College of Home Economics Photograph Collection, 1920-1998

Title: College of Home Economics Photograph Collection, 1920-1998

ID: P 044

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. College of Home Economics and Education

Extent: 5.58 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The College of Home Economics Photograph Collection includes images documenting various displays; the groundbreaking, construction and dedication of Bates Hall; slideshow presentations generated for instructional purposes; and a portrait of OSU alumnus Mercedes Bates.

Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

Accession 2002:037 consists of a dry-mounted black and white photographic image of OSU alumnus Mercedes Bates that was prepared for a wall exhibit. The image is accompanied by an exhibit caption with biographical details on Bates' life. Born in Portland, Oregon in 1915, Bates attended Oregon State College and graduated with a degree in Food and Nutrition from the College of Home Economics in 1936. After working as a magazine food editor and advertising food consultant, Bates became the director of Betty Crocker Kitchens for the General Mills Corporation in 1964. In 1966 Bates ascended to the level of the Vice Presidency of General Mills, a post she held until 1984. Awarding Bates with Distinguished Service and Alumni Awards, OSU dedicated Bates Hall in her honor in 1992. Bates died in 1997.

Accession 2002:050 contains slides that document the proceedings of a professional conference, the construction or remodel of an unidentified building, and students working with and observing children at the College's Home Management Houses.

Accession 2004:093 is made up of images of the groundbreaking, construction and dedication of the Family Study Center (Bates Hall). This transfer also includes images of a nutrition conference held at OSU in 1970, an event honoring the centenary of the College of Home Economics, and interior and exterior shots of Milam and Education Halls.

Accession 2005:071 consists of photographic portraits mounted for display of the 10 faculty who served as deans of the College of Home Economics from 1889 until 1983. These deans are: Margaret Snell, Ava Milam Clark, Betty Hawthorne, Henrietta Calvin, Juliet Greer, Vera Brandon, Miriam Scholl, Margaret Fincke, Mary Eliza Fawcett and Helen Brooks. These images were displayed in the Hawthorne Suite in Milam Hall.

Accession 2007:076 is primarily made up of slide show presentations, some of which also contain accompanying scripts and sound recordings. These images were used to teach about table setting techniques, home design, careers in home economics, Job Corps training, counseling for teachers, lesson planning, home economics education, the OSU Child Development Centers, and the Family Resource Management Department. One of the presentations, "Professionals in the Making: Four Field Experiences in Home Economics," also contained sound recordings (13 cassette tapes and 1 reel-to-reel tape) and transcripts of interviews with the four students profiled.

Accession 2008:017 consists of photographs documenting the construction of Bates Hall, a tour of the building site during construction, and the office move into the completed building.

Accession 2010:018 contains photographs that were featured in various displays for the Extension Family and Community Development Department. Largely unidentified and undated, the images depict students re-upholstering chairs, examples of sewing equipment, clothes closet space management, a cooking demonstration, housing designs, and tools used in personal finance management. At least one of the images is a copy of a photograph held in the OSU Archives documenting a student engaged in a food buying correspondence course. Also included with these images are three exhibit captions that read: "Families Matter," "Tools for a Lifetime of Development" and "Clothing and Textiles."

Accession 2013:075 is made up of eight photographic prints depicting kitchen areas within several homes. Unidentified and undated, these images focus upon the use of space in these different kitchens in the storage of cookware, dishes, utensils, stoves, and chairs. The images may have been featured in an Extension publication authored by OSU Home Economics professor Maud Wilson, who wrote extensively on household storage, time management patterns of housewives and kitchen spatial planning. The photographs were collected by OSU staff member Barbara York when she worked for the College of Home Economics.

Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

First established in 1889 as the Department of Household Economy and Hygiene, the College of Home Economics at OSU was the fifth such college program to be instituted in the U.S. and the first west of the Rocky Mountains. Margaret Comstock Snell served as the College's first Professor and Dean, a post she held until 1908. Having received a M.D., Snell's emphasis in her instruction and research was the importance of preventative health. Until 1895, when Mary Avery was hired as an assistant in sewing classes, Snell was the sole instructor and staff member of the department.

The College of Home Economics and the College of Health and Human Performance were merged in 2002 to form the College of Health and Human Sciences.

More Extent Information: 3 cubic foot boxes, 2 document boxes, 4 oversize boxes and 1 map folder

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation: College of Home Economics Photograph Collection (P 044), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information: This collection is not fully processed and a complete finding aid is not available at this time.

Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before November 14, 2014.

Oregon State University. College of Home Economics and Education
Oregon State University. College of Health and Human Sciences
Oregon State University. College of Human Development and Family Science

Oregon State University. College of Home Economics and Education
University History

Lantern slides.