Clark, Robert Carlton, Ph.D. "History of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Vol. 3.
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1927. p. 317.
 
L. M. GILBERT

     L. M. Gilbert, superintendent of the State Training School for Boys, has
devoted the greater part of his life to educational work and owes his position
to proven worth and ability. He was born in 1863 and is a native of Henry
county, Indiana. His parents, John J. and Mary (Lamb) Gilbert, were the owners
of a valuable farm in the Hoosier state and in 1904 came to Oregon, in which
they spent their remaining years, enjoying a well earned period of leisure.
     L. M. Gilbert supplemented his public school training by two years'
attendance at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and began his career as an
educator at Wabash, that state, becoming an instructor in the White Industrial
Institute. In 1889 he came to Oregon, and for two years was a teacher at the
Klamath Indian Agency. For three months he was superintendent of the agency and
for a half year engaged in teaching at Champoeg, Oregon. In 1891 he became
connected with the Oregon Reform School, discharging the duties of teacher and
family manager, and a year later went to Chicago. After his marriage Mr. Gilbert
located in Eldora, Iowa, and there resided for five years. During this time he
was an instructor and cottage manager of the Iowa Industrial School, of which
his wife was a teacher and cottage matron. In 1898 they came to Oregon and
settled in the vicinity of Rosedale, where Mr. Gilbert operated a fruit ranch
until 1914. He then sold the place and moved to Salem. In March, 1917, Mr.
Gilbert became a teacher in the Oregon State Training School for Boys, working
under W. S. Hale, and on December 1, 1917, was promoted to the position of
superintendent, while Mrs. Gilbert was made matron. W. L. Kuser assumed charge
of the institution in February, 1922, and served until April, 1923, when Mr.
Gilbert was reappointed superintendent. He has since been retained in that
capacity and was largely responsible for the building of the school at Woodburn,
which affords housing for four units of thirty boys each in the cottages. The
schoolrooms, auditorium, gymnasium, library and offices are in the
administration building. There is a service building with a central kitchen,
commissary and accommodations for employes, a steam plant and shop building, and
there is a good barn for thirty cows. There are one hundred and seventeen boys
at Woodburn and one hundred and eight at Salem. The boys transferred to the new
school regard themselves as most fortunate. They are on their honor and proud of
the trust reposed in them. The school admits boys from ten to twenty-one years
of age and employs five capable teachers. The state course of study is given and
carries the pupils through the eighth grade. In the operation of the two schools
a combined force of fifty officers, employes and instructors is required. The
institution was opened in 1891 and the Salem property is five hundred and four
acres in extent, while that at Woodburn comprises two hundred and seventy-three
acres. Two hundred acres are under cultivation at Woodburn and three hundred at
Salem. The produce from the farms includes vegetables, hay, corn and grain. A
herd of Holsteins provides milk and cream for the dairy and the poultry farm
contains thirteen hundred chicks. Stock breeding has become an important feature
and during the past two years the institution has sold over eight thousand
dollars worth of hogs. The cannery is under the supervision of one of the boys
and its output in 1926 was five thousand gallons of tomatoes, corn and fruit.
The manual training school is completely equipped and the school is also
provided with shoe and tailor shops, a laundry and a bakery. The physical
development of the boys has not been neglected and this department is under the
direction of Dr. G. C. Bellinger, physician for the institution. Every boy is
required to participate in the varied activities of the farm and contributes his
share toward the care and upkeep of the property. Mr. Gilbert has a keen sense
of the responsibilities of his position aid gives to the institution the
services of an expert. He is making every effort to establish a morale among the
boys that will save to them more of home life aid free them from much of the
harshness of repression that has crept into the management of the general run of
reform schools. He endeavors to make his wards see the right and avoid the wrong
course in life by readjusting their mental attitude toward society. He strives
to develop the best traits in each boy and through his influence many are
becoming social assets.
     Mr. Gilbert was married in Chicago, October 12, 1892, to Miss Josephine M.
Patty, who was a native of Ohio, and their union was severed by her death on
August 3, 1922. Four children were born to them, namely: Malcolm L., who is
engaged in the insurance business in Portland, Oregon; Margery, who was
graduated from the University of Oregon and is one of the instructors in Miami
University, an Ohio institution; Mary, who is a graduate of Willamette
University and a teacher in the high school at Medford, Oregon; and Mildred, who
is attending Willamette University.
     Mr. Gilbert is a Mason and a past master of Pearl Lodge, No. 66, F. & A. M.
He belongs to the Kiwanis Club and in politics is a republican. He is a man of
broad views and a keen analyst of human nature. He believes in the gospel of
good and has aided in making high ideals a tangible asset in the affairs of
daily life.

     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in March 2012 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.