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Azalea House Records, 1953-2014

By Karl McCreary

Collection Overview

Title: Azalea House Records, 1953-2014

ID: MSS Azalea

Primary Creator: Azalea House (Corvallis, Or.)

Extent: 15.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Azalea House Records are arranged into 27 Series: 1. Articles of Incorporation, Tax, and Insurance Records, 1992-2008; 2. Budgetary Materials, 1993-2009; 3. Certificates, 1999-2013; 4. Committees, 1967-2005; 5. Constitutions and Bills of Rights, 1967-2007; 6. Contracts, 1965-2008; 7. Correspondence, 1987-2007; 8. Executive Training and Retreats, 1985-2008; 9. Guestbooks, 1972-2011; 10. Handbooks, 1996-2014; 11. Historical Essays, 1970-ca. 1995; 12. Intercooperative Council/Judicial Board Records, 1965-2011; 13. Meeting Minutes, 1956-2003; 14. Membership Lists, 1958-2014; 15. Notebooks, 1953-2013; 16. Policies and Procedures, 1965-2006; 17. Publications, 1953-2008; 18. Reports, 1953-1999; 19. Signage, ca. 2000-2010; 20. Songs, 1982; 21. Surveys, 1980-1997; 22. Weekly Menus, ca. 2010; 23. Photographs, 1954-2011; 24. Photograph Albums, 1987-2006; 25. Scrapbooks, 1958-2014; 26. Plaques and Trophies, 1960-2014; and 27. Banners, 2014.

Date Acquired: 00/00/2014

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Azalea House Records were generated and collected by the Azalea House women's cooperative residence at Oregon State University and document the management of the co-op and the daily lives of the residents there during its operation from 1953 to 2014.

Reference access to the materials in Series 22, Weekly Menus, have been digitized and are available upon request.

Scope and Content Notes

The Azalea House Records reflect the administration of Azalea House through articles of incorporation, budgetary materials, meeting minutes, contracts, handbooks, constitutions, notebooks, policy statements, reports, signage, and surveys. Activities documented  in these materials include: budgetary management, convening of house meetings, employment of the house cook, officer training, generation of resident lists, disciplinary action of rule violations, building maintenance, the formation of policies/rules, the tracking of gifts to the house, and assignment of rooms/beds to residents. Social activities, events, and honors/awards received by Azalea House residents are reflected in scrapbooks, photographs, photograph albums, guestbooks, songs, certificates, plaques, trophies, and banners.

Reference access to the materials in Series 22, Weekly Menus, are available upon request.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Established in 1953 as a women’s cooperative residence, Azalea House had its roots in a 1945 proposal by the Oregon Home Economics Extension Council to address the shortage of campus housing for women. A fundraising drive to raise money for the construction met its goal in 1952 and by fall term of 1953 Azalea House was opened. The name “Azalea” was chosen in a naming contest to honor Mrs. Azalea Sager, an Extension Specialist in Clothing and State Home Demonstration Leader. The building was designed to house 58 residents. Located at 1050 Madison Street, Azalea House's immediate neighbors on the block were three other cooperative living residences (Avery Lodge, Dixon Lodge, and Oxford House). In 2014, citing concerns about costs and needed building renovations, the OSU University Housing and Dining Services closed Azalea House and the other cooperative residences at OSU.

Author: Karl McCreary

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 2373 photographs; 1 sound recording; 13 boxes, including 7 oversize boxes, and 1 map folder; 9 digital files, 323 KB

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The bulk of these records were transferred to SCARC by Azalea House residents in 2014 and were added to an existing collection of Azalea House records that had been received in 1991.

Related Materials:

The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holds materials documenting several OSU cooperative houses including the Avery Lodge Records (MSS Avery), the Campus Club Alumni Collection (MSS CampusClub), the Dixon Lodge Records (MSS Dixon), the Kupono Cooperative House Scrapbook (MSS Kupono), the Oxford House Records (MSS Oxford), and the Maple Manor Cooperative House Records (MSS MapleManor).

The University Housing and Dining Services Records (RG 145) reflect the administration of cooperative housing at OSU and contain scrapbooks assembled by residents of Heckart Lodge and Reed Lodge cooperative residences.

Preferred Citation: Azalea House Records (MSS Azalea), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Azalea House (Corvallis, Or.)

People, Places, and Topics

Azalea House (Corvallis, Or.)
College students--Oregon--Corvallis--Social life and customs.
Housing, Cooperative--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History
Women--Education (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Women--Oregon--Corvallis--Societies and clubs.

Forms of Material

Born digital.
Dance cards.
Film negatives.
Menus.
Notebooks.
Pamphlets.
Photograph albums.
Photographic prints.
Scrapbooks.
Songs (documents).
Sound recordings.
Tape reels.

Box and Folder Listing