Lois Criswell was a catalog assistant at the Oregon State College library from 1943 to 1953. Her annual pay was $2,160. She had previously worked as a librarian and cataloger at the University of California, the University of Idaho, and the Oregon College of Education. She worked at the Oregon College of Education for nearly twenty years before coming to OSC due to budget cuts to her salary. She was single with no children when she came to work at OSC. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington in 1921, and received some graduate education from the University of Illinois Library School. She was a member of the American Library Association and the Pacific Northwest Library Association. She was set to retire by the end of 1953, but fell ill and passed away in October, 1952. She was born in 1887, in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Lena Currier Emerson was the secretary to the Dean of Lower Division at Oregon State College from 1943 to 1952. She was single without children when she came to work at OSC. Previously, she worked as a secretary to the president at Nebraska State Teachers College from 1925 to 1943. She decided to work at Oregon State to be closer to her parents, who lived in California. She received her degree from Columbus Commercial College. She was born in 1890, in Waterloo, Nebraska. Her annual salary was $1,920. She resigned in 1952 to work in Salem.
Melva Boon Kennen was born in 1924, in Mohler, Oregon. She was employed at OSC from 1947-49, first as Assistant Teacher in the College Nursery, and later as a part-time instructor in the Department of Household Administration. Previously, she worked at the Fruit and Flower Day Nursery in Portland, Oregon, but moved to Corvallis with her fiance, who was to begin attending Oregon State. In 1948, she rose to head teacher at the Orchard Street School Nursery, and received a salary as a part-time instructor of $2,250. She married her husband December 30th, 1946.
Rebecca K. Johnston was a county extension agent for Oregon State College from 1949 to 1952 and from 1956 to 1958. Johnston was born in 1925, in Marshall County, Kentucky. She received her Bachelor of Science in Vocational Home Economics from Western Kentucky State Teachers College in 1946. She was a member of the National Education Association and the National Vocation Association. Before coming to work at Oregon State, Johnston taught home economics at an Illinois high school. Johnston made the move to Oregon to be closer to her mother, a resident of Grant County. She was hired by Oregon State to work in Crook County at an annual salary of $3,480. She resigned in 1952, but came back to work in 1956, where she was assigned as an extension agent in Malheur County. She resigned in 1958 to accept a position as an extension agent in Alaska.
Emily Johnson was a part-time instructor for the Department of Art and Architecture at Oregon State College from 1946 to 1948. Johnson was born in 1923, in Pocatello, Idaho. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Design from the University of Washington in 1945. She was a member of the American Red Cross. Before coming to work at OSC, Johnson designed advertising layouts for the Pocatello Tribune. She was married to Clarence E. Johnson when she came to work at Oregon State. She was hired as an art instructor at Oregon State at an annual salary of $2,400. Johnson was responsible for teaching three art classes during her time at Oregon State. She resigned in 1948 when her husband obtained his master’s degree from Oregon State College.
Leone Sans Johnson was a program consultant for the Memorial Union at Oregon State College from 1948 to 1964. Johnson was born in 1902, in Stonington, Illinois. She received her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics from North Dakota State College in 1926, and her Master of Science in Personnel and Guidance from Oregon State College in 1948. Her master’s thesis was, “An Analysis of Religious Activities at Oregon State College”. Before becoming a program consultant for the Memorial Union, Johnson worked as an executive secretary for the YMCA at Oregon State College. She was married to Tracy W. Johnson with two children when she began her work in 1948. She was brought on to work in auxiliary activities at an annual salary of $3,000. Throughout her time there, she aimed to make the Memorial Union a fully functioning and active center for the students, alumni and faculty of Oregon State. She resigned due to health problems in 1964, after seventeen years of service.
Henrietta Morris was an Associate Professor of Hygiene from 1935 to 1959. She was born in 1902 in Charleston, West Virginia. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Goucher College in Baltimore in 1923, and her PhD. in Hygiene from Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1927. She took summer courses at the Teachers College of Columbia University for the 1928-29 school year. Before coming to OSC, she was a Nutrition Instructor in New Jersey Public Schools, a health education instructor with the University of Oregon Medical School Department of Nursing Education, and an instructor in Personal Hygiene at St. Helens Hall Junior College in Portland. She also worked as the Health Education Director with the Oregon Tuberculosis Association, where her duties included performing lectures for parents, teachers, and others; performing health advisory services for schools; running university extension courses in Health Education; teaching a community hygiene course at Linfield College; working with the editing department of Health Education, Oregon Education Journal; and giving radio talks on health topics. She continued working with the Oregon Tuberculosis Association for at least the duration of her first year at OSC. Since the college found itself in desperate need of an additional physical education instructor on short notice, the Oregon Tuberculosis Association itself facilitated her employment there. She began at OSC as a part-time associate professor, earning $660 total for the months January to June. She spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday “forenoons” with the college, and continued to be employed with the State Tuberculosis Association otherwise. The next year, she was a full-time associate professor, and remained so for the next twenty-three years. She taught hygiene in both the men’s and women’s departments of physical hygiene, as well as a course in education, and at one point spent 4% of her time in bacteriology. She took sabbatical leave on full salary from April to June 1944 to write a textbook on health education. She passed away in 1959, at which point she was earning $7,900 on a ten month basis.
Martha Ruth Morton was the Assistant Dean of Women from 1948 to 1953. She was born February 20, 1923 in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and lived in Ohio at the time of her application. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College in 1944, where she majored in Latin and minored in education and mathematics. She earned her Master of Arts from Syracuse University in 1946 in the field of student personnel administration, where she completed a research paper relating academic success at Syracuse University and entrance test scores. Before coming to OSC, she was the head resident at Oberlin College, and a resident counselor at Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina. While at Syracuse University, she participated in a specialized training for young women interested in dean work. She was a member of the National Association of Deans of Women, the North Carolina Association of Deans of Women, and a member of the executive board of the Greensboro Business and Professional Women’s Club. She was hired at $3,800 a year with tenure, and resigned in 1953.
Laura Ann Morgan was a part-time Home Management House advisor for the 1949-50 school year. She was born in 1924 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She studied at Simmons College in Boston for two years, but received her Bachelor of Science in General Home Economics from the University Of Hawaii in 1998. She completed graduate work at OSC from 1948-49. She was a laboratory assistant, the President of Gamma Chi Sigma, and a leader with the YWCA while at Honolulu. She was also the alternate for the Dole Pineapple Company award in service in home economics in 1948. She previously had travelled to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, and attended the American Home Economics Association meeting in 1949. She was a member of the American Home Economics Association of Oregon, and the American Association of University Women. She was hired at $1,200 for 10 months of service, part time.
Erna Marguerite Plagemen was the supervising nurse and then Assistant Director for Student Health Services from 1929 until her death in 1964. She was born in 1902 in Columbus, Nebraska. She received her Registered Nurse degree from University of Michigan School of Nursing in 1926. Before coming to OSC, she spent three years working as a nurse with the Health Service at the University of Michigan. OSC hired her at $1800 per year for a 10 month appointment in 1929. The next year, she received a $200 raise out of appreciation for her ability and responsibilities. As the supervising nurse, she was responsible for all the other nurses, all supplies, office records, and the “care and cleanliness of both the Health Service and the Hospital,” in addition to her routine nursing duties. She was given faculty status upon her hire, but in 1954 her rank was changed to civil service, though she gained the position of Assistant Director. This was because her position and work did not fall under what qualified for academic status, as it did not include teaching, research, extension, or counseling. Plagemen hoped to regain academic status and indefinite tenure, as she thought it would come with a “recovery of prestige.” She pointed out that she was involved in a research project exploring the effect of academic probation on physical and mental illness, which involved student counseling. The Director of Student Health Services, Charles E. Kremer, helped lobby for her to regain academic status, and spoke highly of her “professional character.” In 1961, she was granted an Assistant Professorship. In 1963, after 34 years with OSC, she took several months off work due to a serious illness. Due to her exemplary work and dedication, her supervisor Kremer suggested that she be granted “the most generous terms of sick leave possible,” which was granted. She had accrued significant sick leave, although it was acknowledged that she was not expected to live much longer. She passed away from cancer January 26, 1964. At the time of her death, she was earning $4,776 yearly. Her service was held at Zion Lutheran Church in Corvallis. Her memorial pamphlet quoted the 23rd Psalm, and listed Dr. Kremer as an honorary bearer.