OREpub010-13c.xml Guide to the Orange Owl 1920-1928 Orange Owl Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Nielsen. Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives Research Center 2014
121 The Valley Library Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331-4501 Phone: 541-737-2075 Email: scarc@oregonstate.edu Web: http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu
Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Nielsen. 2014 Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives Research Center Special Collections & Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331-4501 Phone: 541-737-2075 Email: scarc@oregonstate.edu Web: http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu
PUB 010-13c Hammer and Coffin National Honorary Society. Orange Owl Chapter. Orange Owl 1920-1928 0.35 cubic foot 1 box 1 microfilm reel The Orange Owl was a college humor magazine published by the Orange Owl Chapter of the Hammer and Coffin National Honorary Society at Oregon Agricultural College during the 1920s. The magazine included humorous and satirical pieces as well as cartoons and pen sketches created by students. Materials in English. Historical Note:

The first issue of the Orange Owl appeared for Junior Weekend in May 1920. In 1921-1922, the humor magazine was published by the Orange Owl Club, which became the Orange Owl Chapter of the Hammer and Coffin Society at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in 1922. The Orange Owl promoted creative talents among students in wit, humor, cartooning, and sketching. A broad representation of OAC students were involved in writing, editing, and publishing of the magazine. In the 1926-1927 academic year, more than 40 students contributed materials and more than 35 worked on the managerial and circulation staffs. The magazine was funded by advertising as well as subscriptions.

M. Ellwood Smith and Edwin T. Reed served as faculty advisors for the publication and were referred to in some issues as the "Shock Absorbers".

According to the 1928 Beaver yearbook, "... the Orange Owl represents the fun and frolic of the students and shows that college life is more than a wearisome grind. It might be called the carnival representative of Oregon State".

The Hammer and Coffin Society originated at Stanford University to promote literary and artistic talents of students as expressed in wit and humor. In the mid 1910s, the Society transformed into a national collegiate humor organization with 25 chapters.

The Orange Owl was a college humor magazine published by the Orange Owl Chapter of the Hammer and Coffin National Honorary Society at Oregon Agricultural College during the 1920s. The magazine included humorous and satirical pieces as well as cartoons and pen sketches created by students. Five or six issues were published per academic year beginning with volume 3 in 1921-1922. Most issues are 32 pages; as many as 3000 copies were printed and distributed on campus and in the Corvallis community.

The purpose of the magazine was to promote creative talent among students in humorous writing as well as cartooning and sketching. The magazines include poems, jokes, short humorous stories, satire, plays, limericks, cartoons, sketches, and colorful covers. All issues include local and national advertisements. Some material was reprinted by College Humor and other college comic magazines around the country and the Orange Owl also reprinted exchanges from college comic magazines published by other chapters of the Hammer and Coffin Society.

In 1923 and 1927, women students had full responsibility for publishing one issue of the magazine.

This collection includes 43 issues of the magazine, all of which are available online. The collection includes duplicate copies of many issues; however, one issue (volume 2, no. 3 for May 1921) is only available on microfilm and online.

Collection is open for research.

Orange Owl (PUB 010-13c), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Issues of the Orange Owl were received by the Library as they were published in the 1920s; copies held in the Special Collections Vault Collection were transferred to the University Archives in 2010 and combined with paper and microfilmed copies to form one collection which is now held in the Special Collections & Archives Research Center.

Photographs of members of the Orange Owl Chapter of the Hammer and Coffin Society are available in the News and Communications Services Photograph Collection (P 057) and Harriet's Collection. The Special Collections & Archives Research Center's collections include other humor and parody publications including the Snuffer (PUB 010-22z14); Beaver Dam, published in the 1950s-1960s; and the Civil War Football Game Newspapers (PUB 399).

Oregon Agricultural College--Periodicals. Oregon State Agricultural College--Periodicals. Orange Owl Club (Oregon Agricultural College) College students--Oregon--Corvallis. College wit and humor. Student publications--Oregon--Corvallis. Clubs and Societies Colleges and Universities Student Life Oregon Corvallis Series I Orange Owl 1920-1928

All issues but one are available in paper and on microfilm; one issue (volume 2, no. 3 for May 1921) is only available on microfilm. The titles for individual issues are given below. Issues with more than one paper copy in the collection are indicated below by the number of copies. A link to the online version of each issue is provided.

 1 Junior Week-End (volume 1, no. 1) May 1920 2 copies 1 Come Back Number (volume 2, no. 1) November 1920 1 Rainy Day Number (volume 2, no. 2) March 1921 2 copies reel 1 Junior Weekend Number (volume 2, no. 3) May 1921

This issue is only available on microfilm and online.

 1 Orange Owl (volume 3, no. 1) October 1921 2 copies 1 Christmas Number (volume 3, no. 2) December 1921 2 copies 1 Orange Owl (volume 3, no. 3) February 1922 2 copies 1 Hard Times Number (volume 3, no. 4) March 1922 2 copies 1 Love Number (volume 3, no. 5) April 1922 2 copies 1 Junior Weekend (volume 3, no. 6) May 1922 1 "Something New" Number (volume 4, no. 1) October 1922 1 Old Grad Number (volume 4, no. 2) November 1922 1 Coed Number (volume 4, no. 3) January 1923 2 copies 1 Movie Number (volume 4, no. 4) April 1923 2 copies 1 Preppers Number (volume 4, no. 5) May 1923 1 R.O.T.C. Number (volume 4, no. 6) June 1923 2 copies 1 Comeback Number (volume 5, no. 1) October 1923 1 "Big Game" Number (volume 5, no. 2) November 1923 1 Empty Sock Number (volume 5, no. 3) December 1923 1 Moron Number (volume 5, no. 4) February 1924 1 Unlucky Number (volume 5, no. 5) April 1924 2 copies 1 Marine Sports Number (volume 5, no. 6) June 1924 1 The Orange Owl (volume 6, no. 1) October 1924 1 Home Again - Win Again Number (volume 6, no. 2) November 1924 1 Memorial Union Number (volume 6, no. 3) January 1925 1 Spring Fever Number (volume 6, no. 4) March 1925 1 Spring Style Number (volume 6, no. 5) May 1925 1 Registration Number (volume 7, no. 1) September 1925 1 Alumni Number (volume 7, no. 2) October 1925 1 Holiday Number (volume 7, no. 3) December 1925 1 Odd Number (volume 7, no. 4) February 1926 2 copies 1 Picnic Number (volume 7, no. 5) May 1926 1 Literary Number (volume 7, no. 6) June 1926 2 copies

This issue of serious literary pieces was published by students in the English Department under the supervision of Professors S.H. Peterson, Gertrude McElfrish, and J.M. Kierzek.

 1 The Request Number (volume 8, no. 1) October 1926 1 Homecoming Number (volume 8, no. 2) November 1926 1 "Adam's Rib" Number (volume 8, no. 3) February 1927

Published exclusively by women students.

 1 Hammer & Coffin Number (volume 8, no. 4) April 1927 2 copies 1 Honeymoon Number (volume 8, no. 5) May 1927 2 copies 1 Homecoming Number (volume 9, no. 1) October 1927 1 Purity Number (volume 9, no. 2) December 1927 1 Leap Year Number (volume 9, no. 3) February 1928 2 copies 1 Sunday Paper Edition (volume 9, no. 4) April 1928 1 Weak-End Number (volume 9, no. 5) May 1928