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Beulah Joan Caviness Hand ’40

A picture of Beulah Caviness Hand

Beulah Joan Caviness Hand ’40, September 23, 2009, in Milwaukie, Oregon. Following her first year at Reed, Beulah married Floyd Hand. They moved to Nevada, where he completed an undergraduate degree. During World War II, Beulah worked in the Oregon shipyards in Portland, while Floyd served as a navy engineering officer in the South Pacific. She treasured the 200 letters he wrote to her during that time. After the war, they moved to Milwaukie and built a solar home. In the ’50s, Beulah entered politics with the Democratic Party. She rose from precinct committee person to chairman of the state Democratic Party and was elected to the Oregon legislature as state representative (1956-66). She was involved in initiatives to establish public utility districts in Oregon and was one of the first to campaign against nuclear power in the Pacific Northwest. She was an officer in National Association of Retired Federal Employees and grew roses and prize-winning kiwis. Floyd, who was a chemical engineer at Bonneville Power Administration, died in 2002. Beulah remarked: “Reed's program, in the only year I attended, was a guiding philosophy for my entire life.”

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2010

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