Illustrations Photograph Collection consists of images that were created and assembled for use in Oregon State College Extension Service publications and county reports. They document extension activities in agriculture, home economics, and youth programs.
Extension and Experiment Station Communications Photograph Collection, 1912-1997*
The Extension and Experiment Station Communications Photograph Collection consists of about 25,500 images generated by Experiment Station staff. These images were used in publications such as Oregon's Agricultural Progress and Pacific Northwest Bulletins as well as news releases, poster presentations and displays. The images depict a variety of OSU research projects, Experiment Station branch facilities, portraits of OSU staff, Extension and Experiment Station-sponsored events, and animal-oriented topics.
Home Economics Extension Photographs, 1939-1998*
The Home Economics Extension Photographs collection primarily consists of images relating to an exhibit celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the OSU Home Economics Extension Service.
Oral Histories
Oregon State University Extension Service Faculty and Staff Oral History Collection, 2007-2009
The Oregon State University Extension Service Faculty and Staff Oral History Collection consists of digital recordings of oral history interviews with retired and emeritus Extension Service faculty and staff, transcripts, photographs, and related documentation. These oral histories document the programs and activities of the Extension Service in Oregon from the 1940s through the 1990s. The full contents of the collection have been digitized and made available online.
Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection, 2013-2017
The Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection documents the history, culture and ambition of Oregon State University through interviews with alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, current students and supporters. Most of the items held in the collection take the form of life history interviews, their sole common thread being a given interviewee's association, past or present, with Oregon State University. A total of 243 interviews were conducted for the project, summing to more than 350 hours of recording time. Of special interest are interviews with Billie Stevens, a 4-H and family development Extension agent working in Crook County and Hood River County, and Bob and Kaety Jacobson, both of whom held the same position as Marine/Sea Grant Extension Agent. The contents of this collection are available online through a dedicated web portal.
Record Groups
Benton County (Or.) Extension Service Records, 1938-2010*
The Benton County (Or.) Extension Service Records consist of materials generated and assembled by the Extension Service Office in Benton County, primarily documenting extension forestry activities and programs. Richard A. (Rick) Fletcher was Extension Forestry Agent for Benton County from 1979 until 2011.
Extension Family and Community Health Program Records, 1956-2012*
The Extension Family and Community Health Program Records document educational programs developed and offered by Oregon State Extension faculty for Oregonians. The bulk of the collection consists of slide presentations, workshop leader guides and participant handouts, newsletters and other publications, and video productions on food buying, food preservation, meal preparation, and nutrition. Family and Community Health is a program of the Oregon State University Extension Service within the College of Public Health and Human Sciences.
Washington County (Or.) Extension Service Records, 1918-2004*
The Washington County (Or.) Extension Service Records document educational and outreach programs offered by the Oregon State University Extension Service in agriculture, home economics, and 4-H. The bulk of the records consist of annual reports. Washington County received its first County Extension Agent in 1917.
Extension Food and Nutrition Specialist Records, 1931-1977
The Extension Service was established in Oregon in 1911 and addressed the regional education needs in agriculture, home economics, and 4-H. The Extension Food and Nutrition Specialist Records document the food and nutrition programs of the Oregon State University Extension Service and include memoranda, correspondence, circulars, pamphlets and a slide presentation.
Extension and Experiment Station Communications Records, 1934-2009*
The Extension and Experiment Station Communications Records document preparation of publications, news releases, radio programs, and public service announcements by Oregon State University Extension programs in agriculture, home economics, marine resources, and 4-H. In addition, the records document the communication of the results of OSU Agricultural Experiment Station research to the public and other researchers. The records include sound recordings, publication records, and biographical files for Extension agents and specialists.
Extension Service Records, 1903-2011*
The Extension Service Records pertain to the administration and programmatic activities of the Oregon State University Extension Service. The records document policies and procedures, research activities, special events, and services provided to Oregonians at the state and county levels. They also document the service's relationship with the federal government and extension services in other states.
Publications
Agricultural Experiment Station Special Reports, 1954-2012
The Agricultural Experiment Station Special Reports consist of more than 1100 reports published from 1954 to 2012. The reports address a wide variety of agricultural and natural resources topics studied by Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension Service researchers. The Special Reports are available online in ScholarsArchive@OSU, where keyword searching can be performed on the reports. The Special Reports ceased publication in 2012.
Oregon Agriculture, 1944-1972
Oregon Agriculture consists of two groups of reports issued in the late 1940s-early 1950s and in the early 1970s that summarize the status of agriculture and other natural resources in Oregon, identify trends, and recommend future directions. The reports were published by the Oregon State University Extension Service. All of the publications are available online in Oregon Digital.
Moving Images
Extension and Experiment Station Communications Moving Images, 1937-2007*
The Extension and Experiment Station Communication Moving Images include motion picture films, videotapes and DVDs of final productions and raw footage documenting the variety of Oregon State University Extension and Experiment Station outreach and research activities in agriculture, forestry, home economics, fisheries, and 4-H. Several items from this collection have been migrated to digital format and are available online.
Oregon State University Memorabilia Collection, ca. 1860-present
The Memorabilia Collection is an artificial collection containing items of interest about Oregon State University and to a lesser extent, the city of Corvallis, and the state of Oregon. Subject files relating to the work of the Extension Service and its employees are sprinkled throughout this collection, with concentrations in boxes-folders 63.12 - 63.18 and 64.1 - 65.1. Some highlights include: Canner's School brochures (Box-folder 33.9), a World War II "Food for Defense" conservation guide (Box-folder 68.18), a Home Study Course brochure from the 1930s (Box-folder 87.2), and Extension Bulletin "School of the Air" radio programs (Box-folder 96.11).
Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection, 2013-2017
The Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection documents the history, culture and ambition of Oregon State University through interviews with alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, current students and supporters. Most of the items held in the collection take the form of life history interviews, their sole common thread being a given interviewee's association, past or present, with Oregon State University. A total of 243 interviews were conducted for the project, summing to more than 350 hours of recording time. The contents of this collection are available online through a dedicated web portal. Of particular interest are interviews with Dorothy Fenner (transcribed video available online: "Home Economist and World War II Code-Breaker."), Aya Fujii (transcribed video available online: "An Oregon Stater Interned During World War II."), and Betty Lu Anderson (transcribed video available online: "Running The Barometer during World War II.").
Extension Service Photographs, 1900-2007
The Extension Service Photographs document Extension programs, activities, and staff throughout Oregon as well as Oregon agriculture. The bulk of the collection pertains to the three traditional Extension programmatic areas -- agriculture, home economics, and 4-H. The photographs depict Extension Service programs and staff from all regions of Oregon; however, Benton, Clatsop, Klamath, and Lane Counties are strongly represented. Among those in Series 6, Linn County Extension, are images of women pounding cotton for mattresses made by the Extension Service during World War II (Box-folder 8.9). Images from the collection are available online in the Braceros in Oregon digital collections.
Agriculture Photograph Collection, ca. 1890-1970
This is an artificial collection of photos from many sources pertaining to various aspects of agriculture in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and Canada. Several groupings of photographs were made by/for the Extension Service and the Agricultural Experiment Station, and depict the Emergency Farm Labor Service and Branch Experiment Station buildings and activities. The entirety of Series 2 documents work of the Emergency Farm Labor Service (Box-folder 1.5 - Box-folder 2.1).
Oregon Emergency Farm Labor Service Oral History Collection, 1992
The Oregon Emergency Farm Labor Service Oral History Collection consists of interviews conducted in 1992 by Oregon State University students of five individuals familiar with farm labor in Oregon during World War II.
Please note that links listed below are "canned searches" for specific content relating to women and the subject.
An online Extension Service exhibit, Oregon State University Extension Service: 100 Years of Putting Knowledge to Work, includes information about establishment of the Extension Service, the 4-H program, and Extension Service work during World War I and World War II.
121 The Valley Library
Corvallis OR 97331–4501
Phone: 541-737-3331