Alfred Powers

“ The long list of American explorers, traders, and missionaries, whose deeds and sacrifices glorify the early history of the Pacific Northwest, were largely forgotten by a nation entranced with the story of the "Forty-niners." The far-reaching influence of Oregon as the oldest American territory on the Pacific Coast faded quickly from the memories of men. The Oregon Trail was already deep worn through the sand hills along the Platte and Sweetwater, Bear River, and the Portneuf, by the wagons of the Oregon pioneers ”

“ The same qualities of open-mindedness and enthusiasm which won the students were equally successful outside in his contact with the old settlers and others interested in Oregon history. Himself the son of a pioneer in southern Wisconsin and a student of Frederick Jackson Turner, he loved and understood the West and almost upon arrival became a loyal Oregonian. The lives of the prominent men who had made Oregon meant much to him. ”

“ Schafer was unusually direct and straightforward, generous to a fault, quick to recognize merit in others, but no man could hit harder when his confidence had been abused, or cling more tenaciously to a point when his mind was made up. ”

“ Fundamentally, he was an optimist and an idealist; with difficulty could be brought to accept evidence of corruption in public men. Many of the qualities of his Rhenish ancestors were discernible in him-cheerfulness (Gemutlichkeit) , frankness, firmness, patience, and energy-and yet no one could be more American in opinions and attitude. He was ideally qualified to write the history of the German contribution to American history, an enterprise which he under took only in spots as he edited the writings of Carl Schurz and other leading German-Americans. ”

“ As much as Wisconsin and the states of the Pacific Northwest have reason to be grateful for such supreme talents spent in recording and interpreting their histories, it must be said, in consideration of the tremendously wider capacity of this man, that, however important regional chronicles may be regarded, he was qualified beyond all men for a particular kind of achievement of much greater significance. ”

“ Joseph Schafer makes this a fitting time to recognize the important part which he played from 1900 to 1920 in promoting historical studies in Oregon. In the primary responsibility of developing the department of history in the University, he succeeded largely because of a certain contagious enthusiasm in research, particularly in the field of Oregon and western history. The students in his classes felt that history was a living subject and that they could further it. ”

“ In 1935, he lectured in London on the history of American agriculture and was accepted as the foremost authority on the subject. He edited the Wisconsin Magazine of History and frequently wrote critical studies of other historians, and biographies of the famous sons of Wisconsin.
Dr. Schafer's writings, in their main body, fall under four heads—those on the Pacific Northwest, the Pacific Slope, and the West generally; those on Wisconsin; those on agriculture; and those on German-American contributions to our cultural and material development, as indicated by Dr. ”

“ During successive bienniums, Who's Who in America has been noticeably sprinkled with their names. This, upon closer analysis, is not a cause for pride, but rather a reflection upon our prodigality in giving away our talent. ”

“ Those who have that valuable number, may find the article and enjoy reading it again, for it is one of the best essays ever written on the Oregon Trail. It has 31 pages of text, and 16 illustrations, presumably from amateur photographs by the two bicyclists. The account, however, is quite impersonal. It says nothing about bicycles. In one of the pictures, legended "The deep worn Trail along the Sweetwater," there is included with the ruts a small figure of a man standing beside a bicycle-whether Professor Young or Dr. Schafer, the engraving is too indistinct to reveal. ”