Oregon State Medical Society records

Collection

Identifier: 1997-003

Staff Only

Scope and Contents Note

The Oregon State Medical Society Records contain bulletins, letters, correspondence, newspaper articles, U.S. Post Office forwarding address cards, telegrams, and V-mail primarily relating to the publication of the Service Bulletin. The material, dating from 1943-1948, is arranged by type, then chronologically.

Series:

I. Publications The Service Bulletin, 1943-1946.

II. Subject Files Index files consist of excerpts from the Service Bulletin. Committee, miscellaneous, news, and record files consist of correspondence, clippings, documents, and miscellaneous notes regarding the war effort and the return of military physicians to civilian practice.

III. Physician Correspondence Files These files include changes of address and rank information, reports of medals and citations, newspaper clippings, and personal correspondence of physicians from 1943-1946. Some of the correspondence includes personal reflections on war, descriptions of areas visited, racial repression/relocation camps, first testing of DDT, and prisoner of war experiences. There is also information on the U.S.S. Comfort (hospital ship), Forty-first Division, Forty-sixth General Hospital, Ninety-first Evacuation Hospital, One Hundred First Airborne Division, and One Hundred Fourth Infantry Division.

IV. Physician Card Files Accumulation file: The purpose of the file was to avoid keeping unnecessary notes on subjects that would not be repeatedly tabulated, and also to avoid overloading the regular address cards (see the Address and Military Status Cards below). Information, such as voter registration data, new addresses, etc., was listed on the cards as it came in on the physicians.

Address & Military Status: Includes current addresses and status of the Oregon military physicians, information on military rank and honors, addresses of various boards and committees, names and addresses of people willing to help on the Service Bulletin (“foreign correspondents”), and reestablishment information.

Non-Current Address & Military Status: Includes physicians given honors, awards, or citations; continued cards for non-current addresses and status; and status of prisoners of war, missing in action, and wounded in action.

Dates

Creation: 1943-1948

Creator

Oregon State Medical Society (Organization)

Restrictions on Access

There are no restrictions on access. This collection is open to the public.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.

History Note

The Oregon State Medical Society was founded in Salem, Oregon, in September 1874. On July 10, 1943, the Council of the Oregon State Medical Society adopted a resolution to publish a Service Bulletin in the interest of Oregon physicians serving with the armed forces during World War II. It was to contain news of medical activities at home and of the physicians in service. The editor was G.B. McLean, chosen because of her interest in the publication and medical affairs, with Lois Douglas and Jerrine Haslinger as assistants. The Service Bulletin was published from August 1943 through September 1946, financed entirely by a voluntary special assessment on civilian members of the society. The final issue, September 1946, contained a complete list of Oregon doctors who were or had been in service during World War II. The Service Bulletin went out without subscription fee to all members, both civilians and servicemen.

Extent

10 Linear Feet (23 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Oregon State Medical Society Records contains bulletins, letters, correspondence, newspaper articles, U.S. Post Office forwarding address cards, telegrams, and V-mail primarily relating to the publication of the Service Bulletin.

Acquisition Information

The original files of the Service Bulletin (except letters in which men asked for information to assist them in the solution of personal problems, which were reportedly destroyed) were turned over to the Oregon State Archives. The files were later deposited with the University of Oregon Medical School Library in 1962. An overlooked, separate box in storage with Merle Evans at her home was sent directly to the University of Oregon Medical School Library (now OHSU) in February of 1962. It contained 182 physicians’ correspondence files that were in use to the last moment. These materials were processed by OHSU Library staff in October-November 1997.

Related Archival Materials

OHSU PNW Archives:

Bylaws of Oregon State Medical Society: a non-profit corporation / Oregon State Medical Society.

Transactions of the Oregon State Medical Society.

Medical Education in Oregon/Oregon State Medical Society.

The Service bulletin : published by the Oregon State Medical Society during the second world war, G.B. McLean, editor / bound and presented to the Oregon Medical Historical Museum, by Courtland L. Booth, M.D., and Mrs. Booth, Portland, 10 July 1948.

Rod and serpent: official bulletin of the Oregon State Medical Society and affiliated organizations.

Miscellany, 1868-1886.

The Oregon medical blue book : the official blue book of the medical profession of Oregon / Oregon State Medical Society.

Proceedings of the annual meeting of the Medical Society of the State of Oregon. Portland, Or.: G. H. Himes, 1876.