Agnes and Delores Skovgaard standing behind a picket fence in front of their apartment in Vanport, Oregon. They are sorting through personal items after residents were allowed back into Vanport following the Vanport flood. The caption on the photograph reads, “My Mother, Netta and Sister, Delores, trying to sort out any savable items from apartment.”

A view of damaged apartment buildings in Vanport, Oregon after the water receded from the Vanport flood. The caption on the photograph reads, “Our apartment house.”

Buildings and flotsam pressed against the Kenton Slough dike during the Vanport flood in 1948.

Cars lined up at the gas station on the corner of Lake Avenue and Victory Avenue in Vanport, Oregon.

A view of Vanport, Oregon looking west on North Cottonwood Avenue from Denver Avenue before the flood.

People shopping at the Number 1 shopping center in Vanport, Oregon.

Dale Skovgaard (left) with his friend, Vincent, and dog Max, in front of their apartment building on Island Avenue in Vanport, Oregon.

A view of Vanport, Oregon apartment buildings looking east toward Lake Avenue.

Unidentified people climbing over piles of debris left behind after the flood waters retreated during the Vanport flood. Several apartment buildings lifted from their foundations by the flood waters are visible in the wreckage.

A line of cars parked on Denver Avenue in Vanport, Oregon. The drivers abandoned their cars on the road and fled on foot after a traffic jam blocked their exits. Pedestrians are visible on the road attempting to escape the rising flood waters during the Vanport flood.

Agnes Skovgaard sorting through personal items after residents were allowed back into Vanport, Oregon following the Vanport flood. Caption on the image reads, “My mother sorting through personal items after the flood to see if anything was worth saving. Very little.”

Herman Skovgaard outside his apartment in Vanport, Oregon. He is dressed in overalls with a hard hat and metal lunch box and is preparing to leave for work at the Swan Island Shipyards.

A group of men holding hands and a rope to form a human chain in waist-high flood water during the Vanport flood. They are attempting to rescue people trapped by rising flood water. Flooded cars and debris are visible in the water around them. Dale Skovgaard is identified as the man in the white cowboy hat. This photograph was originally taken by an Oregonian photographer (OrHi 25428).

Transcript. This oral history interview with Ida Mae Shepherd was conducted by Greta Smith Wisnewski from August 14 to October 26, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the interview was conducted using Zoom, a video conferencing software. Shepherd was nominated by Oregonians to be interviewed as part of a program by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library to enhance and expand the range of voices in the library's collections. Interviewees are selected from the pool of nominees by a staff committee appointed by the historical society's executive director. The interview was conducted in five sessions.

In the first interview session, conducted on August 14, 2020, Shepherd speaks at length about her family background, particularly focusing on the life of her maternal grandmother, Edith Goodell Lee. She discusses her early life in the Eliot neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, and talks about businesses in the area. She then briefly talks about living in Vanport during World War II. She discusses her research into her family history.

In the second interview session, conducted on September 11, 2020, Shepherd speaks further about her family background, focusing on her paternal family. She revisits the topic of her early life in the Eliot neighborhood, and talks about her Catholic upbringing and involvement with the Immaculate Heart Catholic Church. She discusses how the Black community changed after World War II, as well as changes in the way white people treated them. She then continues to discuss living in Vanport as a teenager during World War II, including her social life, recreational activities, and segregation. She also talks about her early education and about jobs she worked after dropping out. She shares her experiences during the 1948 flood, including living in Guild's Lake for a short time afterward.

In the third interview session, conducted on September 25, 2020, Shepherd discusses her marriage to Theodore Cassidy Powell. She then talks about living in the Albina neighborhood in the early 1950s. She also revisits the topic of how the Black community changed after World War II, as well as how the way white people treated them changed. She talks about working as a janitor at KGW, and about her brief marriage to Curley Massey. She speaks about her marriage to Emmett Edwin Shepherd, about buying a house in the Eliot neighborhood, and about the changes in the neighborhood since the 1960s. She talks about raising a family, about her career in housekeeping and janitorial services, and about her experiences during the civil rights movement, including meeting Coretta Scott King. She shares her thoughts about police treatment of Black residents, talks about the mass displacement of Black residents during the construction of I-5 in the 1960s, and discusses the Black community in the Albina area of Portland.

In the fourth interview session, conducted on October 9, 2020, Shepherd discusses her experiences picking hops in the 1930s. She shares a childhood drawing she created of a tavern on Union Avenue, as well as a photograph. She talks about the people who lived in the Eliot neighborhood, and discusses her children, their families, and their careers. She revisits the topic of her experiences during the civil rights movement, and the topic of the mass displacement of Black people during the construction of I-5 in the 1960s, as well as during the expansion of Emanuel Hospital in the 1970s. She speaks at length about her involvement with Albina Fair Share and about working to reduce the amount of abandoned houses in the neighborhood. She talks about her involvement with Immaculate Heart Catholic Church.

In the fifth and final interview session, conducted on October 26, 2020, Shepherd speaks at length about how the Albina area of Portland, particularly the Eliot neighborhood, changed over her life. She also shares her reasons for living nearly her entire life in the area. She discusses how the ways that white and Black Portlanders interact have changed over her life. She talks about the death of her husband, Emmett E. Shepherd, about her volunteer work since her retirement in the late 1980s, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her activities. She discusses the political situation at the time of the interview in 2020, including protests in Portland and the presidential election. She closes the interview by talking about her recent stroke and recovery.

In the fifth and final interview session, conducted on October 26, 2020, Shepherd speaks at length about how the Albina area of Portland, particularly the Eliot neighborhood, changed over her life. She also shares her reasons for living nearly her entire life in the area. She discusses how the ways that white and Black Portlanders interact have changed over her life. She talks about the death of her husband, Emmett E. Shepherd, about her volunteer work since her retirement in the late 1980s, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her activities. She discusses the political situation at the time of the interview in 2020, including protests in Portland and the presidential election. She closes the interview by talking about her recent stroke and recovery.

In the fourth interview session, conducted on October 9, 2020, Shepherd discusses her experiences picking hops in the 1930s. She shares a childhood drawing she created of a tavern on Union Avenue, as well as a photograph. She talks about the people who lived in the Eliot neighborhood, and discusses her children, their families, and their careers. She revisits the topic of her experiences during the civil rights movement, and the topic of the mass displacement of Black people during the construction of I-5 in the 1960s, as well as during the expansion of Emanuel Hospital in the 1970s. She speaks at length about her involvement with Albina Fair Share and about working to reduce the amount of abandoned houses in the neighborhood. She talks about her involvement with Immaculate Heart Catholic Church.

In the third interview session, conducted on September 25, 2020, Shepherd discusses her marriage to Theodore Cassidy Powell. She then talks about living in the Albina neighborhood in the early 1950s. She also revisits the topic of how the Black community changed after World War II, as well as how the way white people treated them changed. She talks about working as a janitor at KGW, and about her brief marriage to Curley Massey. She speaks about her marriage to Emmett Edwin Shepherd, about buying a house in the Eliot neighborhood, and about the changes in the neighborhood since the 1960s. She talks about raising a family, about her career in housekeeping and janitorial services, and about her experiences during the civil rights movement, including meeting Coretta Scott King. She shares her thoughts about police treatment of Black residents, talks about the mass displacement of Black residents during the construction of I-5 in the 1960s, and discusses the Black community in the Albina area of Portland.

In the second interview session, conducted on September 11, 2020, Shepherd speaks further about her family background, focusing on her paternal family. She revisits the topic of her early life in the Eliot neighborhood, and talks about her Catholic upbringing and involvement with the Immaculate Heart Catholic Church. She discusses how the Black community changed after World War II, as well as changes in the way white people treated them. She then continues to discuss living in Vanport as a teenager during World War II, including her social life, recreational activities, and segregation. She also talks about her early education and about jobs she worked after dropping out. She shares her experiences during the 1948 flood, including living in Guild's Lake for a short time afterward.

In the first interview session, conducted on August 14, 2020, Shepherd speaks at length about her family background, particularly focusing on the life of her maternal grandmother, Edith Goodell Lee. She discusses her early life in the Eliot neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, and talks about businesses in the area. She then briefly talks about living in Vanport during World War II. She discusses her research into her family history.

Photograph of people gathering on a road near an affected area of the Vanport Flood. Two boats are on the road. Behind them, destroyed buildings and debris are visible in the flood water. Taken by an unidentified student at the Northwest School of Photography.

Photograph of 3 men standing on a road, looking at the damage caused by the Vanport Flood. Several apartment buildings float in the floodwater after having been lifted from their foundations. In the foreground, a power pole, debris, and the roof of a building sit in high flood water. Taken by an unidentified student at the Northwest School of Photography.

Aerial photograph of widespread flooding during the Vanport Flood. Several apartment buildings float in the floodwater after having been lifted from their foundations. Taken by an unidentified student at the Northwest School of Photography. This print is from the same negative or take as OrgLot762_B1F7_001.

Photograph of debris and flooded buildings in the water of the Vanport Flood. Several apartment buildings float in the floodwater after having been lifted from their foundations. Two water towers rise in the background. Handwritten note on back indicates this was taken May 31, 1948. Taken by an unidentified student at the Northwest School of Photography.

Photograph of debris and a flooded apartment building in the water of the Vanport Flood. On the left, the apartment building floats in the water after having been lifted from its foundation. On the right, debris and other flooded buildings are visible in the background. Handwritten note on back indicates this was taken May 31, 1948. Taken by an unidentified student at the Northwest School of Photography.

Photograph of 3 men standing on a walkway overlooking widespread flooding during the Vanport Flood. A group of people stand near a boat on the right and an empty boat sits on the grass in the foreground. Handwritten note on back indicates this was taken May 31, 1948. Taken by an unidentified student at the Northwest School of Photography.

Photograph of debris and destroyed buildings in the water of the Vanport Flood. In the foreground, the roof of a building emerges from water. In the background, several apartment buildings float in the floodwater after having been lifted from their foundations. Handwritten note on back indicates this was taken May 31, 1948. Taken by an unidentified student at the Northwest School of Photography.

Photograph of debris and destroyed buildings in the water of the Vanport Flood. Several apartment buildings float in the floodwater after having been lifted from their foundations. Handwritten note on back indicates this was taken May 31, 1948. Taken by an unidentified student at the Northwest School of Photography.