E.B. and Lora Lemon

E.B. Lemon in his Corvallis home, March 1979

E.B. Lemon (July 15, 1889 - July 13, 1979)

Lora Lemon (May 23, 1889 - January 8, 1982)

• E.B. Lemon Interview with Lillian Van Loan, July 10, 1956
• Lora Lemon Interview with Lillian Van Loan, ca. 1956
• E.B. Lemon Interview 1 with Jennifer Lee, March 15, 1979
• E.B. Lemon Interview 2 with Jennifer Lee, March 16, 1979
• E.B. Lemon Interview 3 with Jennifer Lee, March 20, 1979
• E.B. Lemon Interview 4 with Jennifer Lee, March 29, 1979

Erwin Bertan Lemon began life on a ranch near Grass Valley, Oregon, where the two main sources of income were wheat and livestock. Though surrounded on all sides by agriculture, Lemon had ambitions to become a pharmacist. However, after working at one of the local pharmacies in Grass Valley, he was convinced that business administration would suit him best. After graduating from high school, Lemon enrolled at Oregon Agricultural College. Thus began a lifelong association with what would eventually become Oregon State University.        

As a student at OAC, Lemon was actively involved in ROTC and The Barometer newspaper, serving as editor his senior year. Following his graduation in 1911, the Dean of the School of Commerce, John Bexell, offered him a job as a teaching assistant. Lemon was keen to remain in Corvallis and promptly accepted the position. Eventually he moved up the ranks and became a professor within the School of Commerce. In 1922, he was also named Registrar for OAC while remaining active in his role as a professor. In 1943 he became Oregon State's first ever Dean of Administration, and he continued working in this capacity until his retirement in 1959.

Outside of the university, Lemon was involved with the Corvallis School Board, serving as a member from 1932 to 1938. He was likewise active with the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce and the local Rotary. 

Lora Maud Hansell was born in 1889 in The Dalles, Oregon. Her parents, William R. Hansell and Anne L. Moore Hansell, moved the family to Corvallis when Lora was seven years old. Lora enrolled in Oregon Agricultural College in September 1904 and graduated in 1908 with a BS in Literary Commerce. Immediately after graduating from OAC, Lemon was hired as a teacher at Corvallis High School. Lora married E.B. Lemon on December 20, 1911 in Corvallis.

During their years together, Lora raised the couple's two sons, Berlan and Mardis. After E.B.'s retirement, the couple remained active in the Oregon State and Corvallis communities. Lora was a member of the OSU Mothers Club, First Universal Presbyterian Church, P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization), and the OSU Folk Club.