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Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest Oral Histories Text
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Oral history interview with Patty Wolff, by David McCormack and Carla Moller [Transcript]

Transcript. Patty Wolff relates stories and anecdotes about the life of Wolff's partner of many years, Maxine L'Ecuyer, and about the lives of lesbians during the first half of the 20th century. Wolff's partner, Maxine L'Ecuyer (b. 1923), was a French-Canadian, left by her parents to be raised in a Catholic orphanage in Kansas. After moving to California on her own at age 14, L'Ecuyer worked as a movie projectionist for the Marines during WWII, after which she joined a Catholic convent, believing her sexuality to be an abomination. Denied the right to take her final vows, L'Ecuyer attended graduate school at the University of Washington, and was briefly institutionalized (as a result of her sexuality being revealed and compromising her professional career as a professor). L'Ecuyer retired to Portland in her late 50s, at which time she at last found a means of realizing her same-sex attractions to other women. L'Ecuyer met Patty Wolff circa 1992, at a rally on Pioneer Square in opposition of Ballot Measure 9.

Wolff, Patty

Oral history interview with Maria Council, by Gary Knapp and A. Krummenacker [Transcript]

Transcript. Maria Council is co-founder/President of Peacock After Dark. Council discusses her introduction to drag; her drag influences including "drag mother" Patty O'Dora and Lady Elaine Peacock; her reputation as Northwest's First Lesbian Drag Queen and subsequently as the first biologically female Empress of the Rose Court; her experiences in workplaces that required different levels of closeting and self-censorship; and her involvement with the local Portland church community.

Council, Maria

Oral history interview with Roy L. Watters III, by Jacqueline Marcotte [Transcript]

Transcript. Watters discusses his early life in Vancouver, Washington, life as a young gay man in Portland, Oregon in the 1970s, his experiences during the AIDS epidemic while in San Francisco, California, and feeling the need to hide his sexual orientation to protect his career.

Watters, Roy

Oral history interview with Chris Mazzuca [Transcript]

Transcript. This oral history interview with Chris Mazzuca was conducted by Sarah Tolle and Andrew Clark on February 10, 2011. Tolle and Clark conducted the interview for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest as part of Professor Pat Young's senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University.

In this interview, Mazzuca describes her experiences as a softball player in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She focuses on her time playing with the Erv Lind Florists in Portland, Oregon. She discusses her sexual identity and how that informed her social life while on the team. She talks about how the sport of softball has changed, about her induction into the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in 2007, and about her experiences as a woman in sports in the mid-20th century. She also describes her role as a pitcher. She closes the interview by talking about her relationship with the aunt who raised her.

Mazzuca, Chris (Louise Christine), 1939-2018

Oral history interview with Patricia A. Cach [Transcript]

Transcript. This oral history interview with Patricia A. Cach was conducted by Aaron Powell and Dorothy Zapf on February 4, 2011. Powell and Zapf conducted the interview for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest as part of Professor Pat Young's senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University.

In this interview, Cach describes her experiences as a fan of the Erv Lind Florists, a softball team in Portland, Oregon. She talks about Erv Lind and his support for the team; about the players, particularly Chris Mazzuca; and about the 1962 Women's Softball Tournament. She also speaks about coaching another Portland softball team, the Lavender Menace 2. She shares her experiences as a lesbian in the mid-20th century and talks about her opinion on marriage. She talks about playing in an all-lesbian jug band, about her interest in art, and about why her interest in softball waned. She discusses her spirituality and her identity as a lesbian. She closes the interview by talking about her relationship with her brother.

Cach, Patricia A., 1939-

Oral history interview with Sally H. Cohn [Transcript]

Transcript. This oral history interview with Sally H. Cohn was conducted by Jade Davis and Erin Babcock Musick at Cohn's home in Portland, Oregon, on February 8, 2011. Davis and Musick conducted the interview for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest as part of Professor Pat Young's senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University.

In this interview, Cohn talks about teaching herself to hand whistle. She discusses her preference for short hair and talks about lesbian stereotypes. She talks about her involvement in gay and lesbian rights organizations, including the Lesbian Community Project and Old Lesbians Organizing for Change. She also shares the experience of coming out to her family in the 1970s. She talks about her volunteer work; about the fight against Measure 9, an initiative against LGBTQ rights, in 1992; and about her work for an alcohol and drug treatment center in Portland, which is now known as the Avel Gordly Healing Center. She closes the interview by talking about writing her book, "A Handwhistler: Memories of Creativity and Activism," and speaking about her 2010 appearance as a handwhistler on "America's Got Talent."

Cohn, Sally H. (Sally Helen), 1934-

Oral history interview with Charles F. Hinkle [Transcript]

Transcript. This oral history interview with Charles F. Hinkle was conducted by Michael Lamore and Michelle Brown on February 10, 2009, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. The interview was conducted as part of a senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University with instructor Pat Young. A transcript of the interview is available.

In this interview, Hinkle speaks at length about his work as a lawyer representing Peggy Burton, a teacher in Salem, Oregon, who was fired for being a lesbian. He also talks about his experience working with the Black community in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1960s, as part of his education at Union Theological Seminary, and discusses how that experience led him to pursue a career as a civil rights lawyer. He discusses the change to the anti-discrimination policy of Portland Public Schools to include sexual orientation, and talks about attempts to lobby the Oregon State Legislature to make a similar change in the 1970s. He speaks about his involvement with the Portland Town Council, a gay rights organization; talks about appearing on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" in 2005; and discusses the failures of Democratic legislators to pass anti-discrimination legislation that includes sexual orientation. He talks about his service on Oregon Governor Bob Straub's task force on sexual preference, discusses his attempts to get law firms to adopt anti-discrimination policies, and describes the types of cases he prefers to work on. He speaks about how societal acceptance of LGBT people changed over the second half of the 20th century, and also about the rise of anti-gay groups such as the Oregon Citizens Alliance. He closes the interview by discussing the importance of continuing the fight for civil rights.

Hinkle, Charles F., 1942-

Oral history interview with George Oberg [Transcript]

Transcript. This oral history interview with George Oberg was conducted by Heather Burmeister and Brian Aune on February 18, 2009, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. The interview was conducted as part of a senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University with instructor Pat Young. A transcript of the interview is available.

In this interview, Oberg discusses his early life on a farm in Hazel Dell, Washington, and talks about his involvement in the Portland gay community in the 1960s. He shares the origins of the Second Foundation, the first gay support organization in Oregon; talks about his work as president of the foundation; and speaks at length about the work of the organization. He also talks about working as a teacher to visually impaired young adults. He speaks about his life with his partner, Gary, talks about his partner's death from AIDS, and shares his memories of the effect of the AIDS epidemic on the gay community in Oregon and Washington. He closes the interview by speaking further about the work of the Second Foundation, including its newsletter, "The Fountain." He closes the interview by sharing a story about a company he worked for, in which the company discovered it had been polluting the Columbia River.

Oberg, George, approximately 1938-

Oral history interview with Rupert Kinnard, by Marissa Gunning and Ellen Tobias [Transcript]

Transcript. Kinnard discusses a few different subjects that include the accident that left him a paraplegic, his experience and career in cartooning and graphic design, working for Just Out, his new venture The LifeCapsule Project, and his feelings on gay marriage.

Kinnard, Rupert, 1954-

Oral history interview with Renee LaChance, by Brontë Olson and Nicole Estey [Transcript]

Transcript. This is interview of Renee LaChance was conducted by Brontë Olson and Nicole Estey for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest as part of their senior capstone at Portland State University. LaChance worked with the queer newspaper The Cascade Voice, first selling advertising and writing and later as the editor for a period of time before founding Just Out newspaper with Jay Brown in 1983. The interview covers her involvement in the Gay Pride Festival, AIDS and ACT-UP, and Ballot Measures 9 and 13, as well as her experiences with running Just Out, her decision to sell, and her feelings about the path of the paper after its purchase by Marty Davis in 1998. It finishes with words of wisdom offered by LaChance for both the gay community and the general public on life and changing the future.

LaChance, Renee

Oral history interview with Reverend Susan Leo, by Jae Ann Atwood and Genevieve Blaettler [Transcript]

Transcript. Leo speaks of her experiences as an out lesbian pastor in the United Church of Christ; her experiences in Nicaragua during the 1980s that led to her decision to attend a Presbyterian seminary; homophobia within the church; and social justice & activism. She also addresses the difficulty her mother had in accepting Leo's lesbianism.

Leo, Susan, 1951-

Oral history interview with Ed Segel, by Pablo Guzman and Greg Nicosia [Transcript]

Transcript. Segel, a history professor at Reed College, discusses his knowledge of some of the local Portland non-profit organizations including Basic Rights Oregon (BRO), Love Makes A Family, Right to Pride, and Portland Town Council. Segel also discusses his experience of the AIDS epidemic, and his seeing a therapist during the early 1970s in order to come to terms with his homosexuality.

Segel, Edward B.

Oral history interview with John E. Baker [Transcript]

Transcript. This oral history interview with John E. Baker was conducted by Jeffrey Ohren and Jim Donohue on May 7, 2012, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. The interview was conducted as part of a senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University, with instructor Pat Young. A transcript of the interview is available.

In this interview, Baker discusses his history of political and gay rights activism, particularly his involvement with Right to Privacy, a lesbian and gay political action organization that was headquartered in Portland, Oregon. He talks about ballot measures against gay rights in Oregon, discusses his involvement with the Portland drag performance community, and shares his thoughts about marriage equality.

Baker, John E., approximately 1945-

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