Arthur H. Sasser Collection, 1936-1944

Title: Arthur H. Sasser Collection, 1936-1944

Predominant Dates: 1938-1940

ID: MSS Sasser

Primary Creator: Sasser, Arthur H.

Extent: 0.5 cubic feet. More info below.

Date Acquired: 00/00/2015

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Arthur H. Sasser Collection documents the work of alumnus Arthur Sasser on broadcasts of the KOAC radio show "Foresters In Action" and the Annual Cruise publication. Primarily comprised of radio scripts written by Sasser, this collection also contains copies of the Annual Cruise and the Daily Barometer newspaper.

The scripts reflect shows that aired from 1938 to 1940 and number 38 in total. Each script features dialogue between a regular cast of forestry students who explore various topics in an informal conversational way. Topics range from stories and information about fire suppression and encounters with forest wildlife to soil geology and the economic value of logging, farming, and mining. Sasser wrote himself into the show as the character "Sass." The two editions of the Annual Cruise, a yearbook published by the Forestry Club, are dated 1941 and 1944. Four of the six copies of the Daily Barometer newspaper are green tinted "forestry" editions printed to commemorate the Annual Fernhopper forestry alumni reunion event.

Born in 1916 in Mitchell, Oregon, Arthur Harold Sasser came to Oregon State College in 1936. As a student in the School of Forestry, Sasser became involved in the school's Press Radio Guild, where he wrote scripts for, and starred in, the "Foresters In Action" radio show. Sasser served as the guild's first director as well as the photographic editor for the Forestry Club's Annual Cruise publication. Graduating in 1941 with an undergraduate degree in forestry, Sasser entered military service and went on to serve as a mine sweeper for the U.S. Navy during World War II. After returning home from the war, Sasser married Bernice Brandner in 1948 and worked for the Oregon State Forestry Department until retiring in 1980. He died in 2010.

The "Foresters In Action" radio show aired from 1936 until 1943. The program was sponsored and produced by the Forestry Club until the establishment of the Forestry Press-Radio Guild in 1940.

More Extent Information: 2 boxes, including 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: This collection was transferred from the College of Forestry in 2015.

Related Materials: The publication, Foresters In Action: Voices from the Past, contains transcriptions of all of the radio scripts featured in the Sasser Collection. Published in 2014 by the College of Forestry, this publication can be accessed online here. The Annual Cruise is also available online. Three songs originally broadcast on the "Foresters In Action" program in 1939 have been digitized from vinyl sound recordings and can be accessed here: Cruiser's Song, George W.-The Dean,  Alouette.  These recordings are described as a part of the KOAC Records (RG 015).  Documentation of the OSU Forestry Club can be found in the Forestry Club Records (RG 039)  and  the Memorabilia Collection.  A photograph of Sasser as a part of group shot with other 1941 alumni at a 50th anniversary reunion gathering can be found in the Alumni Relations Photograph Collection (P 17).

Preferred Citation: Arthur H. Sasser Collection (MSS Sasser), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Sasser, Arthur H.

College student newspapers and periodicals--Oregon--Corvallis.
KOAC (Radio station : Corvallis, Or.)
Natural Resources
Oregon State College. School of Forestry

Radio scripts.