Soap Creek Valley oral history series · Monograph #13

WILLIAM A. DAVIES

Monograph #13 in the Soap Creek Valley oral history series: William A. Davies, recorded in 2 sessions between February 19, 1979 and September 18, 1979, printed 1997.

Biographical Sketch and Management of OSU Research Forests, Benton & Polk Counties, Oregon: 1946-1973

Cover of WILLIAM A. DAVIES as printed — The printed cover. Full-size scan on the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.

Photograph printed in the monograph: William A. Davies — **William A. Davies.** As printed: “William A. Davies, 1964” From the front matter of the printed monograph (front-2 (title page)), reproduced from the creator's own scan. Photo courtesy: Joan Davies.

Jackson, Royal G., Jennifer Lee, and Bob Zybach 1997. William Davies. Biographical Sketch and Management of OSU Research Forest: 1946-1973. Soap Creek Valley History Project, Monograph #13. Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon: 83 pp.

Provenance

Creator: Dr. Bob Zybach
Narrator: William A. Davies
Recorded: 2 sessions, February 19, 1979 to September 18, 1979
Transcribed, audited, edited: Royal G. Jackson (interviewer); Jennifer Lee (interviewer); Bob Zybach (co-author); William Atkinson (authorizer); David Lysne (other); Larry Landis (other); Elizabeth Neilson (other); Craig N. Rowley (other); Md. Shahidul Islam (other); Kate Rendrich (other); Joan Davies (other); John Beuter (photographer); Bob Cramer (other); George Brown (other); Wes Grilley (other); Kathy Keniston (other)
Printed: 1997 · Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon
Pages: 84 printed pages
Original: http://www.nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Oral_Histories/Soap_Creek_Valley/13_Davies/Jackson-Lee_1997.pdf
Accessioned: From Bob Zybach’s upload, 23 August 2026
Source file checksum: sha256:efaf6bcc3919aadcbea196c995ed9826…

What is not here, and why

Withheld from this edition. Printed p. 45 — 1 page of this volume is withheld while the Library completes a review. Each keeps its number and its permanent link, so a citation to any of them still lands on the page it names. The reasons differ from page to page and are not given here, so that the notice on one page says nothing about another. What is withheld, and why.

Front matter, as printed

Cover, as printed

WILLIAM A. DAVIES Biographical Sketch and Management of OSU Research Forests Benton & Polk Counties, Oregon: 1946-1973 Oral History Interviews by Royal G. Jackson and Jennifer Lee Soap Creek Valley History Project OSU Research Forests Monograph # 13 1997

Cover photograph

Cover Photo: 1932 photo of O.S.C. Forestry students and Sampson truck, "Six Bits." Back row: DeWitt Jones, Lee Holmes, Delbert "Pop" Day, Floyd Willert. Standing (L-R): Bill Owens, Harry "Pat" Patterson, __ Lovegren, Elmer Bladeree, B.L. "Chung" Nutting. In cab: Tom Owens. On fender: "Brad" Peavy From 50 Years of Forestry at Oregon State College, 1956, page13.

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS William Atkinson, former Director of the O.S.U. Research Forests, initially authorized the Soap Creek Valley History Project in 1989. This project has continued to be supported by David Lysne, the current Director of the O.S.U. Research Forests. The purpose of this project is to better understand the history of an area that has been managed by the College of Forestry since 1929 when Mrs. Mary J. L. McDonald began making contributions to obtain land adjacent the Arboretum for what would become the McDonald-Dunn Forest. The William A. Davies monograph is derived from the oral history interviews conducted in 1979 by Royal G. Jackson and Jennifer Lee. Oral histories differ from written histories in that they are the recorded verbatim first hand accounts or recollections of activities that occurred in the past. O.S.U. Archives provided access to the original tapes with assistance by Larry Landis and Elizabeth Neilson. Craig N. Rowley, Md. Shahidul Islam and Kate Rendrich assisted in numerous aspects of publishing this monograph. The Forest Products Society granted permission to reproduce Douglas-fir Region: Small Log Harvesting which appeared in the Forest Products Journal. April 1960, pp. 187-189. Mrs. Joan Davies has graciously aided all aspects of this project. Her patience and understanding are greatly appreciated.

The map

One map, unnumbered front-matter leaf (PDF p.4), titled "MacDonald-Dunn Forest Location": a locator map of the State of Oregon with Portland, Salem, Corvallis and Eugene, enlarged to Polk County (Dallas) and Benton County (Corvallis) with the MacDonald-Dunn Forest shaded; marked "NOT TO SCALE". Descriptive note by the reader, not text printed on the leaf.

The recording sessions

February 19, 1979 — Peavy Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon Interviewers: Royal G. Jackson, Jennifer Lee · Mode: interview · Source: as stated Printed p.2: "(Interview conducted by Royal Jackson and Jennifer Lee at Peavy Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon)". Printed as PART I.
September 18, 1979 — Peavy Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon Interviewer: Royal G. Jackson · Mode: interview · Source: as stated Printed p.30: "(Interview conducted by Royal Jackson at Peavy Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon)". Conducted over McDonald Forest maps annotated in red by Marv Rowley, which Jackson and Rowley had field-checked; the maps themselves are not reproduced in the monograph. Printed as PART II.

Cover p. [front-1]
Title Page p. [front-2]
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS p. [front-3]
MacDonald-Dunn Forest Location p. [front-4]
TABLE OF CONTENTS p. [front-5]
PART I. FEBRUARY 19, 1979 INTERVIEW pp. 1–28
1. Coming to Oregon State University p. 2
2. Forestry Education pp. 3–7
3. Dean McCulloch p. 8
4. Forestry Club p. 9
5. McDonald Forest pp. 10–11
6. Forest Manager pp. 12–13
7. Deer Hunting in McDonald Forest p. 14
8. Other Wildlife and History pp. 15–16
9. Oak Creek Guard House, Tuberculosis Sanitarium, and Tampico pp. 17–18
10. The Dean's Cabin and "Six Bits" pp. 19–20
11. The Powder House p. 21
12. The Columbus Day Storm p. 22
13. The Radar Installation pp. 22–23
14. Legends and Stories pp. 23–24
15. Dunn Forest and the School of Agriculture pp. 24–25
16. Forest Management and Hiring Marvin Rowley pp. 25–28
PART II. SEPTEMBER 18, 1979 INTERVIEW pp. 29–50
1. Oak Creek pp. 30–36
2. McDonald Forest Acquisition pp. 37–38
3. Jackson Place p. 39
4. Peavy's Cabin pp. 40–41
5. Field Trips to McDonald Forest pp. 42–45
6. The Blake House pp. 46–47
7. Dunn Forest pp. 48–50
APPENDICES. APPENDICES pp. 51–78
Appendix A. College of Forestry Publications pp. 52–64
Appendix B. Newspaper Accounts pp. 65–71
Appendix C. Forest Products Journal Article pp. 72–78
INDEX pp. 79–84

Maps printed in this volume

MacDonald-Dunn Forest Location Printed page [front-4] State of Oregon locator with Polk and Benton Counties enlarged; MacDonald-Dunn Forest shaded; "NOT TO SCALE". No lettered map keys are used in this monograph.
McDonald Forest maps annotated by Marv Rowley Printed page Referred to throughout PART II (printed pp.30-50) as the object of discussion ("Marv has marked...", "Here's the boundary line, in here") but not reproduced in the printed volume.

Photographs

Captions are printed exactly as they appear in the book. The photographs themselves are in the printed volume and are not online yet; the scanned PDF of the whole book shows them.

Cover Photo: 1932 photo of O.S.C. Forestry students and Sampson truck, "Six Bits." Back row: DeWitt Jones, Lee Holmes, Delbert "Pop" Day, Floyd Willert. Standing (L-R): Bill Owens, Harry "Pat" Patterson, __ Lovegren, Elmer Bladeree, B.L. "Chung" Nutting. In cab: Tom Owens. On fender: "Brad" Peavy From 50 Years of Forestry at Oregon State College, 1956, page13. Photograph in the printed book, [front-1] (not yet online) 1932 · Courtesy From 50 Years of Forestry at Oregon State College, 1956, page 13
Title Page Photo: William A. Davies, 1964 (Photo courtesy: Joan Davies) Photograph in the printed book, [front-2] (not yet online) 1964 · Courtesy Joan Davies
Prof. William A. Davies posed with two of his students, Gene Johnson (Class of 1949) and Everett Givens (also of 1949), in front of a Forest Engineering Big Wheel employed for skidding large timber. Photograph taken by John Beuter in 1948. Photograph in the printed book, p. 5 (not yet online) 1948 · Photograph by John Beuter Read the page it is printed on
Dean Peavy's Cabin (Photo Courtesy: O.S.U. Archives #1495,1935) Photograph in the printed book, p. 20 (not yet online) 1935 · Courtesy O.S.U. Archives #1495 Read the page it is printed on
The Annual Cruise, Published by the Forestry Club [facsimile of the signed 1958 dedication page] Photograph in the printed book, p. 53 (not yet online) 1958 Read the page it is printed on
Bill Davies / Tony Van Vliet [portraits accompanying the 1973 Annual Cruise dedication] Photograph in the printed book, p. 56 (not yet online) 1973 Read the page it is printed on
William Davies photographs from 1973 Annual Cruise [dated 1938, 1939, 1938] Photograph in the printed book, p. 58 (not yet online) 1938-1939 Read the page it is printed on
Like father, like Sons. Graduation 1968 Photograph in the printed book, p. 59 (not yet online) 1968 Read the page it is printed on
FACULTY FLASHBACK - 1961. First Row: Helge Irgens-Moller, William Ferrell, Ray Yoder, Antone Van Vliet, Chuck Dane. Second Row: John Bell, William West, Walter McCulloch, Les Lloyd, Dwight Jeffers. Third Row: Warren Randall, Dale Bever, Robert Keniston, Jim Krygier, Dan Robinson, Bob Wilson, M. Riley. Fourth Row: John O'Leary, William Wheeler, William Davies, Rudy Kallander, Milford McKimmy, Charles Sutherland. (Photograph courtesy: Mrs. Joan Davies) Photograph in the printed book, p. 60 (not yet online) 1961 · Courtesy Mrs. Joan Davies Read the page it is printed on
LOOKING BACK / STAFF OF 1953. Seated: H.R. Patterson; G.H. Barnes; W.F. McCulloch; W.A. Davies; H.I. Nettleton: W.I. West Standing: W.P. Wheeler; J.D. Snodgrass; R.L. Wilson; R.D. Hostetter; J.E. O'Leary; E.W. Pierson; D.D. Robinson; J.L. Overholser; R.W. Mounteen; R.A. Yoder; W.R. Randall; R.F. Keniston. [Photograph courtesy: OSU Archive, p61; 185 ca1953] Photograph in the printed book, p. 62 (not yet online) ca. 1953 · Courtesy OSU Archive, p61; 185 Read the page it is printed on
The Royal Order of SUBMARINE SCALERS [facsimile of the certificate awarded to Bill Davies] Photograph in the printed book, p. 63 (not yet online) Courtesy Mrs. Joan Davies Read the page it is printed on
Charlie Ross (right), retired Extension Forester, instructs Bill Davies in retirement techniques. (Oregon State Forester, January 1974, Volume XXVII, Number 1, p'7) Photograph in the printed book, p. 66 (not yet online) 1974 · Courtesy Oregon State Forester, January 1974, Volume XXVII, Number 1 Read the page it is printed on
O.S.C. forestry senior's Don Pitts (left) and Marv Rosette, Portland, are members of a class in forest road building. Professor W. A. Davies (center), head of Forest Engineering Department, talks to a group of students in lunch-time gabfest. Photograph in the printed book, p. 67 (not yet online) 1955 · Courtesy The Oregonian Read the page it is printed on
Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Oregon, Wednesday, May 22, 1957 Benton County Lumber operators headed by the above-pictured committee are preparing plans for that industry's entries in the Corvallis Centennial parade and promise an outstanding group of floats. Working on the plans are Stan Wilt, Ralph Hull, Carl Bennett, Johny Thompson, W. A. Davies and Gale McQuery. McQuery is in charge of the lumber subcommittee of the parade. Photograph in the printed book, p. 68 (not yet online) 1957-05-22 · Courtesy The Corvallis Gazette Times Read the page it is printed on
Thinning can double forest yield by harvesting the natural mortality. Here, a small tractor skids salvage and thinning logs. Photograph in the printed book, p. 73 (not yet online) Courtesy Forest Products Journal, April 1960 Read the page it is printed on
This 85-year old stand of Douglas-fir has been thinned twice. Second thinning yielded 6,000 board feet per acre. Photograph in the printed book, p. 75 (not yet online) Courtesy Forest Products Journal, April 1960 Read the page it is printed on
This 90-year old stand of Douglas-fir could yield about 7,000 board feet per acre in salvage thinnings. Photograph in the printed book, p. 75 (not yet online) Courtesy Forest Products Journal, April 1960 Read the page it is printed on
Left to Right: William Davies, Pat Robertson, John O'Leary, and Walter McCulloch, c. 1948. (Photo courtesy: Mrs. Joan Davies) Photograph in the printed book, p. 78 (not yet online) c. 1948 · Courtesy Mrs. Joan Davies Read the page it is printed on

Index to this volume

Bob's own back-of-book index, made live: each page number opens that page of the transcript. Every heading also appears in the Series Index, where it gathers references from all fifteen monographs.

Adair Tract 11, 48, 55

American Indians 17, 23, 47

Grand Ronde Reservation 17, 47
Umpqua Indians 17, 47

Animals, Domestic

Cattle 12, 17, 48
Hogs 17, 46
Horses 4, 16, 19, 24, 26, 31, 34, 40, 47, 50, 64, 75
Lambs 15
Sheep 15

AULERICH, ED 61

BARNES, G. H. 62

BELL, JOHN 60

BENNETT, CARL 68

Benton County 16, 68, 69

BEUTER, JOHN 5, 25

BEVER, DALE 60

Blake, Ed 16, 17, 23, 24, 46, 47

Botany 15, 39

Boy Scouts 19, 39

BROWN, GEORGE 12, 61

Cabins 30, 42, 43

Forestry Club Cabin (also Forestry Cabin) 41, 42, 44
Peavy's Cabin (also Dean's Cabin) 19, 20, 21, 40, 41, 42

California 7, 41, 73

CONSERVATION ACT 2

Creeks

Alder Creek [Benton Co.] 36
Berry Creek [Benton & Polk Cos.] 18, 24, 49, 50
Calloway Creek [Benton Co.] 23
Jackson Creek [Benton Co.] 40
Oak Creek [Benton Co.] 16, 17, 30, 34, 40
Soap Creek [Benton & Polk Cos.] 4, 18, 22, 50, 51, 79

DANE, CHUCK 30, 60

DAVIES, JOAN 60, 64, 78

DAVIES, ROBERT [SON] 57

DAVIES, WILLIAM [SON] 57

Davies, William A. 4, 5, 38, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 78, 79

DECKER, FRED 23, 35, 36

DUNN, PAUL M. 2, 3, 5, 6, 11, 24, 27, 38, 48

DYKSTRA, DENNIS 61

Europe 26, 57, 74, 76

FERRELL, WILLIAM 60

FIRE CONTROL 18, 20, 41, 42, 46, 54, 57

Floods 15

Forest Fires

Tillamook Burn [1933, '39, '45, '51] 14
Wildfires 22

Forest Management 11, 12, 14, 25, 26, 28, 69, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77

FROEHLICH, HANK 61

GARLAND, JOHN 61

GIVENS, EVERETT 5

Grantham, Jack 4, 33

HAYES, LLOYD 30, 40

Homesteads 17, 18, 30, 31, 35, 38, 48, 50

HOSTETTER, R. D. 62

HULL, RALPH 68

IRGENS-MOLLER, HELGE 60

JEFFERS, DWIGHT 60

JEMISON, GEORGE 61

JOHNSON, GENE 5

JOHNSON, NORMAN 61

KALLANDER, RUDY 24, 60

KENISTON, KATHY 70

KENISTON, ROBERT 60, 62

KRYGIER, JIM 60

Lewisburg Saddle 22, 37, 40, 41, 42

LLOYD, LES 60

Logging 8, 11, 22, 26, 27, 33, 36, 49, 54, 55, 57, 67, 69, 70, 73, 75, 76, 77

Clearcutting 14, 15, 22, 25, 26, 70, 75
Flumes 16, 34
Thinning 10, 11, 17, 25, 26, 36, 44, 61, 70, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77

MASON, EARL G. 4, 5, 6

MCCULLOCH PEAK [BENTON CO.] 22, 23, 36

McCulloch, Walter (Dean) 2, 3, 8, 23, 27, 30, 32, 36, 41, 47, 60, 62, 78

MCDANIELS, VERN 17, 18, 46

MCDONALD FOREST DAY 9, 10

McDonald, Mary J.L. 10, 37, 39, 70

MCKIMMY, MILFORD 60

MCQUERY, GALE 68

MICHAEL, J.C. 66

MOUNTEEN, R. W. 62

Nettleton, Harry I. 10, 11, 12, 14, 38, 62

O'LEARY, JOHN 60, 61, 62, 78

OAK CREEK GUARD HOUSE (ALSO STATION) 17, 30, 31, 37, 39

Orchards 31, 35, 40

Oregon Cities & Towns

Alsea 69
Coos Bay 61
Corvallis 2, 6, 16, 30, 34, 67, 68, 69, 70, 77
Eugene 8
Philomath 44
Portland 4, 16, 67
Salem 55, 57
Tampico 17, 19

OREGON STATE OF

Board of Higher Education 5, 41
Board of Regents 70
Department of Fish & Wildlife 14, 15
Forestry Department 2, 44

Oregon State University 2, 30, 57, 61, 64, 70

College of Forestry 6, 8, 19, 24, 25, 55, 57, 67, 70, 73
College of Forestry, Fernhoppers 9
College of Forestry, Forest Engineering 3, 4, 32, 33, 42, 54, 56, 57, 61, 67, 69, 70, 73
College of Forestry, Forest Management 3, 4, 6, 8
College of Forestry, Forest Products 4, 32, 33
College of Forestry, Forestry Club 9, 10, 54
College of Forestry, McDonald Forest 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 37, 38, 42, 48, 50, 55, 67, 70, 71
College of Forestry, Paul M. Dunn Forest 11, 17, 18, 24, 26, 44, 48
College of Forestry, Sawmill 32, 33
College of Forestry, Weather Radar 22, 35
Peavy Arboretum 17, 23, 37, 41, 47, 70
Peavy Hall 2, 30

PATTERSON SPRINGS 42, 43, 44

Patterson, Harry 3, 9, 42, 43, 62

Peavy, George 3, 4, 8, 10, 19, 21, 27, 37, 39, 41

PHIMISTER, PROCTER 4

PIERSON, E. W. 62

PITTS, DON 67

RANDALL, WARREN R. 60, 62

RED HATS 39

Reforestation 14, 15

RESSLER, REX 6

RILEY, M. 60

Roads & Trails

Harry I. Nettleton Road 40
Homestead Road 35
Old Pigpen Road 46
Pine Race Trail 44
Portland-Umpqua Valley Road 16, 17, 47

ROBERTSON, PAT 78

Robinson, Dan 60, 62

ROSETTE, MARV 67

Rowley, Marvin R. 6, 11, 22, 25, 26, 28, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 50

Sawmills 16, 22, 30, 32, 34, 35, 38, 40, 49, 50, 55

SNODGRASS, J. D. 62

Society of American Foresters 55, 57

Spaulding Tract 10, 25, 38

Starker, Thurman J. (T.J.) 5, 10, 22, 23, 36, 37, 38

Stoltenberg, Carl 24, 25, 27

STRAND, A. L. 2, 3, 6, 48

SUTHERLAND, CHARLES 60

THOMPSON, JOHNY 68

TRACTORS 26, 61, 69, 76

Trees

Alder 70
Ash 70
Cedar 70
Douglas-Fir 4, 17, 25, 48, 55, 69, 70, 73, 74, 75, 77
Fir 38, 70
Hemlock 70
Madrone 71
Maple 22, 23, 70
Oak 17, 44, 48, 70
Old Growth 11, 15, 38, 39
Pine 10
Second Growth 17
Yew 70

U.S. Government

Bureau of Land Management [BLM] 12, 55, 57
Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] 17, 18, 37, 39, 40
G.I. Bill 6
Navy, Signal Corps 23, 35
U.S.D.A. Forest Service 4, 6, 26, 27, 54, 57, 61

University of Washington 2, 3, 4, 54, 57, 66, 73

VLIET, ANTONE VAN (ALSO TONY) 21, 56, 60

Wars

World War I 69
World War II 2, 6, 32, 33, 69

Washington 2, 54, 57, 66

WEST, WILLIAM 4, 60, 62

WEYERHAEUSER 2, 3, 27, 38, 54, 57, 61

WHEELER, WILLIAM 8, 60, 62

Wilson, Robert 60, 62

WILT, STAN 68

YODER, RAY 30, 40, 60, 62

The printed original

Read the original PDF The whole monograph as printed, on the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.
The cover image On the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.

How to cite this item

The first line is the citation as it is printed in the original. Use it when you cite the work itself. Use the second when you cite this page.

As printed: Jackson, Royal G., Jennifer Lee, and Bob Zybach 1997. William Davies. Biographical Sketch and Management of OSU Research Forest: 1946-1973. Soap Creek Valley History Project, Monograph #13. Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon: 83 pp.
This page: Davies 1997. America's School Trust Library, The Zybach Collection. https://schooltrusts.org/collections/zybach/soap-creek/m13-davies/
Permalink: https://schooltrusts.org/collections/zybach/soap-creek/m13-davies/
Original PDF: http://www.nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Oral_Histories/Soap_Creek_Valley/13_Davies/Jackson-Lee_1997.pdf

More on citing this collection: How to cite the Zybach Collection.

Something wrong on this page? Submit a correction — this page is already selected. See how that works.