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.

 

Undergraduate Program for Archival Studies and Practice Fellowship

SCUA is elated to once again partner with the Oregon Humanities Center (OHC) in awarding a UO undergraduate student our Archival Studies and Practice Fellowship. Curious to see the work our fellows did last year? Check out their blogs on the John F. Finerty papers and what it’s like to process an archival collection.

Application Deadline

Applications are due no later than 5 pm on Friday, October 13, 2023. Applicants will be notified in November, 2023.

Overview

University of Oregon (UO) undergraduates interested in the humanities and humanities-affiliated social sciences and professions can earn eight internship credits and a $3,000 fellowship stipend during a twenty-week program. The program will provide students with important humanities library sciences research and career readiness skills, while expanding their post-college job prospects. Students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Program background

Study of and research in the humanities helps students develop critical thinking, problem solving, communication, presentation, collaboration, and other important skills required to successfully navigate an ever-changing post-college world regardless of the chosen profession, and to be prepared to help solve society’s most complex issues. To assist students in this transition and to create a student-to-career pipeline, the University of Oregon’s Oregon Humanities Center (OHC) and UO’s Libraries Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) are collaborating to offer an undergraduate student fellowship program focused on building primary archival research and career readiness skills.

SCUA staff will guide the student through an internship and research production experience that will enable the students to think more broadly about their career opportunities and interests, seek other research funding support, and pursue honors theses. Students will gain library science experience while developing project management, data collection and analysis, and digital humanities experience.

The student will receive $3,000 for the twenty-week internship/fellowship, in addition to the high level of support from SCUA and OHC faculty and staff. The student will participate in tutorial sessions led by SCUA faculty and professionals while completing a research fellowship that will culminate in the student performing actual archival work (processing and description), in addition to a public presentation (in-person or virtually) on their project, along with  blog posts and social media collections.

The term humanities as used here includes: literature; philosophy; history; religion; ethics; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; and historical or interpretive aspects of social and natural sciences and the professions.

This program was made possible by the generosity of OHC donors Herb Merker and Marcy Hammock.

Program Length

This program takes place during the 2024 Winter and Spring terms and lasts twenty weeks.

Schedule

The early weeks of the first term will focus on the student’s coursework, readings, and trainings, followed by an orientation to project management and archival collection processing; the second term will be dedicated to  the student’s  development of archival, technology, research, writing, and public presentation skills.

Eligibility

  • Be enrolled at the UO full time as an undergraduate in a humanities or humanities-related major or minor.
  • Have a GPA of 3.0 or greater in UO humanities courses.

Expectations and requirements

  • Remain enrolled as a full-time student and be in good academic standing during the entirety of the twenty-week program. The credits earned during this program will count toward full-time status.
  • Graduation date cannot take place before the completion of the twenty-week program.
  • Complete all required training, reading, meetings (weekly and monthly), and projects satisfactorily in order to receive the eight total internship/practicum credits over twenty weeks.
  • Participate on the Oregon Humanities Center panel at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in Spring 2024 and/or publicly present findings to OHC, SCUA, and Library staff and faculty.
  • Students may not be paid to conduct research through other internal UO research support programs during the same twenty-week program period. Students may, however, accept an external award for the same academic year as this program.
  • If for any reason a student’s circumstances change (e.g., due to exit from the University, loss of full-time student status, or the receipt of any grant or award that conflicts with the con­ditions of this program) and the student is unable to use the award during the academic year for which it was granted, the award must be forfeited. This program cannot be deferred.
  • Students may participate in this program only once.
  • Acknowledge the OHC and SCUA in any work resulting from research done during the program period.
  • Notify the OHC and SCUA of any publications, conference presentations, or other awards, fellowships, or employment that result from your research project.
  • Notify the OHC and SCUA immediately of other support or any conflict with the eligibility criteria of this program.

Credits and Award

IMPORTANT: If you are receiving federal financial aid, this award may affect your financial aid eligibility. Students who receive federal aid have a responsibility to report all awards earned to the UO Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Contact the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships for more information. The OHC will provide recipients and the Financial Aid Office with supporting documents if required.

HOW TO APPLY

Step 1: Read program information and check eligibility

  • Read all program information and instructions completely before beginning to work on your application.
  • Ensure that you meet all the eligibility criteria.

Step 2: Complete the application and compile the required forms.

Step 3: Letter of Recommendation

  • The faculty member that is providing your recommendation to this program must submit the letter of recommendation worksheet (both matrix and narrative). Letters of recommendation are accepted from Tenure Track Faculty or Career Non-tenure Track Faculty with an FTE of .50 or above.
  • Request that your letter writer complete and email the Letter of Recommendation worksheet, by the required deadline to ohcapplication@uoregon.edu. It is your responsibility to communicate in advance of the deadline with the faculty member providing your recommendation, so they have time to submit the required recommendation worksheet before the deadline.

Step 4: Obtain an unofficial copy of your UO transcripts

Step 5: Send your PDF application and unofficial transcripts to: ohcapplication@uoregon.edu. In the subject line write: “[your name]-SCUA program application.”

IMPORTANT NOTE: Under the federal law titled the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and according to the University of Oregon Student Record Policy, registered students are given the right to inspect their records, including letters of recommendation and teacher recommendations. If the student wants to waive their right of access to this recommendation, they may do so by completing a waiver form.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact: Contact information Jena Turner, Associate Director, at jenap@uoregon.edu or 541-346-1001, or Melissa Gustafson, at melissag@uoregon.edu, 541-346-1002.

Processing Update – July 2023

The SCUA archivists have been hard at work and four more collections were made available for research in June.

The finding aids for these, and all, SCUA collections can be accessed through our archival collections database, Archives West and the UO Libraries catalog.

Black and white photo of three people in a store. One, who presents as a woman, stands behind a counter and holds a pen attached to a pen display. A person who presents as a woman faces her, holding another pen above a piece of paper. The third person, who presents as a man, stands a typewriter that sits on the counter. In the background, shelves are filled with boxes of varied sizes.
UO bookstore, c. 1920-1940

Collections now available for research:

Judith Pauline Autio papers, Coll 722

Judith Pauline (JP) Autio was born in Michigan in 1938. She graduated from the School of Medical Technology in Seattle, Washington in 1961 and received a Master of Science degree in Zoology from Arizona State University. She worked in nuclear medicine before coming to Oregon in 1975. In partnership with Jemma Crae, Autio founded Steppingwoods, a 140-acre women’s land community in Southern Oregon in the 1970s. She built the original cabins on the land herself, as well as numerous outbuildings and bridges. She began showing signs of dementia in her late 40s, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at age 52, and died in 2001 at age 62.

Dean Southern Jennings papers, Ax 734

Dean Jennings (1905-1969) was born in Rochester, New York, on June 30, 1905. He was the son of Reverend Webster Wardell Jennings and Mary Jennings. He attended school in Munich, Germany from 1911-1915, West High School in Rochester, New York, from 1920-1923, and Lowell High School in San Francisco from 1923-1924.

Jennings began his journalistic career as a reporter for the San Francisco Journal in 1923, going on to work as a sports writer for the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Herald in 1924. From 1925 to 1927, he lived in France, where he worked as a reporter and rewriter for the Paris Herald until 1927. In 1928 Jennings returned to San Francisco and became the chief rewriter for the Call-Bulletin. He remained in this position until 1934.

From 1934-1935, Jennings was the executive secretary of the Northern California Newspaper Guild. He was regional director of the United States Resettlement Administration in Denver and Indianapolis from 1935-1936. From 1936 to 1937 he was the regional director of the distribution and promotion for U.S. Government Films in Chicago and Hollywood. In 1937 he was the regional information representative of the U.S. Social Security Board in San Francisco and the director of the press for the Golden Gate International Exposition. He was the Pacific Coast representative for the U.S. Film Service in 1939, the regional information director for the U.S. Office of Emergency Management in San Francisco in 1941, and regional director of the U.S. Office of War Information in San Francisco from 1942-1943.

During the 1940s Jennings was breaking into the free lance magazine market. His first sales were to detective magazines. Jennings then returned to newspaper work in the early 1950s and wrote a gossip, man-about-town column for the San Francisco Chronicle, called “It’s News to Me,” from 1951-1953. From 1947-1948, Jennings spent a year in Switzerland writing articles. Jennings wrote under several pseudonyms in the beginning of his career, including Robert Southern, Ward Winslow, Dorothy Cole, Carlton Russell, John Wesley Noble and Foster Rawls.

Jennings married Elsie Virginia Jennings in 1930 and divorced in 1938. He was then married to Doris Lucile Drury from 1940-1952, and to Mary Elizabeth Foster from 1953 until his death. He had six children.

Virginia Elwood-Akers papers, Coll 873

Virginia Elwood-Akers (1938- ) is a Los Angeles native, who received her Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a Master of Library Science from the University of Oregon in 1972, and a Master of Mass Communication from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 1981. Elwood-Akers is the author of Women War Correspondents in the Vietnam War, 1961-1975, the final product of research performed for her Mass Communication degree.

Patrick J. Gallagher papers, Ax 301

Patrick Joseph Gallagher was born in 1884 and came to Oregon in 1913. He settled in Bend with the intention of practicing law but moved shortly thereafter to Ontario. He served in the Oregon state legislature as a representative from Eastern Oregon in 1919 and 1921, returning afterward to continue his law career. Both his son, Martin Gallagher, and daughter were also lawyers. His daughter, Cecelia Galey, served on several state commissions, including the Commission on Industrial Accidents and the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, the first woman to hold such positions. She also served as circuit court judge and Sweet Home city attorney. Gallagher, who remained involved in his law practice and Oregon politics until his death, died from heart trouble in 1957 at age 72.

Traversing the Oregon Trail Twice – Pioneer Woman’s Journal Returns to UO Libraries

“Tuesday the 3rd. Started at the usual hour, crossed two very bad creeks, the last was the Walkarnsha, camped about 5 o’clock, commenced raining about 8 o’clock pm and rained all night, a very bad night to guard stock, which we are compelled to do rain or shine.”    —Elizabeth Goltra’s journal entry, May 3, 1853

Elizabeth Julia Ellison married Nelson Goltra in Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1851. Two years later the couple journeyed west on the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon. Having graduated from college, Elizabeth assumed the task of recording the events of the trip, which she planned to send back to friends who were going to make the same trip later. Little could she know the extended journey her diary would ultimately make.

Sounding similar to a new college student, Goltra shared, “April 29th, 1853. To-day we started across the dreary plains. Sad are the thoughts that steal over the reflecting mind. I am leaving my home, my early friends and associates, perhaps never to see them again, exchanging the interested solicitude of fond friends for the cold and unsympathizing friendship of strangers.”

A black and white photo portrait is placed next to an old
Portrait of Goltra with a page from her journal.

May 3 would turn out to be an auspicious date for both the journal and UO Libraries, with Goltra’s diary traveling the Oregon trail twice, once in 1853 and again 170 years later, in 2023, when it was returned to its forever home in Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) at the University of Oregon (UO) in Eugene by Pete Brink, head of Archives and Special Collections at Creighton University.

But how did a pioneer woman’s diary documenting the arduous trek along the Oregon Trail in 1853 end up at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska?

In early 1988, “librarian Hillary Cummings at the University of Oregon in Eugene discovered that numerous rare books, documents, and manuscripts related to the early settling of Oregon and the west coast were missing, according to Kelly Jensen’s essay, “The Most Successful Book Thief in American History.” Cummings and the [then] chief librarian, George Shipman, alerted the FBI and let other libraries know about their missing special collections.

Once the UO theft had been detected, it took three SCUA librarians 548 hours spanning 1987–88 to inventory the collections to determine exactly which pieces were missing.

Meanwhile, FBI and other investigators were putting the puzzle pieces together and were able to identify the thief based on similar thefts at California and Washington universities.

Turned out the thief was Stephen Blumberg the most successful book thief of the 20th century, who became known as the “Book Bandit.” He was arrested in 1990 for stealing more than 21,000 rare books and manuscripts valued from $5.3 million to $20 million from more than 300 universities and museums in 45 states and 2 Canadian provinces. Law enforcement officials found wall-to-wall shelves on all floors of Blumberg’s home in Iowa overflowing with rare and highly valuable materials, including a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicles from 1493 and two dozen boxes of rare items about the settling of Oregon.

Relatively speaking, that arrest was the easy part. Finding the rightful owners of each book or manuscript and returning them was much, much harder. It took a cadre of volunteer librarians and archivists working out of the FBI office in Omaha to do that work. Despite their Herculean efforts, not all the materials were able to be returned to their original institutions. The FBI gave materials for which owners couldn’t be identified to Creighton University in recognition of the many volunteer hours its library staff provided. Goltra and her party encountered a similar act of generosity on the journey when some members of a Nez Perce tribe “came along with some potatoes and peas, which is a welcome vegetable to emigrants” (from her September 2, 1853, entry).

Brink was co-teaching a class on rare books, theft, and history and went into the Creighton Archives storage area to look for relevant materials. There, in a box, he found a red, expandable folder labeled “Goltra journal,” which piqued his interest. Immediately after looking at it he realized that it was something special. Creighton does not have a lot of Oregon Trail journals in their collections, so the fact that it wasn’t in their catalog set off alarm bells for Brink. He then went to Google to see who Elizabeth Goltra was and tracked down the UO’s Special Collections’ finding aid for the Goltra Journal, which noted that we only had photocopies of the journal, indicating that the original was missing.

Once he figured out what it was, Brink noted that it was “one of the most exciting things in the collection.” Goltra’s journal is one of the oldest diaries from the Oregon Trail journeys and offers valuable insight and perspective on the female experience of the Oregon Trail trek. Among them, for example, Goltra’s opinion on appropriate language, “Sunday the 8th. Drove down on the bank of the river, so we would not be crowded out when our turn came. I have heard more swearing to-day, than I ever heard in one day before, or ever wish to again.”

Brink then contacted David de Lorenzo, the Giustina director of Special Collections and University Archives, saying “I’m reaching out to you with a bit of an unusual question.” de Lorenzo sent back a note with the 1990 memo from Fraser Cocks of UO, describing that he had found most of the missing items, but not the Goltra Journal. That’s when they knew that it had not been identified during the investigation and trial and had come to Creighton with the other items.

Two people hold an opened folder containing blue papers.
Pete Brink and David de Lorenzo exchange Goltra’s journal

Upon the journal’s return, de Lorenzo stressed that making materials accessible is at the core of librarians’ and archivists’ work and the return of the journal is a reminder of that challenge and opportunity. “Librarians and archivists are the vanguards of the original artifacts,” said de Lorenzo.

Among the positive outcomes of Blumberg’s massive theft was that “security became a major topic of conversation within the rare materials community thereafter,” said Jensen in that 2022 essay. And “more standards were implemented where they hadn’t been before. As technology made communication among institutions even easier—as well as made security and digitization more accessible, acceptable, and expected—professional organizations have worked to ensure that the safety of priceless goods in such repositories stay available for research, study, and secure use for generations to come,” added Jensen.

Researchers can view the Goltra collection in the Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room by appointment. Please contact SCUA in advance of a visit.

Given the journey Goltra’s journal has taken, it’s not surprising that it needs some repair. If you’re interested in contributing to its conservation, please contact David de Lorenzo at ddeloren@uoregon.edu.

—By Emily Moore, instruction and outreach archivist, Special Collections and University Archives, and Kate Conley, communications specialist, UO Libraries

Exhibition Announcement: Staff Picks

University of Oregon’s Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) is pleased to announce the opening of our summer term exhibition, Staff Picks.

SCUA is home to librarians, archivists and curators who come together to serve the community at the University of Oregon and beyond. Our work is varied and sometimes hidden, with material discovery happening in our offices and in the stacks. This eclectic exhibition brings together a few of those findings – our favorites to share.

Danielle Mericle, Curator of Visual Materials, leaned into her work as an artist in the selection of materials by Shelby Shackelford, an author and illustrator of works on natural history.

Photo of a person with short hair, seated with their arms crossed and resting on their knees. They wear a watch and multiple rings and gaze into the camera with a slight smile.
Ursula Le Guin, 1995. Photo by Marian Wood Kolisch, retrieved from Wikipedia June 29, 2023 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ursula_Le_Guin_(3551195631)_(cropped).jpg).

Alexa Goff, Accessioning and Processing Archivist, chose materials related to the organization of knowledge, place and space – map drawings by author Ursula Le Guin, an

artist’s book by Julie Chen, manuscript materials from the papers of writer Yoshiko Uchida and a copy of an early Enlightenment encyclopedia.

Lauren Goss, Reference Services Coordinator and Assistant University Archivist for Athletics, shares her expertise through a selection of materials from the first Olympic Village, built in Los Angeles in 1932.

Ben Murphy, University Archivist and Historian, presents a volume of Board of Regents meeting minutes documenting the early years of the University of Oregon.

While working at SCUA as a graduate intern, Austin Munsell, Assistant Director of Collections Management, discovered the “cool and creepy” drawings of Wallace Smith in the bottom of a folder.

Illustration of a cowboy riding a bucking horse. His hat is falling off as his right hand reaches out into the air. The horse is very angled, with its head down and its tail up. The background is bright orange.
Smith’s iconic “Let ‘er buck” drawing for the Pendleton Round-Up. Retrieved from Wikipedia June 29, 2023 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wallace_Smith_-_Pendleton_Round_Up_Association_1927.jpg).

Emily Moore, Instruction and Outreach Archivist, loves to spend time digging through the collections to find art, discovering inscriptions by Jean Cocteau and prints by early modernists.

The bindings of Cedric Chivers, selected by Ashlee Weitlauf, Collections Conservator, serve as an example of some of the fine bindings in SCUA, as well as offering insight into bookbinding method and practice.

Finally, SCUA Director David de Lorenzo offers an exemplary group of six Rubáiyát, attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), a Persian polymath known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and poetry.

This exhibition is the shared work of many of us at SCUA – extra thanks to Ashlee Weitlauf for exemplary contributions to exhibition presentation, and the Library Communications Team for their added support.

Staff Picks is on view in the Paulson Reading Room (second floor north, Knight Library) until early September.