Library displays letters
A glimpse of presidents in painting and manuscript
By Marna Broekhoff
O* ttm Emarald
A rare glimpse into the lives
and personalities of past Amer
ican presidents is being offered
students with an exhibition of
presidential letters now on dis
play in the Special Collections
section of the University library.
The letters were collected
and donated by E P McKean
Smith, of Coquille, who was a
journalism student at the
University during World War II.
Most of the letters are original
manuscripts of most U S. presi
dents.
The collection of presidential
Specialists in Classical
Records & Tapes
Monday through
Saturday
9:30-5:30
808 Charnel ton
345-6197
The ASUO
Survival Center
is the student environmental action
center on campus. We coordinate
and channel the efforts of the large
number of U of O students who are
concerned about the quality of the
environment, and more
importantly, that feel a need to turn
this concern into action.
Research, education, and action
on environmental issues are the
major function of the Center, with
an emphasis on active student
involvement in the different
processes which affect the
environment in Oregon. Students
can get involved by volunteering a
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ISSUE AREAS
Whales
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letters has been shown on
several previous occasions, in
cluding the Bicentennial Now
the letters will be displayed
chronologically, on a rotating
basis, eight at a time, along with
a more recently acquired col
lection of presidential portraits
The portraits, by Lawrence Wil
liams, were donated by Lester
Johns in memory of his parents,
B P and Helen Johns of Port
land.
The letters and portraits are in
the Special Collections hallway
on the second floor of the li
brary, accessible by the north
stairs Open hours vary, but are
usually 8 a m - 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday, when the
University is in session
The current display includes
letters and portraits of the first
eight presidents from
1789-1841: George Washing
ton, John Adams, Thomas Jef
ferson, James Madison, James
Monroe, John Quincy Adams,
Andrew Jackson and Martin van
Buren
In brown ink, on aged parch
ment, the letters provide
revealing glimpses into pres
idential lives and personalities
Washington, in one letter, uses
a 70-word sentence concerning
the rights to a deed. John
Adams, in a letter, admonishes
his son — future president John
Quincy — who was then in The
Hague, to extend hospitality to
Eliphalet Fitch, whom he calls a
"gentleman of Fortune." In a
later letter of his own, with a
palsied script, Adams declines
an invitation to speak to the
Boston Unitarians because of
his "engagements of public du
ty,” but asks the group to
"please accept assurance of my
fervent prayers for the advance
ment of liberal religion."
Writing c°ntinued>r°mpa9e18
The English department does not focus just on preparing its own
writing teachers It also has rigorous courses for those who plan to
teach language arts in the public schools. For those who are
already teaching in the schools, the Oregon Writing Project, lead by
Nathaniel Teich, former director of compostion, has received wide
recognition This federally-assisted summer instititute enables
experienced teachers to learn new theories and methods for
teaching composition and to improve their own writing.
Research in composition and rhetoric is the third front on which
the University is waging war on poor verbal skills. More than 10
years ago, rhetoric and composition became a specialty for the
Ph D in English, and several dissertations are being written in this
area The English department now boasts six faculty members in
composition and rhetoric, all of whom have conducted research,
developed curricula, and published widely
John Gage, the University's new composition director this fall
and a member of the executive committee of the national Confer
ence on College Composition and Communication, says that
writing has been getting more scholarly focus and prestige in
recent years He cites academic employment trends and the recent
upsurge in membership of the CCCC to indicate that English
departments are recognizing the value of research in composition
to complement their literary studies
For the foreseeable future, writing instruction at the University is
likely to remain excellent
"Our writing programs are extremely cost-effective,' Malarkey
says "The money is damn well spent."
Literacy is improving But Albert Kitzhaber, a professor emeritus
in English, with veteran wisdom, doubts that the literacy crisis is
new
"If you go back 50 or 100 years," Kitzhaber says, "you’ll find that
people have always thought writing was in a state of decay "
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