Finding aid updated in May 2025.
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Robert William (Bob) Straub was born May 6, 1920 to Thomas Jefferson Straub and Mary Ellen Tulley Straub, in San Francisco, California. He grew up in Los Altos with his three brothers, Frank, Jim, and Tom, and his sister Jean.
Straub attended Dartmouth College, where he earned both his Bachelor of Arts and his Master's degrees in Business Administration. His schoolwork was interrupted by his service during WWII, when Straub served in the U.S. Army in the Quartermaster Corps. While working as a hutmaster at Mt. Moosilauke during his undergraduate years at Dartmouth, Straub met Patricia (Pat) Stroud; the two were married in 1943 in San Antonio, TX, where Straub was then stationed. The Straubs had six children, Jeff, Michael, Jane, Patty, Peggy, and Bill.
In 1947, the Straub family moved from New Hampshire to Springfield, Oregon, where Bob began work for Weyerhaeuser Timber Company. In the 1950s, he branched out into property development, constructing his first subdivision in Springfield's Thurston neighborhood; Straub also became involved in timber farming and livestock ranching.
After being urged to run for office by Senator Richard (Dick) Neuberger, Straub successfully ran for the Lane County Commission in 1955. He served as a County Commissioner until 1959, when he took office as State Senator for Lane County, a position to which he was re-elected in 1962. While Senator, he also served for a term as the Chairman of the State Democratic Party.
Straub was elected Oregon State Treasurer in 1964, and served two widely respected terms. Most notably, Straub pushed for the establishment of the Oregon Investment Council, which utilized private sector investment firms to gain a better return for state employee retirees. Throughout his political career, Straub advocated for environmental issues, land use planning, fair taxation, and better mental health care, along with other issues. He was involved in the landmark Beach Bill, which clarified the extent of the Oregon Coast to be preserved as public domain; an influential proponent of the Willamette River Greenway Program, which envisioned a pollution-free river surrounded by public parks; and an ongoing advocate for youth work camps.
After two unsuccessful campaigns for the governorship, in 1966 and 1970, Straub was elected as Governor of Oregon in 1974. Though the early years of his administration suffered from staffing issues and power struggles with the state legislature, Straub's eventual achievements as governor included tax reforms, support for affirmative action policies, new energy laws, and a streamlining of the Department of Human Resources.
Straub was defeated in his 1978 re-election bid by State Senator Victor Atiyeh. After a transition period as Executive-in-Residence at Willamette University's Atkinson School of Business, Straub returned to private life. He remained active on the political scene, serving on the Oregon Investment Council (OIC) and on the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) Board, but his primary focus turned to his charity work (particularly with the non-profit he founded, Salem Self-Help Housing), his family, and his land.
In the late 1990s, Straub announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; he died of complications from the disease November 27, 2002, at the age of 82.
The Robert W. Straub Collection documents Straub's quarter-century of service in public office, as well as Straub's family life, civic contributions, and business activities. The collection includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, press releases, public statements, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, video tapes, transcripts, audio tapes, campaign materials, and other printed materials, many of which pertain to Straub's years as County Commissioner, State Senator, State Democratic Party Chairman, State Treasurer, and Governor of Oregon.
Materials in the collection document the conduct of state government over the course of Straub's service, with a focus on Straub's contributions in legislative activity and environmental issues. The papers provide a rich resource for the study of economic development, the Democratic Party in Oregon, energy, education, and other regional issues. The collection will be of particular interest to researchers working in the area of environmental advocacy and reform, as Straub was heavily involved in efforts to preserve the Willamette River and Oregon's coast. The papers also reflect Straub's influence in establishing the Oregon Investment Council, which transformed state investment policy and served as a model for other states around the country. Photographs, press clippings, and correspondence provide insight into Straub's interactions with contemporary state and national politicians, including Tom McCall, Richard Neuberger, Wayne Morse, Hubert Humphrey, and Jimmy Carter.
There is also considerable documentation of Straub and Stroud family history, including photographs, scrapbooks, and other documents. These records, in addition to shedding light on Bob and and his wife Pat's respective backgrounds and their home life, also provide a selective lens into a variety of historical trends, including a look (through correspondence between Bob and Pat) at the impact of WWII deployment on young families; post-WWII migration (as exemplified in the Straubs' journey from New Hampshire to Oregon); and the transitioning timber industry in Oregon.