Many of the photographs depict Salem in the mid-1920's to the mid-1930's and Oregon scenery but the collection also includes a roll of Technicolor motion picture film meant to be part of a larger project glorifying the attractions of the state.

She named her photographic studio Gunnell and Robb; it was located at 520 State Street. Her subject matter was varied and often included the graduating classes at Salem schools as well as the nearby Chemawa Indian School. Gunnell also photographed the annual Rose Parade in Portland and artists who performed at Salem's Elsinore Theater. She photographed African-American entertainers and the Franchon and Marco traveling vaudeville troupes (for which she was the official photographer.)

She also took baby pictures, photographed sets of twins, captured "Miss Salem" of 1929 on film, and documented local buildings of note. A youngster of that time remembered her, saying “(Gunnell's) style was striking. She had flaming red hair which she had done in high style. We kids thought she was wonderful. She had this really smooth way of flattering everyone to get a smile.”

Kathryn Gunnell was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado on May 27, 1895. She told friends her parents had been a vocal duo in the mining camps of Colorado. Her father died before the family moved to Oregon and Gunnell spent her teen years in Portland where she lived with a relative.

She studied at Salem's Willamette University, staying with the Stockton family as a paying guest. Her mother bought a homestead in nearby Scotts Mills where she taught, then moved to High Street in Salem. Sometime in the late 1930s, Gunnell moved with her mother to California.

Her career there was varied. For a time she worked with a sister at Western Union, then set up a dress shop with another sister. Gunnell worked in the film industry, utilizing Technicolor and experimenting with lighting.

Twenty or more years passed before Gunnell returned to Salem, starting a new business known as Kathryn Gunnell Enterprises in the 1960s. She had her home, orchard, and later her outlet store on Doaks Ferry Road in West Salem. The store was originally located on the highway but when bypassed by new road construction, went downhill financially, and was moved to her residence.

"Gay Filbert, Nut-stuffed Cherries" was her brand name. She also produced "Golden Nugget" gift packages. Gunnell was board member of the Willamette Cherry Growers, Inc. and the Oregon Nut Growers. She was a member of Zonta International, a service club.

Gunnell promoted Oregon economic development in many venues, including a specially decorated touring car during the term of Governor Sprague. She developed promotional agreements with chambers of commerce, including the one in nearby Silverton and also gave and sold gift packages of Oregon products, some with destinations as far away as Washington, DC. To highlight Oregon's native heritage she photographed students from Chemawa Indian School in their native dress. She coordinated booths at State Fairs and displays at conventions, including the Oregon Centennial celebration in 1959. She also made motion pictures such as the one shown by Senator and Mrs. McNary in Washington, DC and throughout the Northwest. She even mailed promotional brochures at her own expense. Her cream-colored Chevrolet was painted with scenes of Oregon, although her eccentric driving habits were more of a menace, as former passengers testified, than a boon to the localities where it appeared.

Kathryn Gunnell did not marry and so her legacy of Oregon photography had no inheritors upon her death in 1987. Although she feared that her photographic and promotional work would be lost or thrown away it resides in Salem at the local historical society awaiting the day when it will become a memorial to her photographic talents, her industry, and her promotional efforts on behalf of Salem and the state of Oregon.

Compiled by Virginia Green.

Bibliography:
Two untitled typewritten pages regarding Gunnell from the files of the Marion County Historical Society.

Gloria Bledsoe Goodman. "Legacy of a Flashy Photographer" Statesman Journal, April 3, 1988.