A SHORT HISTORY OF THE OREGON CHAPTER

The Chapter is now in it's 61st year. It was the 30th chapter chartered in the Society, which now has 154 worldwide.

Earl Willey, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State College (now OSU) in Corvallis, was the father of the Chapter. In 1933 he established a small heating research laboratory and being interested in obtaining grants for it, he joined the Society the next year. He encouraged members of the industry to join the first Oregon State Air Conditioning Conference in 1937 and the second in 1939. The enthusiasm developed which brought many new members to the Society and an interest in establishing a local chapter.

On April 27, 1939, Society President James McIntire came to Portland to discuss the procedure for a new chapter. Acting promptly, the first meeting was held on May 8th and a petition to the Society was signed by 37 members. The Council (now the Board of Directors) acted favorably on the petition on July 4th. On July 27th the first officers were elected with Don Kroeker becoming President.

On October 5, 1939, Professor E. O. Eastwood of the University of Washington and a member of the Council of the Society presented the Charter at a gala affair attended by 38 local members and 50 guests including members of the Puget Sound Chapter, City and State officials, and members of many technical and engineering societies.

Following a parallel path, on July 15, 1954, a meeting was held with Al Chadburn, assistant secretary and J. W. Snyder, Sections Committee Chairman of the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers (ASRE), to learn the procedure for establishing a location Section. On October 1st a joint meeting was held with the Seattle Section. Chester Bell was elected as Provisional Chairman, and an application to form the Oregon Section was implemented. The Charter was presented on March 10, 1955, to Chairman-elect Chet Bell by Leon Buehler, President of ASRE.

The American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers (ASHVE) was established in 1894 and became the American Society of Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHAE) in 1952. The present society born of the merger of ASHAE and ASRE, came into being in 1959.

The Chapter has had numerous special activities including the following:

1. The "Tradition of the Gavel" was established, which involved the award of a special gavel to the newest Chapter by the latest.
2. It was the first Chapter to engage cooperatively with the Society in the conduct of a research project (OSU).
3. In 1942 the wartime fuel conservation plan developed by the Chapter was accepted by the Department of Interior for national distribution and enactment.
4. Members worked on the first two Air Conditioning Conferences and the Chapter sponsored the last six.
5. Established the OREGON DIFFUSER - the second Chapter newsletter in the Society.
6. In 1952 the Chapter sent a myrtlewood gavel to an international associate chapter in Switzerland. In appreciation the Swiss sent the Oregon Chapter a bell to "grace the speaker's table". The bell has become a tradition and has opened Chapter meetings ever since.
7. Hosted Society annual meetings in 1951, 1965, and 1986.
8. Hosted the Society's first regional meeting in 1956.
9. Hosted Region X CRC meeting in 1972 and Joint Region X & XI meeting in 1984.
10. In 1981 established the J. Donald Kroeker Award for the best chapter newsletter in Region XI.

If you have any comments or questions about this site, please contact Eileen Jensen at: ejensen@orashrae.org