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Stella Maris House collection, 1940-1973; bulk : 1960-1972

  • Mss 1585
  • Collection
  • 1940 - 1973

Ranging in date from 1940 to 1973, the Stella Maris House Collection consists of printed material, correspondence, and administrative, financial, and legal records created and collected by the Portland, Oregon-based social justice group during the course of their work. The collection demonstrates the local evolution of social issues key to the history of the United States during the 1960s. Over a third of the archive's content is dedicated to Oregon's migrant labor rights movement, and it also features records documenting the area's civil rights movement, urban renewal projects, interstate highway infrastructure, and social welfare programs initiated by the Economic Opportunity Act.

The bulk of the collection consists of printed material created by a number of local and national organizations between 1960 and 1972, then collected by the Stella Maris House. This portion of the archive includes programs, reports, studies, surveys, correspondence, brochures, and flyers generated by civil rights, migrant rights, and peace movement groups. Items of note include the Albina Neighborhood Improvement Project's plans for urban redevelopment (Series B), an African-American employment survey conducted by the Metropolitan Interfaith Commission on Race (Series E), and records documenting the Housing Authority of Portland (Series I). The collection also features printed material created by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Series E), the Valley Migrant League (Series J), and the United Farm Workers (Series J). Newspaper clippings that document events important to social justice movements constitute a substantial part of the collection.

A small but significant portion of the collection was created by the staff members of the Stella Maris House; it includes notes by the staff documenting the meetings of local groups. These meeting notes often provide remarkably candid insights into the workings of area groups. Additionally, Stella Maris House staff members also contributed group and program histories to the collection.

Stella Maris House (Portland, Or.)

Steamship R. R. Thompson plans

  • Mss 4051
  • Collection
  • Circa 1878 - Circa 1950

Collection consists of 14 plans on 8 sheets of the steamer R. R. Thompson, which was originally designed by John Gates. It is unknown whether the plans are original or are later reproductions; they include writing in at least two different hands. Drawings include plans of top and side views; a plan of the freight deck lowerhouse, skylight, and texas; a plan of the cabin deck; engine plans; boiler plans; mechanical plans; and a plan of the piston head and rings. Some sheets are stamped: "Oregon Historical Society - Portland, Oregon / from the collection of L. C. Hosford."

Steamship Oneonta Plans

  • Mss 4044
  • Collection
  • Circa 1863 - Circa 1950

Plans of a sidewheel steamer, Oneonta. The plans may be a depiction of the steamer Oneonta built in 1863 and operated by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, but features in the plans differ from contemporary photographs of that steamboat. It is unknown whether the drawings are originals or later reproductions. The drawings consist of 3 plans on 1 sheet: a top view, a side view, and a plan of the pilot house and rooms. Sheet is stamped: "Oregon Historical Society - Portland, Oregon / from collection of L. C. Hosford."

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.

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

Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway photographs

  • Org. Lot 78
  • Collection
  • 1890 - 1979

Photographs taken for the Burlington Northern Railroad and the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway. Subjects include railroad stations and yards; railroad tracks; trains; train wrecks; railroad bridge construction and maintenance; and railroad personnel, throughout Oregon and Washington. There are also photographs of various towns and landscapes Oregon, Washington, and California, through which the railroads passed, including images of the construction of the Bonneville Dam, the Columbia River and Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, and other mountains and lakes. The collection additionally contains photographs of people engaged in various recreations, including hiking, as well as a number of photographs relating to agriculture in the Pacific Northwest. There is also one photograph album containing interior and exterior photographs of the Reserved Seat Coach-Cafe Car of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway in 1939. Photographers include Photo-Art Comercial Studios and Arthur M. Prentiss of Portland, Or., among many others.

Soap Creek Valley History Project

  • SR Soap Creek Valley History Project
  • Collection
  • 1989

The Soap Creek Valley History Project Oral Histories consist of oral histories conducted primarily in 1989-1991 by the Oregon State University Research Forests to better understand the history, ecology, and culture of the Soap Creek Valley in Benton County, Oregon.

Senator Mark O. Hatfield Oral History Project

  • SR Hatfield
  • Collection
  • 1987 - 1988

This series of interviews was conducted with Senator Hatfield’s congressional aids, staff and advisors. Senator Hatfield had a long and distinguished career in public service. He began his career as an Oregon State Legislator. He was both Oregon’s youngest Secretary of State and Governor. Later, he was a United States Senator from Oregon for 30 years, the longest term of any senator from Oregon. He is perhaps best known for his early and consistent opposition to the Vietnam War.

Interviewees include: Douglas Coe, associate director of The Fellowship, who has had close relationships with many American politicians; Martin Gold, a member of the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, appointed by George H.W. Bush, he was counsel to Bill First, Howard Baker and Mark Hatfield; Loren Hicks, counsel to Hatfield and later held many judgeships in Oregon, including circuit judge for Marion County; and Sam Mallicoat, a veteran of WWII and the Korean War, and Chief of Staff for Senator Hatfield during his first senate term.

Ruth L. Van Beber oral memoir

  • SR 2083
  • Collection
  • 1992-10-12 - 1993-05-07

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.

Van Beber, Ruth L. (Ruth Leota), 1902-1994

Rural Telephone Operators Oral History Series

  • Rural Telephone Operators Oral History Series
  • Collection

A series of oral history interviews and an essay by Anne Cummins. She interviewed individuals who worked as telephone operators in rural areas in the early part of the 20th century.

Robertson, Burns, and Failing families papers

  • Coll 784
  • Collection
  • 1786-1988

Many of Portland's early settling families created long-lasting ties with one another through marriage and business relationships. Often leaving areas such as New England and San Francisco, the first generation of transplants found Portland to be a small town of new opportunities for trade and business from 1840-1855. Family relationships, such as those seen between the Robertson, Corbett, and Failing families beginning in the 1850s, often lasted for generations. Starting with the joint venture between Henry Winslow Corbett and brother-in-law Thomas Robertson (1817-1900), multiple other partnerships were later formed, including Robertson Heavy Hardware, Corbett, Failing and Company, Foster and Robertson and Corbett, Failing, and Robertson.

The Robertson family represented a crossroads of Portland familial relationships. Beginning with the arrival of Thomas Robertson and his wife Mary Freeland (Corbett) Robertson, from New York, multiple generations of the Robertson family went on to marry into different branches of other old Portland families, such Couch, Lewis, and Reed. Through these relationships, they also gained ties with several family lineages from the East Coast. Individuals in these families later attended elite schools, traveled widely and participated in family businesses to great success. They also contributed to Portland's civic life, becoming city or state officials, and serving as early supporters for institutions such as the Portland Art Museum and Reed College.

Robertson family

Rick Sanders interviews with relatives

  • SR 2935
  • Collection
  • 1981-06-11 - 1998-03-24

Interviews with Ruth Wilcox, Leam Thomas, and Bradford Tompleman conducted by Rick Sanders from June 11, 1981, to March 24, 1998, as part of genealogical research by Sanders about his family.

The interview with Ruth Wilcox was conducted on June 11, 1981, at her home. The interview is approximately five minutes long. Wilcox was an aunt to Rick Sanders. She talks about her grandmother, who is identified as a member of the Sanders family. She speaks about her family background.

The interview with Leam Thomas was conducted on June 27, 1997. The interview is approximately eight minutes long. Thomas speaks about his family background, about his family real estate business, and about his career as a millworker in California. He also talks about his experiences in India during World War II.

The interview with Bradford Tompleman was conducted on March 25, 1998, in San Francisco, California. The interview is approximately 10 minutes long. Tompleman was a second cousin, once removed, of Rick Sanders. He speaks about his family background.

Sanders, Rick

Rick Harmon radio interview

  • SR 601
  • Collection
  • 1989-02-14

This interview with Rick Harmon was conducted by Bob Griggs at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on February 14, 1989. The interview was conducted for Oregon Public Broadcasting's Hotline radio program. This recording aired on the Portland radio station KOPB as part of the Golden Hours series, a reading service for blind and visually impaired people that ran from 1975 to 2009.

In this interview, Harmon discusses his work as editor of Oregon Historical Quarterly. He talks about the kinds of articles the journal publishes, and describes how styles for writing about history have changed. He discusses planning themed issues, including an issue on Black history. He talks about the mission of the Oregon Historical Society and the work that OHS and Quarterly staff do to fulfill that mission. He closes the interview by discussing the process for submitting articles to the Quarterly and for donating items to the OHS museum and library.

Harmon, Rick

Revenue cutter Joe Lane plans

  • Mss 4037
  • Collection
  • 1851?

One blackline photocopy sheet of plans for the revenue cutter Joe Lane, built in Baltimore, Maryland, 1851. Includes cross section, top view, midship section, sail plan, and table of principal dimensions.

Rev. Lee Owen Stone Collection

  • Org. Lot 651
  • Collection
  • 1903 - 1977

Photographs documenting the career of Rev. Lee Owen Stone, (4/24/1903-3/10/1977), at St. Philips Episcopal Church, 120 N. E. Knott St., Portland. Rev. Stone was Vicar of St. Philips from 1936 until his retirement in 1972. He was active in community agencies and the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon. Rev. Stone was a founder of the Portland Urban League. In addition, he established the St. Philips Church Cooperative (Lee Owen Stone) Preschool. Rev. Stone was Portland's first black Episcopal priest, and hist first wife, Leota A. Stone, was one of Portland's first black public school teachers.

Stone, Lee Owen, 1903-1977

Radio news report on the death of Charles Sprague

  • SR 9505
  • Collection
  • 1969-03-13

This audio recording consists of a radio announcement, delivered by reporter Robert Bruce, about the death of former Oregon Governor Charles Sprague. The recording was taped from the broadcast of the announcement on an unidentified radio news program. In the segment, Bruce reads from statements by Governor Tom McCall and senators Robert Ellstrom, Jason Boe, and Robert Smith. Bruce then plays excerpts from an oral history interview that he conducted with Sprague in 1962.

Bruce, Robert M. (Robert Mason), 1915-1972

Radio interview with Paul S. Wright

  • SR 9521
  • Collection
  • 1973-11-04

This interview with the Reverend Paul S. Wright was conducted by Richard Hughes and a person identified only as "Rob," for a radio program called "Concern," which aired on November 4, 1973. The audio was recorded by a listener on a home tape recorder as the interview was broadcast.

In this interview, Wright discusses serving as a Presbyterian minister in Portland, Oregon, during World War II. He talks about how both Portland and the Presbyterian Church changed after the war, about the growth of the suburbs, and about the church's involvement in social issues. He speaks about the relationship between his faith and his understanding of history, and shares how that understanding informs his hopes for the future.

Wright, Paul S.

Radio interview with Lewis L. McArthur

  • SR 2608
  • Collection
  • 1995

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.

McArthur, Lewis L.

Radio interview with Homer T. Shaver

  • SR 9502
  • Collection
  • 1963-08-14

This radio interview with Homer T. Shaver was conducted by Doug Porter on August 14, 1963, for the Junior Chamber of Commerce evening program, "Mr. Jaycee Report." The interview aired on Portland radio station KWJJ.

In this interview, Shaver discusses his tug and barge business, the Shaver Transportation Company, which operated on the Willamette and Columbia rivers. He talks about the history of the company, about the company's past and present competitors, and about how the industry has changed over the 20th century. He discusses cargo his barges carry, describes the operations of his company, and discusses the future of the Portland harbor.

Shaver, Homer T., 1891-

Radio interview with Bodie McDowell

  • SR 603
  • Collection
  • 1970

This interview with Bodie McDowell was conducted by Monty Ray around 1970. It aired on KDUN radio on the program "The Great Outdoors." In this interview, McDowell discusses fishing in the rivers and lakes of North Carolina, a pastime he calls "Hot Hole Fishing" because the waterways were artificially warmed by factory runoff.

McDowell, Bodie

Radical Elders oral history series

  • SR_Radical_Elders
  • Collection
  • 1992-05-25 - 2003-03-02

These interviews were conducted as part of a senior capstone class on history at Portland State University, with instructor Sandy Polishuk.

Polishuk, Sandy, 1940-

Portland State University Oral History Series

  • SR Portland State University Series
  • Collection
  • 1989

A collection of oral history interviews of Portland State University faculty, conducted by other Portland State University faculty.

Portland Neighborhood History Project

  • Mss 2577-SR
  • Collection
  • 1976-1979

The Portland Neighborhood History Project was one of the first extensive oral history projects in Oregon. In the late 1970s, the Parks Department recruited volunteers to interview elders in their own neighborhoods in order to gather first hand accounts of the history and development of the various neighborhoods in Portland. The interviews were later donated to the Oregon Historical Society.

Portland Jobs with Justice records

  • Coll 827
  • Collection
  • 1988 - 2019

Collection consists of the records of the Portland, Oregon coalition of Jobs with Justice, a national non-profit organization advocating for workers' rights. The records document several campaigns and other activities of the Portland branch from the tenure of its first executive director, Margaret Butler, from its founding in 1991 through 2016, and cover labor issues and actions primarily in the Pacific Northwest but also across the nation and the world.

Portland Jobs with Justice

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

Portland General Electric Centennial Oral History Series

  • SR PGE
  • Collection
  • 1987 - 1988

A series of interviews conducted by Judy Hartman and Craig Wollner with employees of Portland General Electric for use in creating a history of the company for its centennial in 1988.

Hartman, Judy

Portland Garden Club lantern slides

  • Org. Lot 1353
  • Collection
  • 1930-1940

Collection consists of 99 glass lantern slides depicting garden and nature scenes. The majority of the slides were created by George Stephenson for the Portland Garden Club in the 1930s. Subjects depicted include the Kerr Gardens, the Frank and Meier estates, urban gardens, suburban gardens, and country gardens. This collection may be of interest to individuals researching gardening in Portland.

Stephenson, George C., 1866-1940

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