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Forrest E. Rieke collection on the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation (Kaiser Company), 1937-1945

Overview of the Collection

Asn
University of Oregon. Medical School; Rieke, Forrest E.
Title
Forrest E. Rieke collection on the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation (Kaiser Company)
Dates
1937-1945 (inclusive)
1944-1945 (bulk)
Quantity
1 linear feet
Collection Number
2007-007
Summary
The materials consist of papers regarding industrial health and safety in the workplace, most of which were created and compiled by Medical Director of the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Forrest E. Rieke, M.D. The Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, located in St. Johns, was among three Kaiser Shipyards established in Portland, Oregon in order to mass assemble war ships during WWII.
Repository
Oregon Health & Science University, Historical Collections & Archives
OHSU Historical Collections & Archives
Oregon Health & Science University
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd. MC:LIB
Portland, OR
97239
Telephone: 5034945587
hcaref@ohsu.edu
Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions on access. The collection is open to the public.

Additional Reference Guides

The following institutions contain archival materials related to the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation or the Kaiser Company in Oregon:

Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation photographic collection, Oregon Historical Society

http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv07415

Kaiser shipyard child care center collection, Oregon Historical Society

http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv78421

Languages
English
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Content Description

The materials consist of papers and research notes created and compiled by Medical Director of the Oregon Shipbuilding Yards, Forrest E. Rieke, M.D.; inter-office memorandums from Rieke to staff members of the OSC regarding health in the workplace; several reprints of reports regarding industrial health created by members of the University of Oregon Medical School; and notes compiled for a presentation given by Rieke regarding nurse provision of healthcare to industrial workers.

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Historical Note

Forrest E. Rieke, M.D., was born in 1913 in Seattle, Washington. Rieke attended Willamette University, Oregon State College, and the University of Oregon Medical School. He earned his medical degree from UOMS in 1945. After graduation, Rieke interned with the Multnomah County Hospital. Dr. Rieke married Mary Whitelaw Rieke, State Representative, R-Portland, in 1940. They gave birth to two sons and one daughter.

Dr. Rieke specialized in occupational and industrial health, serving during WWII as medical director of the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation. The Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, located in St. Johns, was among three Kaiser Shipyards established in Portland, Oregon. These shipyards were built in order to mass assemble war ships during WWII. The Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation was closed after the war ended in 1945 and became Schnitzer Steel Industries in 1946. There he worked in the 24-hour infirmary, seeing from 1,000 to 33,000 employees a day. During his time with the OSC, he also conducted research and presented papers addressing industrial workplace related health concerns. Rieke was also active in efforts to provide more adequate radioactive protection for industrial workers, even presenting in November 1972 at the Management of Radioactive Wastes from Fuel Reprocessing Symposium.

On January 26, 1978, while working in Costa Rica for the Oregon Partners of the Americas, both Mary and Forrest were tragically killed in a car accident.

Information obtained from the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation Wikipedia page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Shipbuilding_Corporation

Achievements and Memberships:

On the Board of Directors of the Portland Chamber of Commerce and the Comprehensive Health Planning Association of Portland

President of Oregon Partners of the Americas, providing assorted aid to Costa Rica.

Member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Partners of the Americas

Oregon State Board of Health 1957-1967 - elected vice president in 1959 and president in 1962

Appointed Director of the Health Planning Committee by Governor McCall in 1967

Winner of the 1969 Multnomah County Medical Society Service Award

1973 Doctor-Citizen of the Year by Oregon Medical Association

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.

Preferred Citation

[Collection title], Collection Number [####-###], Oregon Health & Science University, Historical Collections & Archives.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

Digital Commons:

See the OHSU Digital Commons to view assorted images related to the medical profession in Oregon.

Archival Collections:

46th General Hospital Papers, Accession no. 2001-001

Otis B. Wight - Base Hospital 46 : Glass Plate Negative Collection, Accession no. 2006-012

Biographical Files:

See the biographical files for additional information related to the life and work of Forrest E. Rieke, M.D., as well as other physicians who practiced in the state of Oregon.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information was unknown at the time of processing. Because the majority of the papers were created by Medical Director of the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Forrest E. Rieke, M.D., or are related to industrial workplace health, original ownership is suspected to be traced back to Rieke.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Description: Industrial nursing notes, lecture series 7 (5 copies)

    One of the copies has the name Dr. J. R. Marino [?] labeled on the front cover.

    Dates: 1944-1945
    Container: Box 1
  • Description: Report of the Investigation of Fume Hazards at the Oregon Shipbuilding Company (Kaiser Company) at St. Johns, Portland, Oregon

    Includes reprint and facsimile of report created by Drs. Frank R. Menne, Warren C. Hunter, Joseph Beeman, and Norman A. David of the University of Oregon Medical School, made at the request of The Metal Trades Council of Portland, Oregon and Vicinity.

    Dates: circa 1942
    Container: Box 2, Folder 1
  • Description: Child Guidance in Oregon with Recommendations of the Governor's Special Committee

    2 reprints of the report created by the State Child Guidance Program of the University of Oregon Medical School.

    Dates: 1937 July 1
    Container: Box 2, Folder 2
  • Description: Inter-office memorandums from Forrest E. Rieke, M.D. to the medical staff of the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation (2 copies)
    Dates: 1944 April 25 - 1944 August 18
    Container: Box 2, Folder 3
  • Description: Health-instruction material - chest x-ray service

    Material compiled by Rieke, including news clippings, pamphlets, notes, and posters encouraging employees of the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation to recieve a chest x-ray in order to test for tuberculosis and other respiratory illnesses.

    Dates: 1945 June 30
    Container: Box 2
  • Description: Proposed Industrial Health Foundation of Portland, Oregon - a Preventative Medicine Institute, by Forrest E. Rieke, M.D. (3 copies)
    Dates: 1944
    Container: Box 2
  • Description: Industrial health charts for paper: Industry-Laboratory of Preventative Medicine, by Forrest E. Rieke
    Dates: 1945
    Container: Box 2
  • Description: Welding Smoke and Fume and the Respiratory System, by Forrest E. Rieke, M.D. (2 copies)
    Dates: 1944 February
    Container: Box 2
  • Description: Health Aspects of Aluminum Ponton Work, by Forrest E. Rieke, M.D.

    Paper presented by Rieke at the regular meeting of the Multnomah County Medical Society on May 2, 1945. Includes 3 copies, 2 of which Rieke revised on August 10, 1944.

    Dates: 1945 August 20
    Container: Box 2

Crystal Rodgers
2007

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