Oriska History Committee
Oriska, N.D. Photograph Collection, 1880s - 1979. (Photo 2050)
398 copy photographic prints
258 slides
44 copy film negatives
2 8x10 copy negatives
19 contact print sheets & 21 film negative sheets
History
The Oriska History Committee compiled the photographic and other historical materials used to produce the book Oriska 1881-1981 for its centennial. This book, published in 1980, featured the town’s history from 1881 to 1981. The Oriska History Committee, whose chairman was Father John A. Conway, gathered all of the information for the book. The research papers and photographs at the conclusion of the celebration were deposited in the Institute for Regional Studies.
Scope and Content
The Oriska photographic collection consists of a wide variety of images used in producing its centennial history book. The collection has been organized into five series: Topical, Homes-Walk Through the Town, Centennial Celebration, Contact Prints, and Slides. The Homes, Centennial Celebration, and Slides series were left intact as originally organized by the committee. The remaining photographs were found dispersed throughout the textual records. The textual records (ca. 2.2 linear ft.) have not been processed but are available for research use (Accession 2087).
Not all the photographs found in the Oriska history book were included in this donation, in particular the family photographs found in the ‘Oriska Families’ section. The vast majority of photographs are reproductions of historical prints. The collection contains 398 black & white photographs with some color prints. There are also 258 black & white and color slides organized in order from oldest to newest. All information that was found taped to each photograph was removed and transferred to the back of each print.
All negatives and prints are cross-referenced, with the negative number recorded on the back of the print. The negatives were retained with the print collection, but in a separate box. There are twenty-one sheets of 35mm black & white negatives, with most having contact prints made of them. There are also two large negatives of newspaper pages.
The Topical Series consists of photographs found scattered throughout the textual files. They were pulled and arranged by topic. They show things such as early businesses to the present. There is also a wide range of images such as elevators, railroads, churches, schools, people, and homes, all from different periods of time. Most of the photographs are reproductions of old photographs. Negatives were found only for some of the prints.
The Oriska Homes-Walk Through the Town Series contains photographs of all of the homes in Oriska, taken by members of the history committee. The photographs were taken in blocks by the committee as they were walking through the town. The homes range from blocks 21-28, 41-44, and 61-66. All photographs are black and white, and there are 35mm negatives for all the prints (Negs. 16-18), but there are no contact prints.
The Centennial Celebration Series was put together by the history committee documenting the Oriska Celebration. It shows the people, parade, program, and other scenes of the celebration. They were left in the original order and numbered from 1a through 115. All the photographs are black and white prints. There are no contact prints or negatives of these photographs, but there have been some slides made.
The Contact Prints Series is made up of nineteen sheets. There are ten contact print sheets that were matched up with the 35mm negative sheets. Not all of the 35mm negatives have contact prints, and some negatives showing on the contact prints are missing. The prints show a wide range of images, from early in the town's history to modern day. The prints show different photographs than used in the book or not used in the book, such as the Oriska Celebration. The prints also show businesses, churches, elevators, railroads and other photographs found in the Topical Series.
The Slides Series is the made up of some of the contact prints from the 35mm negatives. The original numerical order was retained. They are made up of black and white and color slides, showing old photographs of the town to modern day images. A separate set of slides document the burial of a time capsule in 1981.
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Photography 
