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Edwin Russell Jackman Papers, 1917-1970

Collection Overview

Title: Edwin Russell Jackman Papers, 1917-1970

ID: MSS Jackman

Primary Creator: Jackman, E. R. (Edwin Russell) (1894-)

Extent: 11.7 cubic feet

Arrangement: The material in this collection consists of four series: I. Manuscripts and Reference Data; II. Correspondence; III. Meetings; IV. Personal Records.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Jackman Papers include articles written for OSU publications and bulletins, national publications and specialized trade publications; news releases; radio and television talks; speeches; and manuscripts of E.R. Jackman's published books pertaining to Oregon agriculture.

Scope and Content Notes

The manuscript series includes copies of E.R. Jackman's four books are included in the collection: Gold and Cattle Country (with Herman Oliver), The Oregon Desert (with Reuben A. Long), Blazing Forest Trails (with Charles Simpson), and Steens Mountain (with Charles Conkling and John Scharff). This series also contains research materials compiled by Jackman on a variety of subjects for use in his writing.

Correspondence includes letters written in conjunction with his work at Oregon State University, personal correspondence, and letters to and from publishers concerning the various articles and books. Meetings records include programs, papers, proceedings and other items from meetings of a few of the organizations that Jackman was associated with. Personal records include a diary from his tenure in the military, military commissions, his diploma from Oregon State, awards, a retirement scrapbook, autographed books from other authors, and income/expense ledgers. Photographs that were originally part of this collection were transferred to P 89, the photographic component of Jackman's personal papers.

An addition to the Jackman Papers (Accession 99:041) consists of awards and plaques honoring E.R. Jackman and a sound recording. The awards and plaques include a leather plaque from the Oregon Seed Growers League (1956); the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation award for distinguished service to Oregon agriculture (1957); an award from the Southern Umatilla Soil Conservation District (1961); and a brass plaque "In Memory of Russell Jackman by E.R. Jackman Institute, June 1970." The sound recording is a reel-to-reel audiotape labeled "Archives 251 and 252" from the Archives Division of the Washington State University Library.

A second addition to the Jackman Papers (Accession 2006:043) consists of article reprints, correspondence, drawings, field reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, poems, project reports, publications, reports, and speeches. Documenting Jackman's work with the OSC Extension Service, these materials reflect his work with county agents on various projects, broadcast "talks" on radio and TV, the publication of his books on Eastern/Central Oregon, and colorful use of poetry in workplace memoranda and reports. The photographs (numbering 5 prints in all) depict Jackman in a field of wheat with other agricultural researchers and in a radio broadcasting studio for air of the "The National Farm and Home Hour." Annual reports of the Silvies Club were also found in this transfer.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Jackman was born in Stillwater, Minnesota, February 14, 1894. He lived on his father's 185-acre potato, grain and livestock farm in Flathead County, Montana, until 1917, when he entered the U.S. Army. Jackman served as 1st Lieutenant in the Field Artillery, and was stationed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Prior to this time, he attended Montana State College in Bozeman in 1913-1914 and 1916-1917. During the summer of 1917 he served as County Agent in Blaine County, Montana. Following World War I, he attended Oregon Agricultural College in 1919-1920 and received his B.S. in Agronomy. He was appointed County Agent for Wasco County, Oregon, and except for a short period (1926-1929, when he resigned to enter commercial business) he worked for Oregon State College and the Federal Cooperative Extension Service until his retirement in 1959. In 1929 Jackman was appointed Extension Specialist in Farm Crops; in 1953 he was appointed Range Crops Management Specialist.

Jackman helped organize the Oregon Seed Growers' League and served as secretary for this organization for many years. He was also instrumental in starting the Oregon Wheat League, an organization that has been widely copied throughout the country. As president of the Pacific Northwest Section of the American Society of Range Management, Jackman instituted the society's "Youth Range Camp" in 1950. Since that year, the camp has been held annually. He was a member of Epsilon Sigma Phi, the national extension honorary fraternity, and in 1949 was awarded the fraternity's Western States Certificate of Recognition. In 1956 he received the United States Department of Agriculture's Superior Service Award "for outstanding success in promoting Oregon's widespread adoption of grassland agriculture and for leadership in developing the state's multimillion dollar seed industry." Jackman died on May 12, 1967 in Portland, Oregon, following a long illness. The E. R. Jackman Foundation, an affiliate of the Oregon State University Foundation located within the university's College of Agricultural Sciences, was formed in his memory.

Administrative Information

Related Materials: Related materials can be found in the Extension Service Records (RG 111), Edwin Russell Jackman Photographic Collection (P 089), Sarah Jackman Wilson Papers (MSS WilsonS), and the OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC) file "MC - Jackman, Edwin Russell."

Preferred Citation: Edwin Russell Jackman Papers (MSS Jackman), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before November 19, 2015.

Creators

Jackman, E. R. (Edwin Russell) (1894-)
Conkling, Charles
Oliver, Herman
Simpson, Charles D.

People, Places, and Topics

Agricultural extension workers--Oregon.
Agriculture--Oregon.
Beef cattle--Oregon.
Blazing forest trails.
Deserts--Oregon.
Gold and cattle country.
Grasses--Oregon.
Grazing--Oregon.
Jackman, E. R. (Edwin Russell), 1894-
Natural Resources
Oregon State College. Federal Cooperative Extension Service
Radio programs--Oregon.
Ranch life--Oregon.
Soil erosion--Oregon.
Steens Mountain in Oregon's high desert country.
Steens Mountain Region (Or.)
The Oregon desert.
University History
Wheat--Oregon.
World War, 1914-1918--Personal narratives, American.

Forms of Material

Architectural drawings (visual works)
Diaries.
Maps (documents)
Scrapbooks.


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