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P
218-SG 3
Gifford, Ralph I.
Ralph I. Gifford Motion
Pictures
circa
1925-1940
0.5 cubic foot, including 8 film
reels
1 box and 1 film
can
The Ralph I. Gifford Motion Pictures
consist of The New Oregon Trail, a tourism
film photographed by Ralph I. Gifford for the Oregon State Highway
Department, and unedited motion film clips of a variety of subjects,
including alpine search and rescue. Ralph I. Gifford became the first
photographer of the Travel and Information Department of the Oregon State
Highway Commission in 1936, a position he held until his death in
1947.
Materials in English.
Biographical Note:
Born in Portland, Oregon, Ralph I. Gifford (1894-1947) worked in his
father Benjamin A. Gifford's photography studio as a boy and accompanied
his father on photography trips around Oregon. Ralph married Wanda Muir
Theobald in 1918 and spent the last part of World War I in the U.S. Navy.
He was stationed at a naval base on Whiddy Island, Ireland, during part of
his time in the Navy. Ralph took over his father's photography business
around 1920 and sold it in 1928 to go into the motion picture business
with F. C. Heaton in Portland.
In 1936, Ralph became the first photographer of the newly established
Travel and Information Department of the Oregon State Highway Commission.
His landscape views of Oregon's natural beauty were used for many years to
promote tourism in the state. He also took motion pictures for the Highway
Commission, including the color version of
The New Oregon Trail, which was shown in
every state in the U.S., and Glimpses From Oregon
State Parks, released shortly before Ralph's death on June 23,
1947. His obituary, published in several Oregon newspapers in late June
1947, stated that "more than any other person, he is responsible for the
tourist business in Oregon being an $83,500,000 business."
Ralph also took and sold photographs commercially; many of his
commercial views were taken at the same time as his Highway Commission
photos. His photographs could be purchased as postcards, view sets,
individual prints, and photo-plaques. In a letter to the managing editor
of
U.S. Camera magazine, Ralph stated in 1943
that his work was "to visually educate the traveling public as to Oregon's
scenic and vacation possibilities."
Harold B. Say was the first director of the Travel Information Division
of the Oregon State Highway Department, serving in that capacity from 1935
to 1946.
The Ralph I Gifford Motion Picture Films consist of
The New Oregon Trail and unedited motion
film clips of a variety of subjects.
The New Oregon Trail is a tourism promotion
film presented by the Oregon State Highway Department. The production was
supervised and edited by Harold Bradley Say, photographed by Ralph I.
Gifford, and distributed by Castle Films. The 16 mm Kodachrome color film,
with soundtrack, is approximately 22 minutes long (800 feet). A digital
duplication master and DVD use copy are available. The film is also
available for viewing
online.
The New Oregon Trail consists of footage of
scenic and recreational attractions in Oregon. It includes: Wallowa Lake
and the Wallowa Mountains; Celilo Falls, Multnomah Falls, the Columbia
River Highway, Columbia River Gorge, and Bonneville Dam; Portland street
scenes, waterfront, and Rose Festival activities; the Oregon Coast,
Astoria Regatta, Seaside, sea lions, and lighthouses; the Oregon Caves and
Crater Lake; the Rogue, Umpqua, McKenzie, and Metolius Rivers and numerous
mountain lakes; the Crooked River Gorge and Fossil Beds in central Oregon;
a geyser near Lakeview; birds at Malheur Lake; guests at dude ranches; and
skiing in the Blue Mountains and on Mount Hood. Scenes of Astoria, Bend,
and Salem are also included. The film strongly promotes sport and
commercial fishing on the Oregon Coast and in Oregon rivers, streams, and
lakes. Of special note are scenes of Native Americans fishing at Celilo
Falls; state parks throughout Oregon; highways and bridges, especially on
the Oregon Coast; Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge; and the Pendleton
Round-Up. Much of the footage in this film is similar to still photographs
taken by Ralph I. Gifford.
The unedited film clips were filmed in about 1925-1935 and consist of 7
reels (3200 feet total length) of original 35 mm nitrate motion picture
film negatives. The clips total about 35 minutes running time. A digital
duplication master and DVD use copy of the clips are available.
The clips depict a variety of subjects. Many pertain to alpine search
and rescue and may have been shot to produce a training film. These clips
include footage of mountaineers on Mount Hood; staged rescue of an injured
climber; use of a portable radio to call for assistance; and evacuation of
the injured man by car and airplane. One of the rescuers is wearing a
"Crag Rats Hood River" patch. The Crag Rats were founded in 1926 and are
the oldest mountain search and rescue organization in the United
States.
This unedited footage also includes scenes of Benjamin A. Gifford at
his home at Salmon Creek, Washington; two young women with a motorized toy
boat in a stream; a home, pond, and natural spring or water feature; a
family at the beach; two boys (with their mother?) going to school; an
airplane taking off and landing at the beach and in a field; footage of
Mt. Hood shot during an airplane flight; and a radio operator. There is
also footage of a traffic survey station and motor truck scale, perhaps in
Portland, that includes weighing, measurement, and inspection of a
Carstens truck.
Collection is open for research.
Ralph I. Gifford Motion Pictures (P 218-SG 3), Oregon State University
Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
The materials were donated to the Horner Museum in 1986 by Ben L. and
Beth Gifford.
The motion picture films were transferred from the Horner Museum to the
University Archives in July 1996.
This is one component of the Gifford Photographic Collection (P 218)
held by the OSU Archives. Other components are: Benjamin A. Gifford
Photographs (P 218-SG 1); Ralph I. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 2); Wanda
M. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 4); Ben L. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG
5); Gifford Collection Photographs by Unknown or Other Photographers (P
218-SG 6); and Gifford Collection Documentary Materials (P 218-SG 7). The
Ralph I. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 2) include many still photographs
of the same locations and sites depicted in
The New Oregon Trail film. Many of the
photographs that Ralph Gifford made for the Highway Department are held by
the Oregon State Archives in Salem. A collection of Harold B. Say
Photographs are held at the University of Oregon Special Collections and
University Archives.
Gifford,
Benjamin A.
Say, Harold
B.
Crag
Rats.
Timberline
Lodge (Mount Hood, Or.)
Pendleton
Round-Up.
Castle Films,
inc.
Oregon. State
Highway Dept.
Bridges--Oregon.
Fishing--Oregon.
Indians of North
America--Columbia Plateau.
Mountaineering--Search and
rescue operations--Oregon--Hood, Mount.
Parks--Oregon.
Waterfalls--Columbia
River.
Cascade
Range.
Celilo Falls
(Wash.)
Columbia
River.
Columbia River
Gorge (Or. and Wash.)
Columbia River
Highway (Or.)
Crater Lake
National Park (Or.)
McKenzie River
(Or.)
Hood, Mount
(Or.)
Metolius River
(Or.)
Oregon Caves
National Monument (Or.)
Oregon--Description and travel.
Pacific Coast
(Or.)
Portland
(Or.)
Rogue River
(Klamath County-Curry County, Or.)
Umpqua River
(Or.)
Wallowa
Mountains (Or.)
Cellulose
nitrate film.
Motion pictures (visual works).
City and Town Life
Fisheries and
Wildlife
Native Americans
Parks and
Playgrounds
Sports and
Recreation
Transportation
Oregon
Astoria
Bend
Portland
Salem
Moving Images