Biographical Note
After graduating from Union High School, Merton Davis attended Oregon
Agricultural College from 1915 though 1917, where he studied agriculture and
architecture. He was a member of Kappa Sigma. He enlisted in the Navy in 1917
and served in World War I in Naval Aviation in Porto Corsino, Italy. After the
war, he returned to North Powder, Oregon.
Eleanor Grace Hall, also from Union, attended OAC from 1915 to 1917; she
studied music. When Eleanor was a student, she was a member of the Madrigal
Club, which was formed in the fall of 1909 "for the combined purposes of the
study of part song and operas and pleasure" (The Orange, 1917, page 75). In
1917, she was the president of the club. She was also a member of the Alpha Chi
Omega fraternity.
Having met in college, the two were married on October 9, 1919, when
Merton returned from World War I. In 1924, they founded the Texaco Service
Station in Union, Oregon. After Merton's father, Alonzo Benjamine Davis, passed
away in 1938, the two assumed responsibility for the family ranching business;
they sold the station in 1947 and ranched full-time until their retirement in
1967.
Content Description
This collection consists of the monograph
This We Remember, which is a history of the
Davis and Hall families of Union, Oregon. It was written by OSU alumni Merton
and Eleanor Davis. This monograph details the migration of these two Oregon
pioneer families in the mid-1800s and follows the families through the 1980s.
It includes Merton and Eleanor's experiences as students at Oregon Agricultural
College and lists other OSU alumni in the family. This book also documents the
development of the town of Union, and includes details of various local
businesses and buildings.
Also included is a family tree for both the Hall and Davis families. It
is a double-sided item, measuring 34 inches by 22 inches.