In 2017 I purchased a collection of photo postcards which had originally belonged to Hazel Estella Alberts Peterson (1898-1989). Some of them may have come from the estate of her older sister, Florence Bernice Alberts (1894-1987). Hazel and Florence both married, but neither had children. They also had a younger sister, Tressa Ferne Alberts (1901-1993), who had two children.
All three sisters attended Seattle Seminary, a Free Methodist college preparatory school. College-level classes were introduced in 1910, and in 1915 the school’s name was changed to Seattle Pacific College. In 1977 it became Seattle Pacific University.
Hazel’s father, Rev. Birney Hoyt Alberts (1870-1927), was closely involved with the school during the 1910s, serving on the Board of Trustees and in other administrative roles. Hazel’s mother, Eva Estella Cusick (1869-1933), had been a Free Methodist evangelist since the early 1890s. With all three girls attending the school, the Alberts family was at the center of the Seattle Pacific community. In 1922 Hazel married Charles Wallace Peterson (1893-1972), the youngest child of Nils B. and Karen Peterson, who had donated land for construction of the first school building.
In the photo above, Hazel is seated in the middle of the front row, while Florence is standing directly behind her, in the middle of the back row.
I plan to upload photos from Hazel’s estate, a few at a time, to galleries on this page. To see additional photos which have been uploaded as separate blog posts, click on the Seattle Pacific College tag in the bottom right of any page.
The gallery below contains Seattle Pacific administrators, faculty and graduates. Hazel’s father is in the first image. If you recognize anyone who isn’t identified, please leave a comment at the bottom of this page or send me a message using the Contact link at the top of the page.
Click on any thumbnail to enlarge it. If you wish to enlarge the image further after that, click the information symbol in the lower right of your screen (the letter i inside a circle), then click View full size, which will open the image in a separate tab.
Tokens of Companionship 
I enjoyed this very much. I attended SPC in 1960 and 1961.
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Thanks so much for your comment! I planned to add more images to this page, but decided to wait to see if there was any interest in it. I added a few images as separate blog posts, tagged “Seattle Pacific College.” Maybe I’ll return to the project this winter. Your comment is encouraging!
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I attended Pacific Lutheran Seminary in the late 1970s, and I remember that some classmates had attended or graduated from Seattle Pacific. I just skimmed their web page, and was impressed to see exactly 0 classes are taught by graduate assistants, and the student faculty ratio was (I believe) 13:1. That’s impressive, too.
And the photos are great. It’s always interesting to track the history of institutions like this. One of my great-great aunts attended Iowa Normal School, which became Iowa Teachers’ College, which became State College of Iowa, which became the University of Northern Iowa — and which is one of my alma maters.
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Seattle Pacific has a great website with lots of resources for people interested in the history of the school. They have some early photos on the site, and probably many more in their archives that haven’t been digitized.
I’m interested in Normal Schools and their place in our history, especially their importance for young women. They were usually co-ed, but were attended primarily by women.
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Oh my, I do love randomly finding old photos of relatives online! Rev. Alberts and Rev. Beers photo – Alexander’s brother J. Frank Beers is sitting center front, their sister Catherine and her husband John Weatherly are in back on left.
Sorry I don’t know who lady with awesome hat is other than she is not Frank’s wife. Boy next to her might be a Beers nephew (big family) but definitely is not son of Alexander, Catherine or Frank.
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Thank you so much for the information, Sandi! I’ll add the names to the photo caption soon. If it was a family photo taken at a camp meeting, why might Rev. Alberts have joined them? Was he connected to the Beers family somehow?
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Rev. Alberts and Rev. Beers were colleagues. Alexander Beers was the first President of Seattle Pacific from 1893 to 1916. Alexander and his wife, Adelaide (Newton), were the first 2 faculty members and worked diligently to grow the school.
Alexander grew up in Gresham, OR and all 9 of his siblings remained in Oregon throughout their lives. Guessing… perhaps this camp meeting was in greater Portland area and some of the family were able to come see him there?
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That makes sense. Do you know anything about Frank Beers or Catherine or John Weatherly that you could share?
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Good question. Perhaps the best answer is their obituaries.
Catherine R. Weatherly
Catherine Rebecca Beers was born at Topeka, Kans.; January 18, 1870, and died at the home of her son, Herbert Weatherly, Newberg, Ore., March 8, 1939, aged 69 years, 1 month and 20 days.
With her parents she came to Oregon when she was only eight years old and they settled at Gresham. She was married to John L. Weatherly June 20, 1888. The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary last June. They have made their home in Newberg since 1914.
Surviving are her husband, John L. Weatherly, Newberg; two sons, Walter and Herbert, both of Newberg; two daughters. Mrs. John Venable, Newberg, and Mrs. Max Rusaw, Oregon City.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m. Friday from the local Free Methodist church, Rev. E. F. Aiken officiating, with interment in the local Friends cemetery. Arrangements are in charge of W. W. Hollingsworth & Son of this city.
Newberg Graphic March 2, 1939, Newberg Oregon
John Weatherly, 90, Dies at Home Here
Services for John Lee Weatherly, 90, pioneer resident of this community, were held Saturday, at 2:30 p. m. at the Free Methodist church with Rev. Mark Shockey and Rev. D. L. Fenwick officiating. Hollingsworth-Smith funeral chapel was in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Weatherly passed away at his home, 900 Wynooski street, last Thursday, after an illness of four weeks. He was born in Arkansas, September 22, 1863. The son of Warren and Elmina Weatherly. He came to Oregon with his parents pioneer parents from Arkansas by covered wagon. The family settled in the Pleasant Valley area near Portland. Mr. Weatherly had resided in the Newberg area for the past 39 years, having come here from Marion county. He married Catherine Beers June 20, 1888, and five children were born to this union, four of whom survive. His wife preceded him in death March 18, 1939. Mr. Weatherly was a member of the Free Methodist church of Newberg.
He is survived by two sons, Herbert and Walter, Newberg; two daughters, Minnie Venable, Newberg, and Marie Rusew, Anchorage, Alaska; one sister Della Purcell, Portland; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, and several nephews and nieces.
Newberg Graphic Dec. 17, 1953
Death Takes Frank Beers; Bell Service Held Monday
Jesse Franklin “Frank” Beers, 83, of Rt. 1, Boring, who came to the Gresham area 70 years ago, died at his home last Friday following a long illness.
Funeral services were held at Carroll’s Funeral home Tuesday at 2 p. m. Rev. John L. Magoon conducted the service, and Bill Elliott sang. Vault interment was in Forest Lawn cemetery. Pallbearers were H. H. Watkins, Alvin Klinski, J. R. Eblen, G. M. Smith, J. M. Bettis and James McBain.
Mr. Beers who came to the Gresham area as a youth of 13, was born in Jefferson county, Kansas, April 18, 1865. With his family he traveled to San Francisco by train and then to Portland by boat. He lived on the Elkhorn farm on Hogan road when Gresham was not yet a named city. On May 24, 1894, Mr. Beers was married to Lillian M. Decker in Portland. His entire youth was spent in logging and lumbering. With a team of oxen Mr. Beers helped clear the forest where the Gresham Methodist church now stands. He owned several sawmills in several parts of the area and, with W. A. Proctor, operated a mill at Cottrell. They cleared forest land around Eagle Creek and Cottrell.
All business houses were in Portland in those days, and Mr. Beers traveled back and fourth to Portland by team to conduct business with the banks and other firms in Portland.
Mr. Beers donated lumber, land and labor for the construction of the first church in Cottrell. Now the Cottrell community church, it was built as a Baptist church.
Mr. Beers was active in all the affairs of the community and in the organization of the city of Gresham and the selection of a name for the community, and in the growth and advancement of the Cottrell area where his own home was located.
Mr. Beers was active until January of this years, though retired from actual business enterprise since 1934. He was a member of the I. O. O. F. of Gresham.
Survivors are his daughters, Mrs. Rena Manary and Mrs. Charles (Eva) Harris, both of Gresham; Mrs. Alta Jacques and Mrs. Henry (Florence) Modrell, Portland; Mrs. Fred (Rose) Wagner, Boring, and Mrs. Alfred (Edna) Gunderson and Mrs. Harold (Jesse) Gunderson, Sandy. He is also survived by 12 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
Gresham Outlook May 6, 1948
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