Born in 1902 and raised in Fresno, California, Brooks Caldwell entered Oregon Agricultural College in 1922 and received a BS from the School of Pharmacy in 1925. On campus, Brooks was a member of the Tau Delta Fraternity and the Rho Chi Honorary Society. After a brief stint in teaching after graduation, Caldwell went on to operate two pharmacies in the Portland area. In 1942, the year that he married Melba Labbe, Brooks also entered military service. He died in 1987.
Born in 1903 to an old and well-established Portland merchant family, Melba Labbe worked as a sculptor's model beginning in her teens. In 1925, she served as the model for a series of 32 statues featured as a part of the annual Rose Festival celebration that were installed in downtown Portland. During World War II, Melba enlisted with the Oregon Women's Ambulance Corps and the Women's Army Corps. Shortly after marriage to Brooks in 1942, Melba started up a flower shop in Portland called Labbe Flowers and later Flowers by Melba. In addition to her business, Melba was involved in the organization "Daughters of the Nile." She died in 1967.
The Brooks and Melba Labbe Caldwell Collection contains materials generated, collected, and assembled by Brooks Caldwell and his wife Melba Labbe. Documenting their educational histories, professional lives, and social interests, this collection includes certificates, photographs, postcards, publications, an account ledger, and a scrapbook.
The certificates document Brooks Caldwell's education in Fresno, California, and at Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University), his military service in World War II, and his certification as a pharmacist and teacher. Items pertaining to Melba Labbe Caldwell in this series include documentation of her training as a florist and stock certificates of her business. The record of the Caldwells' marriage, as well as the one for Brooks' parents, Jess Caldwell and Hattie Brooks, can be also be found in this series.
The bulk of the publications in series II were collected by Brooks in his association with Fresno High School and Oregon State University. The OSU materials reflect Brooks' involvement both as a student (campus event programs, fraternity and honorary society member) and later as an alumnus (President's Club). Other publications include a promotional magazine for Melba's flower shop Flowers By Melba.
The scrapbook, assembled by Melba, primarily consists of newspaper clippings from the
The account ledger documents expenditures and receipts for Melba's floral businesses. Series V consists of postcards collected by Brooks and Melba from various hotels and tourist attractions in the Western U.S. The ephemera in series VI consists of road maps, a restaurant menu, an invitation to a Rose Festival ball, a souvenir set of matches from the Golden Gate International Exposition, a Chinese wall hanging, and other items.
In addition to portraits of Melba, the photographs also portray the Caldwells with friends and family, the pharmacy and flower shop managed by Brooks and Melba, the Caldwells in military service, Melba's involvement with the Daughters of the Nile, and Brooks' residence in Tigard. Images of Brooks and his classmates (mostly in reunion gathering group shots) at Oregon Agricultural College can also be found in this series.
This collection is organized into seven series: I. Certificates; II. Publications; III. Scrapbook; IV. Account Ledger; V. Postcards; VI. Ephemera; and VII. Photographs.
Collection is open for research.
Brooks and Melba Labbe Caldwell Collection, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
These materials were transferred from the Horner Museum Collection in 1996.
Loose item from scrapbook
menu, souvenir matches, festival invitation
unidentified images of villages, buildings, and flowers
unidentified images of landscapes
Images of various spots in the Columbia Gorge, Puget Sound, and Victoria, British Columbia. Includes shots of Brooks and other family members.
Images of both Brooks and Melba in uniform.