Published On: September 11, 2018
A wooden shipping case, containing a set of 52 color glass slides entitled “Some North Dakota Birds”, by Professor O.A. Stevens, has been donated to the NDSU Archives by Tom and Ann Riley.
During his 67-year career at North Dakota Agricultural College, Professor O. A. Stevens focused on finding better ways to understand and live with nature. His studies did not end with botany and entomology, but expanded into ornithology. He served as editor for Inland Bird Banding News and as secretary for eight years of the Inland Bird Banding Association. Stevens also ran a series titled “North Dakota Bird Notes” in the Fargo Forum for ten years and published a set of 250 articles on birds in North and South Dakota Horticulture from 1930 to 1953.
These slides appear to have been part of the Visual Instruction service at the North Dakota Agricultural College. This education service sent slides and films to residents of North Dakota for a fee. They were often sent to schools, churches, community clubs and various farmers' organizations. A slip in one of the accompanying envelopes shows that this set of slides were sent to a teacher at Agassiz School in Fargo in 1929. Along with the slides, there is a multipage, typed identification sheet for each slide.
