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A Photographic History of Oregon State University

1940s

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Delivering fuel to the steam plant, ca. 1940. This delivery truck from the Corvallis Lumber Company is unloading wood chips (hogged fuel). The lumber company’s mill was located at the confluence of the Marys and Willamette Rivers in Corvallis, and its mill waste was an important fuel source for the college. Hogged fuel, which also arrived by rail car for many years, was used by the steam plant into the 1970s. (P16:803)
Helen Gilkey and assistants in the Herbarium, ca. 1945. Gilkey, who received her bachelor's and master's degrees from OAC (1907 and 1911), was curator of the herbarium from 1918 to 1951. In 1915 she was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in botany from the University of California, Berkeley. She also served as professor of botany at Oregon State and was an accomplished botanical illustrator and author, best known for her research on truffles. OSU’s Herbarium was established in the early 1880s. At the time of this photo, the Herbarium was located on the third floor of what is now Strand Agriculture Hall. Today it is located in Cordley Hall, contains more than 405,000 vascular plant, bryophyte, algal and fungal specimens, and is comprised of collections from OSU, the University of Oregon, and Willamette University. (HC 1252)
Married students at Adair Village housing for veterans, ca. 1946. The large number of returning veterans after World War II created a severe shortage of student housing at OSC. As a temporary measure to alleviate part of the shortage, the college utilized part of the former Camp Adair military training cantonment to house returning veterans, many of whom were married. The Adair Village housing, which consisted of 326 units, opened in the fall of 1946. (HC 816 #13)
Students walking by Quonset huts, ca. 1946. Like many colleges and universities, Oregon State experienced a significant increase in student enrollment immediately after World War II. The resulting space challenges were met in a variety ways, including the use of Quonset huts as temporary buildings in many locations on campus. The buildings in this photograph were located on the west side of the Home Economics Building (Milam Hall). Quonsets were developed during the war as all-purpose buildings that could be assembled quickly and in almost any location. (P25:1807)
Marian Stebbinger playing the chimes, 1947. The chimes, located in Benton Hall, were a gift of the alumni association and could be heard twice daily. In 1957 Oregon State raised funds for a carillon, which was installed in the Memorial Union. For many years the carillon has chimed out the Fight Song and the Alma Mater at 5:00 p.m. each day. The carillon was automated in the 1990s with a digital sound system. (HC 726)
John H. Hall, ca. 1949. Hall (1899-1970) graduated from OAC in 1923 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He later graduated from law school and entered politics with his 1932 election to the Oregon House of Representatives. He became speaker of the house in 1947. After the death of Governor Earl Snell and two other officials in a plane crash in 1947, Hall was next in line in succession, and took the oath of office of governor on October 30, 1947. He was challenged in the 1948 Republican primary by another Oregon Stater, Douglas McKay, who had been a close friend of Snell. McKay defeated Hall and went on to win the general election in fall 1948. He later served as a district court judge. (HC 527)