Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives Research Center
University
Archives
121 The Valley
Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-4501
Phone:
541-737-2165
Email:
archives@oregonstate.edu
Web:
http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives
MSS
Kupono
Kupono Cooperative House (Oregon State College)
Kupono Cooperative House
Scrapbook
1939-1943
0.15 cubic foot, including 18
photographs
1 oversize
box
The Kupono Cooperative House Scrapbook
documents the membership and activities of this housing cooperative for
men students at Oregon State College. The scrapbook includes descriptions
of activities, lists of members, newspaper clippings, ephemera, dance
cards, and photographs.
Materials in English.
Historical Note:
The Kupono Cooperative House was formed in September 1938 at 342 South
10th Street and consisted of five male Oregon State College students and
the mother of three of them who acted as house mother and cook. The
cooperative was formally established in the fall of 1939 and had 30
members during the 1939-1940 academic year. Kupono was the first
cooperative established at Oregon State College. The name "Kupono" was
selected from the Esperanto or universal language and means "dividends
assured". A fixed amount was charged to each member per month for room and
board with the understanding that whatever was remaining after all
expenses were paid would be divided among the members. The house closed at
the end of spring term in 1943, with the intent of re-opening after the
war.
The Kupono Cooperative House Scrapbook documents the membership and
activities of this housing cooperative for Oregon State College men
students in 1939-1943, during the early years of World War II and the
years immediately preceding the war. The scrapbook includes descriptions
of activities, lists of members, newspaper clippings, ephemera, dance
cards, and photographs. The newspaper clippings report on social events,
intramurals, and honors and activities of members. Of special note is a
written description and newspaper clipping about the April 1941 campus
lecture by Bernard Squires, Executive Secretary of the Seattle Urban
League, on
Racial Minorities in the Colleges. Squires
was a dinner guest at the Kupono House during his visit and "spoke of the
race problem on our campus" with members.
The photographs depict exterior and interior views of the house, house
members, activities and events, snow at the house, a "clothes heap" in the
living room, and the members' mothers visiting for Mothers Weekend. A
photograph of the residents playing cards was published in the 1941
Beaver yearbook and is available
online
in the Best of the Archives digital collection.
Collection is open for research.
Kupono Cooperative House Scrapbook, Oregon State University Archives,
Corvallis, Oregon.
The Archives holdings include several other collections documenting
cooperative housing at Oregon State, including the
Azalea
House,
Coed
Cottage, and
Co-Resident
Women, Inc. Records. Records of the several other student housing
organizations are part of the Archives, including the
Associated
Men's Halls Scrapbook,
Cauthorn
Club Records (RG 101), and
Poling
Hall Club Records (RG 036). The
University
Housing and Dining Services Records (RG 145) provide extensive
information about student housing at Oregon State. The
Oregon
Multicultural Archives includes many collections pertaining to
ethnic minority students at Oregon State and African Americans in Oregon,
including the
Urban
League of Portland Records.
Squires, Bernard E., 1904-1947.
Oregon State
College--Student housing.
Oregon State
College--Students.
African
Americans--Oregon--Corvallis.
Clubs--Oregon--Corvallis.
College
students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Housing,
Cooperative--Oregon--Corvallis.
Minority college
students.
Student
activities--Oregon--Corvallis.
Student
housing--Oregon--Corvallis.
Scrapbooks.
Photographic
prints.
African Americans
Colleges and
Universities
Sports and
Recreation
Student Life
Oregon
Corvallis
Photographs
Scrapbooks