Wheeler, Chris, b. 1927,

Chris L. Wheeler was born in Milton-Freewater, Or. on December 30, 1927. He graduated from high school in 1945 and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University in 1951. That same year, Wheeler began working for the office of the State Engineer of Oregon as a civil engineer and became the head of the office's hydroelectric power division in 1961. After the retirement of State Engineer Lewis A. Stanley in April 1962, Oregon governor Mark O. Hatfield appointed Wheeler to succeed Stanley as State Engineer. Wheeler served in that capacity until 1975, when the office of State Engineer merged with the state's Water Resources Board to form the Water Resources Department. He later served as Deputy Director of the Water Resources Department and from 1981-1984 as the representative from Oregon for the department's Klamath Basin Compact.

From the guide to the Chris Wheeler photographs collection, circa 1910-1967, (Oregon Historical Society)