The College of Home Economics Photograph Collection includes images documenting various displays; the groundbreaking, construction and dedication of Bates Hall; slideshow presentations generated for instructional purposes; and a portrait of OSU alumnus Mercedes Bates.
Of particular note in this collection are photographs documenting Home Management Houses - also known as "Practice Houses" - on campus and the babies who lived in them. Withycombe House (estblished 1916), Kent House (circa 1930s-1950s), and Dolan House (1937-1942) are all represented in these images.
Accession 1981:003 consists of records documenting Home Management Houses on campus, including financial records. Also included in this accession are departmental records that document Family Life and Home administration and management, Home Management, and Family Resource Management.
Accession 2002:037 consists of a dry-mounted black and white photographic image of OSU alumnus Mercedes Bates that was prepared for a wall exhibit. The image is accompanied by an exhibit caption with biographical details on Bates' life. Born in Portland, Oregon in 1915, Bates attended Oregon State College and graduated with a degree in Food and Nutrition from the College of Home Economics in 1936. After working as a magazine food editor and advertising food consultant, Bates became the director of Betty Crocker Kitchens for the General Mills Corporation in 1964. In 1966 Bates ascended to the level of the Vice Presidency of General Mills, a post she held until 1984. Awarding Bates with Distinguished Service and Alumni Awards, OSU dedicated Bates Hall in her honor in 1992. Bates died in 1997.
Accession 2002:050 contains slides that document the proceedings of a professional conference, the construction or remodel of an unidentified building, and students working with and observing children at the College's Home Management Houses.
Accession 2004:093 is made up of images of the groundbreaking, construction and dedication of the Family Study Center (Bates Hall). This transfer also includes images of a nutrition conference held at OSU in 1970, an event honoring the centenary of the College of Home Economics, and interior and exterior shots of Milam and Education Halls.
Accession 2005:071 consists of photographic portraits mounted for display of the 10 faculty who served as deans of the College of Home Economics from 1889 until 1983. These deans are: Margaret Snell, Ava Milam Clark, Betty Hawthorne, Henrietta Calvin, Juliet Greer, Vera Brandon, Miriam Scholl, Margaret Fincke, Mary Eliza Fawcett and Helen Brooks. These images were displayed in the Hawthorne Suite in Milam Hall.
Accession 2007:076 is primarily made up of slide show presentations, some of which also contain accompanying scripts and sound recordings. These images were used to teach about table setting techniques, home design, careers in home economics, Job Corps training, counseling for teachers, lesson planning, home economics education, the OSU Child Development Centers, and the Family Resource Management Department. One of the presentations, "Professionals in the Making: Four Field Experiences in Home Economics," also contained sound recordings (13 cassette tapes and 1 reel-to-reel tape) and transcripts of interviews with the four students profiled.
Accession 2008:017 consists of photographs documenting the construction of Bates Hall, a tour of the building site during construction, and the office move into the completed building.
Accession 2010:018 contains photographs that were featured in various displays for the Extension Family and Community Development Department. Largely unidentified and undated, the images depict students re-upholstering chairs, examples of sewing equipment, clothes closet space management, a cooking demonstration, housing designs, and tools used in personal finance management. At least one of the images is a copy of a photograph held in the OSU Archives documenting a student engaged in a food buying correspondence course. Also included with these images are three exhibit captions that read: "Families Matter," "Tools for a Lifetime of Development" and "Clothing and Textiles."
Accession 2013:075 is made up of eight photographic prints depicting kitchen areas within several homes. Unidentified and undated, these images focus upon the use of space in these different kitchens in the storage of cookware, dishes, utensils, stoves, and chairs. The images may have been featured in an Extension publication authored by OSU Home Economics professor Maud Wilson, who wrote extensively on household storage, time management patterns of housewives and kitchen spatial planning. The photographs were collected by OSU staff member Barbara York when she worked for the College of Home Economics.
Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.
