By Helena Egbert, Hope Glenn, and Elizabeth Nielsen
Title: Gerald W. Williams Ephemera Collection, 1866-2008
Predominant Dates: 1900-1999
ID: MSS WilliamsEphemera
Primary Creator: Williams, Gerald W.
Extent: 3.0 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The Gerald W. Williams Ephemera Collection is arranged in 8 series: 1. Signage, 1894 - circa 1990s; 2. Artifacts, circa 1930s-1990s; 3. Postcards, 1908-2008; 4. First Day Covers and Commemorative Stamps, 1934-2001; 5. U.S. Forest Service Tools for Fieldwork, 1907-1979; 6. Forest Fire Prevention, circa 1920s-2000s; 7. Documents, 1866-1952; and 8. Other Printed Ephemera, 1873-2008.
Languages of Materials: English [eng], Spanish;Castilian [spa]
The Gerald W. Williams Ephemera Collection consists of printed ephemera, documents, and objects assembled and acquired by Williams in the course of his work as a Forest Service sociologist and historian and due to his avocational interest in the history of forestry as a science and profession and the regional history of the Pacific Northwest. Many of the materials in the collection were created or produced by the U.S. Forest Service. Gerald Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 to 2005 as a sociologist (1979-1998) and historian (1998-2005).
Series 1, box-folders 4.3 and 4.5, and Series 6, box-folder 2.7, have been digitized and are available upon request.
The Gerald W. Williams Ephemera Collection consists of printed ephemera, documents, and objects assembled and acquired by Williams in the course of his work as a Forest Service sociologist and historian and due to his avocational interest in the history of forestry as a science and profession and the regional history of the Pacific Northwest. The bulk of the collection is comprised of Forest Service signs and markers, and 3-dimensional artifacts and objects. Of particular note is a board game, The Amazing Forest Management Game, created by Joyce C. Ulbrich in 1982. The collection also includes postcards, record-keeping tools for fieldwork by Forest Service employees, items pertaining to forest fire prevention, documents, and various printed items. Of special note are General Land Office Inspector’s Reports detailing the performance of forest rangers in Oregon and sample homestead applications. The printed materials include political cartoons and numerous items commemorating U.S. Forest Service anniversaries, especially the centennial in 2005. A poster ordering the evacuation of Japanese Americans in the Los Angeles area in 1942 is part of this collection.
Many of the materials in the collection were created or produced by the U.S. Forest Service. Several items created in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Keep Oregon Green Association are also part of the collection.
Series 1, box-folders 4.3 and 4.5, and Series 6, box-folder 2.7, have been digitized and are available upon 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). Gerald W. ("Jerry") Williams died on January 3, 2019.
More Extent Information: 8 boxes, including 2 oversize boxes
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: These materials were acquired by the former University Archives and the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in multiple accessions in 2007-2016. They were originally described as a component of the Gerald W. Williams Collection (MSS WilliamsG) and were separated for description as this collection in 2017.
Related Materials:
The core of Gerald Williams' research materials are maintained as the Gerald W. Williams Papers (MSS WilliamsG). Other materials that were collected by Williams have been described as separate collections, some of which have overlap of format or subject matter with this collection: Gerald W. Williams Collection on Smokey Bear (MSS Smokey); Gerald W. Williams Collection of Forestry and Northwest History Publications (MSS WilliamsPubs); and Gerald W. Williams Regional Albums (P 303).
The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holds other collections with various ephemeral items, including the Oregon State University Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC), Oregon Multicultural Communities Research Collection (MSS OMCRC), Queer History Research Collection (MSS QHRC), and the Brewing and Fermentation Research Collection (MSS BFRC).
Preferred Citation: Gerald W. Williams Ephemera Collection (MSS WilliamsEphemera), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.
Finding Aid Revision History: The finding aid that was originally prepared in 2017 was updated in 2019 to incorporate additions to the collection.
Williams, Gerald W.
Keep Oregon Green Association
Oregon. Department of Forestry
United States. Forest Service
United States. General Land Office
Forest fires--Oregon--Prevention and control.
Forest reserves--Oregon.
Forests and forestry
Keep Oregon Green Association
McKenzie River (Or.)
Natural Resources
Smokey Bear.
United States. Forest Service--Employees.
United States. Forest Service--History.
Ephemera (general object genre)
Information artifacts.
Picture postcards.
Printed ephemera.