Leo George Kramer attended Oregon State College from the summer of 1951 through spring term of 1952 as a student in business and technology. His wife, Ruth Ann Kramer, worked for the Extension Service during the year they lived in Corvallis.
Leo Kramer (also known as "Lee" and "Dink") was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and served in the military during World War II. He and Ruth Ann, also a Cincinnati native, were married in 1946. In the years after the war, Lee Kramer attended evening classes at Salmon Chase College. In early 1951, the Kramers left Cincinnati and drove west to California. They spent some time in Los Angeles and then drove north to Oregon. Administrators at Oregon State College were willing to let Kramer take courses at OSC under probationary admission because Salmon Chase College was not accredited. He enrolled in summer 1951 and continued to take classes through spring term 1952. In June 1952, the Kramers returned to Cincinnati. Lee Kramer later enrolled at University of Cincinnati and completed a degree in Cincinnati.
During the period they were in Corvallis, Ruth Ann Kramer worked for the Extension Service offices on campus.
The Leo George and Ruth Ann Kramer Papers consist of materials generated and collected by the Kramers during the year that Leo (Lee) Kramer was a student at Oregon State College and include letters written by Ruth Ann, Lee's course notebook from summer 1951, and ephemera and memorabilia.
The letters were written by Ruth Ann to her family in Cincinnati between June and December 1951 and describe her job with the Extension Service, Lee's classes, concerts and plays on campus, the library, homecoming weekend activities, international students, and outings to nearby parks and towns. She also describes where they were living and various household activities.
The course notebook documents coursework taken by Kramer during the summer of 1951 and includes classes in psychology and business (insurance and salesmanship). It includes papers and essays, course outlines, examinations, handouts, and class notes. Faculty for the courses were C. Evan James; John Pfanner, Jr.; and Lawrence Coolidge.
The ephemera consists of programs, brochures, a bookstore bookcover, and a 1952 spring sports schedule for baseball, track, tennis, and golf. The collection also includes a 1982 visitor's parking permit for the Oregon State University campus.
Collection is open for research.
Leo George and Ruth Ann Kramer Papers, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
The materials were donated to the Archives by a family member in 2008.
The OSU Archives holdings include many collections that document
student life and experience at Oregon State University, including the