George Alderson Photographs, 1954-1955

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Alderson, George.
Title
George Alderson Photographs
Dates
1954-1955 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.01 cubic feet, including 17 photographs, (1 box)
Collection Number
P 248
Summary
The George Alderson Photographs consist of snapshot photographs made by Alderson when he visited Corvallis, Oregon, as a youth in the mid-1950s. The photographs depict views of the Oregon State College campus and agricultural lands, Camp Adair, and downtown Corvallis.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

As a teenager, George Alderson visited his aunt, Lora Ives Kelts, a librarian at Oregon State College. Alderson attended Reed College and graduated in 1963 with a major in biology. Alderson worked in Washington, D.C. as a conservation activist and lobbyist for the Wilderness Society and Friends of the Earth. He helped found the wilderness program in the Bureau of Land Management and wrote a handbook on being a citizen lobbyist, How You Can Influence Congress, published in 1979. He received the Sierra Club's Special Achievement Award in 1968. Alderson is a classical violinist and has played with several orchestras in the Washington, D.C. area.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The George Alderson Photographs consist of snapshot photographs made by Alderson when he visited Corvallis, Oregon, in 1954-1955. The photographs depict views of the Oregon State College campus and agricultural lands, Camp Adair, and downtown Corvallis. The images include views of Gill Coliseum, Withycombe Hall, and Sackett Hall as well as the Forestry Club Cabin and Cronemiller Lake at Peavy Arboretum. Photographs of the OSC livestock facilities and hog farm near 33rd and Jackson Streets are part of the collection; these images include sheep, horses, and hogs. Of special note is a photograph of a street sign for Jackson and 33rd Streets next to agricultural land.

The collection includes several views of downtown Corvallis as well as Camp Adair structures. The downtown Corvallis images include the Corvallis City Hall on 4th and Madison that was constructed in 1892 and demolished in the late 1950s. Photographs of the downtown streets include Christmas decorations and a view of McGregor's variety store. A landscape view from the road leading to the Bald Peak State Viewpoint near Newberg, Oregon, is also included.

All of the images are b/w. Descriptions of the photographs prepared by Alderson are included with the images.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

George Alderson Photographs (P 248), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

The photographs were donated to the Archives by Alderson in 2003.

Related Materials

The Archives holdings include many collections with photographs of campus buildings and views, including Harriet's Collection and the Buildings Photographs (P 016). The Wilson H. Foote Photographs (P 268) include many views of the Oregon State College campus during the 1950s. Other photographs of Camp Adair are available in several Archives' collections, including the John H. Gallagher, Sr. Collection, Harriet's Collection, the Agriculture Photograph Collection (P 040), and the Gwil Evans Photographic Collection (P 082).

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Agriculture--Oregon.
  • College buildings--Oregon--Corvallis.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon State College--Buildings.

Geographical Names

  • Camp Adair (Or.)
  • Corvallis (Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographic prints.