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The World War I Poster Collection is comprised of propaganda posters 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 in support of the United States and its allies in World War I. The collection contains numerous posters related to food austerity, U.S. war bond and stamp sales, and the United War Work Campaign of 1918.
Access to this collection is limited. The University of Washington's archival holdings include a substantial collection of propaganda posters from World Wars I and II. Those posters can be accessed online here: University of Washington War Posters Collection.
The Ulysses Grant McAlexander Collection documents McAlexander's military activities, particularly his involvement in the Second Battle of the Marne in France in July 1918, his training at West Point and his years as commandant of cadets at Oregon Agricultural College. Of special note is a complete run of the publication Stars and Stripes, a newspaper for military personnel during the war.
The Edwin Russell Jackman Papers include articles written for OSU publications and bulletins, national publications and specialized trade publications; news releases; radio and television talks; speeches; and manuscripts of E.R. Jackman's published books pertaining to Oregon agriculture. Series II: Correspondence contains material related to World War I in the Personal Correspondence subseries, and Series IV: Personal Records contains a diary Jackman kept during his service in the war, as well as records of Jackman's military service.
The John T. and Virginia E. Merrifield Collection contains two scrapbooks that were assembled by Virginia and contain correspondence, event programs, photographs, newspaper clippings, and publications documenting John's engineering career and the military service of Virginia's father, Arthur Broderson, in World War I.
The Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Army Spruce Production Division consists of materials acquired by U.S. Forest Service historian Gerald Williams that document activities managed by the Division as well as its administration. The U.S. Army established the Spruce Production Division (SPD) on November 17, 1917, seven months after the country entered World War I. Charged with the mission of dramatically increasing the harvest and milling of Sitka spruce for aircraft construction, the SPD coordinated the employment of troops to work in logging camps and sawmills alongside their "civilian" counterparts. By the summer of 1918, the Army decided to administer the production of aircraft lumber more directly and transformed the SPD into a government corporation which managed all aspects of the harvest and distribution of the milled spruce. The photographs and publications that make up about half of this collection reflect the logging. milling, and transport of spruce lumber in Oregon and Washington coordinated by the division. Associated activities include images of logging camps, the construction of railroad infrastructure, and division members visiting nearby towns. Transcripts of interviews with Division members illustrate the daily life of the logging camps and the harvesting of the spruce trees. Notes and reference materials amassed by Gerald Williams over the course of researching the Division and its head, General Brice Disque, include photocopies of newspaper articles, magazines, book chapters, and archival collection material. A conference paper resulting from this research is also part of the collection. Images relating to the Spruce Production Division can also found online at Oregon Digital. Publications about the Division are available online at ScholarsArchive@OSU.
The Students' Army Training Corps (SATC) Records document this World War I training program at Oregon Agricultural College. The records include financial reports and contracts; correspondence pertaining to equipment purchases; course descriptions, instructors, and registrations statistics; and rosters of SATC participants.
The Oregon State University Military Photographs Collection consists of images of military education and cadets at Oregon State from various sources and time periods. Individual images include portraits and group shots of military cadets and officers, as well as reviews, formations, training, and instructional materials. Photographs are arranged chronologically by historical era. The series on World War I contains photographs and glass lantern slides dating from 1916, before the U.S. entry into the war. Uniforms and training reflected the world wide conflict and are indicated in the photographs. SATC (Student Army Training Corps) and early ROTC cadets are featured, as well as a subseries of portraits of General Ulysses Grant McAlexander.
The OSU Memorabilia Collection contains numerous items related to OSU history, including files documenting World War I.
The Clair V. Langton Papers consist of materials created and assembled by Langton, primarily during his years as faculty member in physical and health education at Oregon State University from 1928 until 1964. Series V, Military Records, includes correspondence, orders, papers, military ephemera, and handbooks pertaining to Langton's military service in the U.S. Army and the Michigan National Guard and his later participation in military training activities.
The Cooke Family Letters are comprised of over one hundred letters written by members of the Herman Wilhelm Cooke family, an Oregon family who migrated to the Pacific Northwest in 1880. Herman wrote several other letters of interest. In one, dated August 9, 1894, Herman writes to Daniel of the “train wrecking and other acts of lawlessness committed in [California] by the strikers and others,” likely referring to the widespread railroad strikes of July 1894. On February 26, 1898, Herman discusses the possibility of a war with Spain, and expresses a wish for a war if it would free Cuba from “Spanish dominion.” Several decades later, on March 25, 1916, Herman discusses World War I, and his feelings about Germans.
A variety of university publications - including those listed below - can support research on a multitude of topics, including World War II.
In the library's online catalog, try a broad subject search on World War, 1914-1918, and limit the dates from 1914 to 1920. You could also try limiting your search from 1914 to 1920 and try keywords like soldier*, poetry, or war.
This collection contains issues of the soldiers' newspaper Trench and Camp from 1918.
Harriet's Photograph Collection, named for the University's first archivist, Harriet Moore, includes one folder, HC 1554 (Student Army Training Corps), with World War I content.
See digitized versions of these here, or view the physical items in SCARC at LD4337 .A2 HistOSU.
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