Archives West Finding Aid

Celeste Liston Harris was a Portland, Oregon resident, editor for the official publication of the Women's Advertising Club of Portland, and founding member and Vice President of the Women's Realty Board of Portland.

Ben Hur Lampman was an essayist, short story writer, and poet who gained notoriety in his role as a columnnist at the Oregonian during the first half of the 20th century. Lampman was born in Barron, Wisconsin in 1886 and raised in North Dakota. In 1912, he moved to Gold Hill, Oregon, where he worked as an editor for Gold Hill News. In 1916, he relocated to Portland, Oregon and became a reporter for the Oregonian. There, Lampman established himself as a highly respected writer known for his short essays derived from everyday experiences. Lampman was an avid fisherman and nature enthusiast--themes that appeared frequently in his writings. In addition to the Oregonian, Lampman's work appeared in national publications including The Atlantic and The Saturday Evening Post. He also published several collections of his writings including How Could I Be Forgetting? (1933), At the End of the Car Line (1942), and The Wild Swan (1947), and a novel titled Here Comes Somebody (1935). Lampman received the O. Henry Award in 1943 for his short story "Blinker Was a Good Dog," and the 1951 Freedoms Foundation Certificate of Merit. June 6, 1947 was declared Ben Hur Lampman Day in Gold Hill and a Ben Hur Lampman Club was formed at Portland's Lincoln High School. In 1951, Lampman was named Poet Laureate of Oregon, a title he held until his death in 1954.