Whitman College and Northwest Archives

The Lester R. Armstrong Photographs collection consists of photographic negatives and includes portraits, family events and scenes of rural, city, work, college and civic life. It includes images from the Walla Walla U.S.O. and McCaw Hospital of wartime activities. There are circus, fair, parade and festival scenes and landscapes and seascapes from Washington, Oregon and California. Commercial work provides a view of the businesses, agriculture and community organizations of the area. An index is available. These photographs are a selection from the overall collection.

COVID-19 in Walla Walla 2020: Community, Place, and Organization (Sociology 293) was taught online in the fall semester of 2020 by Whitman College Professor of Sociology Michelle Janning. Students learned about the Walla Walla Valley using a sociological perspective, offering a glimpse into the many issues that strengthen, challenge, and complicate the work of, and connections among, local community organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This collection contains interviews that were conducted before the course began in August, 2020, with residents who engage with local organizational work in areas such as education, health, tourism and business, faith communities, housing, food security, environmental sustainability, immigration, arts, criminal justice, and early learning.

The Grand Army of the Republic, Walla Walla, Records include the minutes, membership records, correspondence, and financial records that document the activities of this Civil War veterans’ organization. These records are a selection from the overall collection.

This collection consists of negatives and prints taken by Lester V. Hodgson. The photographs mainly document the flood on Mill Creek in Walla Walla, Washington that occurred between March 31 to April 1, 1931. Also included are photographs of agricultural scenes, a military parade and buildings and street scenes in Walla Walla, Washington. The collection includes a scrapbook containing photographs and postcards, primarily of natural disasters such as fires and floods that occurred in other parts of the United States, and Hodgson's autobiography. These photographs are a selection from the overall collection.

Reverend Myron Eells was a prolific writer who documented his work, his surroundings, and his travels. The collection contains articles and books, manuscripts, correspondence, speeches and sermons. A series of six scrapbooks, "The Indians of Puget Sound", contains drawings, photographs and detailed descriptions of the life and culture of those with whom he worked and lived. Travel journals, census reports, books and pamphlets in Pacific Northwest Indian languages and the Eells family Bible are part of this group.
These records are a selection from the overall collection.

This collection includes an assortment of Whitman College materials including ephemera, publications, and photographs.

The Pearsons Academy Records consists of printed materials including receipts, publicity, historical, and enrollment records related to what began as Whitman Academy (1882-1905) and later became Pearsons Academy (1905-1912). These photographs are a selection from the overall collection.

The Roberts Family Papers contains newspaper and magazine articles written by A.B. Roberts about life in the Northwest of the 1850s, the Indian Wars, the fruit industry, and the founding of Walla Walla. It also includes A.B.and Lee Roberts’ personal notebooks and sketchbooks, genealogical materials about the Roberts family and its descendants, and personal correspondence. These photographs are a selection from the overall collection.

The Stephen B.L. Penrose Jr. Papers chiefly contains the correspondence of Stephen B.L. Penrose, Jr., depicting his presidency of the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, from 1948-1954, his involvement with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), his work with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and his views on and advocacy for Palestinian statehood and Palestinian refugees. These materials represent a selection from the overall collection.