By Chris Petersen
Title: Gerald W. Williams Moving Image and Sound Recordings Collection, 1959-2007
Predominant Dates: 1990-2005
ID: FV 320
Primary Creator: Williams, Gerald W.
Extent: 2.5 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged into five series: 1. Video Cassettes, 1985-2005; 2. CDs and DVDs, 2000-2007; 3. Motion Picture Films, 1959-1983; 4. Audio Cassettes, 1983-1994; 5. Record Albums, 1968-1976. Materials are arranged chronologically within each series.
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
The Gerald W. Williams Moving Image and Sound Recordings Collection documents the history, maintenance, and popular culture surrounding forests in the Pacific Northwest, as well as the history of the USDA Forest Service and, more broadly, the natural history of the region. The majority of the collection's moving images are held on VHS cassettes and DVDs, although motion picture reels and camcorder cassette formats are present as well. Likewise, the bulk of the collection's audio materials are held on audio cassette, with a small number of CDs also available.
The materials include commercially produced items created by the USDA Forest Service, regional history organizations, and specialty groups like the National Smokejumpers. The collection also holds amateur recordings of television and radio broadcasts, and of live events that were documented with a personal video recorder. The majority of these live events are lectures on forest history and maintenance.
Highlights of the collection include multiple VHS tapes and DVDs documenting the production and, ultimately, the finished version of The Greatest Good, a documentary film created to mark the centennial of the USDA Forest Service in 2005. Four camcorder cassettes also capture the proceedings of a three-day Forest Service workshop held at the Grey Towers National Historic Site. The collection's film reels focus primarily on the properties of soil in forested areas.
While much of the content is scholarly in nature, the collection does include artifacts from popular culture, including an episode of Lassie, a cartoon that was originally released theatrically in 1938, and two albums of music sung by recording artist and part-time logger, Buzz Martin.
Nearly all of the audio cassettes described in series 4 have been digitized and are available upon patron request.
Gerald W. Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 until his retirement in 2005. From 1979 to 1993, he was a sociologist with the Umpqua and Willamette National Forests in Oregon; in 1993-1998, he served as the regional sociologist for the Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Portland; and from 1998 until his retirement in 2005 he was the national historian for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C. Williams designed and implemented a regional and national history program for the Forest Service which culminated in his appointment as national historian and his authorship of the centennial history of the Forest Service, The USDA Forest Service -- The First Century, in 2000. He has published more than 75 books, chapters, book reviews, and articles and conference papers exploring a variety of historical topics such as the Native American use of fire to manage environments, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the U.S. Army's Spruce Production Division during World War I.
Williams is a native of Oregon and earned degrees from Southern Oregon University (B.A., Sociology; M.A. General Studies Social Science) and Washington State University (Ph.D., Sociology).
More Extent Information: 4 boxes containing 33 VHS cassettes, 27 DVDs, 17 audiocassettes, 8 motion picture films, 8 camcorder cassettes, 4 record albums, and 2 CDs
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
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.
Separated Materials: Materials originally accessioned with this collection have been physically relocated and described as components of the Gerald Williams Papers (MSS WilliamsG) and the Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps (MSS CCC).
Related Materials: Other SCARC moving image collections with a strong focus on forestry and the history of the Pacific Northwest include: the United States Forest Service Video Workshop Videotapes (FV 264); the College of Forestry Moving Images (FV 061); the Pass Creek Motion Picture Film Collection (FV 273). Several SCARC oral history collections also document similar themes, and they include: the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest Oral History Collection (OH 028); the Oral History Interviews, Personal Histories, and Sound Recordings Collection on Agriculture, Forestry, and Oregon History (OH 005); and the Oregon Pioneers Oral History Collection (OH 001). A large volume of additional research materials collected by Gerald Williams are housed in Gerald W. Williams Papers (MSS WilliamsG). Moving image and sound recording materials that Williams collected related to the Civilian Conservation Corps are described in the Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps (MSS CCC).
Finding Aid Revision History: The original 2016 finding aid was updated in 2019 to reflect the additon of 2 DVDs.
Williams, Gerald W.
United States. Forest Service
Forest fires--Oregon.
Forest management--Northwest, Pacific.
Forests and forestry--Oregon.
Logging--Northwest, Pacific.
Natural Resources
United States. Forest Service--History.
United States. Forest Service. Pacific Northwest Region
Williams, Gerald W.
Audiocassettes.
Compact discs.
DVDs.
Motion pictures (visual works)
Phonograph records.
Sound recordings.
Video recordings (physical artifacts)