Eugene Vocational School / Eugene Technical Vocational School Records

Eugene Vocational School / Eugene Technical Vocational School Records, 1938-1965

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Lane Community College (Eugene, Or.)Institutional Advancement
Title: Eugene Vocational School / Eugene Technical Vocational School Records
Dates: 1938-1965 (inclusive)
19781991
Quantity: 4.0 cubic feet, (8 document boxes)
Collection Number: A-031
Summary: Eugene Vocational School (1938-1959) and Eugene Technical-Vocational School (1959-1965) were the predecessors of Lane Community College. The records include historical narratives, reports, publications, curriculum records, advisory committee records, school catalogs, and photographs.
Repository: Lane Community College Archives
4000 East 30th Avenue
Eugene, OR
97405
Telephone: 5414635466
archives@lanecc.edu
Access Restrictions: There are no access restrictions. The collection is open for research.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Eugene Vocational School (EVS), 1938-1959, and Eugene Technical-Vocational School (ETVS), 1959-1965 are the predecessors of Lane Community College.

In response to the high unemployment during the Great Depression, Eugene Vocational School was established in 1938 to provide manual education and training to high school students and unemployed adults. It was a cooperative venture between Eugene School District #4 and the State Department for Vocational Education. The new vocational school held its first classes on February 1, 1938, in the original Geary School at Fourth and Madison in Eugene.

Lillian Van Loan was hired as the first full-time teacher and became the school's first director. In March 1938, over 300 students showed up for the first night-time classes. By fall 1938, 22 full and part-time teachers were on the staff of EVS.

Eugene Vocational School responded to the need for skilled workers during World War II and then made a successful transition to peacetime after 1945. In 1947, the radio station KRVM signed on as the first educational FM station in the northwest. In the 1950s the Licensed Practical Nursing Program, the Electrical Engineering Technician Program, and community-oriented adult education classes were added to the curriculum.

In 1958, the name of the school was changed to Eugene Technical-Vocational School, reflecting the addition of more technologically oriented courses. In 1960, new facilities at 200 North Monroe replaced the old Geary School building.

Local educational leaders recognized the need to expand ETVS into a regional institution that would better serve the diverse needs of the wider community. Following the October 1964 election, Lane Community College was founded and ETVS was folded into the new community college which opened for classes in 1965.

Directors: Lillian Van Loan, 1938-1944; Dale Perry, 1944-1945; LeRoy Erdmann, 1945-1949; W.W. (Bill) Cox, 1949-1964.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Eugene Vocational School / Eugene Technical-Vocational School Records are an incomplete collection of records about the two schools which were the predecessors to Lane Community College.

School catalogues and class schedules exist only from 1961-1964. There is a fairly complete selection of minutes for the EVS and ETVS Advisory Committee, 1951-1964; however, the advisory committees for various vocational programs are incomplete. The Subject Files contain records of KRVM, the educational television station, 1961-1963; and records of the accidental death of Aircraft Mechanics student Bobby Davis in 1954.

The photographs are mainly of the construction of an addition to the school in 1959 and the Aviation Mechanics program. Also included are photographs used to illustrate "Fourth and Madison: A History of the Eugene Vocational School, 1938-1965," a history of the school by David Butler.

In addition to "Fourth and Madison," there are several other manuscripts about the history of EVS and the radio station, KRVM, and plans and studies examining the establishment of a vocational school in 1939.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

There are no use restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Eugene Vocational School / Eugene Technical Vocational School Records, 1938-1965 (A-031), Lane Community College Archives, Eugene, Oregon

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is divided into six series.

A. History, 1938-1954

B. Publications, 1961-1965

C. Advisory Committee Records, 1951-1964

D. Subject Files, 1938-1965

E. Photographs, circa 1940-1950

F. Scrapbooks, 1943-1958

G. Negatives and Contact Sheets, 1954-1962

Acquisition Information

Records were transferred to the college archives in one accession in 1992.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series A: History, 1938-1965Return to Top

This series contains records that document the history of the Eugene Technical-Vocational School, including plans and studies for its establishment.