Francis S. “Van” Landrum was a businessman and self-taught structural engineer/land surveyor in Klamath Falls, Oregon, as well as a noted amateur historian and author. He was born in Pendleton, Oregon, in 1924, and at the age of three his family moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon where he lived for the rest of his life. After his high school graduation in 1941 he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a lieutenant and served as a B-17 bomber pilot. In 1953 Landrum founded Fremont Glass & Millwork, later Fremont Millwork, Inc., and continued to operate the family business until his retirement in 1985. Landrum was considered an expert on Klamath Basin history, especially the Modoc War of 1872-1873. He created an extensive collection of materials about the Modoc War as well as other topics related to the history of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. He was one of the organizers of the 1988 Modoc War Symposium. Landrum was active in the Klamath Falls, Oregon community, serving as a founding Board member and President of the Shaw Historical Library Board, member of the Klamath County Museum Board, president of the Klamath Falls Rotary Club and chairing the Klamath County Roads Advisory Committee. He also served on the Oregon Geographic Names Board. Francis Landrum died on June 16, 2002.

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 Kafton died in 2002.

Laurence L. Shaw was a well-known Oregon timber man and philanthropist. He was born on July 11, 1908 in Ranier, Oregon. He entered the family’s timber business in 1935 as resident manager of Shaw Lumber Company in Tionesta, California, after graduating from Stanford University and attending a year of Stanford Law School. In 1945 he started Modoc Lumber Company in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and remained active in the business until 1995. He was one of the organizers of the effort to create the Winema National Forest from former Klamath Indian Reservation lands in the 1950s. The Klamath County Chamber of Commerce gave Laurence Shaw the Forest Industries Businessman of the Year award in 1984. His philanthropic activities included service as a life member of the board of trustees of Lewis and Clark College, service on the Board of the Oregon Historical Society, support of many community activities, and together with his wife Dorothy the founding of the Shaw Historical Library at Oregon Institute of Technology in 1982.