L.A. Robinson Collection

L.A. Robinson Collection, 1892-1951

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Robinson, L. A. (Lewis Archibald)
Title: L.A. Robinson Collection
Dates: 1892-1951 (inclusive)
18921951

bulk 1904-1908 (bulk)
19041908
Quantity: 1.5 linear feet, (5 boxes) : includes 190 glass slides
Collection Number: MSS 7
Summary: Photographs, postcards, research notes, publications, personal materials, and educational glass slides belonging to Professor L.A. Robinson while working at Oregon State Normal School in Monmouth, Oregon.
Repository: Western Oregon University Archives
Hamersly Library
345 N. Monmouth Ave.
Monmouth, OR
97361
Telephone: 5038388419
Fax: 5038388399
libarchives@wou.edu
Access Restrictions: Collection is available for research.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for archival supplies made possible, in part, by a grant from the Polk County Cultural Coalition.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Lewis Archibald Robinson was born on February 15, 1866, in Cedar Grove, Virginia, to Andrew A. Robinson and Virginia Fries. He completed his preparatory training as an instructor at the Shenandoah Institute in Dayton, Virginia, in 1885.

Robinson received both an A.B. in 1898 and an A.M. in 1901 from the University of Illinois. His masters thesis was titled “The Teaching of Secondary Mathematics with Special Reference to the High Schools of Illinois”. While he was in graduate school he taught math in a local high school and worked as an assistant in mathematics in the Preparatory School at the University of Illinois. Robinson left Illinois after graduation to teach physics and math at the State Agricultural College in Pullman Washington.

The following year, Robinson was appointed to a teaching position in physical science at Oregon State Normal School in Monmouth. Before moving, he asked his childhood friend, Anna (Annie Mae Gard), to accompany him to Oregon. Under the pretense that he had found her a teaching position, Anna went to Salem. On the day she arrived (September 15, 1902), they were married.

On June 24, 1904 their first and only child, Hazel Gard, was born. Robinson was Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Oregon State Normal School in Monmouth from 1903 to 1908. During the 1907-1908 school year, the Oregon Legislature failed to appropriate funds to the school and the faculty worked through the end of the school year without salary. When school let out Robinson moved to New York to begin further training at Columbia University, leaving his wife and daughter in Monmouth to take care of the house. In 1911 Robinson published research titled “Experimental Investigation of Mental Fatigue in School Children” from the New York University, School of Pedagogy.

Text adopted from, “Normal School Department,” Oregon Teachers Monthly: a Journal Devoted to the Educational Interests of the Northwest 13, no.1, (1908).

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

All of the glass slides are scanned and are available internally for research.

Restrictions on Use

For further information, see the Western Oregon University Archives Research Rules.

Copyright Information: Researchers are hereby cautioned that materials within archival and manuscript collections may be protected by copyright laws (Title 17, U.S. code). Researchers who plan to eventually publish their work are responsible to inquire about publication restrictions before beginning their research. Researchers wishing to quote from materials in any collections held by University Archives should consult the University Archivist. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Preferred Citation

L.A. Robinson Collection, MSS 7, Western Oregon University Archives

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Collection is arranged topically and chronologically. Glass slides are described at the item-level.

Preservation Note

Some glass slides are in fragile condition.

Processing Note

Collection reprocessed according to DACS standards in 2011.

Acquisition Information

The collection (outside of the glass slides) were donated by Nancy Brown (granddaughter of Robinson) to the library in 1995 in multiple accruals. The glass slides were acquired by Ellis Stebbins, executive secretary and school administrator, in 1928, and later donated to the library.

Separated Materials

Geology and Physiology glass slides were separated as those used by L.A. Robinson from MSS 17, Oregon State Normal School Lantern Slides Collection.

Related Materials

Other materials related to L.A. Robinson and the physical science department at Oregon State Normal School can be found in University Archives.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

I: Personal Records, 1973-1976Return to Top

Series I includes class records, research notes, licenses, creative and scholarly publications and works, photographs, and copies of the university's yearbook, The Courier. This series is described at the folder level.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	1	Family history Includes short family history, one piece of correspondence regarding the Robinson home in Monmouth, and a school exam by Robinson's daughter, Annie, in 1906.
1	2	Licenses and certificates Includes Robinson's business card, driver licenses, 1909 dues receipt for the Oregon State Academy of Science, and his teacher's license from Warren, Ohio, in 1892. Also includes a photocopy of a 1906 land deed (the original is in oversize).
1	3	Oregon State Normal School class records Three handwritten sheets with student names, address, and years attended.	1886-1909
1	4	Research notes Handwritten notes on topics including the Rumford photometer, Law of Moments of Force, school administration, discipline, earth science, and the solar system.	circa 1908
1	5	Creative works Includes a short story on horses from 1942, cartoon drawing of music professor at Washington State Agricultural College, and a set of drawings for a Christmas greeting booklet from 1903.
1	6	Publications "Mental Fatigue and School Efficiency", Bulletin of the Winthrop Normal and Industrial College of South Carolina.	1911
1	7	Oregon State Normal School materials Three copies of the college yearbook, The Courier, reception invitation, and banquet program for the Inter Collegiate Oratorical Association of Oregon in 1908.	1911; 1906-1908
1	8	Photographs and postcards Images of L.A. Robinson, his family, city of Monmouth, and the Independence-Monmouth Railroad train.	1900-1908

II: Geology and Physiology Glass Slides, 1911-1921Return to Top

Series II includes approximately 190 glass slides on the subjects of geology and physiology that L.A. Robinson used to teach students in his classroom. The slides are described at the item-level. The slides includes images of the western United States, but includes images from around the United States and the world. The physiology slides are further divided by continent and geographic location.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
		Geology
Box	envelope
2	1	LS2010.019.001: Woman in field of dirt
2	2	LS2010.019.002: Calcite in the form of dog-tooth spar
2	3	LS2010.019.003: Large pile of rocks
2	4	LS2010.019.004: Lava Cast
2	5	LS2010.019.005: Rocks and evergreen trees
2	6	LS2010.019.006: Rock pile with guy standing on top
2	7	LS2010.019.007: Stalactites
2	8	LS2010.019.008: Stone Flower: Colombia
2	9	LS2010.019.009: A man sitting next to a petrified log
2	10	LS2010.019.010: Man next to large boulder with horizontal stratification
2	11	LS2010.019.011: Rock Quarry
2	12	LS2010.019.012: Cliffs and sparse covering of evergreen trees
2	13	LS2010.019.013: Rock on Mount Saint Helens
2	14	LS2010.019.014: Arch Cado
2	15	LS2010.019.015: Rock with Shell imprint
2	16	LS2010.019.016: Geode
2	17	LS2010.019.017: unidentified
2	18	LS2010.019.018: Green, Blue, and Red Crystals
2	19	LS2010.019.019: unidentified crystals
2	20	LS2010.019.020: Rocks, trees, and railroad tracks
2	21	LS2010.019.021: Cliff with horizontal strata
2	22	LS2010.019.022: Mountain covered in shale
2	23	LS2010.019.023: Unidentified bone
2	24	LS2010.019.024: Cliffs and evergreen trees
2	25	LS2010.019.025: Fossil
2	26	LS2010.019.026: Rock shaving in cardboard case
		Physiography
		Asia
Box	envelope
2	27	LS2010.018.091: The Himalayas
		Canada
Box	envelope
2	28	LS2010.023.002: Map of Canadian West coast including Alaska
		France
Box	envelope
2	29	LS2010.018.021: Tidal Bore, Seine River
		Greece
Box	envelope
2	30	LS2006.230.051: Excavations at work - Athens
		Greenland
Box	envelope
2	31	LS2010.018.014: Large Iceberg, West Coast of Greenland
2	32	LS2010.018.045: Iceberg Mc Cormick Bay, Greenland
		Indonesia
Box	envelope
2	33	LS2010.018.010: Krakatoa After Eruption, Straits of Sunday, Indonesia
		Italy
Box	envelope
2	34	LS2006.230.053: Starting for Blue Grotto, Marine, Italian, Sorrento
		Japan
Box	envelope
2	35	LS2010.018.072: Sicily - Craters on Mt. Etna
2	36	LS2010.018.044: Fujiyama - Japan
		Mediterranean
Box	envelope
2	37	LS2006.231.054: Gibraltar - Mediterranean
		Mexico
Box	envelope
2	38	LS2010.018.038: Popocatepetl - Mexico
		Norway
Box	envelope
2	39	LS2010.018.022: Stream Issuing from Foot of Glacier Buar-Brae, Norway
2	40	LS2010.018.024: Midnight Sun Coast, Norway
2	41	LS2010.018.025: Norway - Hammerfest- Harbor, Norway
2	42	LS2010.018.026: North Cape, Norway
2	43	LS2010.018.027: Fjord closed by Talus, Norway
		Philippines
Box	envelope
2	44	LS2010.018.058: Active Volcano, Philippines
		South America
Box	envelope
2	45	LS2010.018.069: Coast of Patagonia, South America
2	46	LS2010.018.071: Chimborazo, South America
		United States
Box	envelope
2	47	LS2010.018.068: Islands, Coast of Alaska
2	48	LS2010.018.083: Alaska - Muir Glacier
2	49	LS2010.018.084: Crevasse in Muir Glacier - Alaska
2	50	LS2010.018.087: Timber Line White Pass Alaska
2	51	LS2010.018.035: Appalachian, System
2	52	LS2010.018.082: Arizona Limestone Sink
2	53	LS2010.018.076: California: Trolley Tracks after Earthquake in San Francisco	1906
2	54	LS2010.018.077: California: Map of San Francisco Earthquake of 1906	1906
2	55	LS2010.018.078: California: Main Fault and Divergence Cracks, California Earthquake	1906
2	56	LS2010.018.079: California: Fence Offset, California Earthquake	1906
3	1	LS2007.233.063: California: Torrey Pines
3	2	LS2007.233.064: California: Lake Tahoe
3	3	LS2007.233.057: California: Mission Play
3	4	LS2007.233.060: California: San Gabriel Mission
3	5	LS2007.233.061: California: San Juan Capistrano Mission
3	6	LS2007.233.062: California: Mission Play
3	7	LS2007.233.065: California: Santa Barbara Mission
3	8	LS2007.233.066: California: Mission Play
3	9	LS2007.233.067: California: Map Showing the Location of the Missions
3	10	LS2007.233.068: California: Mission Play
3	11	LS2010.015.044: California: 4 Mission Play
3	12	LS2010.015.045: California: 2 Mission Play
3	13	LS2010.018.064: California: Mt. Shasta
3	14	LS2010.018.086: California: Timberline and Mt. Shasta
3	15	LS2010.018.043: California: Santa Catalina Island
3	16	LS2010.018.028: California: El Capitan - Yosemite
3	17	LS2010.018.029: Cathedral Spires, Yosemite
3	18	LS2010.018.030: California: Yosemite
3	19	LS2010.018.031: California: Bridal Veil - Yosemite
3	20	LS2010.018.032: California: Vermal Falls, Yosemite
3	21	LS2010.018.041: California: Three Brothers, Yosemite
3	22	LS2010.018.023: Colorado: Pike's Peak
3	23	LS2010.018.042: Colorado: Garden of the Gods
3	24	LS2010.018.066: Colorado: Marshall Pass
3	25	LS2010.018.037: Glacier: Glacier Selkirk Mountains
3	26	LS2010.018.085: Glacier: Crevasse in Selkirk Glacier
3	27	LS2010.018.002: Hawaii: Crater of Kilauea
3	28	LS2010.018.070: Hawaii: Lava Flow
3	29	LS2010.018.089: Hawaii: Mauna Loa
3	30	LS2010.018.081: Kentucky: Mammoth Cave
3	31	LS2010.023.005: Nevada: Nevada Falls
3	32	LS2010.018.036: New Jersey: Coastal Plain
3	33	LS2010.018.061: New Jersey: Myrtle Beach
3	34	LS2010.018.067: New Jersey: Palisades of Hudson
3	35	LS2010.018.090: New York: Jointed Strait Adirondack Mountains
3	36	LS2010.018.004: New York: Bird's Eye View Panorama of Niagara Falls and Gorge
3	37	LS2010.018.005: New York: Gilbert's Diagrammatic Map of Niagara Falls Naming All Features
3	38	LS2010.018.039: New York: Niagara Falls
3	39	LS2010.018.040: New York: Rapids of Niagara River
3	40	LS2010.018.006: New York: Looking from Devil's Oven, Thousand Islands. St. Lawrence River
3	41	LS2010.018.033: New York: Horizontal Strata, Peterskill Falls
3	42	LS2010.018.046: New York: Horizontal Strait, Watkins's Glen
3	43	LS2010.018.060: New York: Horizontal Strata, Verkeerder kill Falls
4	1	LS2010.022.001: Oregon
4	2	LS2010.022.002: Oregon: waterfall
4	3	LS2010.022.003: Oregon: river
4	4	LS2010.022.004: Oregon: Crater Lake
4	5	LS2010.022.005: Oregon: Cows Grazing by River
4	6	LS2010.022.006: Oregon: Logging camp
4	7	LS2010.022.007: Oregon: Flock of Sheep
4	8	LS2010.022.008: Oregon: coast
4	9	LS2010.022.009: Oregon: Boats at Sea
4	10	LS2010.022.010: Oregon: waterfall
4	11	LS2010.022.011: Oregon: Log Cabin Lodge
4	12	LS2010.022.012: Oregon: River Running through Canyon
4	13	LS2010.022.013: Oregon: lake
4	14	LS2010.022.014: Oregon: lake
4	15	LS2010.022.015: Oregon: waterfall
4	16	LS2010.022.016: Oregon: Sea lions at coast
4	17	LS2010.022.017: Oregon: Harvesting team
4	18	LS2010.022.018: Oregon: river
4	19	LS2010.022.019: Oregon: Canoe on Ocean
4	20	LS2010.022.020: Oregon: River seen through trees
4	21	LS2010.022.021: Oregon: forest and waterfall
4	22	LS2010.022.022: Oregon: Covered bridge over river
4	23	LS2010.022.023: Oregon: Country home with picket fence
4	24	LS2010.022.024: Oregon: Mountains and railroad tracks
4	25	LS2010.022.025: Oregon: lake
4	26	LS2010.022.026: Oregon: Ocean with view of coast line
4	27	LS2010.022.027: Oregon: waterfall in forest
4	28	LS2010.022.028: Oregon: Suburb
4	29	LS2010.022.029: Oregon: House on river bank
4	30	LS2010.022.030: Oregon: Logging contraption
4	31	LS2010.022.031: Oregon: Fish house
4	32	LS2010.022.032: Oregon: Valley with mountains in background
4	33	LS2010.022.033: Oregon: Loggers next to giant evergreen
4	34	LS2010.022.034: Oregon: Log sliding into lake
4	35	LS2010.022.035: Oregon: Logging camp
4	36	LS2010.022.036: Oregon: Crater of Oblong Geyser
4	37	LS2010.022.037: Oregon: Factory
4	38	LS2010.022.038: Oregon: Fishermen with families
4	39	LS2010.022.039: Oregon: Horse drawn carriage Camp Sherman
4	40	LS2010.022.040: Oregon: Trillium lake
4	41	LS2010.022.041: Oregon: Coastal railroad tracks
4	42	LS2010.022.042: Oregon: Snow covered mountains
4	43	LS2010.022.043: Oregon: waterfall
4	44	LS2010.022.044: Oregon: mountains
4	45	LS2010.022.045: Oregon: cliff and water source
4	46	LS2010.022.046: Oregon: logging production
4	47	LS2010.022.047: Oregon: Waterfall into cavern
4	48	LS2010.022.048: Oregon: Log cabin J. F. Ford
4	49	LS2010.022.049: Oregon: Horses plowing field
4	50	LS2010.022.050: Oregon: river
4	51	LS2010.022.051: Oregon: Girls in Ocean
4	52	LS2010.022.052: Oregon: river rapids
4	53	LS2010.022.053: Oregon: Lighthouse
4	54	LS2010.022.054: Oregon: View of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier from Portland
5	1	LS2010.018.062: Pennsylvania: Limestone Quarry Chester County
5	2	LS2010.018.063: Pennsylvania: Thumb Rock, Mt. Shasta
5	3	LS2010.018.065: South Dakota: Badlands
5	4	LS2010.018.019: Virginia: View in Dismal Swamp
5	5	LS2010.018.020: Virginia: Cypress Trees in lake Drummond, Sidmal Swamp
5	6	LS2010.018.034: Virginia: Natural Bridge
5	7	LS2010.018.048: Virginia: Luray Cavern, Ball Room
5	8	LS2010.018.049: Virginia: Stalactites, Luray Cavern
5	9	LS2010.023.006: Washington, D.C.: U.S. Capitol
5	10	LS2010.018.073: Sulfur Deposits Yellowstone
5	11	LS2010.018.012: Yellowstone National Park: Punch Bowl
5	12	LS2010.018.013: Yellowstone National Park: Mortar Geyser in Eruption
5	13	LS2010.018.047: Yellowstone National Park: Old Faithful Geyser
		West Indies
Box	envelope
5	14	LS2010.018.075: Faulted Strata West Indies
		Charts/Graphs
Box	envelope
5	15	LS2010.018.050: Solar System
5	16	LS2010.018.059: Perihelion and Aphelion
5	17	LS2010.018.088: Relative Size of Sun and Planets
5	18	LS2010.018.001: December 24-27, 1904 8:00 a.m.
5	19	LS2010.018.003: Forecast Districts
5	20	LS2010.018.007: Isotherms: January
5	21	LS2010.018.008: Mean Annual Temperature
5	22	LS2010.018.009: Isobars: January
5	23	LS2010.018.011: Rainfall
5	24	LS2010.018.015: Annual Storm Tracks and Frequency
5	25	LS2010.018.016: Mean Tracks and Average Daily Movement of Storms in the U.S.
5	26	LS2010.018.017: February 2-5, 1903 8:00 a.m.
5	27	LS2010.018.018: Distribution of Tornados
5	28	LS2010.018.051: Change of Seasons
5	29	LS2010.018.074: Forest Destroyed by Geyser
5	30	LS2010.018.080: Meandering River
5	31	LS2010.023.004: [Unidentified ocean view]
5	32	LS2010.018.052: North America relief map
5	33	LS2010.018.053: South America relief map
5	34	LS2010.018.054: Europe relief map
5	35	LS2010.018.055: Asia relief map
5	36	LS2010.018.056: Africa relief map
5	37	LS2010.018.057: Australia relief map

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Oregon State Normal School (Monmouth, Or.)

Personal Names

Robinson, L. A. (Lewis Archibald)--Archives

Corporate Names

Oregon State Normal School

Geographical Names

Monmouth (Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

Lantern slides
Photographs
Postcards
Slides

Occupations

Educators--United States
Professors
Teachers

Archives West Finding Aid

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