Oregon State Yank Newsletters, 1943-1945

Title: Oregon State Yank Newsletters, 1943-1945

ID: PUB 010-15c

Primary Creator: Sewell, Elaine K.

Extent: 0.05 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Oregon State Yank Newsletters consist of 8 publications edited and published by two Oregon State College graduates for Oregon State alumni in military service during World War II.

Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

The Oregon State Yank was edited and published by Oregon State College alumnae, Elaine Kollins Sewell and Jane Steagall, to share news of service activities of alumni serving in World War II and provide campus news to alumni.  Most of the news in the publication was drawn from correspondence received by the editors from training camps in the U.S. and fighting fronts around the world.  The initial Yank was published in November 1943.  Seven subsequent issues were published from May 1944 through November 1945.  All issues are available online in the Oregon State Yank set in Oregon Digital.

The November 1943 issue was only 4 pages and intended as a one-time publication.

The May 1944 issue announced that the Yank had become a quarterly paper. It expanded to 8 pages and included columns and articles by Jean Floyd Henniger, Marion Kierzek, Jeanne Hartman Popovich, Elaine Roberts Ramsdell, and Penny Bronner Robinson. The August 1944 edition included a column by John C. Burtner, "Observations from the Campus". Fred Shideler assumed responsibility for the campus news column under a new title, "From the OSC Front Lines" with the November 1944 issue. The Yank grew to 16 pages with this issue, which also included greetings from Oregon State College (OSC) President A.L. Strand and former OSC President George W. Peavy.

The February 1945 issue included a front-page article by Fred M. Shideler describing how OSC would assist returning veterans. The May 1945 Yank described the Yank Weekend which was held in lieu of Homecoming in February. The August 1945 issue celebrated victory in Europe and was dedicated to Oregon State Yanks in the Pacific.

The farewell issue of the Yank was published in November 1945 as a Christmas-Victory issue with information about post-war services available at Oregon State for returning veterans and a "Roll of Honor" listing the 234 Oregon State alumni who were killed during World War II.

Elaine Kollins Sewell and Jane Steagall, Oregon State College alumnae, published the first Yank in November 1943 as a 4-page newspaper-style Christmas greeting with news and gossip about Oregon State College men and women serving in World War II. They received many letters praising the publication and asking for more. It was expanded to 16 pages and published quarterly from February 1944 to November 1945.

Elaine Kollins graduated from Oregon State College in 1940 with a degree in Home Economics and was actively involved with student publications at Oregon State. She later married architect A. Quincy Jones and was a highly respected public relations counselor and communications specialist in southern California. She died in Los Angeles in 2010.

Jane Steagall graduated from Oregon State college in 1941 with a degree in Secretarial Science.

More Extent Information: 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The newsletters were received by the University Archives in the 1960s or 1970s.

Related Materials:

The Oregon State Yank Collection (MSS Yank) consists of correspondence received by the Yank editors from alumni serving in the military with reports of their service activities, family news, and news of other alumni. Additional information about the war activities of Oregon State alumni and faculty is available in the Oregon State College History of World War II Project Records (MSS OSCWW2). Another set of the Yank is available in the History of the Pacific Northwest Rare Book Collection (RB HistPNW). Microfilm of the newsletters is available with other microfilmed student publications in the Center's microfilm holdings.

See also: The Oregon Stae Yank Newsletters Digital Collection, keyword searchable and available in full.

Preferred Citation: Oregon State Yank Newsletters (PUB 010-15c), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Sewell, Elaine K.
Burtner, John C. (John Cole) (1895-)
Shideler, Fred Merle
Steagall, Jane

Oregon State College--Alumni and alumnae--Periodicals.
University History
World War, 1939-1945--Journalists.
World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Female.
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
World War, 1939-1945--War work--Schools.
World War, 1939-1945--Women.