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Fred Meyer Oral History Project

  • SR FM
  • Collection
  • 1970-1990 (bulk 1988-1990)

The Fred Meyer Oral History Series discusses the business operations and the man behind the Fred Meyer stores, one of the first self-service grocery stores in the nation. They were innovators in the concept of one-stop shopping, paving the way for the modern superstore.

Academy of Science of St. Louis

Oregon Historical Society Nominated Oral Histories

  • SR Oregon Historical Society Nominated Oral Histories
  • Collection
  • 2017-2021

A series of oral history interviews with Oregonians. The subjects were selected from a pool of nominees by a staff committee appointed by the OHS Executive Director. The purpose of these interviews was to create historical documents of enduring value to enhance and expand the range of Oregon voices preserved by the OHS Research Library, complement existing collections and programs of the Oregon Historical Society, and address goals for collection development and community engagement. The program ended in 2020.

Oregon Historical Society

Japanese American Oral History Project

  • Japanese American Oral History Project
  • Collection
  • 1992-1998

A series of oral history interviews conducted between 1992 and 1998 with Japanese Americans in Oregon. Loen Dozono of the Japanese American Citizen's League (JACL) collaborated with OHS on this project. The interviews were conducted by JACL and OHS staff and volunteers. They aimed to interview Issei (first generation Japanese Americans), and ultimately also interviewed several Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans).

Kiser Photo Co. Photographs

  • Org. Lot 140
  • Collection
  • 1901-1999

The Kiser Photo Co. photographs include images produced by the Kiser Brothers, the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition Official Photographic Co., the Kiser Photo Co., and the Winter Photo Co. from 1901-circa 1927. Other imprints include Fred H. Kiser Studios, Kiser Studios, and Scenic America Company. The collection contains both vintage black-and-white and hand-colored prints, including stereographs and panoramic photographs, as well as copy prints made from original Kiser negatives. The bulk of the images are examples of Kiser's landscape and mountain photography in Montana, Oregon, and along the Columbia River Gorge and Columbia River Highway, among other places, as well as of various places in Portland, Or. Other subjects include the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Mo., 1904; the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Or., 1905; landscape photographs taken for various railroad companies, 1903-1916; photographs of ships and shipbuilding in the Portland, Or. area, taken for the Emergency Fleet Corporation, 1918-1919; and photos of Kiser studio buildings in Portland, 1909-1923.

The collection also contains contemporary photomechanical reproductions of Kiser photographs, dating from 1903-circa 1930. These include postcards, photomechanical prints both loose and in albums, and publications containing reproductions of Kiser work. There are also background materials that contain biographical notes Fred H. Kiser and the history of his work with photography that were gathered during collection processing and date from 1903-1999.

Many images in the collection were made by the Kiser Brothers or Kiser Photo Company and its photographers but were produced for sale to the public over a long period of time, first by the Kiser Photo Company and then the Winter Photo Company. After Kiser sold part of his business to Winter in 1915, it appears that Kiser continued to make prints from earlier images for which Winter held the negatives, possibly by making copy negatives from original prints. Photographer Benjamin Gifford also bought Kiser negatives and produced them for sale; many of the copy prints in this collection were made from Kiser negatives that are housed in the Gifford and Prentiss photograph collection, Org. Lot 982.

Note on dates and photographers’ negative numbers: Kiser and Winter often issued prints of the same images over a long period. Prints sometimes include copyright dates in the photographer’s imprint. The dates provided in this guide include: actual date of photograph if known, copyright date if known, or circa dates derived from photographers’ negative numbers and image content. Kiser Brothers did not use a negative numbering system as far as can be determined. Kiser Photo Co.’s earliest assigned numbers represent the firm’s output but also may be for images made by the Kiser Brothers but marketed later. They are low numbers preceded by an “x”. Kiser seems to have adopted a consecutive numbering system by about 1906. The numbers are handwritten in pencil on the verso of prints. After he purchased part of the business in 1915, Winter appears to have continued the consecutive numbering system from where Kiser Photo Company left off. After 1915, Kiser appears to have adopted a new numbering system, using a “C” prefix.

Kiser, Fred H., 1878-1955

Drive-in Restaurants of Portland Oral History Project

  • SR Drive-ins
  • Collection
  • 1980-09-10 - 1980-11-21

A series of oral history interviews conducted by Curtis Johnson about the history of Drive-in restaurants in Portland, Oregon with a particular emphasis on Tik-Tok and Yaw's Top Notch.

Johnson, Curtis

Columbia Rediviva collection

  • Mss 957
  • Collection
  • 1785-1852

The collection consists of correspondence, journals, ship logs, administrative records, and ink sketches relating to the ship Columbia Rediviva. A mix of original materials and reproductions are present. Among the originals are: the journal of John Hoskins, written during the Columbia's journey around the world in 1791-1792; the journal of George Barrell, 1806, written on board the brig Venus from Boston to Malaga, and on the schooner Louisiana from Malaga to New York; Barrell's account of stores on board the Columbia, 1792-1793; letters of Joseph Barrell to Samuel Webb, 1785-1801, and to John Hoskins, 1790; letters from Colburn Barrell and Robert Haswell, 1801; owner's accounts, 1787-1793; accounts of the Columbia and Lady Washington, 1787-1790; receipts; and four ink sketches by George Davidson depicting incidents in the voyages of the Columbia.

The reproductions held in this collection include the journals of Robert Haswell and Owen Smith, 1787-1789; and a file of receipts and other papers concerning outfitting of the Columbia, 1790 (on microfilm). Also included are publications of Robert Gray's wife Martha's petition to congress for a pension and memorial, 1848-1852.

Oregon Labor Oral History Program

  • SR OLOHP
  • Collection
  • 1993 - 2018

The Oregon Labor Oral History Program, building upon the work begun in the 1980s of former Oregon AFL-CIO officer Nellie Fox Edwards, collects oral histories of individuals who have advocated for working people of Oregon, including public figures, union members, and workers. OLOHP accomplishes this work in affiliation with the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association and with the support of the Amalgamated Transit Union 757, volunteers and students.

Coronation of Womanhood posters

  • Coll 839
  • Collection
  • 1884-1885

The collection consists of two copies of a poster entitled “Coronation of Womanhood” and a single copy of an identification key to the people depicted in the poster. The posters are printed from a photo crayon lithograph engraving. At the front center of the image, the goddess of Liberty is crowning a kneeling female figure representing womanhood. Below them is a banner reading, “Coronation of Womanhood.” Arranged in a half-circle above Liberty and Womanhood at the top of the poster are the portraits of Edward Dickinson Baker, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and James A. Garfield. Flanking either side of the image is a dais draped in bunting featuring the state crests of New York, California, Oregon, Nebraska, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia. Seated at the dais are 17 women of the suffrage movement: Martha C. Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Frances Wright, Lucretia Coffin Mott, Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Susan B. Anthony, Abigail Scott Duniway, Dr. Clemence S. Lozier, Helen M. Gouger, Sarah L. Knox Goodrich, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Mary J. Collins, Julia Ward Howe, Lillie Devereux Black, Matilda Jocelyn Gage, and Ernestine L. Rose. Below the dais, there is an audience of 275 additional men recognized as supporters of women’s enfranchisement. The men depicted in the scene include Matthew Deady, Stephen F. Chadwick, Rockey Preston Earhart, Joseph N. Dolph, Melvin Clark George, Samuel Royal Thurston, and William S. Ladd. A full listing of the depicted individuals is accessible via the identification key. The inscription at the bottom of the poster reads, “Respectfully dedicated to the loyal subjects of liberty who paved the way to woman’s enfranchisement in the Pacific Northwest, United States of America, anno domini one thousand eight hundred eighty three.”

Source: The Idaho Semi-Weekly World. February 20, 1885.

Duniway, Abigail Scott, 1834-1915

Women collection, circa 1899-1950

  • Mss 1534
  • Collection
  • 1899-1950

Collection of materials assembled by the Oregon Historical Society relating to women in Oregon, ca. 1899-1950. Included in the collection are postcards with anti and pro-suffrage images, the correspondence and diary of Mrs. Sylvia Thompson, the correspondence of M.H. Wicoxon, scrapbook of the League of Women Voters, papers of various women's political groups (including anti-suffrage groups) and newspaper clippings regarding women's rights, legal status and prominent women.

Spruce Production Division lantern slides

  • Org. Lot 1062
  • Collection
  • 1917-1919

Lantern slides depicting activities of the Spruce Production Division in Oregon and Washington State during World War I.

United States. War Department. Spruce Production Division

Delazon Smith family papers

  • Coll 26
  • Collection
  • 1848-2004

Papers of Delazon Smith, an early Oregon journalist and political figure in Linn County, Or., who served briefly as one of the first U.S. Senators from the state. Includes letters from Delazon Smith to his wife Mary, some of which detail Smith's journey to the east coast in 1858 and admission of Oregon to the Union in 1859. Also included are letters from Smith family members, including Delavan Smith, a soldier in the Civil War; legal documents and speeches; and transcripts of Delazon's Smith's letters to the Oregon Weekly Times describing conditions in the state and providing advice to overland travelers.

Smith, Delazon

Brown, Clawson, and Parvin Family Papers

  • Mss 2506
  • Collection
  • 1739-1978

The collection includes correspondence, clippings, documents, and ephemera, most of which relate to Zimiri Parvin, James Nassau Brown, Mamie Parvin Brown, Vivian Z. Brown, and Verne Clawson Brown. There are also some materials on the Sutton, Taylor, and Price families, all related by marriage to the Parvins and Browns. Included are: musical compositions by Zimiri Parvin, letters from James Nassau Brown to his wife Mamie, a biographical article by Doris Huffman (1976), diplomas and certificates, high school yearbooks, a pocket diary of Josephine Taylor Sutton containing recipes, a program for a banquet honoring Susan B. Anthony in Salem in 1900, a Taylor family history document from the late 18th century, a group of baggage tags from hotels, and a collection of bank notes from the early 19th century. Among James Nassau Brown's letters is one of 1903 from Salem describing a typhoid epidemic.

Abigail Scott Duniway papers

  • Mss 432
  • Collection
  • 1852-1915

Writer, pioneer, editor, and champion of women's suffrage, Abigail Scott Duniway was born in Groveland, Illinois, in 1834. One of her brothers, Harvey Scott, would become the editor of the Oregonian. The Scott family traveled overland to Oregon in 1852, a trip on which Abigail's mother and youngest brother died. The family came first to Oregon City, then settled in Lafayette. Abigail taught school at Eola, and in 1853 she married Benjamin C. Duniway, with whom she had four children. After her husband was incapacitated in an 1862 accident, Duniway supported her family through teaching and a millinery business in Albany, Oregon. After moving to Portland in 1871 she published and edited The new northwest and became Oregon's leading advocate of women's suffrage. She moved to Idaho in 1887 and helped to achieve women's voting rights there in 1896. After returning to Oregon she was instrumental in the passage of Oregon's own women's suffrage bill in 1912. Her writings include the autobiography Path Breaking (1914) and the novel Captain Gray's Company.

The collection, which represents only a small portion of Duniway's papers, includes: the records of the Oregon State Equal Suffrage Association, including minute book, membership and account books, constitutions, a small amount of correspondence, and a copy of a letter from Susan B. Anthony regarding the woman's suffrage movement; and records of the Duniway Publishing Company, consisting of cash, mailing and advertising ledgers (1880-1886) of the publication The new northwest. Also included in the collection is a copy of a typed transcript of Duniway's journal kept during her family's overland trek from Illinois (1852 April 2) to Oregon City, Oregon (1852 September 28), on which her mother and younger brother died. The transcript contains an introduction by Leslie M. Scott. A subscription list from the Oregon State Secular Union from 1891 can also be found in the collection.

Duniway, Abigail Scott, 1834-1915

Oral history interview with Monroe and Lil Sweetland

  • SR 1129
  • Collection
  • 1976-08-17

This oral history interview with Monroe and Lil Sweetland was conducted by their daughter, Barbara Sweetland, on August 17, 1976. In this interview, the Sweetlands discusses their college experiences. Monroe Sweetland talks about attending Cornell University and Syracuse Law School in New York. Lil Sweetland discusses attending Smith College in Massachusetts. They both discuss meeting through their political activism while in New York; their reasons for being anti-war during the lead-up to World War II; and their involvement with the Socialist Party.

Sweetland, Monroe, 1910-2006

Al Monner news negatives

  • Org. Lot 1284
  • Collection
  • 1936-1974

The vast majority of this collection is made up of negatives created by Al Monner for the Oregon Journal. A small number of negatives were likely created by fellow Journal photographer Ralph Vincent, also for the Oregon Journal. While it's likely that almost all the negatives in this collection were created as part of Monner's work for the Journal, some images may also be his personal work. Most of the negatives are black and white, with a handful of color images taken in the 1950s and 1960s. A small selection of images from 1936 to 1938 were likely taken during Monner's time at the Oregonian newspaper. Large-format negatives from 1936 to 1959 have been processed and inventoried, while 35mm film from 1959 to 1974 remains unprocessed.

The photographs highlight over 30 years of current events in and around the Portland area, with a smaller number taken elsewhere in the state. Yearly events, such as the Portland Rose Festival and the Pendleton Round-Up, are featured prominently. A substantial number of images from the 1940s show Portland war efforts during World War II, featuring photographs of shipyards, soldiers, and rationing efforts at home. A small number of photographs also show early incarceration of Japanese Americans. Monner also frequently photographed dam-building efforts on the Columbia River at Celilo Village, The Dalles, and Bonneville.

Also included are photographs of accident scenes, fires, explosions, new building projects, sporting events, contest winners, and important national figures visiting the Portland area. Taken together, the collection displays the breadth of Monner's work as a photojournalist, covering the everyday to the exciting.

Monner, Al (Alfred Anthony), 1909-1998

Portland General Electric Photograph Collection

  • Org. Lot 151
  • Collection
  • 1880 - 1965

Negatives documenting company activities, including electrical infrastructure, employees, power generation and distribution throughout Portland, the Willamette Valley and the Oregon Cascade Range. Additional general images include streetcars and trains, street lighting, power line installation, Rose Festival floats, office buildings, car barns and bridges. Of particular note are dam building projects at Bull Run and along the Clackamas River (1910-1930), and early electric stations in Oregon City at Willamette Falls.

Portland General Electric Company

Oral history interview with Stafford Hansell

  • SR 88
  • Collection
  • 1983 October 17 - 1986 June

This oral history interview with Stafford Hansell was conducted by Barbara Reynolds from October 17 to November 15, 1983, and in June 1986. In the interview, Hansell discusses his family history and early life on a farm in Umatilla County, Oregon, including having diphtheria and polio as a child and the long-term effects on his health. He also talks about his education at the University of Montana and Whitman College, including his involvement in athletics and drama. Hansell talks about the early years of his marriage to Mary Elizabeth Ennis; making ends meet during the Depression; farming with his father; hog farming with his brother, Bill; and adopting his son, John. He also discusses serving on his local school board from 1953 to 1957, including implementing kindergarten and increasing school funding. Hansell then discusses his involvement with the Republican Party and representing Umatilla County in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1957 to 1974. He discusses legislation on land-use planning, taxation, labor, reapportionment, education, agriculture, and marijuana. He also discusses his failed bid to become Speaker of the House in the 1967 session, as well as many of the representatives he served with. Hansell also discusses his role on the Ways and Means Committee; the Boeing Space Age Park and Boardman; salary increases for legislators; and the Mark Hatfield and Tom McCall administrations. He speaks briefly on his feelings regarding the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. He also talks about working for the administrations of Governors Bob Straub and Norma Paulus after leaving the Legislature, including serving on the Oregon Liquor Commission, the State Board of Education, and the Governor's Taskforce on Land Use Planning. He also discusses the Rajneeshees. Hansell closes the interview by talking about his personal life and family, as well as his involvement with the Oregon Historical Society and his interest in Native American cultures and art.

Hansell, Stafford (Marion Stafford), 1913-1995

Camp Watson, Oregon sketch, 1865

  • Mss 5279
  • Collection
  • 1865

A single pencil sketch of Camp Watson, Oregon dated to 1865. The First Regiment Oregon volunteer Cavalry maintained Camp Watson from 1864 to 1869 during the conflict with members of the Bannock, Shoshoni, and Paiute peoples known as the Snake War.

Oral history interview with Cecil L. Edwards

  • SR 3901
  • Collection
  • 1995-02-20

This oral history interview with Cecil L. Edwards was conducted by Alfred Jones on behalf of the Marion County Historical Society in Salem, Oregon. The interview was held at Edwards' home in Salem on February 20, 1995. In this interview, Edwards discusses his family background, his early life and education in Salem, and his service in the National Guard. He also talks about his early involvement with the Oregon Legislature as a secretary, including an anecdote on the fire that destroyed the Capitol building in 1935. Edwards then discusses his activities after becoming chief clerk of the House of Representatives in 1963, and then secretary of the Senate in 1965. He also talks about some of the governors that he served under, as well as Abigail Scott Duniway and woman suffrage. He discusses landmark legislation, including the Bottle Bill; the state archives; and his interest in Arabian horses.

Edwards, Cecil L.

Tsuboi Family home movies

  • MI Tsuboi
  • Collection
  • 1925 - 1960

The collection contains home movies filmed by members of the Tsuboi Family circa 1925-1960. The films depict Japanese American family scenes and feature locations around Oregon, Washington, California, and British Columbia, including the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, downtown Portland, Pendleton Round-Up, the Oregon Coast, Seattle, Yosemite National Park, and Los Angeles. Also included in the collection is footage taken in Northeast China, Japan, and on voyages across the Pacific Ocean.

Tsuboi family

Jerry Jiro Yasutome photographs

  • Org. Lot 762
  • Collection
  • 1945-1948

This collection consists of photographs of the Yasutome family, a Japanese-American family from Portland, Oregon, taken from 1945 to 1948. Most of the photographs were taken by Jerry Jiro Yasutome; a smaller number were created by other members of the Yasutome family and by unidentified students at the Northwest School of Photography in Portland, where Jerry Yasutome studied from approximately 1946 to 1948. Photographs taken by Jerry Yasutome and other family members document their experiences during incarceration at the Tule Lake Relocation Center in California from 1945 to 1946. These images include portraits of the Yasutome family, including Jerry Yasutome’s son, James Mamoru Yasutome, and his parents, Sadao Kurata Yasutome and Ju Jiro Yasutome; group portraits of electrical workers and a Buddhist Sunday School; and photos of a fire at the Tule Lake high school. The remainder of the photographs in the collection represent the work of students at the Northwest School of Photography. They include photographs of the processing lab and students in classes, as well as portraits taken by the students. Also included are photographs taken by Yasutome and other students depicting the aftermath of the Vanport Flood in May 1948.

Yasutome, Jerry Jiro, 1919-1994

Oral history interview with Doug G. Houser

  • SR 3700
  • Collection
  • 2021-07-26

This oral history interview with Doug G. Houser was conducted by Kerry Tymchuk on July 26, 2021, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program. A transcript of the interview is available.

In this interview, Houser discusses his family background and early life in Oregon City, Oregon, particularly his relationship with his cousin, Phil Knight. He talks about his experience as a child with a speech impediment, about his early education, and about his decision to pursue a law career. He discusses his experience at Willamette University, including working as a page for the Oregon Legislature during his sophomore year, and having Mark Hatfield as an advisor. He then briefly talks about studying law at Stanford University. He speaks about his marriage to Lucy Anne Latham and describes their courtship. He also briefly talks about his service in the U.S. Army. He discusses his career with the Bullivant law firm in Portland. He describes cases he worked on, talks about lawyers he worked with, and discusses serving as a pro-tem judge for a summer in the 1960s. He speaks at length about his work as a lawyer, and later a board member, for Nike, Inc.

Houser, Doug G. (Douglas Guy), 1935-

Steamship Hassalo plans

  • Mss 4033
  • Collection
  • Circa 1860 - Circa 1950

Collection consists of 6 plans on 4 sheets of the sternwheel steamer Hassalo. The drawings include a side view of the Hassalo; a plan of the freight deck; a lines plan, with cross sections, labeled as being taken from a model of the steamer made by John Gates; and a cross section. Three of the sheets are stamped: "Oregon Historical Society - Portland, Oregon / from collection of L. C. Hosford." It is unknown whether the plans are original drawings or later reproductions.

Oral history interview with Lynne E. Scott

  • SR 3272
  • Collection
  • 1978-05

This oral history interview with Lynne E. Scott was conducted by an unidentified woman in May 1978. In this interview, Scott shares her memories of life in Brownsville, Oregon, from 1900 to 1909. She talks about her education and her recreational activities. She describes the houses her family lived in, and downtown Brownsville. She talks about her marriage to David Sterling and about their life in Cottage Grove. She also speaks about her family's journey from Nebraska to Oregon in 1898.

Scott, Lynne E. (Lynne Etta), 1886-1978

Charles Oluf Olsen photographs

  • Org. Lot 919
  • Collection
  • 1924-1931

Collection consists of 34 photographs of scenes in Portland, Oregon, and of Vancouver and Longview, Washington, taken or collected by Charles Oluf Olsen between 1924 and 1931. Olsen used many of the photographs in this collection to illustrate features he wrote for the Oregonian, Oregon Journal, and other publications. Subjects depicted in the collection include: photographs of an encampment of unhoused people under the north end of the Interstate Bridge in Vancouver, Washington, circa 1930; Lone Fir cemetery in Portland, Oregon, circa 1927; the William Sargent Ladd residence; the 1930 Longview, Washington, Rolleo log rolling competition; and Burnside street, circa 1924, showing the Volunteers of America Mission, Oregon Labor Industry offices, Ericson’s Saloon, and the House of All Nations Saloon.

Oral history interview with Jesalee Fosterling

  • SR 9028
  • Collection
  • 1978-04-11

This oral history interview with Jesalee Fosterling was conducted by Roberta Watts in Portland, Oregon, on April 11, 1978, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program.

In this interview, Fosterling discusses her early involvement with the Portland chapter of Planned Parenthood. She talks about funding the clinic, discusses Oregon's birth control laws, and describes opposition to the work of Planned Parenthood. She talks about the daily operations of Planned Parenthood, about the types of birth control and other services the organization provides, and about its staff. She closes the interview by discussing the future of birth control.

Fosterling, Jesalee K. (Jesalee Keffeler), 1930-2006

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