Collection is open for research.
Gift of Jean C. Fukuda, October 2023 (RL2024-017).
The Society of Native Oregon Born (S.N.O.B.) was founded in 1979 by Oregon artist and humorist James Cloutier. Membership was open to people who had been born in Oregon or had lived in Oregon for at least 50 years. Members born west of the Cascades were registered as "mossbacks," while members born east of the Cascades were registered as "bunchgrassers." By December 1982, the organization had 3,000 members, including Oregon Governor Vic Atiyeh. At its peak, the organization had 5,000 members, but by the late 1990s, membership had waned.
Sources: "Northwest Pages," by Paul Pintarich, Oregonian, December 26, 1982, Page 17NW; "S.N.O.B.," by Robin Leigh, Old Oregon, Fall 1979, page 14; "Quiet Day Marks Once-Lively Movement," Oregonian, February 1, 1998.
Society of Native Oregon Born membership materials and clippings, Coll 1036, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Additional materials at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library relating to the Society of Native Oregon Born are included in the Associations and institutions collection, Mss 1511.
The collection consists of a Society of Native Oregon Born (S.N.O.B.) membership certificate and membership card, a informational flyer about the society, and two clippings. The materials were compiled by Jean C. Fukuda, who became a member of the society in 1980. The membership certificate and card list Fukuda as a third-generation mossback and member number 1288. The informational flyer describes the society's history and purpose, and lists membership dues and products such as T-shirts, bumper stickers, decals, book bags, and stationery. Both clippings are from the University of Oregon alumni magazine, Old Oregon. The first, from the Fall 1979 issue, is an article about the society. The second clipping is from reader comments in a subsequent issue and includes three letters in response to the Fall 1979 piece, including one from S.N.O.B. founder James Cloutier.
T-shirt and decal were separated to Museum Collections, Oregon Historical Society. The T-shirt is viewable in the
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