Gerald W. Williams Moving Image and Sound Recordings Collection, 1959-2007

Predominant Dates: 1990-2005

The Gerald W. Williams Moving Image and Sound Recordings Collection consists of audio-visual materials, either collected or created by Williams, that document a variety of topics in the natural history of the Pacific Northwest, with a particular emphasis on the practice and culture of forestry in the region. The collection consists of multiple audio-visual formats including VHS tapes, DVDs, audiocassettes, and motion picture films, among others. Items from this collection have been digitized and are available upon patron request.

Creators

ID: FV 320

Extent: 2.5 cubic feet

More Extent Information

Scope and Content Notes

Biographical / Historical Notes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Arrangement

Acquisition Note: The materials described in this collection were acquired by the Oregon State University Archives from Gerald W. Williams in 2007. Originally described as a component of the Gerald W. Williams Collection (MSS WilliamsG), the moving images and sound recordings were separated into a collection of their own in 2016.

Languages of Materials

English

Other

Container List

Series 1: Video Cassettes, 1985-2005 Add to Shelf

Series 1 is comprised primarily of VHS cassettes, with a smaller volume of camcorder cassettes available as well. The materials organized into the series include television broadcasts that Williams presumably recorded to VHS, as well as events that he or a colleague documented with a video camera. Likewise included are commercially produced videotapes created by the USDA Forest Service and the National Smokejumpers Association, among other entities. The materials generally focus on the history of forests and forestry, as well as more contemporary issues of concern to forest managers and the general public. Of particular note are a collection of four camcorder cassettes chronicling a three-day Forest Service workshop held at the Grey Towers National Historic Site, and three VHS cassettes that were created at various points in the production of The Greatest Good, a documentary film commissioned to mark the centennial of the USDA Forest Service.

Extent: 33 VHS cassettes, 6 Hi-8 video cassettes, 1 VHS-C camcorder cassette

Box 1 Add to Shelf

Item FV320:01: “Willamette National Forest – LMP show,” 1994; “Mountain slides,” 1994; “Jawbone Flats,” December 15, 1985; “Filming ‘The General,’” December 15, 1985; “Timberline Lodge,” December 28, 1986; “Old Growth, November 10, 1987. VHS cassette, 1985-1994 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:02: “Flight Over Umpqua National Forest (north to south flight),” June 20, 1986; “Fish Improvements Adjacent to Steamboat Creek,” September 29, 1986; and “North Umpqua River at Steamboat Inn,” September 30, 1986. VHS cassette, 1986 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:03: “Timberline Lodge – 50^th Anniversary,” 1987; Last Stand of the Giants, [Pacific Northwest Ancient Forest] PBS broadcast of “Nature,” May 31, 1992. VHS cassette, 1987-1992 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:04: Ancient Forests: Rage Over Trees, September 24, 1989; and Clear Cut Crisis, August 14, 1990. “World of Audubon” broadcasts, WTBS. VHS cassette, 1989-1990 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:05: “David Brower Biography”, Sierra Club, 1990; and “Steam Whistle Logging,” 1991. VHS cassette, 1990-1991 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:06: “Wildfire,” National Audubon Society, July 28, 1992; “Firestorm,” KOIN-TV, September 30, 1994. VHS cassette, 1992-1994 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:07: “Ancient Forest News Conference (part II),” C-SPAN broadcast, VHS cassette, July 2, 1993 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:08: “Why History,” lecture by David McCullough delivered at the National Archives, VHS cassette, June 8, 1993 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:09: Timber on the Move, Forest History Society, VHS cassette, August 26, 1996 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:10: Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Fire. PBS broadcast of “NOVA,” VHS cassette, 1999 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:11: Wildfire montages and loops – California, VHS cassette, circa 1990s. Add to Shelf
Item FV320:12: Wildfire montages and loops – Florida, VHS cassette, circa 1990s Add to Shelf
Item FV320:13: Wildfire montages and loop – Yellowstone, VHS cassette, circa 1990s Add to Shelf
Item FV320:14: Smokejumpers: Firefighters from the Sky, National Smokejumpers Association, VHS cassette, 2000 Add to Shelf: Two copies.
Item FV320:15: America’s Grasslands, USDA Forest Service production, VHS cassette, May 2001 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:16: Entering the Forest Service: New Employee Orientation Video, USDA Forest Service, VHS cassette, September 2001 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:17: Fire Wars. PBS broadcast of “NOVA,” VHS cassette, 2002 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:18: The Cliff-Scaling Soldiers of West Virginia: A Documentary Film, by Robert C. Whetsell, VHS cassette, 2003 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:19: The Greatest Good. Work in progress master tapes with color correction and supers. Two VHS cassettes, March 6, 20013 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:20: The Greatest Good. Bonus disc review materials. Six VHS cassettes, March 2005 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:21: “Greatest Good Trailer (2003)”; “Forests and Men (1933)”; “Forest Fire (1928)”; “The Forest Ranger’s Job (1928).” Films transferred to VHS cassette, undated Add to Shelf
Item FV320:22: "Cry of the Wild," episode of Lassie, (1974). VHS cassette containing film transfer from 16 mm original, undated Add to Shelf: A motion picture film reel containing this episode of Lassie is held in Series 3 of this collection.
Item FV320:23: “Logging in the Early Days on the McKenzie,” VHS cassette, undated Add to Shelf: Includes background notes.
Item FV320:24: Operations of the Pacific Spruce Corporation, Siuslaw National Forest Historic Logging Film, VHS cassette, undated Add to Shelf
Item FV320:25: “America’s Love Affair with Cars,” and “Teddy Roosevelt.” Broadcasts by Bill Moyers, VHS cassette, undated Add to Shelf
Item FV320:26: Superior Images, produced by the Superior National Forest in cooperation with Iron Range Research Center, VHS cassette, undated Add to Shelf: Includes annotation: "We did this video on a cost share for $5,000, the idea being that history for the general public can be fun as well as educational. The partners involved are responsible for all but the last two minutes. History of the Superior, 1910-1940."

Box 2 Add to Shelf

Item FV320:27: “Grey Towers Workshop,” Hi-8 video cassette, June 5-6, 1994 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:28: “Grey Towers Workshop,” Hi-8 video cassette, June 6, 1994 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:29: “Grey Towers Workshop,” Hi-8 video cassette, June 6, 1994 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:30: “Grey Towers Workshop,” Hi-8 video cassette, June 7, 1994 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:31: “Grey Towers Workshop: JWT and Closing,” Hi-8 video cassette, June 7, 1994 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:32: “Jack’s Latest Presentation,” TC-30 VHS-C camcorder cassette, April 27, 1995 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:33: “Ecosystem Short Course - Old Growth, Lake Cowichan, B.C.,” Hi-8 video cassette, June 12-16, 1995 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:34: “PDX Flood ’96,” Hi-8 video cassette, 1996 Add to Shelf

Series 2: CDs and DVDs, 2000-2007 Add to Shelf

Series 2 consists of professionally created DVDs and CDs that, in the main, document the history of the Forest Service and of forests in the Pacific Northwest. A highlight of the series is its collection of DVDs related to the Forest Service centennial documentary, The Greatest Good.

Extent: 25 DVDs, 2 CDs, 1 Mini DVD

Box 2 Add to Shelf

Item FV320:35: Working for the Great Outdoors, USDA Forest Service, DVD, November 2000 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:77: Stories of the Forest: A Campaign to Put Forest History to Work, 2004 Add to Shelf: Produced by the Forest History Society.
Item FV320:36: The Greatest Good – work in progress disc, DVD, April 8, 2004 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:37: USDA Forest Service Centennial Congress: A Collective Commitment to Conservation. Set of six DVDs, January 3-6, 2005 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:38: Commemorating the Past, Facing the Future. Film produced for screening at the Forest Service Centennial Celebration. DVD, January 2005 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:39: The Greatest Good – movie preview, Mini DVD and standard DVD, circa 2005 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:40: The Greatest Good – bonus DVD projects, March 20, 2005 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:41: The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film, DVD, 2005 Add to Shelf: Annotated: "#1 of 1,000"
Item FV320:42: Gifford Pinchot: A Life of Leadership, presented by Char Miller, USDA Forest Service, CD, 2005 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:43: Sounds of the Forest. Song compilation produced in conjunction with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival program, “Forest Service, Culture and Community,” CD, 2005 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:78: Forest Service, Culture and Community - Smithsonian Folklife Festival, 2005 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:44: The Story of a Forest Ranger (1954), Quality Information Publishers, DVD, 2006 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:45: Wilderness Rangers: Keeping it Wild, USDA Forest Service, DVD, 2006 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:46: A Century of Oregon Forestry: Challenge, Change, & Opportunity, Oregon Forest Resources Institute, DVD, 2007 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:47: William Gladstone Steel. Episode of Oregon Experience produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting, DVD, 2007 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:48: Comparing the New Generation and Old-Style Fire Shelters – May 5, 2006 Test. USDA Forest Service, DVD, April 2007 Add to Shelf
Item FV320:49: Breakthrough: Women in the USDA Forest Service, Forest History Society, DVD, undated Add to Shelf: Two copies.
Item FV320:50: Flagging the Trail: One Hundred Years of Cultural Resources Management in Region 3, DVD, undated Add to Shelf
Item FV320:51: Grasslands Forever for Everyone, USDA Forest Service, DVD, undated Add to Shelf
Item FV320:52: Lifelines: Your National Forest Roads, produced by the USDA Forest Service in partnership with the USDOT FHWA Federal Lands Highway Program, DVD, undated Add to Shelf
Item FV320:53: Pacific Northwest Cooperative Programs: Working Through Partnerships, DVD, undated Add to Shelf
Item FV320:54: US Forest Service: Working for the Outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, DVD, undated Add to Shelf
Item FV320:55: Wilderness and Backcountry Site Restoration Guide, USDA Forest Service, DVD, undated Add to Shelf

Series 3: Motion Picture Films, 1959-1983 Add to Shelf

The film reels arranged into Series 3 primarily concern the properties of soil in forested areas. Also included are two items from popular culture, including a cartoon and an episode of the television show, Lassie.

Extent: 8 film reels

Box 3 Add to Shelf

Item FV320:56: Water Movement in Soil, 1959 Add to Shelf: 16 mm color with sound; approximately 1000 feet; 27 minutes running time. Produced in the Department of Agronomy (Soils) at Washington State University by Walter H. Gardner and J.C. Hsieh, Professor of Soils and Experimental Aide. The film shows how water moves into and through soil under conditions where the soil is not saturated. This is shown by means of time-lapse motion pictures which condense action occurring over a period of many hours into a few minutes. The ways in which strata, such as hard pans or course sand layers, slow down the advance of a wetting-front are also depicted, and the differences between saturated and unsaturated flow differ are likewise shown. Finally, the film uses dye-tracks to illustrate how soluble fertilizers move in irrigation furrows.
Item FV320:57: Aerial Photo Interpretation for the Discovery and Evaluation of Soil Resources, circa late 1950s Add to Shelf: 16 mm color film; approximately 1200 feet; series contains two copies of this film; one needs splice at end of title frames. Prepared by the USDA in conjunction with a special South American agency, this film follows a soil survey from start to publication.
Item FV320:58: The Rabbit Hunt, circa 1960s Add to Shelf: A 1938 Walter Lantz cartoon that was originally a theatrical release with sound, this is a silent, 8-mm black and white Castle Films home movie copy, circa 1960s; approximately 150 feet. Film is brittle and requires special handling.
Item FV320:59: Discovery – Opportunities for Outdoor Learning in Land Between the Lakes, circa 1960s Add to Shelf: 16 mm color with sound; approximately 600 feet. Presented by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Item FV320:60: "Cry of the Wild." Lassie television show, episode 6706, 1974 Add to Shelf: 16 mm color film with sound; approximately 900 feet. Note that a VHS copy of the production is described in Series 1 of this collection.
Item FV320:61: Soil Compaction on Forest Lands, circa 1983 Add to Shelf: 16 mm color with sound; approximately 1000 feet; 32 minutes running time; series holds two copies of this film. This film provides an in-depth look at the causes of forest soil compaction, its effects on productivity, and some management alternatives that can be used to reduce compaction and restore compacted lands. The film was produced by Oregon State University, in cooperation with the Forest Service and other federal and state agencies, and was intended for professional audiences. In discussing the above, the film focuses on then-recent compaction research by OSU, specifically a soil compaction study completed by OSU for the Forest Service.

Series 4: Audio Cassettes, 1983-1994 Add to Shelf

The audio cassettes organized into Series 4 primarily consist of amateur recordings of lectures and other events related to forest history and forest policy. Nearly all of the items described in this series have been digitized and are available upon patron request.

Extent: 21 audio cassettes

Box 2 Add to Shelf

Item FV320:62: Talk by “Red” Nelson at the UNF dedication and open house, June 23, 1983 Add to Shelf