Gilkey (1912-2000) came to Oregon State in 1947 as chair of the Art Department. Gilkey was a strong proponent of the liberal arts and sciences at OSU, and in 1959 he was named the first dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. Gilkey was the first Master of Fine Arts graduate in printmaking from the University of Oregon (1939). During World War II he played a key role in the recovery of Nazi propaganda art. He was a renowned print maker; after his retirement from OSU, he donated his print collection to the Portland Art Museum and established its Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts. OSU presented Gilkey with an honorary degree in June 2000. Gilkey Hall is named for him.
Standing in the third row, third from right (uniform number 46) is Rich Brooks, who later went on to coach the Oregon Ducks football team as well as the NFL's St. Louis Rams.
Shepard receives the button from Ted Carlson, assistant alumni manager. Shepard was a member of the Class of 1905 and one of seven siblings who attended OAC.
Journalism faculty member Fred Zwahlen is in the center of the photo. The first 30-Staters Club was founded in 1939. The intent of the clubs were "to support and further the interests of the O.S.C. Alumni Association" by "serv[ing] as a nucleus in any community around which to rally the services of the alumni whenever the occasion warrants." Membership in a given 30-Staters Club was originally restricted to no more than thirty male Oregon State alumni. One or more clubs could be established in any city, as interested warranted and pending approval from a governing executive committee.
Homecoming parades in the 1940s and 1950s were held in the evening and included floats with students banging pots, pans, and anything that would make noise. The parades were banned and revived multiple times.
Arthur Bouquet was a 1906 graduate of Oregon Agricultural College and a faculty member in Oregon State's Horticulture Department from 1909 until his retirement in 1950.