The 1959 Wrestling Court was created as a promotional stunt by then OSC Wrestling coach Dale Thomas. The court members posed for a series of publicity photographs taken by Hise Studio in Corvallis. Some of the photos, such as this one, were picked up by national news organizations including the Associated Press. Another of the photographs appeared in Life magazine.
Helen Margaret Gilkey received her Master's degree in Botany from Oregon Agricultural College in 1911. She served as the Curator of the Herbarium for 33 years, introducing about 50,000 new plant specimen.