LILLIAN VAN LOAN: Miss Davis, tell us about the beginnings of Oregon State College.
BERTHA DAVIS: The first question you asked was what was my arrival at Oregon
State College. I didn't arrive with the idea of arriving now. I just grew up with the system. The old College was a private school which consisted of a primary, secondary and a three year college department. I started in the primary in 1883. In '84 I went into the secondary, two years there. That prepared me for the college course. So, in the same building, I went into a college course. The old building then was standing on the ground that the Southern Pacific depot stands now, that was sold to the city a few years ago. It consisted of seven rooms: a secondary, a primary and five college rooms. The faculty of the college consisted of five teachers.LVL: Do you remember the names of any of those teachers?
BD: Yes, most of them. Bill Arnold was president. Professor Berchtold, who lived
until a few years ago, was language and art teacher. Professor Brantz was mathematics teacher. Professor Grimm was in Chemistry. Dr. Emery was in moral science and religion. [Note from Lillian Van Loan: "The identity of these five teachers was quoted as being as follows: B.L. Arnold, President, and professor of philosophy (moral and physical); Fred Berchtold, professor of language and free hand drawing; Edgar Grimm, mathematics and tactics; W.W. Bristow, preparatory teacher. From 21st Annual Catalogue of Officers and Students of Corvallis and 0AC, 1885-1886. The 1882-1883 OAC Catalogue has a Rev. J. Emery teaching mathematics. This confusion may be due to the dimming memory of Miss Davis, who was around 90 at the time of this interview."]LVL: The course at that time was a liberal arts course, wasn't it?
BD: Just liberal arts only, we had no choice. The girls and boys were all in the
same classes, we all had the same things at the same time.LVL: Which personalities impressed you the most?
BD: At that time Dr. Arnold, who was president, was a southern gentleman, very
well educated, and a wonderful teacher. He was not only the president of the college, but held a full-time schedule. Professor Berchtold was language teacher and art. He gave me my first taste of a foreign language, which was two years of French. He taught us our first lesson in free hand drawing and gave us lectures on the great artists. He made an impression on art that has remained in me all these years.LVL: About how many people were there in the college?
BD: I can't remember exactly but there were 250 or 300 in the college.
LVL: Did you feel you had enough teachers?
BD: Of course they carried a full load. They didn't reach a few hours a day like
you people do now. They taught a full day and did a very good job, they were excellent teachers.LVL: Did they have good equipment?
BD: Very limited equipment. They had a laboratory with some physics equipment, a
small chemistry laboratory, and I believe that's all the equipment they had.LVL: Do you know how their salary compared to the salary of other people who
were living in Corvallis at the time?BD: I think they were very similar, but of course, very small. They wouldn't do
you people at all today.LVL: How did the people of Corvallis regard the people of the College?
BD: Varied. They just absorbed them, and they all became a part of one social set.
LVL: What were the most significant things that happened during these early days
that you remember?BD: My mind's a little bit hazy. It's been so many years that I've forgotten.
But I think I can tell you some of the things. Miss Snell came onto the campus in '88. She was a wonderful person and she was an inspiration to all of us. A radiant woman, full of life and spirit. She taught us the importance of health and a good mind and a strong body built by proper food and outdoor exercise. I'll never forget when she taught us to make beautiful salads and desserts. Our mothers were good vegetable and meat cooks and made wonderful homemade bread. They were too busy rearing a family to do any fancy cooking. The interest taken in table setting etc. reminds me of the insistence of my sister and myself. We persuaded my mother to buy a set of silver for the table setting in place of the bone handled and steel knives and forks which we could not put in boiling water. I have some of those forks in my possession today.LVL: Who replaced Dr. Arnold after he died? Did Dr. Gatch come immediately?
BD: No, immediately after Dr. Arnold was Dr. Bloss. I was out of college, I knew
him socially, but didn't know much about his work. I do know that he was very much interested in athletics and organized a good athletic department. He had a son who was an athlete and had played football in the east and here organized the first football team on the Oregon State campus. They played on the lower campus in spite of rain or sunshine we stood around and watched the boys play in mud, ankle deep.LVL: The interest was as keen then as it is now?
BD: Just as it is now. Following Dr. Bloss, came an interim man but I've
forgotten his name, just for a year or two.LVL: Was that Mr. Miller?
BD: Miller, yes, served us a couple of years. Then came Dr. Gatch. He was a
wonderful scholar, but of course I had no student contact with him. But I was living in Corvallis and knew Henry Miller and his family socially and they were very fine people.LVL: What were the kinds of things that these men believed in strongly for a
school? We hear a great deal, about discipline today and about learning things very well.BD: They were strong for scholarship and character, they didn’t have to have
discipline because the youngsters hadn't learned all these ideas we have today. We students at that time weren't quick to learn and pick up all the things that were happening all over the country as they are today with radio, televisions and the close connections we had...LVL: Then it was a different kind of college living?
BD: Oh yes, it was different! We didn't do very naughty things, we had lots of fun.
LVL: Do you recall the early days of Dr. Kerr's presidency?
BD: Yes, Dr. Kerr came on the campus in 1888. [Note from Lillian Van Loan: "The
year William Jasper Kerr came to OSC was 1907."] Before that time I hadn't done very much since my graduation but play around. Under the influence of Miss Snell I decided to come back to college and take my master's degree. When Dr. Kerr came, the first thing he proceeded to do was to organize a very full home economics department. I went to Dr. Kerr and told him some of my plans for the future and asked him to advise me. He advised me to go into household art, because it was a new field and I was mature and he could have a place for me right away. So, I went ahead and worked for my master's degree. I had to take over all my chemistry and physics and all those kinds of things to bring myself up to date. It took me two years to get my master's degree. Immediately, I was offered a new position in Oregon and one in Hawaii. But I was keeping house for my father, my mother had died. I chose the work offered me by Corvallis High School. So, I organized the first home economics department in the Corvallis High School and taught there four years. Then Dr. Kerr asked me to come to campus. I was on the campus for many years and have taught home economics and institutional management and all things connected with home economics until my retirement in 1941.LVL: You saw the department grow from one person, when Margaret Snell was there?
BD: Just one person. The second year they gave me an assistant. The next year (I
was there four years), they gave me another assistant because the girl had other interests. Then I went to the college and turned it over to Miss Kaiser who was my successor.LVL: You've been firm friends?
BD: We've been friends ever since.
LVL: What do you think of the future plans of Oregon State College? What do you
foresee in the future for us?BD: I think they're unlimited. There are so many fields now and the college is
so well organized and so esteemed in agriculture, home economics and really physical culture and almost everything that pertains to the human race. Since a vast number of students have passed now and going out, I think there's no limit to what they can do for the USA and the countries.LVL: Well, it has a place of leadership in the country now that is very great.
BD: It has! Look how many of our professors already are being asked to go to
foreign countries to teach the various forms of agriculture.LVL: Thank you Miss Davis, we appreciate the time you've given us this morning.
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