Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman, 1926-1951

Title: Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman, 1926-1951

ID: MSS HarrisC

Primary Creator: Harris, Celeste Liston

Extent: 0.45 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman are comprised of four volumes of newsclippings documenting the professional career of Oregonian columnist and editor Ben Hur Lampman betweem 1926 and 1951. The collection is composed predominately of hundreds of clippings from the Oregonian featuring Lampman's writings, arranged in chronological order. Also included are news articles about Ben Hur Lampman Day, his role as Oregon Poet Laureate, receipt of awards and recognitions, public speaking engagements, and reviews of his published books. Volume I includes the front pages of ten Sunday Oregonian issues featuring articles by Lampman (1939-1946); a loose scrapbook page with obituaries and ephemera memorializing Herb Lampman, Ben Hur's son; and an autographed reprint of "Them Two Guys is Nuts!". Also included is a reprint of "She Sails With the Tide" (volume I), photographs of Lampman (volumes I and II), and a reprint of "Shelter from the Storm" (volume III), all featuring inscriptions from Lampman to Celeste Harris. Volume IV contains "The Wardens of the Green Land," a brochure Lampman authored for the Keep Oregon Green Association.

All scrapbooks are arranged chronologically by volume (I. 1926-1945, II. 1945-1947, III. 1948-1949, IV. 1950-1951) and include minor annotations from Celeste Harris. All volumes include inscriptions indicating the scrapbooks were gifts from Celeste to her son, Claude E. Harris.

Celeste Liston Harris was a Portland, Oregon resident, editor for the official publication of the Women's Advertising Club of Portland, and founding member and Vice President of the Women's Realty Board of Portland.

Ben Hur Lampman was an essayist, short story writer, and poet who gained notoriety in his role as a columnnist at the Oregonian during the first half of the 20th century. Lampman was born in Barron, Wisconsin in 1886 and raised in North Dakota. In 1912, he moved to Gold Hill, Oregon, where he worked as an editor for Gold Hill News. In 1916, he relocated to Portland, Oregon and became a reporter for the Oregonian. There, Lampman established himself as a highly respected writer known for his short essays derived from everyday experiences. Lampman was an avid fisherman and nature enthusiast--themes that appeared frequently in his writings. In addition to the Oregonian, Lampman's work appeared in national publications including The Atlantic and The Saturday Evening Post. He also published several collections of his writings including How Could I Be Forgetting? (1933), At the End of the Car Line (1942), and The Wild Swan (1947), and a novel titled Here Comes Somebody (1935). Lampman received the O. Henry Award in 1943 for his short story "Blinker Was a Good Dog," and the 1951 Freedoms Foundation Certificate of Merit. June 6, 1947 was declared Ben Hur Lampman Day in Gold Hill and a Ben Hur Lampman Club was formed at Portland's Lincoln High School. In 1951, Lampman was named Poet Laureate of Oregon, a title he held until his death in 1954.

More Extent Information: 3 photographs; 2 oversize boxes

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman were donated to Oregon State University by Nancy Lee Owen in memory of Harris. They now reside in the Special Collectionis & Archives Research Center.

Related Materials:

Volumes published by Ben Hur Lampman can be found in the Pacific Northwest Rare Book Collection. Other collections featuring the work of Oregonian staffers include the George P. Griffis Portfolio and Scrapbook (MSS Griffis), the Hope Chamberlin Newspaper Columns (MSS Chamberlin), and the Journalism Department Records (RG 091).

Other materials related to Ben Hur Lampman can be found in the Ben Hur Lampman Collection at Lewis & Clark College, the Ben Hur Lampman Papers at the Oregon Historical Society, and the Ben Hur Lampman Papers at the University of Oregon.

Preferred Citation: Celeste Liston Harris Scrapbooks on Ben Hur Lampman (MSS HarrisC), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Harris, Celeste Liston
Lampman, Ben Hur (1886-1954)
Oregonian (Firm)

Essayists--Oregon.
Lampman, Ben Hur, 1886-1954
Newspapers--Sections, columns, etc.
Oregonian (Firm)
Poets, American--Oregon.
Poets laureate--Oregon.

Photographic prints.
Scrapbooks.