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Strassmaier, James Depressions--1929--United States
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Oral history interview with Walter E. Hazlett

  • SR 800
  • Collection
  • 1974-02

This oral history interview with Walter E. Hazlett was conducted by Jim Strassmaier in February 1974. In this interview, Hazlett discusses his early life in Portage and Willmore, Pennsylvania, including his courtship with Naomi Ruth Long (also known as Ruth Hazlett), as well as working in coal mines. He also talks about working in the shipyards in Washington during World War II. He speaks about Ruth Hazlett, including her family background and their marriage. He describes his experience during the 1948 Vanport flood and talks about its aftermath at length. He speaks further about Ruth Hazlett. He speaks more about working in coal mines in Pennsylvania, including participating in labor strikes. He talks about his children, their careers, and his relationship with them. He then gives a timeline of the places he lived; talks about injuries he sustained in the workplace and in a car collision; and revisits the topic of his marriage. He also talks about his and Ruth Hazlett's family educational background. He closes the interview by revisiting the topic of working in coal mines in Pennsylvania and his experience during the Depression.

Hazlett, Walter E. (Walter Earl), 1905-1976

Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins

  • SR 470
  • Collection
  • 1986-07-07 - 1986-08-01

This oral history interview with Windsor Calkins was conducted by Jim Strassmaier in Calkins' office in Eugene, Oregon, from July 7 to August 1, 1986. In the interview, Calkins discusses his family background and early life in Eugene, including a 1922 trip on foot from Newport to Florence, Oregon, with his father. He also discusses his father's career as a court reporter, as well as his own interest in the law. Calkins talks about studying law at the University of Oregon, including taking classes from Wayne Morse. Calkins talks about practicing law in Eugene and some of the cases he argued, including bootlegging and murder cases. He also discusses the effect the Depression had on his family. He then talks about his experiences in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Calkins also talks about notable people from Eugene, including William G. East and other judges. He then discusses his work as a lawyer for the Eugene Water and Electric Board and Sacred Heart Hospital, as well as his involvement with the Lane County Bar Association, the Eugene City Health Board, and other civic organizations. He closes the interview with a description of malpractice lawsuits, as well as his family life.

Calkins, Windsor, 1910-1989

Oral history interview with Art Bimrose

  • SR 1752
  • Collection
  • 1989-04-26 - 1989-04-26

This oral history interview with Art Bimrose was conducted by Jim Strassmaier on April 26, 1989. The interview was conducted in conjunction with a 1989 exhibition of Bimrose's work at the Oregon Historical Society. The interview was conducted in one session.

In this interview, Bimrose discusses his family background and early life in Spokane, Washington, and in Portland, Oregon, including his early interest in art. He discusses his early career in art, particularly commercial art, during the Depression. He also talks about his summer jobs with the Southern Pacific Railroad during his high school years, the effect the Depression had on his family, and his early political beliefs. He discusses working for the Oregonian newspaper, first as a photo re-toucher and later as a cartoonist. He talks about developing his art style, his process in creating political cartoons, and the editorial policies of the Oregonian. He also briefly talks about his experience in the U.S. Army during World War II, particularly the effect it had on his personality and home life. He also talks about the difficulty in drawing cartoons for the Oregonian that were supportive of the Vietnam War, despite his personal opposition to it. He describes his use of symbolism in his cartoons; talks about politicians he admired; and discusses the Oregonian editorial conferences that he attended. He also talks about some of the controversial topics on which he drew cartoons and working with the Oregonian editorial page editors. He closes the interview by discussing his retirement activities.

Bimrose, Art, 1912-

Oral history interview with Adam C. Heim and Clara C. Heim

  • SR 1086
  • Collection
  • 1989-07-26 - 1989-09-13

This oral history interview with Adam C. Heim and Clara C. Heim was conducted by Jim Strassmaier at the Heims' home in Portland, Oregon, from July 26 to September 13, 1989, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program. The interview was conducted in five sessions. Adam C. Heim was interviewed in sessions 1 and 2; Clara C. Heim was interviewed in sessions 3 and 4; and both were interviewed together in session 5.

In the first interview session, conducted on July 26, 1989, Adam C. Heim discusses his family background, including his Russian and German heritage and his father's career with the Union Pacific Railroad Company. He talks about his early life in the Albina neighborhood of Portland, including his education and recreational activities. He speaks about working on a sugar beet farm in Idaho; about the Portland harbor; and about his apprenticeship as a machinist for the Union Pacific Railroad.

In the second interview session, conducted on August 2, 1989, Adam C. Heim talks about his siblings, particularly his older brother, John Adams Heim. He continues to discuss his career with the Union Pacific Railroad. He talks about his marriage to Clara C. Heim and about raising their children. He speaks about his experiences living in Huntington, Oregon, during the Depression, including the death of one of his children from spinal meningitis. He also discusses returning to Portland in the 1940s; talks about his children, their families, and their careers; and describes being injured during a robbery.

In the third interview session, conducted on August 29, 1989, Clara C. Heim discusses her family background and early life in North Portland. She talks about her siblings, their families, and their careers. She discusses her health as a child, her education, and working as a telephone operator.

In the fourth interview session, conducted on September 7, 1989, Clara C. Heim continues to discuss her early life in North Portland. She talks about her marriage to Adam C. Heim, about raising a family, and about her experiences during the Depression. She discusses her children, their families, and their careers. She speaks about life in Huntington, and about her political beliefs.

In the fifth interview session, conducted on September 13, 1989, Clara C. Heim and Adam C. Heim discuss living in and raising a family in Huntington and in North Portland during and after World War II. They also talk about the Black population in North Portland. They speak about their relationship with their children, about the changes in the Catholic Church, and about their political beliefs. They close the interview by talking about their recreational activities.

Heim, Adam C. (Adam Clarence), 1902-1995

Oral history interview with William L. Dickson

This oral history interview with William L. Dickson was conducted by Jim Strassmaier at Dickson's apartment in San Diego, California, from September 25-26, 1991. In this interview, Dickson discusses his family background and early life in Portland, Oregon, including contracting polio while in high school and his early interest in politics, including his admiration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a fellow polio survivor. He then discusses attending Northwestern Law School and many of his professors; clerking at the probate court in Portland; his family's religious faith; and getting started in a law practice in Portland. He talks about his experience as a debt collector during the Depression; his first run for the Oregon Legislature in 1930; and meeting his wife, Dorothy Adelaide Unk, in 1931.

Dickson goes on to discuss his time in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1933 to 1936, and in the Oregon Senate from 1937 to 1939, including his desire to help people burdened by debt; coordinating with his uncle, Ashby Dickson, to pass a constitutional amendment making judges nonpartisan positions; and legislation he worked on, particularly on the probate and guardianship code. He also talks about the role of lobbyists; the pay scale for legislators; and many of the legislators he served with, including Nan Wood Honeyman, Monroe Sweetland, and Frank Lonergan. He discusses his involvement with the Democratic Party; the impact of the Depression on his politics and career; and New Deal legislation.

Dickson then discusses his career after leaving the Legislature. He talks about working for the federal Department of Justice during World War II, particularly his work on cases involving land condemnation for military use, and arguing before Judge James Alger Fee. He then talks about serving as a judge on the Circuit Court of Multnomah County from 1954 to 1973. He discusses cases involving mental health and guardianship. He then talks about the lives and careers of his children. Dickson closes the interview with a discussion of national politics in the 1990s.

Dickson, William L. (William Lucas), 1907-2002