Photo Record
Images
Additional Images [12]
Metadata
Object ID |
2019.1.0 |
Title |
Gambs, Robert N. photography collection. |
Description |
Gambs, Robert N. photography collection. See Record 2019.1.00 for info about more Gambs photos added in March 2023. In 2019 the survivors of photographer Robert N. Gambs (1-12-1917 to 7-19-1996) donated over 1000 of his negatives and prints and other mementos to the Baker County Library. The photo you see at upper right is one of 18 Gambs family photos attached to this record. The first one is in the form of a Christmas card from 1943. The children in the photo are Jon Robert, Mary Kristine, and in the middle David Mac. A third son arrived later. Below is a short biography of Robert N. Gambs. Robert was born in Baker in 1917 and graduated from Baker High School in 1934. He attended Eastern Oregon College for a couple of years, then took over an existing photography studio in Baker. He married Beth MacFarlane, a 1937 graduate of BHS. During WWII Robert enlisted in the Navy and served as an aerial photographer, flying on PBY "flying boats" out of Pensacola, Florida. After the war Robert returned to his photography business. In 1950 the family moved to Eugene, OR, where Robert attended the University of Oregon. In 1952 he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree. The Gambs family moved to Portland in 1955. Robert worked for the 3M company in its copy machine division, and later worked as a management analyst for the State of Oregon in the 1970s. He also worked for the Continental Casualty Co. documenting damages as the result of car wrecks. At the time of entering this record in 2019, Beth at age 99 was living with her son, Jon and wife, Karen, in Vancouver, WA. Robert died in 1996 at age 79 and is buried in Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, which is limited to veterans and family members. |
Photographer |
Gambs, Robert N. |
Photo Topic |
People |