Gifford, Ralph I.

Born in Portland, Oregon, Ralph I. Gifford (1894-1947) worked in his father Benjamin A. Gifford's photography studio as a boy and accompanied his father on photography trips around Oregon. Ralph married Wanda Muir Theobald in 1918 and spent the last part of World War I in the U.S. Navy. He was stationed at a naval base on Whiddy Island, Ireland, during part of his time in the Navy. Ralph took over his father's photography business around 1920 and sold it in 1928 to go into the motion picture business with F. C. Heaton in Portland.

In 1936, Ralph became the first photographer of the newly established Travel and Information Department of the Oregon State Highway Commission. His landscape views of Oregon's natural beauty were used for many years to promote tourism in the state. He also took motion pictures for the Highway Commission, including the color version of The New Oregon Trail, which was shown in every state in the U.S., and Glimpses From Oregon State Parks, released shortly before Ralph's death on June 23, 1947. His obituary, published in several Oregon newspapers in late June 1947, stated that "more than any other person, he is responsible for the tourist business in Oregon being an $83,500,000 business."

...