Bertha Herse Collection, 1905-1960

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Herse, Bertha.
Title
Bertha Herse Collection
Dates
1905-1960 (inclusive)
1905-1929 (bulk)
Quantity
0.4 cubic foot, including 21 photographs, (2 boxes, including 1 oversize box)
Collection Number
MSS Herse
Summary
The Bertha Herse Collection consists of materials assembled by Herse and includes diplomas and certificates, student memorabilia, postcards, and photographs. Herse graduated from Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in 1910 and worked in the OAC Library from 1910 until her retirement in 1957, with a 2-year break to complete a BS in Library Science at the New York State Library School.
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

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Bertha Herse graduated from Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in 1910 and began working in the OAC Library's circulation department that year. She worked as a Loan Desk Assistant from 1910 to 1920 and was head of the Periodical Department in 1920-1922. In 1922 she took a 2-year leave-of-absence and enrolled in the New York State Library School in Albany, New York, where she earned a BS in library science in 1924. Herse then returned to the OAC Library as a Reference Librarian and Head of the Reference Department, a position she held until her retirement in 1957. When she retired in 1957, her 45 years of service at Oregon State was the longest of anyone on campus.

Herse continued to take courses at Oregon Agricultural during the 1910s and 1920s and earned a BS in Home Economics in 1928.

Bertha Emma Herse was born in West Point, Nebraska, on July 26, 1891; she died in Corvallis, Oregon, on November 5, 1966. Herse graduated from Corvallis High School in 1906.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Bertha Herse Collection consists of materials assembled by Herse and includes diplomas and certificates, student memorabilia, postcards, and photographs. The collection documents her student years at Oregon Agricultural College, the activities of the Class of 1910, and her early years as a librarian in the Oregon Agricultural College Library. The diplomas and certificates include her high school and college diplomas. Student memorabilia includes her grade reports, registration cards, commencement programs, and a student handbook. A letter to Herse from Ellen Crawford in 1913 describes Crawford's plans to attend library school and her teaching experience in Laidlaw, Oregon.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of postcards received and assembled by Herse. Many of them are greetings cards for Christmas or other holidays and special events. Picture postcards depicting Oregon scenes are included; images of buildings in Corvallis, Eugene, and Portland are part of the collection. Postcards from Nebraska were sent by family and friends in West Point, Albion, and York.

The collection also includes photographs of family and friends, Oregon Agricultural College classmates, and other library staff. Of special note is a 1910 photograph of the library when it was in the Administration Building (now Benton Hall).

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Bertha Herse Collection, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The Bertha Herse Collection is arranged in 4 series: I. Diplomas and certificates, 1905-1960; II. Memorabilia and Correspondence, 1905-1930; III. Postcards, 1907-1914; and IV. Photographs, 1909-1950.

Custodial History

Most of the materials were donated to the Horner Museum by Herse's estate in 1967 and 1971 or by the Oregon State University Library.

Acquisition Information

The bulk of the collection was transferred from the Horner Museum Collection to the Archives in 1996. The letter from Ellen Crawford to Herse was donated to the Archives in 2003 by Carol Chin, who found it in a Corvallis house.

Related Materials

The Library Records (RG 009), Photographs (P 083), and Moving Images (FV P 083) provide extensive documentation of the Oregon State University Libraries. The Archives' holdings also include the papers of librarians William H. Carlson and Rodney Waldron. Additional photographs of library staff are part of Harriet's Collection (HC 0635). Materials pertaining to the Oregon Agricultural College Class of 1910 are also available in the Frances Alva Aitken Collection, Bertha Andresen Photographs (P 026), F. Ross Brown Papers, and Beulah Gilkey Collection.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I:  Diplomas and Certificates, 1905-1960Return to Top

Series I consists of diplomas and certificates received by Herse and documenting her high school graduation, degrees from Oregon Agricultural College, and library science degree from the University of the State of New York.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
2
Common School Diploma
Issued by the State of Oregon Department of Public Schools.
1905
2
Corvallis High School
1906
2
Oregon Agricultural College Bachelor of Science in Domestic Science and Art
1910
2
University of the State of New York Bachelor of Library Science
From New York State Library School.
1924
1
Oregon State Agricultural College Bachelor of Science in Home Economics
1928
1
Oregon State College 50th anniversary of graduation from Oregon Agricultural College
1960

Series II:  Memorabilia and Correspondence, 1905-1930Return to Top

Series II primarily documents Herse's student years at Oregon Agricultural College and the years immediately following. Registration cards, lab receipts, grade reports, commencement programs and a student handbook are included. The 1905 commencement program may be from Corvallis High School. Of special note is a letter to Herse from Ellen Crawford describing her plans to attend library school and her work as a teacher in Laidlaw, Oregon.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1
Commencement Exercises program
Perhaps for Corvallis High School.
May 29, 1905
1
OAC Registration Card
September 26, 1908
1
Class registration cards, lab receipts, and grades
1905-1909
1
Third Inter-Society Debate program
April 5, 1909
1
Military Commissions, Officers First Regiment for 1910-1911
1
OAC Quarter Centennial Celebration programs
1910
1
Commencement program
June 13, 1911
1
Student Handbook for 1911-1912
1911
1
Corvallis Business and Professional Women's Club Program for 1930-1931
1930
1
Letter to Herse from Ellen Crawford
Crawford describes her plans to attend library school and her work as a teacher in Laidlaw, Oregon.
January 29, 1913

Series III:  Postcards, 1907-1914Return to Top

Series III consists of a postcard album and loose postcards; these include picture postcards and photographic postcards received and assembled by Herse. Some of the postcards include correspondence from family and friends, especially from Bertha's cousin in Nebraska, who encourages Bertha to write her more frequently. Many of the postcards have no writing and were not mailed. About a quarter of the postcards commemorate Christmas, the New Year, birthdays, and other holidays and special events. Another quarter depict Oregon scenes, including Portland, Corvallis, Eugene as well as views of the Oregon coast, the Columbia River Gorge, and other Oregon scenes. Of special note is a card featuring an Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) pennant. The remainder depict scenes of Nebraska, including West Point, Albion, Omaha, Lincoln, and York; Washington; and California. Several of the California postcards have images of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Several of the postcards are in German. The album includes several postcards made from leather. The album is in marginal condition and needs to be handled with caution.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1
Loose Postcards
32 postcards
1907-1914
1
Postcard Album
211 postcards
1908-1913

Series IV:  Photographs, 1909-1950Return to Top

21 photographs

Series IV consists of photographic prints assembled by Herse depicting her family and friends and documenting her student years at Oregon Agricultural College and career as a librarian at Oregon State. Of special note are several images of Oregon Agricultural College Library staff in the 1920s and an interior view of the library in 1910 when it was located in the Administration Building (now Benton Hall).

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1
Bertha Herse's cousin Hilda
2 photographs
Portrait photograph on postcards with notes to Bertha.
1909
1
Bertha's friend, Vlasta
Portrait photograph on postcard with note to Bertha.
1909
1
Bertha's cousin, Frank, and friend
Portrait photograph on postcard with note to Bertha.
1909
1
Interior of store in Albion, Nebraska
Photograph of store interior on postcard from Otto to his brother Ludwig Herse in Corvallis, Oregon. Includes pianos, framed artwork, mirrors, chairs, and baby carriages.
1909
1
Two women and man in front of farmhouse
Unidentified; perhaps in Nebraska.
circa 1909
1
Junior Flunk Day
2 postcard prints
Images of the women and men participants in the Class of 1910 Junior Flunk Day activities.
May 20, 1909
1
St. Patrick's Day Party
2 prints
Library staff at a costume party in the apartment of Lewis and Branch. Both images are available online: view 1 and view 2.
March 17, 1922
1
Library staff at east end of Library building
Back row: Bertha Herse; Evangeline Thurber; Lucy Lewis; Elzie V. Herbert; and Elizabeth Ritchie. Second row: Helen Treat; Louis Klock; Vina Mueller; Irma Nielson; and Josephine Morton. Front row: Lucia Haley; Fay Stahl; Marie Malmgren; Rose Robinson; and Helen Hotson.
spring 1927
1
Library staff on north steps of Library
Back row: Minnie White; Marie Jackson; Nellie Harvey; Louise Wheeler; Lucy Lewis; Elzie Herbert; Elizabeth Ritchie; and Bertha Herse. Front row: Lucia Haley; Rose Robinson; Evangeline Thurber; Gertrude M. Suess; Gertrude Yunker; Marjorie Wertman; and Josephine Morton.
May 28, 1929
1
Library interior
Library in Benton Hall.
1910
1
Library (Kidder Hall) with bandstand in foreground
circa 1920
1
Library exterior view
circa 1950
1
Lower campus view
circa 1910
1
May Day pageant
2 prints
circa 1910
1
Library staff standing behind desk
Library staff for 1920-1921 (from left to right): Elzie Herbert; Josephine Abbot; Ethel Goudy; Nell Branch; Bertha Herse; Laurel Ganning; Lucy Lewis; Edith Hague; Lillian George; and Elizabeth Ritchie.
1921
1
Unidentified group of women
One of the women may be Helen Gilkey.
circa 1920
1
Unidentified group of women and men
Interior group portrait; perhaps other students at New York State Library School?
circa 1920s

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Librarians--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Library employees--Oregon--Corvallis.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon Agricultural College--Students.
  • Oregon Agricultural College. Class of 1910.
  • Oregon Agricultural College. Library.
  • Oregon State College. Library.

Geographical Names

  • Corvallis (Or.)
  • West Point (Neb.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographic postcards.
  • Photographic prints.
  • Picture postcards.
  • Postcard albums.