Featured Museum Artifacts

The object from the Benton County Historical Museums collection was found on the Glenn farm near Corvallis in 1933. Would you know what it was if you discovered it on your land? 

This photo of another item from the collection might help:

 Both pictures show ox shoes.

Like horses, working oxen need shoes to protect their hooves from wear, especially when traveling over rough or rocky terrain. Ox shoes found on the 1846 winter camp site of the ill-fated Donner Party on headwaters of the Truckee River in Sierra Nevada Mountains. The shoe in the second photograph was found in the vicinity of the 1846 Donner party winter camp site on the  headwaters of the Truckee River in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California.  

Unlike horses, oxen have a cloven or separated hoof with two separate toes or “claws”. As a consequence, ox shoes consist of 2 separate pieces for each hoof.  The second photograph thus shows a complete shoe for one hoof.  The wide end fits on the back end of the hoof and the smaller end on front. The nature of ox hooves also requires the shoe be attached with short strong nails. Consequently, the individual pieces often come off and are found individually as was the case with the one in the first photograph. 

The raised pieces on the end help keep the shoe in place as well as providing additional traction.

Oxen are difficult to shoe as they do not like to stand on only three legs.  They must be restrained in some fashion for the shoes to be fitted.  Today, many who spend time in grassy fields are not shod with metal shoes.

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon 

Graduation!

It's that time of year when you see people wearing black robes and mortarboard hats as students are graduating from college. High school graduations, at least locally, seem to favor brightly colored robes.

We have in our artifact collection a robe and mortarboard that were worn by a local woman, Jessie E.(Wilson)  Bump, who graduated from Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) in 1924.

Jessie Bump about the time she graduated from OAC.

Jessie Wilson first enrolled at OAC in 1896-1897 as a young woman of 16.

There she met Clarence Lee Bump, who graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1897.  They married after her sophomore year, in August of 1898. She dropped out of school.  In 1900, the first of her three sons, Victor, was born.  He was followed by Chester in 1903 and Wilson in 1907.  During her time raising the three boys, she kept thinking about returning to college.  

She finally did so first in 1918 and then again in 1923.  She graduated with a degree in home economics in 1924.  She said, “I think I am getting more out of college than I did 20 years ago.  Things have more associations and greater value to me.”  A woman then returning to college later in life was usual enough but what made Jessie's story even more so is that she did so at the same time sons Victor and Chester were also attending the same school.  That circumstance attracted attention and her story was written up and published in newspapers across the country.  In the article she said:

            “My boys are glad I am finishing my education.  They walk down the campus with me just as a proudly as if they were with the best looking girl in school.

            “It's all foolishness that older people can't learn.  I am keeping up with the times and in closer touch with my children. When one of them comes home grouching about an exam I can sympathize with him because I know exactly what he means.”

After her graduation Jessie taught for a year in Philomath.  In 1925, she and Clarence moved to Kings Valley and she began teaching extension classes. She died in June of 1971. 

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon

Egg Carrier

In 1903, the U.S. granted a patent (number 722,512) to Henry S. Jenne for a new style container for transporting eggs. He assigned this patent to John G. Elbs of Rochester, New York, who began producing the containers under the name Starr Egg Carrier and Tray Manufacturing.

Star Egg Carriers and Trays

Star Egg Carriers and Trays

The innovative feature of this egg carrier was the use of removable jute board inserts lining the sides and bottom of the wooden crate and dividers that created twelve individual sections. Jute board was used because the fibrous material was soft and absorbed shocks.  Circular holes in the bottom layer held the eggs in place. A cover was placed over the top and secured with the metal bar.  Once the eggs reached their destination, the case was inverted into the tray-like cover.  The purchaser kept the tray but the wooden crate and the partitions were returned to the seller.

Elbs touted the Starr Egg Carriers as saving the seller “thousands of dollars by eliminating breakage.” Company ads also noted that the design prevented miscounts, made handling quicker and easier  thus “reducing the cost of delivery by 16 2/3 percent.”  The ads also claimed more satisfied consumers.

The carriers did offer advantages and by 1919 Elbs claimed that his carriers were “used by 70 percent of all retail grocers.”

To see other items related to the buying and selling of goods, visit the new “Consumer Culture” exhibit at the Benton County Historical Society's Philomath Museum.

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon 

Konick's Jewelers of Corvallis, Oregon

Photographs and objects in the “Consumer Culture” exhibit at the Benton County Historical Society's Philomath Museum show how the selling of goods to consumers has changed. The photos below show the evolution of one local business, Konick's Jewelers.  William Konick established the business in Corvallis in 1913 in the Occidental Hotel (later Hotel Corvallis) building on the southeast corner of Second and Madison.

As this photograph of the interior of his store soon after opening shows, Konick's sold clocks, silverware, watches, rings, and trophies. Mr. Konick is behind the counter talking to two unidentified men. 

In 1926, the business had to relocate temporarily as the hotel building was being remodeled.

By 1927, Konick's Jewelers was back in its original location with a remodeled store. The store was much roomier and Konick added a private “diamond room” for personal consultations and a gift room featuring items “of all sorts, to fit every  pocketbook.”  The store now carried glassware as well as silverware and jewelry.

In 1962, Konick's Jewelers moved to a new location on Third Street which offered about 50% more floor space. The company was now managed by William's son, Alvin Konick, and planned to offer additional services such as watch repair and a bridal registry.

The new location was lighter and brighter than the original store. What other differences do you see?

William Konick died in 1974 but the family continued to operate the store until 1984 or so.

Today, the neon sign from the business is on display in the gift shop of the Corvallis Museum.

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon