Jack Williams Slides, 1954-1960
The Jack Williams Slides consist of color slides made by the father of Gerald W. Williams, Jack Williams, during the mid-to-late 1950s. The images depict landscapes in Oregon, California, and Washington; birds and wildlife; and dams and other water projects in the Pacific Northwest. Of special note are photographs of Native Americans fishing at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River. Jack Williams became interested in photography in the 1930s. He moved to Oregon in the late 1930s and lived in Eugene, Oregon, in the 1940s and 1950s.
Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.
We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.
SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive.
Historically, "squaw" has been used as a misogynist and racist slur to disparage indigenous American women. Within this historic usage, it has been applied to place names, and scientific or colloquial names for plants. In this collection, the term "squaw" is used the context of Squaw Valley, California, a geographical location. This location appears to have been renamed Olympic Valley.
In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collecctions, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitidues or behavior depicted therein. For more information on impacted collections, see the blog post.
[Date of Acknowledgement: December 2023]
Container List
- Series 1: Oregon, 1954-1958 Add to Shelf
- Series 1 consists of 244 slides depicting landscapes and scenic views in Oregon, especially dams and water projects. The images include views of the Oregon Coast; Crater Lake; the Deschutes, Clackamas, and McKenzie Rivers; Sisters; Clear Lake; and McNary Lake. Several dams and water projects in Oregon are depicted, including the Pelton Dam, Clearwater Power Project, the aqueduct at Tokatee Falls, The Dalles Dam, Lookout Point Dam, Detroit Dam on the Santiam River, Bonneville Dam, and the Celilo Canal.
- Box-Folder 1.01 Add to Shelf
- Series 2: Native Americans Fishing at Celilo Falls, 1956 Add to Shelf
- Series 2 consists of 20 slides of Native Americans netting salmon at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River before the area was flooded by The Dalles Dam. The images include views of 3-Mile Rapids, a water-powered fish wheel, fishing platforms, and a fishermen's camp. Most (18) of the images are available online in Oregon Digital.
- Box-Folder 1.02 Add to Shelf
- Series 3: Landscapes and Wildlife, 1954-1960 Add to Shelf
- Series 3 consists of 439 slides depicting landscapes in California and other western states and Canada. The series also includes images of birds and other wildlife. Several photographs of dams are included in this series.
- Box-Folder 1.03: California Landscapes and Wildlife, 1954-1957 Add to Shelf
- 280 slides; slides of California locations include Long Beach, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Shasta Lake, San Francisco, Coast Highway, the Redwood Highway, and Cherry Valley. Wildlife slides include mallards, geese, swans, cormorants, western and eared grebes, horned owls, osprey, ruddy ducks, brown bear, elk, coyotes, deer, marmots, and turtles. Slides of the English Channel and Tule Lake are also found in this folder.
- Box-Folder 1.04: Landscapes, 1957-1960 Add to Shelf
- 159 slides; Landscape slides are from a variety of locations in California, Washington, and Canada including the Trinity River and Hills, Norden Lake, Lake Tahoe, Donner Pass, Yosemite, Bremerton, Lake Merwin, Seattle, the Olympic Mountains, Hell's Canyon, Little Salmon River, Missouri River, Saskatoon, and Edmonton. Other slides of Ice Harbor Dam, Yale Dam, Quarnstrom's Home, and the Puget Sound Navy Yard are included.
- Series 4: Olympic Games and Marineland, 1960 Add to Shelf
Series 4 consists of 32 slides depicting the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, held in Squaw Valley, California, and sea animals at Marineland. Marineland of the Pacific was a public oceanarium and tourist attraction in Los Angeles County, California that opened in 1954.
This series refers to Squaw Valley, California. The location appears to have been renamed Olypmic Valley.
- Box-Folder 1.05 Add to Shelf