Dr. Florence E. Blazier was an Associate Professor of Home Economics from 1924 to 1949. Blazier was born on September 24th, 1888, in Springfield, Indiana. She received her undergraduate education from the University of Chicago and the University of Indiana. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1932. Blazier had previously taught home economics in various grade schools and high schools throughout the 1910’s. She then taught home economics at Indiana University. She became the head of the Department of Home Economics Education in 1925 and held that position until her retirement. She was paid $2800 a year initially for this position, but by 1945, her salary had risen to $3770. She retired in 1949 due to an illness. Blazier tried to come back to work part-time when her health began improving, but she passed away in 1951.
Frances Ann Clinton Hall was a home demonstration agent at Oregon State College from 1930 to 1964. Hall was born in 1903, in Adna, Washington. She received her Bachelor of Science from the College of Puget Sound in 1925, and her Master of Science from Oregon State College in 1930. She was brought on to work at OSC as an extension agent at-large at an annual rate of $2,400. During her time as a home demonstration agent at-large, Hall served in various places in Oregon, such as Portland, Yamhill and Union County. Hall also worked on a wide array of projects in 1930. She helped revise nutrition extension material, prepared radio service material, and prepared the extension service’s exhibit at the Pacific International Livestock Exposition of 1930, as well as the State Fair. She also assisted with social service programs in Portland, such as Diets for Dependent Families. In 1931, she was assigned to serve in Multnomah County. Hall later became Assistant State Leader of Home Economics Extension in 1944, and in 1952, she became State Leader. She resigned in 1958 and got married and became a homemaker for a few years, but was soon widowed. She returned in 1961, and became an extension agent for Klamath County. She resigned in 1964.
Alma Frances Tapscott was an Assistant Professor of Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts in 1946. She was born in 1909 in Lima, Ohio. She attended Ohio Northern University, Bowling Green College, and Ohio State University, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics, with additional study in elementary education, from the latter in 1936. She received her Master of Arts from Teachers’ College, Columbia University in Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts. Before coming to OSC, she spent eleven years teaching high school and one year as a spectroscopist in private industry. She was hired at $2800 for a ten month term. She resigned in 1948, at which point she was making a salary of $3,360.
Irene Butts was an English instructor at Oregon State College from 1946 to 1964. She was born in 1899, in Minnewahkon, North Dakota. She received her undergraduate education at North Dakota State University from 1936 to 1939, and received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Oregon State College in 1946. She listed her daughter, Jayce LaRayn Butts, as her beneficiary in her job application to OSC. However, she did not mention if she was single, married, or widowed. In 1951, she had to take sick leave, as she fell ill with pneumonia. In 1953, the Oregon Federation of Women’s Club wrote a letter about the Oregon State College Board of Trustees loan of $200 to Irene Butts in 1946, which was still not fully paid off. She made one payment in 1953, which made the balance $173.90, but afterwards, she was difficult to reach. The letter mentions the many difficulties Butts had faced over the years in paying back her loan. Butts later revealed in an apology letter that she had many medical expenses that made it difficult to pay off her loan. She retired in 1964, after 18 years of service to Oregon State.
Erwin Bertran Lemon received a business degree from Oregon Agricultural College in 1911, becoming a part-time accounting instructor until 1943. Lemon also held the office of University Registrar from 1922-1943 and was Dean of Administration from 1943-1959.
Dr. Clare Rose Comebellack was an English instructor at Oregon State College from 1946 to 1954. Her annual salary was $2,700. She was previously an English instructor at the University of Oregon. She also worked as a high school and middle school teacher at various schools in California. She was listed as married with no children when she came to work at OSC. She received her undergraduate education from San Jose State Teachers College and the University of California from 1924 to 1927. She received her Bachelor of Arts in 1928 and Master of Arts in 1930 from Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California in 1937. Her master’s thesis was titled, “The Marvelous in the Earlier Middle English Metrical Romances”, and her doctoral thesis was titled, “The Husband’s Return: A Study in Medieval Fiction”. She had published an article called, “Root, Eye, and Mind”, in The American Mercury in 1941. She also received a letter from President A.L. Strand complimenting her on an article she published in the American Journal in 1948, titled “The Identity and Origin of Eurychus in the Ships' Catalogue of Hyginus” This article is still available through jstor.com. Combellack requested sabbatical leave from the university in 1953 after working for six years, but was told that she did not qualify because she had been hired on a temporary basis, with annually renewed contracts for six years. She was also informed that since she would not be granted a permanent, tenured position within the English department, she would have to be terminated due to State Board policy. Her employment with the university was terminated in 1954. She was born in 1907, in Kennett, California.
Nellie Marie Ledbetter, who preferred to be addressed by her middle name, was an Associate Professor in the Department of Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts. She was born in 1909, in Alicel, Oregon. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Home Economics and Social Science from Willamette University in 1934. Before coming to OSC, she was a home economics teacher in La Grande, Oregon. She began as a part-time instructor in both the Department of CTRA and Household Administration, but ultimately continued in only the first. While an Associate Professor at OSC, she completed her Master of Science in Home Economics, but due to university policy, professors of associate rank or higher could not receive a degree from the university. To circumvent this, she was temporarily reduced in rank to instructor and received her Master of Science in 1950. For the school year of 1961-62, Professor Ledbetter went on sabbatical leave, primarily for the purpose of writing a manual which would be used in the introductory clothing construction classes, which she hoped to have published with the Burgess Publishing Company. She worked closely during this time with the former head of the OSU CTRA department, Dr. Florence Petzel, who was now employed at the University of Texas. She retired in 1975, after working at OSU for 29 years, and was awarded Emeritus status upon her retirement. She continued teaching part-time in 1977. She was an advisor to the Mortar Board and served on many of the school’s committees, including the Scholarship, Honors, and Awards Committees. She was also active in the Fashion Group of Portland and the Oregon Consumer League.
Minta Estella Duncan was an English instructor at Oregon State College in 1946. She was married to Fred W. H. Duncan with two children when she came to OSC. She was born in 1892, in Marshalltown, Iowa. She had previously been a housewife. When asked why she wanted to work at Oregon State, she said, “I feel that I have a contribution to make.” She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Cotuer College in 1917. She received her graduate education at the University of Nebraska from 1924 to 1925, and from Stanford University in 1929. She had previously worked as the head of the English department at York College from 1926 to 1928. She spent five and a half years in India from 1918 to 1924, where she learned the Hindi language and studied Urdu. She was hired for a ten month period with a $2,000 salary.
Carolyn G Sullivan was an English instructor from 1942 to 1947, and was a graduate nursery school assistant for three years before that. She was born in 1912 in Corvallis, Oregon. She received her Bachelor of Science from OSC in 1937 in home economics and education. By 1940 she had completed all requirements or an Master of Science except a thesis. Her graduate field was household administration and child development, with additional study in education and psychology. Her thesis subject was “An Analysis of the Family Life Problems of 137 Freshmen.” She worked as a graduate assistant with State College Nursery School at OSC. Before coming to OSC in 1942, she gained experience as a home economics teacher at Independence High School, where she also was responsible for freshman English and the school library. She was also an English and typing instructor at Coos River High School in 1942. She spent some time as a clerical assistant and reference department page at the Oregon State College Library. In 1944, Sullivan had spent two years being hired by the term. She had been a civilian professor for some time and had been recently entrusted with responsibility for the Army Program. She requested a year’s contract for job security. She was then put on a yearly 10 month contract at a salary of $2270 per year. In 1947, she resigned to accept a position with the Long Beach City School System in California, which she hoped to use to further herself professionally and gain experience in a metropolitan area. She was married to J. A. Sullivan, with whom she had at least one child. She was a member of Delta Zeta, PEO Sisterhood, and the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Dr. Lillian S. Olsen was an instructor in chemistry from 1946-47. She was born in 1914 in Napa, California. She received a certificate in home economics, chemistry, and biochemistry from Sacramento Junior College in 1936. She received a Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Berkeley in 1939, and her Ph.D from UC Berkeley in 1944, in the fields of nutrition, physiology, histology, and chemistry. She was a member of Sigma Xi, and her thesis for her doctorate was titled “Utilization of Carotene and Vitamin A.” Before coming to OSC, she worked at UC Berkeley as a teaching and research assistant, and then as an assistant professor at Washington State College. Her husband was transferred, so they moved to Oregon. At the time, OSC considered its organic chemistry department to be seriously understaffed, and so they hired Olsen on a temporary basis. She was hired as temporary instructor in chemistry for the fall and winter terms at a salary of $900 per term, and extended her employment through spring term.
Ethel Ida Sanborn was a Professor of Botany from 1914 to 1948. She was born in 1882 in Goodwin, South Dakota. She earned her Bachelor of Science from South Dakota State College in 1903, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Dakota in 1904, her Master of Arts from the University of South Dakota in 1907, and her PhD. from Stanford in 1928. She attended further graduate school at the University of Oregon and the Puget Sound Biological Station Friday Harbor. Before coming to OSC, she had extensive experience teaching botany at the University of Oregon, where she spent 18 years. She began at OSC in 1932 as an Assistant Professor of Botany, and graduated to Associate Professor the next year. She authored and co-authored several articles on Oregon botany, with titles such as “The Goshen Flora of west central Oregon,” and the “Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of western Oregon.” She took sabbatical leave at least four times during her career, for a year in 1919, 1923, and 1927. In 1940, she took another for the period April-July 1940 on full salary, conducting research, writing, and attending the International Botalian Congress at Stockholm. She worked with Max Doty conducting research on marine algae. After having worked at OSC for 34 years, she was given Emeritus status at her retirement in 1948, in recognition of her “able teaching” and outstanding work in paleobotany. Her research on algae at the Institute of Marine Biology since it opened in 1925 “[was] known all over the Pacific Coast.” She was a member of several societies, such as Phi Sigma, and the American Association for Advanced Science, and the Paleontological Society of America. She was also a member of the DAR, the Baptist Church, and lifetime member of the American Association of University Women.
Maxine Alice Dull was an assistant in the library orders department at Oregon State College from 1944 to 1946. Dull was born in 1914, in Kremlin, Montana. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California in 1943 and received her Certificate in Librarianship from the University of California in 1944. When she came to OSC, she listed Los Angeles as her permanent address. She was single with no kids when she came to OSC. She was hired at an annual salary was $1,900. She resigned in 1946 to work at a Safeway Stores Library in Oakland, California, where she would receive higher pay. The OSC director of libraries W.H. Carlson mentioned in a letter the increasing competitiveness of industrial libraries with public and college libraries over professional librarians when Dull announced her resignation.
Marian Field was an art instructor at Oregon State College from 1942 to 1951. Field was born in 1885, in Oakes, North Dakota. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Art from the University of Oregon in 1930 and did graduate work from 1931-1933. From 1929 to 1933, Field was also an assistant in the university's art and architecture library. Before coming to OSC, she was head of the art department at the University of North Dakota from 1905-1909. She also owned and managed an art shop for several years. She published “Oregon Trees and Shrubs in Winter” in 1937 and “Outdoor Living and Learning” in 1938. She was brought on to work at Oregon State at an annual salary of $1,750. In 1946, Field was promoted to assistant professor and an annual salary of $3,000. She retired in 1951.
Elma Marshall Bemis began working at OSC as an Assistant Instructor in the Circulation Department at the library from 1944 to 1961. She received her Bachelor of Science in 1917 from Phillips University, and her Master of Arts in 1942 from the Colorado State College of Education. She also received a Bachelor of Science from the Denver University Library School in 1944. As an undergraduate and graduate student she studied English. She was born in 1896, in Mankato, Minnesota. Before coming to OSC, she was a teaching fellow at Colorado University and an Assistant in English at Phillips University, as well as a high school teacher. By the time she came to work at OSC, she was widowed with one child. She received a letter in 1954 from the director of libraries explaining that despite being due for a promotion, she would remain an instructor, as she had been for the previous six years. The director explained that given the workload in the department, she needed to stay on as an instructor, despite taking on an increase of work. In 1944, she received $1,800 a year for her salary. By 1961, she was listed as a senior instructor, with a $5,472 yearly salary. She died in 1973.
June Harriet Sullivan was a research assistant from 1946 to 1949. She was born in 1917 in Sioux City, Iowa. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Bacteriology, with additional study in physiology and chemistry, in 1938 from the University of Tennessee. She earned her Master of Science from the same institution in 1939 in bacteriology and nutrition, with additional study in physiology. She did graduate work at Cornell. Her thesis for her master’s degree was titled “A Comparison of the Diagnostic Tests for Pullorum disease in chickens
1917-1933: Professor and Head of Dairy Husbandry Department; 1933-1957: Head of Division of Animal Industries; 1924-1933: Member, Corvallis City Council; 1933-1934: Mayor of Corvallis; 1956-1958: Oregon State Employees Association "Man of the Year"; Died on October 3, 1958.
Jean Alyce Williams was a recreation specialist with the extension service from 1946 to __. She was born in 1910 in LaGrande, Oregon. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oregon in 1931, in the field of English, drama, and speech. She attended graduate school at University of California, Berkeley, University of Southern California, University of Washington, and American University, studying drama, music, and physical education. She spent thirteen years as a high school teacher in Cove and LeGrande, Oregon, specializing in programs, plays, and operas. She was a recreation worker with the American Red Cross from 1943-45, where she worked overseas in France and England in clubs and hospitals. She used this experience to give at least 25 speeches on various occasions on her “Experiences Overseas with the American Red Cross.” She wrote several unpublished one-act plays and radio skits, which she used for “special occasions.” She was a member of the AAUW, National Collegiate Players, Sigma Alpha Chi, Young Women’s Educational Auxiliary, and the Recreation Director of Campfire GIrls in Portland. She was hired as a Specialist in Community Social Organization, with the rank of assistant professor, at $3204 per year. Her salary was later reduced to $2808 per year.
Mildred Riedesel was an instructor in Foods and Nutrition from 1946 to 1948. She was born in 1916 in Ames, Iowa. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics Education from Iowa State College in 1939, and her Master of Science in Foods and Institution Management in 1946. Her thesis for her master’s degree was titled “Palatability of Frozen Pork as Influenced by Defrosting and Cooking Methods
Miriam Augusta Wiggenhorn was an assistant professor and assistant director of the nursery school from 1946 to 1958, and then of Family Life from 1965 to 1970. She was born in 1908 in Ashland, Nebraska. She attended Pine Manor and University of Nebraska, graduating from the latter in 1931 with a Bachelor of Arts in English, History, and German. She attended graduate school at the University of Iowa, Purdue University, and Columbia University Teachers College, graduating from the latter in 1936 with a Master of Arts in Education, with additional study in child psychology. She had experience as a substitute teacher, and worked as Director of Nursery School for seven years at the National College of Education. She also spent three years as a teacher and assistant principal of the nursery school at the University of Chicago. For the 1945 summer session, she directed OSC’s nursery school. By the time she came to OSC, she had published a monograph, “The Survey of Public Schools