Frank Oren Kreager was born in Ohio, and in his youth he came to the State of Washington, where he worked his way through the then Washington Agricultural College in Pullman. After graduation in 1906, he became superintendent of schools at Olympia until 1909 when he returned to Pullman. Between 1909 and 1920 he served the State College as assistant professor of English, Head of the Department of Elementary Science, Director of the Puyallup Summer Session, and Extension lecturer. From 1920 to 1923, Kreager was assistant director of the Eastern States League (New England) Junior Achievement Bureau. He did graduate study at Harvard from 1923 to 1925 and was awarded a doctorate in education. For a time, he was lecturer for the Massachusetts Extension Division of Boston College and Simmons College, but most of his later career was spent at Louisiana State University. He also taught briefly at the University of Cincinnati, Michigan State University, Ohio University, and the University of Missouri. He retired to Pateros, Washington.
The papers of Frank O. Kreager cover the period 1907-1947 but the bulk of the material dates from 1911 to 1920--with a secondary accumulation in the 1930s and 1940s, when Kreager was writing his memories of early times at Washington State University. The papers document both the growth of Washington State University and Kreager's career. For example, there are many announcements of speaking engagements for Kreager, but most are for extension lecturing. There is little or nothing on Kreager's years in New England, and most of the Louisiana material concerns his efforts to return to Washington State University. The papers consist of historical narratives, correspondence, bulletins, clippings, programs, notes, outlines, essays, photographs, maps, receipts, telegrams, and a financial statement. The greatest asset of this collection lies in the abundant annotations on the papers and recollections by Kreager explaining his role in events at Washington State University and his view of events and individuals.
The arrangement initiated by Kreager has been maintained.
This collection is open for research use.
[Item Description]. Cage 498, Frank Oren Kreager Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The papers of Frank Oren Kreager were transferred to Washington State University Libraries prior to l970 (WSU 72).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.