This oral history interview with Gene L. Brendler was conducted by Kathleen D. Walsh at KPTV Studios in Portland, Oregon on February 26, 1982, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program.

In this interview, Brendler briefly discusses his early life and career before he moved to Portland in 1947. He talks about the history of KPTV, and speaks at length about his broadcasting career with that station, including his role as emcee for the musical variety program "See Here," hosting a localized version of "American Bandstand" called "High Time," and working as public affairs director. He discusses how broadcasting changed during his career, talks about how cable TV has affected local programming, and shares his opinion regarding increased diversity in television broadcasting. He closes the interview by talking about people he worked with, and by describing some of his photographs.

This oral history interview with Teunis Wyers, Jr., was conducted by Elizabeth Strain at the Wyers Stage Company Barns in White Salmon, Washington, on August 6, 1964. An unidentified man was also present. In this interview, Wyers discusses the history of White Salmon during the late 19th century, and talks about a murder in The Dalles. He speaks at length about Native people who lived in the area. He talks about his stagecoach company and about caring for horses.

This oral history interview with Erskine Wood was conducted by Pierre Kolisch and Marian Wood Kolisch on July 11, 1974. The interview was part of a series conducted by Kolisch to accompany portraits of Oregon artists, businesspeople, and politicians. Louise Wood was also present and occasionally contributed to the interview.

In this interview, Erskine Wood discusses spending summers with Chief Joseph and the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) people in the Wallowa Valley, Oregon. He describes daily life, discusses living conditions on reservations, and talks about recreational activities, including horse races and games. Pierre Kolisch discusses his plan to visit members of the tribe in Idaho. Wood talks about photographs he took on glass plates while visiting Chief Joseph. He closes the interview by briefly discussing some of the artists that were acquainted with his father, C. E. S. Wood.

This oral history interview with Elizabeth C. Ducey was conducted by Roberta Watts in Portland, Oregon, on April 24, 1978, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program.

In this interview, Ducey discusses her family background and early life in San Francisco, California, and Portland, Oregon, including her education. She speaks about her involvement with the Junior League of Portland. She talks about her work with the Oregon Roadside Council to lobby the Oregon Legislature regarding billboards, and speaks at length about the political career of U.S. Senator Richard L. Neuberger. She closes the interview by discussing a trip she took to Iran.

This oral history interview with John R. Laidlaw was conducted by Joseph A. Schiwek on November 11, 1972. In this interview, Laidlaw discusses the background of his paternal family, the Laidlaws, in Scotland. He talks about an aunt who served as a nurse for Queen Victoria I, and about his family's connection to the Church of Scotland. He speaks at length about the life of his father, James Laidlaw, including his involvement with the Lancashire Rifle Volunteers, his immigration to Portland, Oregon, and his career as a British consul.

This oral history interview with Ruth E. Clark was conducted by Thomas Vaughan at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on July 15, 1976, as part of the oral history program at the society's research library. Charles Digregorio and A. William Sweet were also present.

In this interview, Clark discusses her work as a high school teacher in Port Orford, Oregon, from 1921 to 1942. She talks about her students, about living in the Knapp Hotel, and about her reasons for leaving Oregon in 1942. She also speaks about being invited to a class reunion in the 1970s.

Collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Reverend Jason Lee. The papers date from 1834 to 1845. Included are Lee’s diary of his overland journey to Oregon and the construction of his mission with entries dating from 1834 to 1838; an 1844 report Lee made to the Methodist Missionary Board; miscellaneous papers related to the illness and death of Lee in 1845; and fragments of an undated biography of Jason Lee likely written by Harvey Kimball Hines. The collection also contains a folder of Anna Maria Pittman Lee's correspondence dated from 1834 to 1835.

Jason Lee was born on June 28, 1803, in Stanstead, Quebec. After his ordination in 1834, Lee and his nephew, Daniel Lee, journeyed overland to Oregon with the intention to establish a mission to minister to the Flathead Indians. He instead established his mission in the Willamette Valley near present-Day Salem, Oregon, in territory that was home to bands of the Kalapuyan people. Lee returned east in 1838 to justify his decision and recruit reinforcements for the Willamette mission, as well as missions at The Dalles and Clatsop plains. In 1840, The Great Reinforcement, a group of 51 men, women, and children, arrived in Oregon on the ship Lausanne in response to Lee’s promotion in the East. In 1843, Jason Lee participated in the founding of Oregon's provisional government and Willamette University. Lee was relieved of his missionary post in 1844. Lee married Anna Maria Pittman, who died in 1838, and then Lucy Lee who died in 1842. Jason Lee died on March 12, 1845.

This oral history interview with Thomas Vaughan was conducted by Sieglinde Smith at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, from October 1, 1995, to December 2, 1996, as part of the historical society's oral history program. The interview was conducted in nine sessions. Tape 17 is missing, and Tape 25, the final cassette of the interview recording, was removed from the collection by Vaughan at the time of the interview.

In the first interview session, conducted on October 1, 1995, Vaughan discusses his family background and early life in Seattle, Washington; near Kelso, Washington; and in Longview, Washington, including his education, his family's experience during the Depression, and working in sawmills as a teenager. He talks about his service in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1943 to 1945, about his education at Yale University, and about working for the Macmillan Company after graduation. He describes a trip to Alaska, and talks about working in the Southwest in the 1940s. He then talks about his experiences at the University of Wisconsin.

In the second interview session, conducted on November 6, 1995, Vaughan shares additional anecdotes about the time he spent in Alaska, the Southwest, and Madison, Wisconsin. He briefly discusses his service as director of the Rock Creek Historical Society in Janesville, Wisconsin, and shares his reasons for accepting the job of executive director of the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, in 1954. He speaks at length about his early years at OHS, describes the condition of the library and museum, and talks about changes he made. He talks about his role in the establishment of the Fort Clatsop National Memorial; about working with the OHS board members, including David T. Mason and Tom McCall; and about the 1959 Oregon state centennial. He discusses selecting and purchasing the site for the OHS building on the Southwest Park Blocks in downtown Portland in the 1960s, and describes how OHS came to own the entire block between SW Jefferson, Madison, Broadway, and Park.

In the third interview session, conducted on November 8, 1995, Vaughan continues to discuss his service as executive director of OHS. He talks about the relationship between OHS and other archives in Oregon during his early years; about fundraising for the building construction on Southwest Park Avenue in the 1960s; and about working with Pietro Belluschi as consulting architect on the design of the museum and library. He also discusses OHS's relationship with Oregon governors Mark Hatfield and Tom McCall, as well as with the Legislature. He talks about developing collection security and preservation policies for the museum and library, about OHS's storage facilities, including the Meier & Frank building and the Oregon Journal building, and about moving the collections to the new building. He discusses building the OHS archival collection, including traveling to Siberia in 1968 for materials.

In the fourth interview session, conducted on November 13, 1995, Vaughan continues to discuss his service as executive director of OHS. He speaks further about his travels to Siberia to collect archival materials, and talks about forming relationships with Russian archives. He discusses cultivating relationships with donors; speaks further and at length about building the OHS archival collection, and talks about OHS's relationship with governors Bob Straub and Vic Atiyeh, with Portland mayors, and with Multnomah County government. He also talks about the preservation of the Bybee House on Sauvie Island. He speaks about his personal philosophy and managerial style.

In the fifth interview session, conducted on December 18, 1995, Vaughan continues to discuss his service as executive director of OHS. He talks about his involvement in historic preservation of buildings in Portland, and revisits the topics of the construction of the OHS building on Southwest Park Avenue and the purchase of the Sovereign Hotel. He talks about his reasons for retiring in 1989, about the North Pacific Studies program at OHS, and about the selection of his successor, Bill Tramposch. He speaks further about cultivating relationships with donors.

In the sixth interview session, conducted on December 19, 1995, Vaughan discusses his activities since his retirement. He talks about his house in Skamokawa, Washington, and describes the surrounding area.

In the seventh interview session, conducted on May 6, 1996, Vaughan continues to talk about the area of Skamokawa, Washington. He returns to the topic of his service as executive director of OHS. He talks about building, cataloging, and preserving the OHS collections, about cultivating relationships with donors, and about some of the collections acquired during his tenure.

In the eighth interview session, conducted on May 7, 1996, Vaughan continues to discuss some of the collections acquired during his time as OHS executive director, and about cultivating relationships with donors. He talks about working with the OHS board, about OHS staff members, and about his work with the Oregon Humanities Commission and the American Association for State and Local History. He also talks about serving on the American Heritage Publishing Company board, and about his involvement with other museum-related organizations.

In the ninth and final interview session, conducted on December 2, 1996, Vaughan discusses creating a film about the Crimean War of 1853, "The Crimean War: A Clash of Empires." He talks about what he looked for in hiring staff at OHS, discusses the field of public history, and reflects on his accomplishments as OHS executive director. He talks about OHS's role in public education. He closes the interview by discussing the OHS museum collections and the work of George Himes, OHS's first director.

Collection consists of twenty-one autographed letters written by Lorenzo Lorain between 1855 and 1861. The letters contain descriptions of Lorain's military service, including yellow fever epidemics, the forced removal of Native peoples from the western region of the Oregon Territory to the Coast Reservation, and his photography. The letters are addressed from West Point Academy, Aspinwall, Fort Dalles, San Francisco, Fort Walla Walla, Fort Umpqua, and Camp Day near the Klamath Basin. The correspondents include Lorain's father, Dr. Henry Tilden Lorain, and his sisters, Mary Jane Ashman and Martha (Merty) Eliza Lorain. Also included in the collection are biographical research notes and correspondence concerning Lorenzo Lorain and Edward Perry Vollum, collected by Nancy A. Hacker between 1958 and 1968.

Digitized materials available online in OHS Digital Collections consists of the original correspondence written by Lorain between 1855 and 1861 in folder 1 of Mss 417.

Undigitized materials available for use at the Oregon Historical Society research library include research notes and correspondence collected by Nancy A. Hacker between 1958 and 1968 in folder 2 of Mss 417.

The collection contains 225 glass plate negative photographs taken by or attributed to Lars Christensen Henrichsen between 1895 and 1910, including the original negatives for his 1903 Portland panorama. Primary subjects depicted in the collection include the Portland skyline, Mount St. Helens, Mount Hood, the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, the Oregon Coast, and the Columbia River Gorge. Also included in the collection are five prints of displays at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. There are also seven bound albums and one rolled copy of Henrichsen’s self-published panoramic photograph album of Portland in 1903. This collection may be of interest to individuals researching photography and the development of Portland.

This oral history interview with Ann Mary Bohrer was conducted by Patricia Keith at the Troutdale Airport in Troutdale, Oregon, on May 12, 1980, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program.

In this interview, Bohrer discusses her early interest in aviation, and that of her brother, Walt Bohrer, including hanging out at the Vancouver Airport and taking flying lessons in Portland from Tex Rankin and Hans Mirow. She shares her experiences as a woman pilot trainee in the 1920s and 1930s. She talks about doing stunt flying, about doing parachute jumps, and about close calls she experienced while flying. She closes the interview by discussing the changes in planes during her time as an aviator.

The Video Access Project (TVAP) recordings consist of over 800 3/4" Umatic Video tapes and 1/2" Open Reel video tapes, most produced in the Portland Community Access facilities from the early 1980s into the 1990s. These programs were mainly produced and recorded in a television studio and covered various Portland related topics, including politics, music, art and social services. The collection also contains earlier video recordings that were not produced by TVAP. These videos, from the 1970s, were shot on location (not in a studio) and are more focused on art, sexuality, performance and neighborhoods in transition.

This oral history interview with Fred G. Meyer was conducted by Gerry Pratt on August 25, 1970. In this interview, Meyer discusses the reasons he settled in Portland, Oregon, in 1910. He talks about the history of Fred Meyer, Inc., including the growth of the company. He discusses inflation and tax increases, and how that has affected grocery prices and labor costs; shares his opinion on the younger generation; and speaks about a recent court case, FTC v. Fred Meyer Inc. He closes the interview by sharing his business philosophy.

The collection documents much of the work of Morris H. Whitehouse (1878-1944), Portland, Or.-based architect whose firms and successors operated for 77 years, making it the longest lived architectural firm in Oregon history. The collection consists of architectural drawings (circa 1905-1974), including details, elevations, perspectives, plans, sections, sketches, tracings, and blueprints that trace the design development of hundreds of residential, commercial and government projects. The collection also contains records (circa 1910-1969), including contracts, correspondence, estimates, invoices, notes, and specifications. Many records correspond with sets of architectural drawings and provide detailed historic overviews of an assortment of jobs, particularly residences. The majority of the drawings and records in the collection are connected with projects in Portland, Or. Some jobs are included from various cities and towns in Oregon and Washington state. The collection also includes a small amount of Whitehouse's early personal papers (circa 1905-1919).

The collection consists of two lithograph illustrations and two watercolor illustrations of buildings in Portland, Oregon, designed by architect Isaac Hodgson, Jr. The watercolors depict the entrance and the tower for the Chamber of Commerce building, one lithograph depicts the Chamber of Commerce building between SW 3rd Avenue and SW 4th Avenue, and one lithograph depicts the entrance to a proposed United Bank building. The United Bank lithograph is from a drawing by W. E. Donovan, while all other works were drawn or painted by J. Anderson. Both lithographs were printed by the Heliotype Printing Company of Boston, Massachusetts, and appeared in the September 26, 1891 and August 27, 1892 issues of "American Architect and Building News."

This oral memoir by Ruth L. Van Beber was recorded from October 12, 1992, to May 7, 1993. The memoir was recorded in twelve sessions.

In the first session, recorded on October 12, 1992, Van Beber introduces her memoir by sharing her reasons for recording her life story. She shares anecdotes about her early life in Albuquerque, New Mexico, including getting her smallpox vaccine at age 5. She then shares anecdotes about her early life in El Paso, Texas, including the transition from horses to cars at the fire department, witnessing racism, and meeting President William Howard Taft. She also talks about working in her father's candy store.

In the second session, recorded on October 24, 1992, Van Beber continues to discuss working in her father's candy store in El Paso, Texas. She describes being regularly beaten by her father; talks about the deaths, injuries, and overall health of her siblings and mother; and discusses her education and her teachers. She shares anecdotes about running away; about spending a few years at the Salvation Army Home for Wayward Girls, including stories about infant deaths and sexual abuse; and about attending business college and working as a secretary for the Interdepartmental Social Hygiene Board. She also talks about her marriage to Merton Floyd Stevenson. She shares anecdotes about the Holy Rollers, Chinese people in Texas, and witnessing Pancho Villa purchase guns in El Paso. She describes her experience with tuberculosis, and then talks about her life in Southern California, including bootlegging. She shares anecdotes about visits to San Francisco in the 1920s, a road trip in 1924, and living in Phoenix, Arizona. She describes an especially beautiful peach tree.

In the third session, recorded on November 12, 1992, Van Beber shares anecdotes about living in New York City in the late 1920s and the people she met there, including socialists and people in the gay community.

In the fourth session, recorded on November 13, 1992, Van Beber continues to talk about living in New York City in the late 1920s, including working at a candy counter and her experiences at the beginning of the Depression. She describes hitchhiking across the country in the 1930s.

In the fifth session, recorded on November 14, 1992, Van Beber continues to describe hitchhiking across the country in the 1930s. She talks about her marriage to Rosser Thomas Garrison, about dogs she owned, and about her life in Southern California. She then speaks about homesteading in Oregon.

In the sixth session, recorded on November 22, 1992, Van Beber continues to speak at length about her experiences while homesteading in Oregon. She also talks about working in a prune orchard, about her father's death and funeral, and about growing a vegetable garden.

In the seventh session, recorded on November 25, 1992, Van Beber continues to speak at length about her experiences while homesteading in Oregon. She shares anecdotes about baking bread, about her adopted children, and about building a school. She then talks about abandoning the children.

In the eighth session, recorded on December 14, 1992, Van Beber continues to talk about abandoning her adopted children. She shares anecdotes about working as an in-home nurse in San Francisco, including for a woman who had harmed her baby. She talks about briefly returning to her family in Oregon and about her life and work in Alaska during World War II. She also describes her experiences just after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's declaration of war, talks about her journey to Alaska, and speaks about running a cafe in Kodiak, Alaska. She describes the evacuation of Kodiak.

In the ninth session, recorded on December 15, 1992, Van Beber continues to describe the evacuation of Kodiak during World War II. She then talks about selling her cafe and leaving Kodiak. She shares anecdotes about life on a homestead in Homer, Alaska, including a story about accidentally starting a wildfire. She also talks about living in Seldovia, Alaska. She speaks at length about an afghan she treasured. She talks about the various health problems of Rosser T. Garrison that led them to relocate to Washington.

In the tenth session, recorded on December 22, 1992, Van Beber shares anecdotes about life in Cashmere, Washington, at the end of World War II, including caring for her mother and running another cafe. She revisits the topic of Rosser T. Garrison's problems with his health; shares her experiences after hearing about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan; and describes the changes in Garrison's behavior as a result of his health issues. She then shares her experiences as a patient in a psychiatric hospital in Washington. She then talks about caring for Garrison after a stroke, about their divorce, and about her subsequent brief marriage with Cecil Carter. She describes remodeling her cafe and home in Cashmere. She discusses working in Bend, Oregon, meeting Chuck Van Beber, and then working in Moab, Utah. She speaks about returning to run the cafe in Cashmere and reconnecting with Chuck Van Beber.

In the eleventh session, recorded on December 27, 1992, Van Beber interrupts the tenth recording session to talk about the reception of her memoir by friends and family, to discuss her open marriages, and to share more anecdotes from her life on a homestead in Oregon. She describes her recent Christmas activities.

In the twelfth and final session, recorded on May 7, 1993, Van Beber shares her feelings upon hearing about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. She talks about returning to Alaska in the 1960s, about an artist she met in Seldovia, Alaska, and about her experiences during the 1964 earthquake. She describes the tsunami that followed. She talks about relocating to Eugene, Oregon.

This interview with Lewis L. McArthur was conducted by Bob Griggs at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, around 1995. The interview was conducted for Oregon Public Broadcasting's Hotline radio program. This recording was aired on the Portland radio station KOPB as part of the Golden Hours series, which was a reading service for blind and visually impaired people that ran from 1975 to 2009. Jeffry Uecker, an Oregon Historical Society museum educator, was also present. A transcript of the interview is available.

In this interview, McArthur discusses the work of his father, Lewis A. McArthur, on the first three editions of the Oregon Geographic Names book, then discusses his own work on the fourth, fifth, and sixth editions. He talks about his research methods and shares information about several Oregon place names. He also shares his opinion on the theory that Sir Francis Drake landed on the Oregon Coast. He closes the interview by discussing the work of the Oregon Geographic Names Board.

This oral history interview with Lewis L. McArthur was conducted by Nancie Fadeley in two sessions, on April 16, 1982, and June 8, 1982. The second interview session was recorded at the Ray F. Becker Company. The interview was conducted for a radio segment that may have aired on the radio station KWAX in Eugene, Oregon.

In the first interview session, conducted on April 16, 1982, McArthur discusses his research on Oregon place names for the book "Oregon Geographic Names." He also talks about the career of his father, Lewis A. McArthur, and about Lewis A. McArthur's work on the early editions of the book. He shares information about the origins of several Oregon place names, including Granite, Noti, Oneonta, and Bear Springs. He discusses the work of the Oregon Geographic Names Board. He talks about the numerous Oregon place names that include "hell," shares theories about the origins of the name "Oregon," and discusses the history of some military-related place names.

In the second interview session, conducted on June 8, 1982, McArthur discusses his career as an industrial engineer for the Ray F. Becker Company. He gives a tour of the company, describes equipment the company uses to produce sheet metal, and talks about the production process. He then briefly discusses his early life in Portland, his work history, and his marriage to Joyce A. Clark. He speaks about his work on "Oregon Geographic Names," about his plans for future editions of the book, and about working on the book with his father. He closes the interview by discussing the complications in changing existing place names.

This oral history interview with Margaret Biddle Parker was conducted by Elisabeth W. Potter and Alfred Staehli in Portland, Oregon, on March 15, 1984, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program.

In this interview, Parker discusses the career of her husband, Portland architect Jamieson Parker. She discusses how the 1929 stock market crash affected his business, talks about his work for the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Federal Housing Administration in the 1930s, and speaks about some of the buildings he designed. She also talks about her children, their family, and their careers; and about her mother, Margaret Burrell Biddle. She discusses the cause of Jamieson Parker's death in 1939. She closes the interview by talking about Alfred Parker.

This oral history interview with Dick K. Harmon was conducted by Jim Strassmaier on December 29, 1995, as part of the Legacy of Hope: Catholics and Social Justice Project, which collected interviews with Catholic clergy and social justice activists in Oregon about their work on social action in the Roman Catholic tradition.

In this interview, Harmon discusses his family background and early life in Colorado, and talks about his interest in learning about the roots of violence in American culture. He describes his college experience at the University of Chicago, and describes how he became involved with the Industrial Areas Foundation. He speaks at length about his work as a social justice organizer for the IAF and later for the Brooklyn Ecumenical Cooperatives. He talks about the communities he worked in, about the people he worked with, and about the relationship between his work and his Christian faith. He shares his opinion on the organization and rules of the Catholic Church. He then speaks at length about his work with the Portland Organizing Project in Oregon, an alliance of churches founded in 1985 to further social justice. He closes the interview by sharing how his social justice work helped him to process his abusive childhood, and by discussing the concept of sin.

Documents relating to the voyage of scientific exploration, 1789-1794, conducted by the Italian mariner Alessandro (Alejandro) Malaspina, assisted by José Bustamente y Guerra, and sponsored by the Spanish crown. The expedition included stops in Trinidad, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, points along the coast of North America as far north as Nootka Sound, the Philippine Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. The documents relate to the American portion of the voyage as far as California and include documentation on inland explorations and the gathering of scientific data, including descriptions of conditions among the California missions. Also included are a group of items relating to preparations and supplies. Many documents were sent to or from the office of Spanish naval minister Antonio Valdés y Bazán. Some documents are contemporary copies.

This oral history interview with Fred C. Baker was conducted by Sheila Ann Finch on July 5, 1978, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program.

In this interview, Baker discusses his career in lighting design. He talks about architects he worked with, including Frederick Fritsch, Carl Linde, and Herman Brookman; discusses some of the buildings he designed lighting for, particularly the Pittock Mansion; and describes how he got his start in the lighting design business. He looks at photographs of his designs and talks about them. He closes the interview by briefly sharing his experience working on Timberline Lodge.

This oral history interview with Forrest E. Balliet was conducted by Roberta Watts in Portland, Oregon, on March 2, 1978, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program. An unidentified woman was also present.

In this interview, Balliet discusses his family background and early life with his grandmother near Talent, Oregon, and in Ashland, Oregon. He describes his work history in Montana, Missouri, Washington, Utah, Oregon, and California, including sheep ranching, mule driving, and seasonal farm work. He discusses living in rooming houses in downtown Portland and describes the city in the late 1910s, and also talks about staying in shelters run by the Salvation Army. He shares his experiences in the U.S. Army in France during World War I.

This oral history interview with Reub Long was conducted by Ron E. Shay on October 6, 1971. The sound recording consists of two audiocassettes. The interview was recorded on the first tape, and the second tape contains edited highlights of the interview. In this interview, Long discusses range and wildlife management issues in Oregon's high desert region, including the management of wild horses. He talks about issues regarding vandalism and littering in the desert. He discusses the plant life and agriculture, describes how the changes in the desert have affected the deer population, and how the desert landscape is affected by fires. He talks about the use of controlled burns, grazing lands for deer, and how land-use laws have affected how desert land is managed.

This oral history interview with Charles H. Raney and Myrtle E. Raney was conducted by Richard E. Larrowe on January 22, 1970. In this interview, the Raneys discuss working at The Beaver State Motor Company in Gresham, Oregon, and the car they manufactured. They talk about wood saws that the company also manufactured, other people who worked at the company, and the factory building. They describe the design of the car, legal trouble the company faced, and the reasons the company went out of business. They close the interview by discussing cement mixers the company made.

This oral history interview with Maggie St. James was conducted by Jann Mitchell on June 26, 1985. In this interview, St. James discusses her mother, Dr. Ruth Barnett, and her mother's work as an abortion provider in Portland in the early 20th century. She describes Barnett's skill as a doctor, her personality, and how she and her mother were treated by society and the press. She talks about Barnett's multiple arrests, and about Barnett's relationship with Portland government and police. St. James also discusses the rise of anti-choice rhetoric at the time of the interview in 1985. She talks about her relationship with her mother, her marriages and divorces, and her experience as an abortion patient. She also discusses her life after her mother's death. She closes the interview by speaking more about Barnett's work as an abortion provider; talking about her children; and revisiting the topic of the rise of anti-choice rhetoric at the time of the interview in 1985.

This oral history interview with David R. Policar was conducted by Roberta Watts at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on November 21, 1977. In this interview, Policar discusses his family background and early life in Portland, including a brief history of the Sephardic Jewish people and his family's involvement in fish markets. He speaks at length about the Sephardic Jewish community in Portland. He closes the interview by talking about his activities at the time of the interview in 1977, particularly working at the Liberty Fish Market in Portland.

Collection consists of approximately 600 negatives used to produce photographic postcards. The photographs date from 1930 to 1970 and depict landmarks, city streets, storefronts, and tourist destinations across Oregon. A selection of places and events represented in this collection include Breitenbush Hot Springs, the Columbia River Gorge, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument, The Pendleton Round-Up, Petersen Rock Garden, and Singing Springs Ranch. Also included are street scenes from cities and towns in all regions of the state.

Many of the negatives have original postcard series numbering and a photographer's signature written directly onto the film. Three photographers are represented in the collection; their signatures identify them only as Christian, Perkins, and Ellis. About 70 percent of the work in the collection is attributed to Christian. It is unknown whether the photographers were employed by the Gilliam Portrait Studio and Camera Shop. The studio was likely a purchaser or publisher of their negatives.