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4-H Photograph Collection, 1913-2005

By Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Nielsen.

Collection Overview

Title: 4-H Photograph Collection, 1913-2005

Predominant Dates: 1925-1975

ID: P 146

Primary Creator: Oregon 4-H (Program)

Extent: 8.8 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: About a third of the images have been individually numbered; the remainder have not been assigned individual numbers and are grouped by topic. The preliminary container list presents the numbered images followed by those arranged by topic.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The 4-H Photograph Collection documents Oregon 4-H programs, projects, and participants in agriculture, home economics, natural science, and recreational activities. The 4-H youth program is administered through the Oregon State University Extension Service and was established in the early 1910s.

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

Scope and Content Notes

The 4-H Photograph Collection provides extensive visual documentation of Oregon 4-H programs, projects, and participants from the founding in the 1910s through the 1980s. The collection consists of images of the 4-H Summer School on the Oregon State campus in Corvallis, including many group portaits of the participants by county; 4-H activities at the Oregon State Fair and the Pacific International Livestock Exposition; Oregon delegates to national 4-H congresses; a variety of 4-H projects including gardens, livestock and poultry, forestry, cooking and canning, sewing and needlework, and recreational activities; and participants in the International Farm Youth Exchange Program (IFYE) and the 4-H Japanese Exchange Program. The collection includes images of Extension Service staff for 4-H including Helen Cowgill, L.J. Allen, and H.C. Seymour. The collection includes several slide programs developed in the 1960s through 1980s highlighting 4-H programs and as instruction for 4-H projects. Two photograph albums include images of 4-H activities at the 1951 and 1957 Oregon State Fairs. Many of the photographs in the collection have detailed descriptions.

The collection includes a variety of formats; the bulk of the collection is black and and white prints. It also includes film negatives, nitrate negatives, slides, color prints, and photograph albums.

An addition to the 4-H Photographic Collection (Accession 2008:047) is made up of five slide presentations collected by the 4-H Wildlife Stewards Program that were produced by the 4-H in conjunction with the OSU Extension Service. In addition to an introduction to the Wildlife Stewards Program, the other presentations highlight urban 4-H programs with three specifically referring to programs in Multnomah County, Oregon. There are 437 slides and 3 cassette sound recordings in total.

A second addition to the 4-H Photographic Collection (Accession 2008:053) is made up of photographs taken by Extension Service staff that document participation in 4-H activities such as the annual National 4-H Congress, the "Know Your State Government" program, 4-H Ambassadors, and summer session conferences on the OSU Campus. Two of the photographs depicting the 4-H National congress are panoramic prints of the 1936 conference in Chicago. Other 4-H programs reflected in these images include workshops in food preparation, gardening, paper making, animal judging, and fashion review. There are also photos of 4-H events at the Oregon State Fair. Numbering 1982 images in all (1000 prints, 630 negatives, and 352 slides) some of the prints were mounted with foam core and velcro and used in exhibits and displays. In addition to program participants and ambassadors, some of these images also feature Extension Service faculty such as Ardis Koester, Mary Arnold, and Burton Hutton.

A third addition to the 4-H Photographic Collection (Accession 2009:044) consists of photographs taken by Extension Service staff that document participation in 4-H activities such as the annual National 4-H Congress, the "Know Your State Government" program, and various other programs throughout Oregon. Made up of 191 images in total (56 prints, 8 negatives, and 127 slides), about 23 of the photographs were drymounted for display and include captions. These images pertain to National 4-H Congresses and the "Know Your State Government" program. The remaining prints, negatives, and slides document participation in gardening (Wildlife Stewards?), animal management (chickens and rabbits), and arts/crafts programs.

A fourth addition to the 4-H Photographic Collection (Accession 2012:084) consists of two panoramic photos depicting 4-H Club Congress attendees at the 1935 and 1936 annual gatherings. One of the group shots was taken in the banquet room of the Stevens Hotel in Chicago while the other portrays attendees in front of a building (International Harvester plant?) in Iowa.

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

Biographical / Historical Notes

4-H is the youth program administered in Oregon by the Extension Service with the goal of developing citizenship, leadership, and life skills through experential learning programs in agriculture, home economics, natural science, engineering, and art. Oregon 4-H developed from industrial clubs established by individual schools in the early 1900s. F.L. Griffin was hired by the Oregon Agricultural College Extension Service as the first state leader in 1914. He was followed by H.C. Seymour who served as State Leader from 1916 until his retirement in 1947. Helen Cowgill and L.J. "Doc" Allen were instrumental, with Seymour, in the develpment of 4-H in Oregon.

Oregon was the first state to offer 4-H work in a metropolitan area when it established victory gardens on Portland school grounds during World War I. 4-H Summer Week on the Oregon State campus began in 1916 and brought youth from throughout Oregon to the campus in Corvallis. Oregon 4-H began participating in the International Farm Youth Exchange Program in 1951 and the 4-H Japanese Exchange Program was initiated in 1972.

Administrative Information

Accruals: Additions to the collection are expected.

More Extent Information: 11,800 photographs and 3 audio cassettes; 26 boxes, including 4 oversize boxes, and 2 map folders

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: Acquired in numerous accessions and transfers through 1998.

Related Materials:

The Extension Service Records (RG 111) include the administrative records for the Oregon 4-H programs. Other photographs of 4-H activities and participants are available in the Extension Bulletin Illustrations Photograph Collection (P 020), the Extension and Experiment Station Communications Photographs (P 120), and Harriet's Collection (P HC). 4-H moving images are in the 4-H Motion Picture Films (FV 146) and the Extension and Experiment Station Communications Moving Images (FV 120).

The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings include many collections of organizations and individuals affiliated with 4-H. Collections include the Oregon State University Extension Association/4-H Records (OSUEA4H), OSU Collegiate 4-H Club Records (MSS 4HClub), Malheur County 4-H Leaders' Council Records (MSS Malheur), and the Clackamas County Jersey Cattle Club Records (MSS ClackamasCattle) as well as the James F. Bishop Papers (MSS Bishop), Helen Cowgill Papers (MSS Cowgill), Wallace L. Kadderly Papers (MSS Kadderly), and the Buena Maris Mockmore Papers (MSS Mockmore).

Preferred Citation: 4-H Photograph Collection (P 146), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

This collection is not fully processed; this guide is preliminary.

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive. For instance, "disabled" has now largely replaced the once widely-accepted term "handicapped." Nevertheless, these materials are part of disability histories in that they can provide valuable insight into the social construction of disability, the perception and treatment of disabled people, and the presence of disabled communities and cultures. Please be aware that some of the contents in this collection may be disturbing or activating; for example, the collection contains materials using sanist/ableist language such as the use of the r-word.

[Date of acknowledgement: March 2023]

Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before November 14, 2014.

Creators

Oregon 4-H (Program)
Oregon Agricultural College. Extension Service
Oregon State Agricultural College. Extension Service
Oregon State College. Federal Cooperative Extension Service
Oregon State University. Extension Service

People, Places, and Topics

4-H clubs--Oregon.
Agricultural extension work--Oregon.
Agricultural extension workers--Oregon.
Agriculture--Oregon.
Cowgill, Helen Julia
Farm life--Oregon.
Home economics extension work--Oregon.
International Farm Youth Exchange
Livestock--Oregon.
National 4-H Conference
Natural Resources
Oregon 4-H (Program)
Oregon Multicultural Archives
Oregon State Fair
Pacific International Livestock Exposition (Portland, Or.)
Salem (Or.)
Summer schools--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History
Youth--Societies and clubs--Oregon.

Forms of Material

Film negatives.
Nitrate negatives.
Panoramic photographs.
Photograph albums.
Photographic prints.
Slides (photographs).


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.