Magnus Hirschfeld, Jack Baker, University of Minnesota and Oregon State University gay connection

PHOTO: cover of newsletter story by Jean-Nickolaus Tretter, "Tretter Collection Makes Purchase of Magnus Hirschfeld Li Family Estate," Tretter Letter, Jan. 2007, p. 1,3 (PDF). See the home page of The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota Elmer L. Andersen Library. Also see The Magnus Hirschfeld Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany and the Schwules Museum, Germany.

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PHOTO: Map to The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies at University of Minnesota, Elmer L. Andersen Library, 222 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (Also see Univ. of Minnesota Tretter Collection on Google Maps)

The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection's recent acquisition of Magnus Hirschfeld's estate complements my Magnus Hirschfeld Fund for research concerning humans or animals with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity, which I created at Oregon State University. See my previous posts: Thomas Kraemer, "OSU Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund Agreement," Tom's OSU blog tomsosu.blogspot.com posted Jan. 4, 2012 and my OSU history: Thomas Kraemer, "Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1969-2004," outhistory.org.

Jean-Nickolaus Tretter grew up in Little Falls in a family that first settled in Morrison County in 1848, before Minnesota was a territory. Born in 1946, Tretter had sensed since childhood that he was attracted to men but assumed he had to hide his attraction. However, the Stonewall Riots signaled a new chapter in his life. By April 1972, he was out of the closet and out of the Navy where he had served during Vietnam as a decorated linguist. When Tretter returned to the Twin Cities, he and his friends organized the first Twin Cities commemoration of the Stonewall Riots in June 1972. At around the same time, Tretter began to collect Gay and Lesbian materials in a piecemeal fashion. He didn't start out with the grand scheme of an archive; he just gathered the things that seemed to atter.

Tretter studied social and cultural anthropology at the University of Minnesota from 1973-1976 and wanted to specialize in Gay and Lesbian anthropology but could not get the institutional support he needed. Tretter dropped out of the University and began working as a counselor at a Ramsey County residence for youth with multiple disabilities. He also began studying Gay and Lesbian history on his own, beginning the accumulation of the thousands of books, photos and documents that currently make up his collection.

Tretter has always worked as a visible activist for Gay and Lesbian issues. In 1982, he acted as co-chairman of Minnesota's Gay/Lesbian Olympic Committee and helped assemble the third largest delegation after San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tretter even talked California organizers into diverting their New York to San Francisco torch run into the Twin Cities.

In 1983, Tretter was assembling a Gay history display at St. Paul's Landmark Center when he made a disturbing discovery: "Our Gay history was disappearing as fast as we were producing it." Tretter consciously started collecting anything that was Gay or Lesbian, always on the lookout for new materials. Since 1982, he has been a member of the Los Angeles-based International Gay and Lesbian Archives where he served as both a Board member and the Upper Midwest Representative. Tretter took his growing knowledge of Gay and Lesbian archiving and began to apply it to Minnesota history in earnest.

Because Tretter currently has a larger collection than any other libraries or archives in the area, he is in the ironic position of being a major resource for students getting degrees in Lesbian and Gay studies. Most scholarly sins, explains Tretter, come from cultural biases. "Archaeologists find two graves, one with the remains of a man, one the remains of two women. The traditional interpretation is always that the man had two wives. But suppose it was a Lesbian couple with a male slave? The cultural bias is built in."

Tretter continues to focus the bulk of his attention on strengthening his archives. He is often asked to speak at public events and in university classes on Gay and Lesbian history. For sixteen years he was the host and producer of "Night Rivers," on KFAI, the only regularly broadcast Gay and Lesbian classical music show in the country.

Explains Tretter, "It's important we create a historical legacy to pass along to future generations. It's how the Jews endured thousands of years of persecution, because they had a tradition and a history. I would like to have a part in giving Gays and Lesbians of the future something similar to hold on to." (Quoted from "About Jean-Nickolaus Tretter," special.lib.umn.edu/rare accessed Jan. 20, 2012)

Below is a complete list of links to the PDF newsletters from Jean-Nickolaus Tretter before he went on medical leave and my notes about interesting things I read in each newsletter:

• Tretter Letter, University of Minnesota Libraries, Jan. 2006 -- Magnus Hirschfeld collection is mentioned on p. 3, 7-8. See The Magnus Hirschfeld (reduced) exhibit online, The Magnus Hirschfeld Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany and the Schwules Museum.
• Tretter Letter, University of Minnesota Libraries, Jun. 2006 -- the gay Log Cabin Republicans material was acquired by the Tretter Collection. Oregon State University Professor W. Dorr Legg was the founder of the Log Cabin Republicans. See my blog post: Thomas Kraemer, "W. Dorr Legg OSU archives records 1935-1942," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Jul. 31, 2010
• Tretter Letter, University of Minnesota Libraries, Jan. 2007 -- explains how Magnus Hirschfeld's travelling exhibit material was spared when the Nazis burned his library May 10, 1933. Hirschfeld took the material into exile in Nice, France and it was inherited by his lover Li Shiu Tong who kept the material until passing it on to his family that later donated it to University of Minnesota, The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies, Elmer L. Andersen Library. Their acquisition of Magnus Hirschfeld's collection complements my Magnus Hirschfeld Fund for research concerning humans or animal s with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity that I created at Oregon State University. See my pervious post: Thomas Kraemer, "OSU Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund Agreement," Tom's OSU blog tomsosu.blogspot.com posted Jan. 4, 2012
• Tretter Letter, University of Minnesota Libraries, Jun. 2007 -- the parents of Neil Isbin (born 1954, died Aug. 9, 1996) set up an endowment for the Tretter Collection in their son's name. Also see next issue below.
• Tretter Letter, University of Minnesota Libraries, Jan. 2008 -- "Friends of Dorothy" endowment p. 5, 7 announcement. Neil Isbin passed away from AIDS related illness (See previous issue above).
• Tretter Letter, University of Minnesota Libraries, Jun. 2008 -- Magnus Hirschfeld p. 2, 5-6 shows a charred book rescued from the rubble of the Hirschfeld library after the Nazis burned it down in 1933
• Tretter Letter, University of Minnesota Libraries, Jan. 2009 -- p. 4 University of Minnesota Professor of History Allan Spear was a key gay leader at the U of M died Oct. 11, 2008 at age 71 after a 36 year-long career. As a state representative he broke ground as one of the first openly gay politicians in America. When I first met him in 1973, I found him to be very opinionated and focused on making things happen.
• Tretter Letter, University of Minnesota Libraries, Jun. 2009

In the early 1970s, Jack Baker was a University of Minnesota law student who became a famous gay activist for getting legally married (Minnesota state law did not specify gender back then) and then taking his contested gay marriage case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which dismissed it in 1972 for "lack of a substantial federal question." Here are some links to more about Jack Baker and gay marriage:

• Thomas Kraemer, "Jack Baker & Michael McConnell: Lunatics or Geniuses?" GayToday.com posted June 21, 2004 (NOTE: This link goes to the original Web site that the article was posted on) -- my view of how mainstream gay activists rejected Jack Baker's gay marriage goal as being contrary to the goals of gay liberation and sexual liberation
• Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality," www.may-18-1970.org self-published May 18, 2004 (PDF) NOTE: This URL links to the original PDF stored on Ken Bronson's Web site www.may-18-1970.org about Jack Baker's marriage. Ken Bronson's Web site appears to be dead circa 2011. For a certified archived copy go to the Internet Archive Way Back Machine to view a copy of the Contents Page for www.may-18-1970.org that has a link to a PDF copy of the Jack Baker history by Ken Bronson. Or try Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality," www.may-18-1970.org self-published May 18, 2004 (PDF 1.4MB) ( NOTE: This links to my private local copy of the PDF that is not available to be publically linked to due to copyright and limited server bandwidth and space.)

Thomas Kraemer's previous blog posts on Jack Baker and gay marriage activism:

• Life Magazine gay marriage 1971 (11/20/08) -- a mass circulation magazine features Jack Baker's gay marriage
• Newsweek gay marriage religious case (12/10/08)
• Sunday paper gay marriage advice (1/12/09)
• Jack Baker gay marriage theory was right (4/28/09)
• Obama wrong on Baker v. Nelson gay marriage case (6/13/09)
• Jack Baker GAY cover 1971 (7/18/09)
• Baker v. Nelson 1972 Supreme Court order on gay marriage (7/22/09)
• Jack Baker 1971 Look magazine gay marriage story (7/23/09)
• Arthur S. Leonard on Baker v Nelson gay marriage case (7/28/09)
• Jack Baker case still cited to bar gay marriage (3/12/11)

The connection between Magnus Hirschfeld, Jack Baker, University of Minnesota and Oregon State University amazes me.

OSU gay history at OutHistory.org site

PHOTO: student George Hastings (top row, left) and the 1910 football team at Oregon Agricultural College (former name of Oregon State University) as pictured in "The 1912 Orange" yearbook, p. 159. Hastings associated with gay men arrested in Portland. See my previous posts Thomas Kraemer, "Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1969-2004," outhistory.org posted April 30, 2010 and OSU gay football player 1908 (6/19/08).

UPDATE Oct. 30, 2013 - A copy of Thomas Kraemer, "Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1964-2002," printed to PDF from OutHistory.org in 2010 is permanently stored by the OSU Scholars Archives@OSU

UPDATE Oct 6, 2013 - the new external Website for my OSU history broke the permanent link to it. The new page is poorly laid out compared to the old Wiki technology version and it is unprintable and inaccessible to those with low vision blindness because it overrides the accessibility features already built-in many internet browsers for decades. Even mighty Google made the same mistake until being forced to add better accessibility to the Chrome Browser and Mobile Android operating system Version 4.2.2 in 2013. Even my own Google Blogger blog page still has the same problems with accessibility because it will not allow for text to be selected and then automatically resized and rewrapped by the user's screen width. I have worked around this issue by forcing a small screen width and using a simple template. Many other Web sites have same accessibility problems, which they have worked around by adding an optional printable page of plain text that will display using high-contrast black text on a white background to allow text size color and text margin wrapping to be changed by the user's standard browser program or printer functions instead of forcing a fixed text size or page width that is cut off and forces horizontal scrolling due to poor Web page design. It would have also been better for any new site design to support the old page layout and links to it until articles could be reformatted for the new content management system they are using. Also, automatic redirection from the old permanent link should have been provided since these old links have been referenced by librarians. Broken will cause a loss it readership.

NEW LINK FOR Thomas Kraemer, "Corvallis, Oregon State University Gay Activism 1969-2004" www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/corvallis accessed Oct 6, 2013 contains links to the following poorly laid out sub-pages instead of including everything on one page as the Wiki version did:

• Corvallis, Oregon State University Gay Activism 1969-2004
• Introduction
• Gay Marriage Issue, 1976
• Oregon State University
• Timeline
• References

I hope to see if I can get this article reposted in a format that is easier to read and also get an automatic redirection from the old link that has been linked to and published by librarians and others.

UPDATE: Sep. 2013 NOTE the OutHistory.org Web site is being moved to a new system and there may not be an automatic redirection to the new site nor printable pages and accessible text for those with low-vision blindness. Hopefully, these issues will be fixed soon.

The history of OSU gay students, staff and research programs by Thomas Kraemer, "Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1969-2004," posted April 30, 2010 documents the formation of the first officially recognized gay student group at OSU in 1976 and the events leading up to the 2004 opening of the Oregon State University Pride Center for LGBT students. It is hosted on the Web site OutHistory.org produced by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) located at the City University of New York Graduate Center. A shortened URL goo.gl/BQhv2 to the OSU history is available for text messaging or hand typing of the link. The OutHistory.org site is directed by the famous gay historian Jonathan Ned Katz. (See previous post Jonathan Ned Katz gay history pioneer (3/6/10))

In 2010 year, new OutHistory.org "Exhibit Entries" were solicited from people across the country were asked to research, write, and present the local LGBTQ histories of their village, town, county, state, or city since the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969. The deadline for entries in the "Since Stonewall Local Histories Contest" was April 30, 2010, and the prize winners were announced June 28, 2010. Professors and historians of homosexuality John D'Emilio and Leisa Meyer served as judges of the contest. For the results of the contest, see "Since Stonewall Contest Prize Winners and Honorable Mentions Review committee: John D'Emilio and Leisa Meyer," OutHistory.org posted July 2, 2010.

I submitted the entry by Thomas Kraemer, "Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1969-2004," posted April 30, 2010. (Note: also see the link to the OSU gay history page Printable version and the shortened link to my OSU gay history goo.gl/BQhv2 created with the goo.gl Google URL shortener. For browsing safety and to preview in advance where the shortened URL will be redirected by Google, add a plus at the end of the link goo.gl/BQhv2+.) My entry was based on research done for my previous post Gay OSU Beavers history (1/28/09).

OutHistory.org received over thirty exciting exhibits about LGBTQ history. One of the contest's major goals was to draw attention to LGBTQ history in places that scholars have overlooked. Exhibits include entries about states such as Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Virginia, among others. (See "Since Stonewall Winners Press Release," outhistory.org June 28, 2010)

The "Since Stonewall" exhibits are all geographically-based, but range dramatically in subject, from one New Yorker's memoirs, to a history of the Gay Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., an account of a long-lived gay bar in Michigan called The Flame, and a timeline of The Lesbian Mothers National Defense Fund in Seattle. All the entries are listed on the site.

OutHistory.org's founder, the pioneering gay historian Jonathan Ned Katz, hopes that the Since Stonewall Contest exhibits will be used by teachers to incorporate local LGBTQ history into high school and college courses. He also hopes that the contest will inspire others to write their local histories on the site, which, like Wikipedia, permits users to create content. As contest contributors can continue to edit their entries on OutHistory.org, and new histories are added by the public, the site's local LGBTQ history content will continue to grow.

According to D'Emilio and Meyer, "The OutHistory.org website and the 'Since Stonewall' contest are critically important in bringing attention to local LGBTQ history, and LGBTQ history more generally. Without recognition of LGBTQ history on local, state, national, and transnational levels our historical narratives will remain forever incomplete."

OutHistory.org was the co-recipient of the first Allan Bérubé Award from The Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History of the American Historical Association.

Also see OutHistory.org Blog (RSS feed) and the following gay history pages:

• Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest -- Pacific Northwest Queer Histories

• William A. Percy and Wayne R. Dynes "Encyclopedia of Homosexuality"
• OSU gay history at OutHistory.org (12/7/10) thomaskraemer.blogspot.com
• Exhibit Entries for OutHistory.org 2009 "Since Stonewall Local Histories Contest" ended April 30, 2010
• "Stonewall Contest Winning Entries, outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "Since Stonewall Winners Press Release," outhistory.org June 28, 2010
• "Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1969-2004," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: 100 Queer Places in Minnesota History, (1860-1969), (1969-2010)," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "40 Years of History in the Heartland: UNL and Lincoln Nebraska," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "Man-i-fest: FTM Mentorship in San Francisco from 1976 - 2009," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "Out Front Colorado: Since 1976 ... there's no turning back!" outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "Gay Liberation in New York City," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "Bleeding Blue, White, and Rainbow in State College, PA," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "Seattle, WA: Queen City Comes Out: Exploring Seattle's Lesbian and Gay History," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12
• "F.R.E.E.," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12 - University of Minnesota group led by Jack Baker
• "Baker Law Associates," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12 jack Baker's law firm
• "Sutton's Place," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12 Minneapolis gay bar frequented by U of M students.
• "Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection," outhistory.org accessed 1/12/12 - Jean-Nickolaus Tretter has collected Pride Guides, community newspapers, activist buttons, and other items of GLBT interest since his return from serving as a linguist in the Vietnam War. Already involved with F.R.E.E., the Twin Cities Pride Festival, and other community organizations by 1972, Tretter's interest in GLBT history and culture intensified at the University of Minnesota. As a student from 1973-76, Tretter unsuccessfully attempted to study Gay and Lesbian Anthropology. Tretter dropped out and studied the history of queer life on his own. His collection habits inspired word-of-mouth publicity and, in 1982, it led to a chance meeting with none other than Jim Kepner, founder of the One Archives in Los Angeles.
• Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection Elmer Anderson Library at University of Minnesota

Other related links of interest:

• Gail Cole, "21st century librarian," Gazette-Times posted May 23, 2011 -- Faye Chadwell, the new university librarian
• Sarah Creedican, "More space, less books would benefit overcrowded library," Barometer posted May 26, 2011
• Loni Hartman, "Letter to the Editor, Response to 'more space, less books':Books not the problem," Barometer posted May 27, 2011
• Mark Floyd, "OSU names Duke University leader, OSU alumnus as director of Alumni Association," Gazette-Times posted May 26, 2011 -- Scott Greenwood, a Duke University administrator with extensive ties to the Pacific Northwest, has been named associate vice president and executive director of the Oregon State University Alumni Association. He also will direct the university's Department of Alumni Relations.
• Makenzie Marineau, "Native American community breaks ground on new center, Supporters came out to celebrate the start of construction on the new center, followed by the annual Salmon Bake ," Barometer, May 12, 2011
• Gail Cole, "Ceremony blesses site of Native American center at OSU," Gazette-Times, May 12, 2011

OSU 1957 Rose Bowl program Cadillac Ad

PHOTO: (click on photo to enlarge) magazine cover of the official program for the 1957 Rose Bowl football game between the University of Iowa and Oregon State College (the former name of Oregon State University and the Oregon Agricultural College). The 50 cent cover price in 1957 is equivalent to $4.03 in 2011 inflation adjusted dollars (Source: Consumer Price Index CPI Inflation Calculator at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). This pristine copy was found in a used bookstore near OSU in Corvallis, Oregon a few years ago, which suggests it had been cherished and kept in a private collection by somebody for decades before it was then resold. By the 1970s, the OSU Beaver football team was struggling to win any football game and the idea of playing in a prestigious bowl game had become only a distant memory.

PHOTO: (click on photo to enlarge) Full page color ad for a 1957 Cadillac inside the back cover of the 1957 official program for the Oregon State vs. Iowa 1957 Rose Bowl football game. Today, automobiles are often taken for granted, but in the 1950s automobile technology and styling was still rapidly evolving and so each new model year for automobiles was greeted with as much excitement as the latest Apple iPad product introduction generates today.

OSU engineering professors' pedigree upgrade

PHOTO: Print ad for hiring Oregon State University electrical and computer science professors at OSU as printed in the professional magazine IEEE Spectrum, Dec. 2011, p. 56. The ad provides the URL link jobs.oregonstate.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=59555 for more position details.

According to the above ad from The School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State University, it "invites applications for three tenure-track faculty positions" from "exceptionally strong candidates." Their wording is apparently meant to meet the directive of the University President Ed Ray who is trying to upgrade the OSU faculty's "pedigree" as well as to grow enrollment numbers past the current university-wide total of 25,000 students. The ad states that the school has 40 tenured or tenure track faculty members and they enroll 185 PhD, 125 MS and 1200 undergraduate students.

My personal interest in this is that I received a graduate degree from this university department decades ago and left to do research engineering in the corporate world, including a stint on the Stanford University campus where I met professors from major league engineering universities, such as MIT, UC Berkeley, etc. All of these professors, including the ones still employed by a university, complained about the hardball politics of academia.

The chief complaint was the focus on doing research, the so-called "publish or perish" model, which prevented professors from also doing a good job of teaching university students. Therefore, it is amusing to see the OSU EECS hiring position description emphasize the teaching aspect of the job, when it is clear that a failure to publish research will be what determines tenure.

Not being a part of academia, I can enjoy watching the politics of academia, but I still care about the importance of good research and teaching at the same time. In my experience, there are few professors who can do both successfully. I suspect this is why many top universities have concentrated their faculty on research and have hired part-time "adjunct faculty" to do the job of teaching that few researchers want to do. "Adjunct faculty" members are usually employed full-time at a local company and they are often popular with students because they are not stuck up in the theoretical clouds like top researchers tend to be.

Decades ago, both the strength and weakness of OSU amongst employers of engineers was that many of the professors had at least one degree from OSU and many had industry experience. The strength to this was that the professors had a certain pride in teaching students who were mostly from Oregon and they had a real knowledge of real world engineering problems. They transferred their knowledge to students, which made graduates very popular to employers who wanted to hire graduates that were practical problem solvers instead of just being theoretical academics. The weakness came in that these professors were rarely able to be recognized worldwide for their research because other researchers outside of Oregon dismissed the university as being a bunch of agricultural hicks not worthy of recognition.

I fully support the need for OSU to recruit world-class faculty for doing important research that will be recognized worldwide. However, I hope that OSU will not lose its reputation for being a place to hire engineering graduates who can be practical in solving real world problem instead of just being theoretical academics.

Obituary for Thomas Kraemer

REVISION 8/19/14 - below is the text to be published in the local newspaper after my death - the 35 word version of the obituary is published for free and the longer version requires payment in advance: (See Corvallis, Oregon Gazette-Times Obituaries)

SHORT VERSION LESS THAN 35 WORDS: Thomas Kraemer, [Age], of Corvallis, died [Month] [Day], [Year] and is survived by his spouse Kim Kraemer who he married in 1978. Kraemer's estate will be endowing the OSU Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund.

LONG VERSION of Obituary for Gazette-Times Newspaper requires payment in advance FINAL DRAFT Aug. 19, 2014 - 334 words

Thomas Kraemer, [Age], of Corvallis, died [Month] [Day], [Year] and is survived by his spouse Kim Kraemer, who he married in 1978, and sister Carol Kraemer.

Kraemer's estate will be endowing the Oregon State University Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund for Research concerning humans or animals with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity in honor of a German medical doctor whose research library and books were publically burned by the Nazis in the 1930's.

After early retirement due to an ischemic stroke, Kraemer conducted independent research that documented the connection between Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935) and former Oregon State University Professor W. Dorr Legg (1904-1994), which he published on a peer-reviewed City University of New York Website and stored permanently in the OSU Scholars Archives.

After receiving a Bachelors and Master's Degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Oregon State University in 1977 and 1978, Kraemer worked for Hewlett-Packard over the next three decades where he helped design HP's first portable computers and partnered with Intel to design the first Ethernet hardware necessary for connecting to the internet.

Kraemer also designed the world's first smart phone by combining Motorola and Bell Labs' then new cell phone technology with HP's handheld computers, which he showed to Apple Computer's Founder Steve Jobs shortly after HP cancelled his project in 1982.

In the early 1980's, Kraemer witnessed the invention of HP's first inkjet printer, originally designed to meet the needs of HP's battery powered calculators and portable computers, and his history of its development was published by a major mass-circulation magazine, "American Heritage Invention & Technology," in their Spring 2001 issue as "Printing Enters the Jet Age, How today's computer printers came to eject microscopic dots with amazing precision."

Starting in the 1980's, Kraemer led advanced research and development programs at HP to connect all of HP's electronic instrument products via an object-oriented software graphical user interface to the internet, for which he and his team were granted U.S. Patent Number 5,883,639 dated Mar. 16, 1999.

(Quoted from Thomas Kraemer Obituary published in the Corvallis, Oregon Gazette-Times, Day, Month, Year published in the Corvallis, Oregon Gazette-Times Obituaries)

See my previous posts:

• History of HP inkjet printers in American Heritage Invention & Technology (2/19/12)
• U.S. Patent number 5,883,639 dated Mar. 16, 1999 (9/24/14)
• Patent laws being abused by Apple iPhone claims (8/28/12) - Steve Jobs was shown HP, Motorola and Bell Labs' cell phone handheld computer technology
• OSU Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund Agreement (1/4/12) endowment planned by Kraemer's estate
• Gay marriage discussion in 1953 vs. 1963 and today (12/16/13) - about W. Dorr Legg and also see the following posts
• Gay Oregon Professor 1935 (12/16/06)
• FBI files on gay OSU professor 1956 (7/7/10)
• Dorr Legg OSU archives records 1935-1942 (7/31/10)

By a strange coincidence, when I start writing the above obituary, I went to the newspaper's site to read their policies and noticed that the first engineer I was assigned to work with at HP had just died: Ronald Ward Keil," gazettetimes.com posted Aug. 16, 2014 (long version also see short version "Ron Keil," gazettetimes.com posted Aug. 15, 2014). He was the type of professor students loved to get for a class because he had real industry experience and not just theoretical knowledge. I learned much from his experience.

END OF REVISION 8/19/14

In the event of my death, I have written my own obituary for my family and friends:

Thomas Kraemer [insert year of birth and death] was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and grew up in Edina, Minnesota. He is survived by Kim Kraemer, who he married in 1978, and his sister Carol Kraemer of Windsor, California. Kraemer graduated in 1977 and 1978 from Oregon State University with a Bachelors and Masters Degree in electrical engineering and for the next three decades worked at Hewlett-Packard until his early retirement due to illness. Kraemer is the founding benefactor of the Oregon State University's OSU Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund Agreement (1/4/12), which funds educational, scientific and ethnographic research activities at OSU concerning humans or animals with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity.

Thomas Kraemer started his professional engineering career in the Corvallis, Oregon Hewlett-Packard calculator research and development lab where he witnessed the invention of the first inkjet printer, which was originally developed to be used with battery-powered calculator products. Thomas Kraemer was an engineer or manager at Hewlett-Packard divisions in Oregon, Washington, California and Colorado from 1978-1998 and worked on many calculator, computer, network and instrument products.

Thomas Kraemer's grandfather Elmer O. Kraemer was a renowned PhD chemist, nylon, and synthetic rubber pioneer who worked for DuPont and as a chemistry professor in Sweden, Germany and the U.S. His father Herbert Kraemer was also a PhD chemist who worked for General Mills in Minneapolis during the time when the food industry was pioneering the use of processed soybeans as a healthy protein substitute in processed foods.

PHOTO: magazine article by Thomas Kraemer, "Printing Enters the Jet Age, How today's computer printers came to eject microscopic dots with amazing precision," American Heritage Invention & Technology, Spring 2001, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 18-19 (For more see blog post: History of HP inkjet printers in American Heritage Invention & Technology, Spring 2001)

OSU Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund Agreement

PHOTO: Berlin university students carrying away the library from the home of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935) on May 6, 1933 for a May 10-11 Nazi book burning, (New York Herald Tribune, May 17, 1933)

To honor Hirschfeld's memory, I have become the founding benefactor of the OSU Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund at Oregon State University for research on humans or animals with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity. One hundred percent of my estate will be used to endow this fund after my death.

Here is the text of the completed and signed funding agreement with OSU:

---

Oregon State University Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld Fund Agreement:

This agreement is made this __31st__ day of __Jan.__, 2005, by and between Thomas Fredrick Kraemer and Kimberley Sue Kraemer of Corvallis, Oregon 97330, representing themselves, ("Donors"), and the OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ("Foundation"), an Oregon nonprofit corporation existing for the exclusive benefit of Oregon State University ("University"). In consideration of the pledge by the Donors to the Foundation and the mutual promises set forth below, the parties hereby agree as follows:

I. FUNDING

On or before the date of this Agreement, the Donors have made this Fund the beneficiary of one hundred percent of the residue of the Donors' eventual estate under their will dated December 9, 2004 to be used according to the terms of this agreement.

II. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Donors in making this gift is to establish a Fund to be known as the:

Magnus Hirschfeld Fund

And to commemorate the life of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a German Jew whose pioneering scientific research center for sexual orientation and gender identity was destroyed before World War II by Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime.

III. CRITERIA FOR USE AND ADMINISTRATION

The Foundation agrees to accept this gift and to administer and distribute the Fund in accordance with the following terms and conditions for the benefit of the University:

1. The principal of this Fund shall be considered an endowment and shall be kept intact and invested in accordance with the investment and spending policies set forth from time to time by the Foundation with only the net income and such net appreciation generated therefrom as the Foundation deems prudent to be expended for the purpose of this Fund.

2. The Foundation may assess such fees as are reasonable and necessary to meet the costs of acceptance, investment and administration, in accordance with the Foundation's fee schedule set forth by the Foundation Board of Governors. Provided however, the Foundation has been appointed the personal representative of the estate of the donor and is entitled to a statutory personal representative fee for so acting. The Foundation agrees that all of the expenses of the probate (including but not limited to court filing fees, attorney fees, tax return preparation, publication costs, and accounting fees) shall be paid from that personal representative fee, it being the intent of the parties that the Foundation will not take the personal representative fee in addition to charging the estate for such expenses.

3. Contingent upon final approval by the University, distributions authorized under this Agreement shall be used annually or otherwise according to the following:

a. To be used to establish the Magnus Hirschfeld Research Fund as an endowment at Oregon State University for research programs concerning humans or animals who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity and/or by the student cultural center for educational programs that support those who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity. (See below for examples of previous research programs qualified for the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund)

b. Expenditures may include but are not limited to faculty and staff travel, lodging and travel of visiting scholars, lecturers and research collaborators, supplies and other items which may best serve the needs of the research or educational programs that support those who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity.

c. Research programs may be in one or more recognized academic discipline. In honor of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld and to promote academic freedom, funding priority should be given to controversial, multi-disciplinary research programs of an international scope that the majority of society wants to have suppressed or censored.

d. Research programs and their principle investigators shall fully support giving equal rights to humans who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity (e.g. the rights of marriage). For ethical reasons, research programs shall not develop or advocate methods to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a human who has a minority sexual orientation or gender identity. (See below for examples of research programs disqualified for the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund)

e. Research funding decisions shall be made by an academic committee, appointed by the deans from a wide breadth of colleges/departments (e.g. liberal arts, science, animal sciences, engineering, etc.), which is comprised of 4 to 5 interested faculty researchers and one graduate student, who represent a cross section of research interests. The specific process to do this is to be determined and documented by the Foundation, and all funded research programs shall be reviewed annually to check for compliance with this Fund Agreement by the elected representatives of the Oregon State University student cultural center for those who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity and if there is no such cultural center, then the review shall be conducted by a committee of 4 to 5 students who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity selected by the Foundation.

f. If this type of research is not able to be funded for any legal reason, then only while any legal reason is in existence, funds shall be for research programs in the Colleges of Science and Engineering as may be recommended by the Deans of Science and Engineering. If no such colleges exist, then for the benefit of Oregon State University as may be recommended by the President of the University and approved by the Board of Governors of the Foundation.

Examples of research programs qualified for the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund:

1.) Charles E. Roselli, et al., "The Volume of a Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus in the Ovine Medial Preoptic Area/Anterior Hypothalamus Varies with Sexual Partner Preference," Endocrinology, February 2004, 145(2):478-483. This research on homosexual sheep was done in part by researchers in the OSU Department of Animal Sciences including Professor Fredrick Stormshak.

2.) Lisa C. Ryner, et al., "Control of Male Sexual Behavior and Sexual Orientation in Drosophila by the fruitless Gene," Cell, December 13, 1996, Vol. 87, 1079-1089, Research into the genetics of sexual orientation and courtship behavior in fruit flies was done in part by researchers in the OSU Department of Zoology including Professor Barbara J. Taylor. While research that modifies humans is disqualified for the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund, genetic or other modification of animals (fruit flies in this study) is permissible provided the goal is to further scientific knowledge and not to justify denying equal rights to those who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity.

3.) Vern L. Bullough, "Before Stonewall: activists for gay and lesbian rights in historical context," Haworth Press, 2002, pp. 368, 392. Bullough's early research work from the 1960s to 1980s was sponsored by the Reed Erickson Foundation. Erickson was a transgender person who sponsored some important research on homosexuality that led to homosexuality being removed from the list of mental disorders worldwide. Bullough also has multidisciplinary academic credentials in both nursing and history. The Magnus Hirschfeld Fund wants to encourage similar multidisciplinary research of an international scope.

4.) Daniel D. Federman, et al., "Three Facets of Sexual Differentiation," William G. Reiner, et al., "Discordant Sexual Identity in Some Genetic Males with Cloacal Exstrophy Assigned to Female Sex at Birth," David T. MacLaughlin, et al., "Sex Determination and Differentiation," and Jose A. Karam, et al., "True Hermaphroditism," New England Journal of Medicine, January 22, 2004, Vol. 350, No. 4, 321, 323-324, 333-341, 367-378, 393. These types of research programs on intersex individuals have proven that it is impossible to categorize all humans as being either biologically male or female. Human experiments done by Professor John Money, starting in the 1950s, surgically altered intersex babies and raised them as females, but some of them grew up and were highly dissatisfied with their assigned gender. Several decided to change back to being male. For ethical reasons, this is why the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund shall not sponsor research on sexual orientation or gender identity that wants to change or modify a human's sexual orientation or gender identity, but research to debunk the unscientific claims of such research may be funded.

5.) Barbara Finlay, Carol S. Walther, "The Relation of Religious Affiliation, Service Attendance, and Other Factors To Homophobic Attitudes Among University Students," Review of Religious Research, Vol. 44, No. 4, June, 2003. This research program concerns religion-based opposition to homosexuality. It does not support any anti-gay religious viewpoint. The Magnus Hischfeld Fund may support research about anti-gay faith-based beliefs provided that the research does not develop or advocate methods to change the sexual orientation or identity of a person who has a minority sexual orientation or gender identity. (See examples of disqualified research programs below)

6.) Juris Dilevko and Lisa Gottlieb, "Selection and Cataloging of Adult Pornography Web Sites for Academic Libraries," The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 30, No. 1, 36-50. Research into how professional academic libraries should provide access to embarrassing or controversial web sites including ones needed for research on lesbian, gay and bisexual matters. These types of controversial academic research programs should be given funding priority by the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund because they are often suppressed or censored by the majority of society.

Examples of research programs disqualified for the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund:

1.) Christopher H. Rosik, "Motivational, Ethical, and Epistemological Foundations in the Treatment of Unwanted Homoerotic Attraction," Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, January 2003, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1-2, 13-46. The editor of the journal was widely criticized for publishing this study under the guise of not suppressing scientific dissent. It advocates ex-gay conversion therapy supposedly to support the individual's right to self-determination. For ethical reasons, the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund shall not sponsor research that advocates changing or modifying a human's sexual orientation or gender identity, but it may sponsor research to debunk the unscientific claims of conversion research.

2.) Warren Throckmorton, "Initial Empirical and Clinical Findings Concerning the Change Process for Ex-Gays," Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, June 2002, Vol. 33, No. 3, 242-248. This researcher is affiliated with a religious college that teaches homosexuality is a sin and therefore undeserving of equal rights. The Magnus Hirschfeld Fund may sponsor research on how religion negatively impacts people with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity, but it shall not sponsor any principle investigator who opposes giving equal rights to gay people. (e.g. including the rights of marriage)

3.) Mark A. Yarhouse and Lori A. Burkett, "An Inclusive Response to LGB and Conservative Religious Persons: The Case of Same-Sex Attraction and Behavior," Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, June 2002, Vol. 33, 235-241. Another paper from a religious college with an anti-gay agenda. (Note: Both of the above papers were published only as part of a special section on faith-based research that included other papers that strongly rebutted their claims. Otherwise, these anti-gay papers would not have been qualified for publication in these respected journals.)

4.) Jon S. Lasser, et al., "Treating Patients Distressed Regarding Their Sexual Orientation: Clinical and Ethical Alternatives," Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, April 2004, Vol. 35, No. 2, 194-200. This paper accepts some faith-based ex-gay therapies as being ethical, which would disqualify it for funding by the Magus Hirschfeld Fund.

5.) Glenn Smith, et al., "Treatments of homosexuality in Britain since the 1950s: the experience of professionals," British Medical Journal, 21 February 2004, 2004;328:429, and Michael King, et al. "Treatments of homosexuality in Britian since the 1950s - an oral history: the experience of patients," op cit 2004;328:427. Historical research into past cures and treatments for homosexuality. These papers provide examples of past research that would be disqualified for the Magnus Hirschfeld Fund. However, the historical research in these papers may be funded to expose the mistakes of these research programs.

6.) Joseph Nicolosi and Linda Ames Nicolosi, "A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality," InterVarsity Press, 2002. Nicolosi is a popular TV and radio talk show guest who still subscribes to an archaic Freudian theory that the way parents raise their kids determines if they will become gay or straight. Although Nicolosi pretends that his research is not anti-gay or based on religion, much of his research has been funded by the Catholic Church and evangelical Christian groups who teach that homosexuality is a sin and should be suppressed in individuals via so-called ex-gay reparative therapy. The Magnus Hirschfeld Fund may sponsor research to debunk the unscientific claims of these groups, but it shall not fund research to develop or advocate methods to change or modify sexual orientation or gender identity.

IV. NONDISCRIMINATION

This Fund shall be administered in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or other protected category.

V. ADDITIONAL GIFTS

The Donors or any other person or entity may make additional contributions of cash or property to the Fund, either during their lifetime or by bequest. All such contributions shall be subject to terms and conditions of this Agreement.

VI. RETAINED RIGHT TO AMEND

The Donors expressly reserve the right to amend or modify this Agreement from time to time, with the consent of the Foundation, whenever (a) necessary or advisable for the convenient or efficient administration of this fund; (b) to enable the Foundation to carry out the purposes of the Fund more effectively; (c) to redirect the charitable use of the Fund by the Foundation for the benefit of Oregon State University; or (d) to permit the Foundation to fully expend all accumulated historical principal, net appreciation and income; but no such amendment or modification shall alter the intention of the Donors that this Fund be operated exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes within the United States or any of its possessions. Further, it is the Donors' intent that this Fund be operated at all times in a manner which will make this Fund tax exempt and the donations to it deductible from taxable income to the extent allowed by the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and other applicable legislation and regulations. Except as provided in Article VII, every amendment or modification of the Agreement shall be in writing and shall be signed by the Donors and the Foundation pursuant to ORS 128.345(1) and (3).

VII. CONSENT TO AMEND IF PURPOSE NO LONGER EXISTS

If at any time following the death or incapacity of the Donors, the Foundation, in consultation with the University, determines that the purpose for which this Fund was established no longer exists, or may not reasonably be accomplished, the Donors hereby expressly agree that this Fund may be utilized for such alternate purposes as the Foundation, in consultation with the University and a committee composed of elected representatives of the Oregon State University student cultural center for those who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity and if there is no such cultural center, then a committee of four students who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity selected by the Foundation, shall determine most closely represents the Donors' original intent, and this Agreement shall be deemed so amended. The Fund shall at all times retain its identity.

VIII. INSUFFICIENT PRINCIPAL

Notwithstanding Article III, Paragraph 1, of this Agreement, if the Foundation, in consultation with the University, determines that the amount and extent of the principal remaining in the Fund is insufficient to justify continuing this Fund as a an endowed Fund, and that there is no likelihood of any future additional gifts to this Fund, this Fund may be terminated and the remaining principal be distributed for the purposes set forth in Article II consistent with the Criteria set forth in Article III.

IX. ENDOWMENT REPORTS

An annual report on the status of this endowment and its grants and uses will be prepared by the Foundation following the close of the fiscal year on June 30. The Donors request that after their deaths the reports be sent to the Oregon State University student cultural center for those who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity. If there is no such cultural center, then the annual report shall be sent to the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The Donor is asked to keep the Foundation informed of any changes in names or addresses for reporting purposes.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, the Donors and the Foundation have caused this Agreement to be executed as of the date first written above.

___(signed)______________
Donor, Thomas F. Kraemer
Corvallis, Oregon 97330

___(signed)_______________________
Donor, Kimberley S. Kraemer
Corvallis, Oregon 97330

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
An Oregon nonprofit corporation
850 SW35th Street
Corvallis, OR 97333-4015
(541)737-4218 or toll free 1-800-354-7281
By: _(signed Jan. 31, 2005)______
J. Michael Goodwin
President

(Sharon Hogan, attorney for the OSU Foundation, retained one signed copy of this fund agreement for the OSU Foundation files. The other signed copy is in Thomas Kraemer's safe with his will and other estate planning documents.)

---

Managing OSU growth related to student conduct problems

PHOTO: Oregon State University Corvallis neighborhood student housing projects and student conduct problems are summarized in front-page newspaper story by Bennett Hall, "Under construction, Is cure Worse than disease?" Gazette-Times, Jan. 1, 2012, p. A1, A5-6, illustration by Don Boucher, Mid-Valley Sunday.

The small town of Corvallis, Oregon, population 50,000, is home to more than 25,000 students attending Oregon State University. For decades the enrollment was capped at 15,000 students, until recently, mostly because of the Oregon state legislature's budget limits. Similar to many state universities, Oregon has always subsidized the tuition of in-state students. The subsidy has changed over the years. For example, when Nobel laureate Linus Pauling attended OSU in the early 20th Century, tuition was free for in-state students. Over the years tuition rose and state subsidies were cut to the point that the current OSU President Ed Ray adopted a strategy of growing the student population to better fund the University.

Oregon State University has had several periods of growth over the last century. The small town of Corvallis has experience growth pains and has taken years to adjust after each increase in student enrollment. New houses and roads are built, leading to the need for new schools and city services, which have often meant an increase in property taxes and nuisances such as more car traffic and rowdy students living nearby.

The latest growth spurt initiated by OSU President Ed Ray has generated many angry citizen complaints over previously quiet neighborhoods being turned into parking lots with houses rented to students who park their cars blocking the street and who hold noisy parties.

During discussions of how OSU could help manage this problem, OSU President Ed ray told the press that he didn't think he could do anything about student conduct off campus. I was surprised to hear this because I knew he was wrong. Therefore I was happy to see him publically announce he could do something (See Ed Ray, "Ed Said: Keeping it smooth between Town and gown," Oregon Stater magazine of the OSU Alumni Association, Winter 2012, Vol. 97, No. 1, p. 8-9) off campus by using the existing student conduct code. (See Oregon University System, Oregon State University Student Conduct Code - (PDF))

This prompted my following letter the editor:

Oregon State University President Ed Ray wrote in a recent column, which is regularly printed in the winter edition of The Oregon Stater, OSU Alumni Association's glossy magazine, "One of the things we need to look at is enforcement of our student code of conduct, which -- I was pleased to learn -- we do have the ability to enforce off campus." (See tinyurl.com/cwszv3k for full text and tinyurl.com/c3whh4r for text of the OSU student conduct code.)

Many college student protesters of the Vietnam War learned a hard lesson after so-called liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled that colleges could rationally punish a student's conduct with only an administrative process, even if it violated the U.S. Constitutional rights of free speech, due process and being proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

I believe all OSU student conduct code enforcement should be directed toward holding immature college students responsible for their behavior, before they leave the ivory towers of OSU, while simultaneously educating them on how the real world holds adults responsible.

OSU could better focus on doing this education by also funding a real Corvallis police department precinct, similar to other universities, instead of using only deputized campus security officers.

As a Corvallis resident and a large benefactor of OSU, I fully support Ray's growth strategy, and I agree that OSU needs to be more aggressive in enforcing the student conduct code.

Thomas Kraemer, Corvallis

(Quoted from Thomas Kraemer, "Letter: OSU should step up enforcement of its own student conduct code," Gazette-Times, posted Dec. 15, 2011)

Also, see the following links:

• Corvallis, Oregon www.visitcorvallis.com
• Oregon University System, Oregon State University Student Conduct Code - (PDF) -- ""Jurisdiction: The Student Conduct Code shall apply to a Student's or Student Organization's conduct that occurs on University premises, at University sponsored or affiliated activities regardless of location, and to off campus conduct that adversely affects the University community or the pursuit of University objectives."
• Ed Ray, "Ed Said: Keeping it smooth between Town and gown," Oregon Stater magazine of the OSU Alumni Association, Winter 2012, Vol. 97, No. 1, p. 8-9 -- Winter 2012 Vol. 97, No. 1
• OSU Alumni Association osualum.com
• "Council to review 'town and gown' issue Monday," gazettetimes.com Posted: Saturday, December 17, 2011
• "Editorial: Cooperation needed to address city, OSU concerns," Gazette-Times, posted Dec. 20, 2011
• Gail Cole, "Council OKs moving ahead on OSU-city project," Gazette-Times posted Dec. 20, 2011

My low vision blindness is like seeing a captcha all the time

PHOTO: A "captcha" headline typestyle was used for the magazine article by Jeff Green, "New Ways to Captcha Botts, Startups pitch alternatives to the squiggly lines sites use at log-in," BusinessWeek, Dec. 19-25, 2011, p. 44-46, posted December 15, 2011, 4:30 PM EST. The article says, "It's not your vision going bad: Those blurry words that some websites force you to retype when you log in are getting blurrier. They're known as captchas, and they're designed to stop malicious software from accessing a site and, say, using speedy algorithms to snatch up all the tickets to a concert in seconds." In my case, it actually is bad vision that makes captchas much harder for me. My low vision blindness is like seeing the world as a captcha all the time. For example, when I look at a LED digital clock, I only see the last two digits and not the first two digits until I stare at it and think about it real hard.

Hopefully, despite my low vision blindness, I hope this will be the first of many blog posts that are searchable, unlike my previous blog that was attacked by prudes, which caused the Google search engine to disable all search, even when a search is specifically requested on the blog's home page. Searching is the main reason I could use the blog because my low vision blindness makes it hard to scan my posts to find things. Being able to share blog posts with others is important, but not my most important need is being able to keep notes via blog posts and then be able to search them. I was surprised that Blogger, owned by Google, maker of the best search engine, would disable search in one of their products. It seems stupid and self defeating.