| Notices | Oregon Historical Quarterly, 109.1

NOTICES

George Himes Diaries (Mss 1462) Now Open for Research

The Oregon Historical Society would not exist in its present form without the work of George H. Himes (1844–1940). Serving as the Society's first curator from its beginning in 1898, Himes assembled a vast horde of historical materials that form the core of the Society's present collections. Born in Pennsylvania, he came overland to the Oregon Territory with his family in 1853, walking most of the way. He grew up on his family's farm east of Olympia, Washington, apprenticed as a printer's devil for the Washington Standard, then came to Portland in 1864 to work for Henry L. Pittock at the Oregonian. Himes eventually began his own printing firm and publishing business, producing such works as H.O. Lang's History of the Willamette Valley. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Oregon Pioneer Association. Through the Oregon Historical Society, Himes made his most significant contribution to Oregon History, overseeing the organization's entire operation — with minimal assistance — for over forty years until his death at age ninety-five. Besides collecting artifacts and paper records, he wrote extensively, conducted oral history interviews with thousands of pioneers, spoke at gatherings across the state and region, and served as the chief reference source for all manner of historical information.

From the age of fourteen, Himes felt the need to record his own story. Beginning with a simple commercial ledger book, he diligently kept a daily diary that would eventually fill hundreds of volumes. As he grew older, his entries expanded to include information on current events, biographical information on people he knew, and detailed descriptions of places he visited. Here, for example, is part of his entry for April 11, 1865:

News came today of the capture of J. Davis and the surrender of Lee with his whole army. Everybody rejoicing; bells ringing; guns firing. Mass meeting for purpose of making arrangements for general celebration tomorrow eve. Glorious news! Good time! Prospects of peace. Greenbacks 75 cts.

Himes often went back over older diaries and added comments or supplemental data. On February 1, 1864, for example, he noted the wedding of his sister Helen. Sixty-nine years later, in 1933, he wrote in the margin with a somewhat shaky hand: "I am the only one of that day still living."

The diaries of George Himes were a gift to the Society in 2006 by his descendants, who had carefully preserved them over the decades. They are a rich and significant resource, not only for biographers but also for those interested in pioneer settlement, the growth of Portland and Oregon, the development of the Oregon Historical Society and its collections, and many other subjects. The diaries also constitute a work of literature in themselves; although Himes was hardly a literary stylist, his writing is clear, precise, and often insightful. His diaries are, in a sense, his magnum opus, a compliment to his other great work, the building of the Oregon Historical Society.

OHS Research Library Awarded a $5,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Grant

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a preservation assistance grant of $5,000 to the Oregon Historical Society for a research library project titled "Topical Collections Preservation Project."

The Topical Collections are subject-based collections created by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library and include the Military, Associations and Institutions, Ethnology, Politics, Business and Manners, and Customs collections. Materials within the Topical Collections include business records and correspondence, personal diaries and letters, scrapbooks, and ephemera, such as playbills, catalogs, posters, and advertising materials, dating from the mid-1800s to the present.

This project has also been designated a National Endowment for the Humanities "We the People" project. The goal of the "We the People" initiative is to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through the support of projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation's history and culture and that advance knowledge of the principles that define America.

The award period is through June 2009.

CORRECTIONS

"The Labor of Caring: A History of the Oregon Nurses Association," published in the Spring 2007 issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly (108:1), contained an error on page 24 that was further debated in an exchange of letters to the editor published in the Fall 2007 (108:3) issue of the Quarterly. The Oregon Federation of Nurses did not challenge Oregon Nurses Association to a decertification election on May 16, 1979; it was a representation election to determine which union might represent a nonunion group of nurses. Three subsequent runoff elections occurred after the initial election on May 16, and the Oregon Federation of Nurses — not Oregon Nurses Association — was officially certified as the nurses' representative on February 25, 1980.
     The title page for the Fall 2007 (108:3) issue incorrectly credited the Amy Khedori collection for a photograph. The photograph is archived at Oregon Health Sciences University.
     Page 720 in the Winter 2007 issue (108:4) listed Captain Robert Gray as British; Gray was American.
     The editor is grateful to members for identifying errors.

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