By Karl McCreary
Title: T.J. Starker Papers, circa 1890-1996
Predominant Dates: 1910-1983
ID: MSS Starker
Primary Creator: Starker, T. J. (Thurman James) (1890-1983)
Extent: 23.0 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: Arranged into 18 series: 1. Correspondence, 1895-1983; 2. Biographical Materials, 1963-1986; 3. Instruction, 1923-1942; 4. Writings, 1923-1982; 5. Speeches and Radio Scripts, 1934-1979; 6. Organizational Involvement, 1926-1983; 7. Certificates, 1923-1982; 8. Property and Timber Management Files, 1919-1983; 9. Research Projects, 1925-1977; 10. Newspaper Clippings, 1900-1996; 11. Reference Materials; 1900-1981; 12. Starker Forests Inc. Records, 1939-1985; 13. Photographs, 1907-1983; 14. Student Work, 1910-1912; 15. Address Books, circa 1930-1983; 16. Scrapbooks, circa 1890-1983; 17. Drawings, 1950-1985; and 18. Artifacts, 1910-1981.
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
The T.J. Starker Papers consist of materials generated and collected by alumnus, forestry professor, and timber businessman Thurman James (T.J.) Starker. This collection documents Starker's forestry instruction and research at Oregon State College, management of a diverse range of property holdings, involvement in community and professional organizations, family life, student experience, work with the United States Forest Service, and writings on various subjects. Among the materials included in this collection are correspondence, lecture notes, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, maps, photographs, research data, and scrapbooks.
Starker earned an undergraduate degree in forestry from Oregon Agricultural College in 1910 and returned to campus in 1922 to assume a faculty position in the School of Forestry. At OSC, Starker worked as an instructor and researcher until 1942, when he left to pursue his private forestry and nursery business fulltime. The company formed by Starker, Starker Forests, Inc., continues to operate today as a family-owned business. Starker died in 1983.
The T.J. Starker Papers consist of materials generated and collected by alumnus, forestry professor, and timber businessman Thurman James (T.J.) Starker. This collection documents Starker's forestry instruction and research at Oregon State College, management of a diverse range of property holdings, involvement in community and professional organizations, family life, student experience, work with the United States Forest Service, and writings on various subjects.
This collection is arranged into series that are organized by material type (e.g. correspondence) as well as the function of the record (e.g. instruction, property management). Subject matter detailed in these papers that may be of research interest include: Corvallis land use history, forest taxation, the management of forest lands by the Bureau of Land Management, and Victor Atiyeh's tenure as governor of Oregon.
Documentation of Starker's teaching career is reflected through a combination of lecture notes, course syllabi, student papers, photographs, and a variety of publications and clippings collected to serve as reference material. Forestry research is detailed in correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, research data, student papers, and annual progress reports on the studies at the Peavy Arboretum "post farm." Records relating to the management of timber lands and other properties include agreements, contracts, architectural drawings, maps, deed records, newspaper clippings, forest harvest permits, account notebooks, and tax assessment statements.
Starker's membership in governmental, forest industry, and community organizations are reflected in architectural drawings, budgetary statements, certificates, correspondence, maps, meeting minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and reports. Multiple generations of Starker family members are documented through photographs, scrapbooks, and correspondence about genealogical research. Materials relating to the family business, Starker Forests, Inc., also illustrate interaction between T.J., his son Bruce, and grandsons Bond and Barte.
Through letters to the editor regularly featured in the Corvallis Gazette-Times as "Readertorials" and short essays on local history, T. J. Starker left behind a rich record of writings that document his opinions on a range of subjects and personal connections to the region. These writings also reflect Starker's work in the School of Forestry penning articles on wood research and regular columns from "OTBE the Prof" featured in newsletters of the OSC Forestry Club. Starker's outreach to the student forestry community is also illustrated through transcripts from the KOAC radio program "Foresters on the Air."
Thurman James (T.J.) Starker was born on July 14, 1890 in Grenola, Kansas and resided for most his childhood in Kansas and Iowa with his parents Otto and Mary and sister Caroline. Inspired by a visit to the Pacific Northwest in 1905, Otto moved the Starker family to Portland, Oregon in 1907. Within a year of their relocation, T.J. graduated from Portland High School, where he met fellow classmate Margaret Ostrander. T.J. and Margaret later married in 1914 after T.J. completed graduate work in forestry at the University of Michigan.
Starker's association with Oregon State University began with his enrollment as an undergraduate in 1908. He was among the first four graduates of the School of Forestry in 1910 with his senior thesis examining the costs associated with a logging operation in the Pacific Northwest. After pursuing further studies at the University of Michigan and working for the United States Forest Service in a variety of positions in Oregon (Portland and Sumpter), T.J. returned to Corvallis in 1922 to assume a post as a professor in the School of Forestry.
In his two-decade career with Oregon State University, Starker had a profound impact on the growth and professionalization of the forestry curriculum. In addition to teaching coursework in silviculture, wood identification, timber technology, and park forestry, Starker played a major role in promoting the study of forestry by coordinating the acquisition of lands that became the McDonald-Dunn Research Forests. These forests essentially served as Starker's second classroom where he brought students to study and identify trees. Starker's most enduring legacy at the McDonald-Dunn Research Forests was his establishment of the "post farm" research facility at Peavy Arboretum in 1928. This site, with dozens of wooden posts of different wood types planted into the ground, was designed to be a laboratory for the study of wood preservatives and decay. It still operates as a research site today.
In 1942, T.J. took a leave of absence from the School of Forestry to focus upon the management of his own private timberlands as a full-time business. Though he never returned to Oregon State University to teach, T.J. maintained close ties with the university community as a regular speaker and attendee at forestry alumni gatherings like the annual Fernhoppers' Banquet.
Margaret and T.J. Starker together raised two children: Bruce and Jean, who were born in 1918 and 1920, respectively. Both went on to attend Oregon State College with Bruce graduating with a forestry degree in 1940 and Jean receiving a degree in home economics in 1942. After three years in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, Bruce returned to Corvallis and married Elizabeth (Betty) Margaret Bond in 1946. This union produced two sons, Bond (1947) and Barte (1950). Jean continued to reside in Oregon after graduation and worked for the Extension Service for several years before she married local mill manager Kermit Roth in 1948. Together Jean and Kermit had four children: Kenneth, Kreg, Kathy, and Kim.
As T.J. began to transition his livelihood from forestry instruction to the business of his forest holdings, he called upon Bruce to get involved in the daily management of his growing acreage of trees. This informal family business partnership, which began while Bruce was a student at Oregon State College, became legally official in 1971 with the establishment of Starker Forests, Inc. This incorporation listed Bruce, Betty Starker, Bond, and Barte as partners with T.J. in the management of the company. With T.J. opting for semi-retirement in 1968, Bruce essentially managed the daily operation of the business until his untimely death in a plane crash in 1975. Bond went on to serve as the company's managing partner and later as the president.
T.J. began to acquire the forest lands that would form the core of his forestry empire in the 1930s. His first purchases were cutover timber lands in the Coast Range and Mary's Peak areas that he replanted and had harvested decades later as second growth. While known primarily for his management of forest holdings, Starker also managed a number of residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial properties, mostly located in and around Corvallis. Starker was one of leading forces in real estate development in post-World War II Corvallis and Benton County. Among the Corvallis neighborhoods Starker had a hand in developing were the Cedarhurst Addition and Village Green area. Despite ambitious planning for a retirement community on the periphery of Corvallis, Starker's vision for West Hills Village was never realized.
During his 61 years as a resident of Corvallis, Starker actively pursued a life of community involvement through membership and board service in a variety of organizations. These groups included: the First Congregational Church, the Benton County Park Board, the Corvallis Lions Club, the Corvallis Park Board, the OSU Foundation, and the Good Samaritan Hospital. Among the most important legacies of Starker's community work resulted from his coordination of fund-raising projects which facilitated the purchase of land that was later developed as Avery Park and aided in the construction of the Good Samaritan Hospital. For his organizational service, Starker was recognized in 1952 as "The Benton County First Citizen" by the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce. In the forestry community, Starker was an active member of the Industrial Forestry Association and the Society of American Foresters. He also served on the Oregon State Board of Forestry from 1962 to 1970.
Margaret Starker was also active in community organizations. In addition to serving as secretary and president of the OSC Folk Club, Margaret was involved in the Women's Auxiliary of the Good Samaritan Hospital and in the Congregational Church.
By the time of T.J. Starker's passing in March 1983, Starker Forests, Inc. managed about 52,000 acres of forestlands in ten Oregon counties. The company's measured approach to forest cultivation and timber harvest has been recognized as a model of productive and sustainable forestry. In addition to the forestry company he formed, the legacy of T.J. Starker and his family is evident throughout Corvallis. The Bruce Starker Arts Park and Natural Area in Corvallis is one of the largest public gathering and recreation areas in the community and serves as a nod to T.J. Starker's history of municipal park development. The Starker Lecture Series, organized by the Oregon State University College of Forestry, brings speakers to Corvallis annually to present on topics relating to contemporary issues in forestry.
More Extent Information: 3262 photographs; 22 boxes, including 6 oversize boxes, and 4 map folders
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: The bulk of this collection was received in 2017 from Bond Starker and Anna Starker May. Earlier transfers into this collection, primarily of newspaper clippings, correspondence and writings, were received by the former OSU University Archives from T.J. Starker himself in numerous accessions between 1979 and 1982.
Related Materials:
Other collections that document T.J. Starker and his association with OSU include: the College of Forestry Records (RG 139); Contract Administration Records (RG 212); Engineering Experiment Station Records (RG 100); News and Communication Services (RG 203); President's Office Records (RG 013); Alumni Association Records (RG 035); and the OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC). Starker's undergraduate thesis for his forestry degree is part of the School of Forestry Senior Forestry Papers (RG 299) and is available online here.
Transcripts and a recording from two oral history interviews with Starker, in 1975 and 1978 respectively, are featured in the Oregon Pioneers Oral History Collection (OH 001) and the Horner Museum Oral History Collection (OH 010). Oral history recordings in the Royal G. Jackson Papers (MSS JacksonR) contain stories from forestry alumni about Starker as a professor. Oral history interviews with Jean Starker Roth and Bond Starker are featured in the OSU Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection (OH 026) and the OSU Alumni Oral History Collection (OH 013).
Photographs of Starker can be found in the following collections: Harriet's Photograph Collection; the College of Forestry Photograph Collection (P 061); the Gwil Evans Photographic Collection (P 082); Faculty and Staff Photograph Collection (P 046); Alumni Relations Photographs (P 017); Oregon Stater Photographs (P 195); and the Robert W. Henderson Photographic Slides Collection (P 098).
Video footage of Barte Starker appearing in a production about the Fender's Blue Butterfly is available in the College of Forestry Moving Images (FV 061). Barte is also referenced in the Liz VanLeeuwen Spotted Owl Collection (MSS VanLeeuwen).
Preferred Citation: T.J. Starker Papers (MSS Starker), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid replaces a preliminary collection-level guide that was prepared in 2009 for the T.J. Starker Collection to incorporate the major addition to the collection received in 2017.
Starker, T. J. (Thurman James) (1890-1983)
Atiyeh, Victor
Corvallis (Or.)
Corvallis (Or.)--History.
Forest management--Oregon.
Forestry schools and education--Oregon.
Forests and forestry--Oregon.
Forests and forestry--Taxation--Oregon.
Housing--Oregon--Corvallis.
Local History
Logging--Oregon.
Lumbering--Oregon.
Natural Resources
Oregon Agricultural College--Students.
Oregon State Board of Forestry
Oregon State College--Faculty.
Oregon State College. School of Forestry
Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)
Starker, T. J. (Thurman James), 1890-1983
Starker Forests, Inc.
Timber--Law and legislation--Oregon.
Timber--Oregon.
University History
Urban parks--Oregon--Corvallis.
Architectural drawings (visual works)
Drawings (visual works).
Film negatives.
Maps (documents)
Photographic prints.
Scrapbooks.