Helen Julia Cowgill was born 1 December 1881 in Springfield, Illinois. Cowgill came to Oregon in 1890 and graduated in 1913 from Oregon Agricultural College with a BS degree in Domestic Science and Art. After teaching Domestic Science and Art at Harney County (Oregon) High School at Burns for one year, she began her career at OAC in 1914 as Assistant State 4-H Club Leader with the Extension Service. In 1916, she earned a second BS degree in Home Economics from OAC. In charge of the girls' 4-H work, Cowgill wrote many of the 4-H Circulars used by girls in their 4-H Projects. She became known as the "Mother of Oregon 4-H." Cowgill took a year's leave of absence to complete her Masters Degree, which she received from the University of Washington in 1931. She was a member of Phi Kappa Chi and the Epsilon Sigma Phi, serving as treasurer of the latter organization in 1943. Cowgill retired from Oregon State College in 1947 and was awarded emeritus status. In 1954 Cowgill was selected as a "Woman of Achievement" by Theta Sigma Phi, and the 1957 4-H Summer School publication 4-H Absolutely was dedicated to her. Cowgill died in Corvallis on 15 May 1959. In 1965 a tree and bench on the university campus were dedicated to her memory.
Bird Norman Hawley graduated with a degree in Agriculture in 1912. He was a member of the track, wrestling and football team. He was also captain of the football and track team. Photo was printed in the 1912 Orange Yearbook, page 82.
Photo was used in the 1915 Orange Yearbook, page 319. Dexter Smith graduated in 1914 from Oregon Agricultural College with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Smith was an assistant professor until 1929. In 1929, Smith became involved with the Oregon State Highway Commission, spending the next nine years designing bridges. Smith helped design the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge and retired in 1957.
Born in 1903, Letitia Mae Shamhart was raised in Merrill, Oregon, attending high school in both Merrill and in Heppner, Oregon. She attended Oregon Agricultural College from 1921-1925, studying pharmacy. At some point following her college years, she married Lowell P. Dunn.
Lilly Magnhild Elsa Nordgren, from Aberdeen, Washington, also attended Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in the early 1920s and earned a BS in commerce in 1924. She became an instructor in office training and secretarial science upon graduation and continued as an instructor until the mid-1930s. In 1929-1932, she took several graduate courses at OAC and completed a MA in education at Stanford University in 1931. Her thesis was An Experimental Comparison of Beginning Students Writing of Standard and Noiseless Typewriters. Nordgren married Floyed Marven Edwards in 1932.
Frank Gillette Sutherland from Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a freshman at Oregon Agricultural College during the 1912-1913 academic year. He earned a BS degree in agriculture from Oregon Agricultural College in 1917.
Eleanor May (born June 4, 1902) and Frances Miriam (born Sept 6, 1900) were born in Echo, Oregon, and attended Echo High School. Eleanor May and Frances Miriam attended Oregon Agricultural College and earned BS degrees in home economics in 1925. Eleanor subsequently earned an MS in Household Administration from Oregon State College in 1933; Eleanor was Associate Professor and Director of the Home Management Houses from the mid-1930s until the mid-1940s. Frances completed an MS in Foods and Nutrition at Oregon State in 1936.
Born in Brownsville, Oregon in 1906, James Callaway attended OAC from 1921 to 1925, graduating with a degree in business. After college, Callaway found employment in the grocery trade in Salem, Oregon, and served during World War II, later becoming the President of a local chapter of the Patriotic Orders. Callaway died in Salem in 1969.