Category: Moving Images

Digitization Update – August 2023

Digitization Alert!

Nathan Georgitis, our Archivist of Digital Collections, has been hard at work and now there’s a fresh batch of materials to pull off the (digital) shelf!

UO bookstore, circa 1989.

Now available on Aviary, our hub for digitized audio/visual materials:

Haywood P. Sconce Papers (Ax 363) and his Christian Celebrity Tyme Radio Program Sound Recordings

Haywood P. Sconce (1905-1959) was an enterprising, Arkansas-born Baptist minister who served congregations in Oregon and Washington. In 1954, he became the founding director of Christian Celebrity Tyme, a religious radio program.

Track athlete Jesse Owens is shown mid-air, reaching his right arm forward as his left arm reaches overhead. His left leg extends as his right leg bends. His has dark skin tone, short hair and wears a white tank top and white shorts.
Jesse Owens competing in the long jump. Berlin Summer Olympics, 1936. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons, August 31, 2023

The Christian Celebrity Tyme sound recordings date from 1957-1958 and feature testimonials on Christian faith from public figures in the worlds of politics, sports, and industry, including a dugout interview with New York Yankee Enos “Country” Slaughter and discussions with Olympian Jesse Owens, silent film star Mary Pickford and legendary performer Ethel Waters. A particularly haunting–and apparently unused–interview with then-senator John F. Kennedy covers his thoughts on public service, personal exposure, and faith.

Explore collection finding aid here. 

                Listen to the recordings here.

James C. Ingebretsen Papers (Coll 147) and Freedom Story Radio Program Sound Recordings

James Ingebretsen (1906-1999) was a lawyer, developer and American conservative. His Freedom Story radio show ran from 1951-1956 and featured dramatizations on conservative and libertarian themes and commentary.

Explore collection finding aid here.

Listen to the recordings here.

Side note: are you researching conservative and libertarian movements? SCUA’s James Ingebretsen Memorial Travel Fellowship offers funding up to $2,500 each year. Information and application here.

Tom Anderson Papers (Coll 157) and the Straight Talk Radio Program Sound Recordings

Thomas Jefferson Anderson (1910-2002) was a member of the John Birch Society National Council, publisher of farm magazines, editorialist, public speaker, and a conservative political activist in the American Party. His syndicated column Straight Talk appeared in magazines and newspapers and, in 1957, became a book of the same name. His weekly radio program, also called Straight Talk, included discussions on foreign policy, religion and the war in Vietnam.

Explore collection finding aid here.

Listen to recordings here.

Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy Records (Coll 913)

Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy is a peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly by Cambridge University Press. Named after Hypatia of Alexandria, a mathematician and philosopher who was murdered by a mob in 415 CE, the journal was founded by the Society for Women in Philosophy (SWIP), who chose the name to reflect the enduring roots that women have in philosophy. The digitized portion of the video collection features feminist philosophers expanding on articles published in the journal.

Explore collection finding aid here.

Watch videos here.

Interested in learning more? UO is hosting a conference this September in celebration of Hypatia’s 40th anniversary. Event information here.

Ken Kesey

Ken Kesey (1935-2001) was a University of Oregon graduate and professor, in addition to being an internationally renowned Oregonian novelist, essayist, and counterculture figure.

As a graduate fellow in creative writing at Stanford, Kesey was a volunteer in psychoactive drugs experiments being conducted at the Veterans Hospital in Menlo Park, where he later became an employee. Both experiences would have a profound impact on his art and writing, particularly the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, published in 1962.

Black and white portrait of Kesey, who stands in front of a tree. He is balding, has light skin tone and a collared shirt.
Ken Kesey, c. 1965.

In 1964, Kesey incorporated himself as Intrepid Trips, Inc, purchasing a 1939 International school bus dubbed “Further.” He and his artistic circle, dubbed the Merry Pranksters, began the cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair that would become the basis for Tom Wolfe’s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. After the group returned to California in 1965, they busied themselves by editing film footage of the bus trip, organizing parties known as the Acid Tests. The Grateful Dead served as the house band for many of these gatherings.

Newly digitized Kesey materials:

Scott Parker Collection of Ken Kesey Sound Recordings (Coll 932)

Scott F. Parker is an Oregonian author who collected these materials from the Pacifica Radio Archives while researching his book, Conversations with Kesey. His recordings consist of interviews and book talks by Kesey.

Explore collection finding aid here.

Listen to recordings here.

Ken Kesey Papers (Ax 279)

Explore collection finding aid here.

Access digitized recordings of Kesey and friends, circa 1965, here.

Second side note: are you researching Ken Kesey and/or Vietnam-era literature and counterculture? SCUA’s James Laughton Ken Kesey Fellowship offers funding up to $3,000 each year. Information and application here.

 

Behind the Scenes: “Animal House” at 40

In the fall of 1977, John Landis and his Universal Pictures production crew came to Eugene, Oregon, to begin filming their college comedy Animal House on the campus of the University of Oregon. They recruited dozens of UO students as extras, and used many well-known campus buildings and landmarks as locations. The video above is a compilation of behind-the-scenes footage shot by local TV news crews, including the iconic parade scene shot in Cottage Grove, Oregon, as well as the demolition of the Delta house in the early 1980s. The news footage all comes from the KEZI-TV/Chambers Communications Corp. records (Coll 427), and the still images come from University Archives Photographs (UA Ref 3) in Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA).

Some of this same footage, plus additional clips and images from SCUA, is also available in a related video produced by the University of Oregon’s Communications & Marketing department to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the the film’s release. An article in the summer 2018 issue of the Oregon Quarterly explores the film’s local history and its ongoing impact as a cult favorite.

Both videos demonstrate how archival footage can be combined in different ways and recontextualized to tell new stories about history.

As a student delving into this archival collection of behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes, this project felt transportive as I immersed myself in images from the past forty years. It was also a learning experience in the context of the culture of UO, as well as the evolution of what we deem as socially responsible in relation to comedy. Archival video footage and images are unique in their ability to present the viewer with a view of the world as it used to be, which can lead to greater understanding of how the past influenced the present.

You don’t need to be a student at the University of Oregon to find something in KEZI-TV news collection to connect with. Parents, alumni, faculty members, fans of the movie, and all types of Eugenians will come across familiar sites as they stood forty years ago. From downtown Cottage Grove run amok to John Belushi finagling a horse through Johnson Hall, this collection provides us with a vision of our campus and the surrounding area through a retro, Hollywood lens.

For me, the image of Belushi playing his guitar in a booth at the EMU fishbowl resonates strongly. To see a Hollywood star sitting by the same windows many of us have gazed through while working on a project or getting lunch with friends makes the connection between then and now all the more palpable.

Of course, the film isn’t without certain problematic tendencies. While I’m not excusing the myriad punchlines that come at the expense of a variety of social communities, I will say that this archive is a fun look into the loose atmosphere of the film set. Furthermore, this film still serves as the largest vehicle for the city of Eugene’s representation in Hollywood lore, as it grossed over $140 million and spawned an entire generation of knock-offs. Because of this, our archival collections serve as an important look into the creation of Eugene and the University of Oregon’s Hollywood immortality.

Local celebrations will peak in August when Cottage Grove hosts a 40th anniversary parade, toga party, film screening, and other festivities. The historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland will screen a 35mm print of the film on August 17.

–Michael O’Ryan, Curatorial Assistant

5 Things You Didn’t Know Existed in the EMU 50 Years Ago

The EMU is celebrating its reopening Thursday and Friday—the building is full of new food, new spaces and even a Duck Store. But fifty years ago, the EMU was a lot different.

This is a video filmed in 1966 by a political science student named Ken Settlemier, who was trying to show how crowded the EMU had become. According to an article in the Oregon Daily Emerald, the film didn’t really achieve what it had intended when shown to the EMU Board—but today, provides us with a snapshot of student life in the EMU half a century ago.

Here are five things you probably didn’t know existed in the EMU in 1966:

1. A barber shop.

 2. Smoking.

3. A daily print newsroom.

The Emerald is now a daily online publication with two news magazines a week; in 1966, it printed every day from Monday to Friday.

4. Ping-pong.

5. A bowling alley.

Bonus points: A girl falling asleep.

The Sub 4 Reunion: Honoring UO Track and Field Athletes

The second hour included a Q & A session led by current OTC Elite runners Andrew Wheating and Tom Farrell.
The Sub 4 Mile Reunion included a Q & A session led by current OTC Elite runners Andrew Wheating and Tom Farrell. Photo by Lauren Goss.

On May 27th, a select group of University of Oregon runners were honored at the Sub Four Reunion, hosted by the Oregon Track Club.  The sold out event at the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes was filled with UO alumni, past and current UO coaches, and running enthusiasts.  The event honored the 10 surviving runners who ran a mile in less than 4 minutes under coach Bill Bowerman.  Coinciding with The Prefontaine Classic, the reunion duly recognized Steve Prefontaine as the 11th UO runner to break the 4-minute barrier in 1970.

As the Thomas Intern Film Archives Assistant for the University of Oregon Special Collection and University Archives, I’ve been working on the identification, preservation and digitization of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Films collection.  When I heard about this reunion a few months ago, I became curious about track and field films in this collection. With nearly 4,000 films, over 2.5 million feet of film, and 8 decades of University of Oregon athletic heritage, I hoped to locate some suitable material.  To my surprise and joy, I successfully discovered footage of two of the sub-four minute mile moments.  First, the unabridged film of Jim Bailey running the first sub-four minute mile in the United Stated in 1956, and second, clips of Dyrol Burleson breaking the four minute barrier at Hayward Field in 1960.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RxL34RzcH8&feature=youtu.be

The clip reel captivated both attendees and honorees during the first hour of the event.
The clip reel captivated both attendees and honorees during the first hour of the event. Photo by Lauren Goss.

 

With the help of my colleagues, Elizabeth Peterson (Humanities Librarian and Curator of Moving Images) and Jennifer O’Neal (Corrigan Solari University Historian and Archivist), we were able to digitize the footage and offer a clip reel to the reunion organizer, Todd Bosworth.  In addition to the films, the clip reel includes photographs of the runners located by University of Oregon graduate research assistant, Zach Bigalke.  Many thanks to University of Oregon undergraduate student, Joe Hughes, for producing such a captivating clip reel.  As a third generation UO alumni, it was an honor to attend the event to celebrate fellow Ducks and their accomplishments.

 

 

List of reunion honorees and the time and date of their first sub-4 minute mile:

Jim Bailey 3:58:6 (May 5, 1956)
Dyrol Burleson 3:58:6 (April 23, 1960)
Jim Grelle 3:59:9 (April 28, 1962)
Keith Forman 3:58:3 (May 26, 1962)
Archie San Romani 3:57:6 (June 5, 1964)
Wade Bell 3:59:8 (June 2, 1966)
Roscoe Divine 3:59:1 (June 2, 1966)
Arne Kvalheim 3:59:4 (May 6, 1967)
Dave Wilborn 3:56:2 (June 23, 1967)
Steve Savage 3:59:2 (June 5, 1970)

Event media coverage:

Register Guard

KEZI

KMTR

Around the O

Run Blog Run

–Lauren Goss, Thomas Intern Film Archives Assistant

Peg Lynch’s typewriter: A window into the birth of sitcoms

This typewriter belonged to Peg Lynch, one of the first sitcom writers.
This typewriter belonged to Peg Lynch, one of the first sitcom writers.

The past meets the present in our Friday File series, where we delve through artifacts housed at the UO Libraries and let them talk.

Some of the first sitcoms were typed on these keys.

This typewriter belonged to Peg Lynch, creator of the TV and radio sitcom Ethel and Albert. Premiering on ABC radio in 1944 and on NBC television in 1950, Ethel and Albert was the first “show about nothing”; it followed a suburban couple through storylines as mundane as trying to open a pickle jar, dropping Lynch’s quiet but intelligent humor into them.

Ethel and Albert’s first episode was written on this L.C. Smith & Corona typewriter, which is now part of the Peg Lynch papers at the University of Oregon’s Special Collections and University Archives.

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