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Janis Kafton Collection on Klamath County, Oregon Local History

 Collection
Identifier: SHL012

Scope and Contents note

The Janis Kafton Collection on Klamath County, Oregon Local History is organized by family, location, business, and organization. This collection is made up of documents, photocopies, newspaper clippings, hand written notes, audio cassette tapes, card files, sketches, maps, and photographs.

Series I: Klamath County Local History consists of materials documenting many Klamath County, Oregon families, businesses, organizations and events. Many of these topics correlate with one another.

Series II: Audio-Visual Series consists of 93 audio cassettes. Some cassettes document Klamath County Historical Society programs, and others contain interviews by Janis Kafton. The contents of some cassettes are not documented.

Series III: Janis Kafton Papers consists of information on Janis Kafton and her family. This includes her autobiography, personal journals, photographs, drawings, paintings, and poetry.

Dates

  • Creation: 1905-2000

Creator

Conditions Governing Access note

The collection is open for research use. Researchers should contact the library in advance of their visit if they wish to use the audio-visual materials in this collection.

Conditions Governing Use note

Before materials from the Shaw Historical Library may be quoted in print or otherwise reproduced in whole or in part in any publication, exhibit, broadcast or other manner, the user must obtain permission from the owner of the physical property and the holder of the copyright. Copyright status for collections in the Shaw Historical Library varies. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Janis Kafton was a Klamath County educator and amateur historian. She and her husband William were active volunteers and supporters of the Klamath County Museum and the Klamath County Historical Society. In 1988 William and Janis Kafton received the National Community Service Award from the American Association of Retired Persons due to their outstanding volunteering and contributions to the community.

Janis Blackman was born April 15, 1919 in Weleetka, Oklahoma. Her family moved to the Klamath Basin in Oregon to take up farming when she was very young. She and her five siblings attended Henley grade school and high school. After graduation in 1938, Janis attended Ashland Normal School and in 1940 began teaching in Klamath Falls, Oregon where she met William Kafton. They were married in December of 1940. Together they had two daughters, Sharon and Linda, and a son, Eddie. Janis was a stay-at-home mother and a homemaker until 1955 when she resumed teaching.

After William’s death in 1988, it became Janis’s passion to continue volunteering and collecting extensive research in several areas regarding Klamath County. She served on the Klamath County Museum Board, Klamath County Historical Society, and the Landmark Commission Board. Janis Kafton died on February 6, 2002.

Extent

25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Janis Kafton Collection on Klamath County, Oregon Local History is organized by family, location, business, and organization. This series is made up of documents, photocopies, newspaper clippings, hand written notes, audio cassette tapes, card files, sketches, maps, and photographs covering the period 1905-2000. Janis Kafton was a Klamath County educator and amateur historian.

Arrangement note

The collection is arranged into three series: Series I: Klamath County Local History, Series II: Audio-Visual Series, and Series III: Janis Kafton Papers.

Location note

Shaw Historical Library

Custodial History note

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Donated to the Shaw Historical Library by Janis Kafton and her family.

Separated Materials note

Janis Kafton’s local history books and periodicals have been cataloged into the book collection of the Shaw Historical Library.

General Physical Description note

47 boxes and 1 audio cassette cabinet

Processing Information note

Portions of the collection arranged by library staff.

Title
Guide to the Janis Kafton Collection on Klamath County, Oregon Local History 1905-2000
Author
Finding aid prepared by Anne Hiller Clark and Tessa Simpson
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in: English English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Institute of Technology Libraries, Shaw Historical Library Repository

Contact:
3201 Campus Drive
Klamath Falls OR 97603 United States
5418851965