Oral history interview with Monroe and Lil Sweetland

Oral history interview with Monroe and Lil Sweetland [Sound Recording 01]

Identity elements

Reference code

SR 1129

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Collection

Title

Oral history interview with Monroe and Lil Sweetland

Date(s)

  • 1976-08-17 (Creation)

Extent

.1 cubic feet 1 audiocassette (44 min., 15 sec.)

Name of creator

Biographical history

Monroe Mark Sweetland was born in Salem, Oregon, in 1910. His family moved to Michigan in about 1915, and he spent the bulk of his childhood. He began his involvement with the Democratic Party when he was just 10 years old by clandestinely organizing a party meeting. He entered Wittenberg University in Ohio at age 16, then attended Cornell University and Syracuse Law School in New York. He met Lillie Megrath while attending Syracuse Law School and they were married in 1933. He returned to Oregon in 1935 and subsequently worked with the Commonwealth Federation, promoted progressive politics, and was instrumental in the rise of the Democratic Party to political power in the state. He also owned several newspapers in Oregon, including the Molalla Pioneer, the Newport News, and the Milwaukie Review. He represented Clackamas County in the Oregon House of Representatives 1953, and served in the Oregon Senate from 1955 to 1962. After leaving the Legislature, he moved to California and lobbied for the National Educaton Association. After retiring from politics, he began a business selling dried floral arrangements, called Western Wilderness Products. He returned to Oregon after his wife, Lillie, died in 1985, and he ran unsuccessfully for the Oregon Senate again in 1994. He died in 2006.

Name of creator

(1912-1985)

Biographical history

Lillie "Lil" Megrath Sweetland was born in New Jersey in 1912. She attended Smith College in Massachusetts and met Monroe Sweetland while living in New York. They were married in 1931. She died in 1985.

Name of creator

Biographical history

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This oral history interview with Monroe and Lil Sweetland was conducted by their daughter, Barbara Sweetland, on August 17, 1976. In this interview, the Sweetlands discusses their college experiences. Monroe Sweetland talks about attending Cornell University and Syracuse Law School in New York. Lil Sweetland discusses attending Smith College in Massachusetts. They both discuss meeting through their political activism while in New York; their reasons for being anti-war during the lead-up to World War II; and their involvement with the Socialist Party.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

Collection is open for research.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright held by the Oregon Historical Society. Licensed under Creative Commons, BY-NC-SA: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

Language and script notes

Finding aids

Acquisition and appraisal elements

Custodial history

Immediate source of acquisition

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

Additional oral history interviews with Monroe Sweetland are held by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Monroe Sweetland papers, Mss 1747, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Notes element

General note

Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Monroe and Lil Sweetland, by Barbara Sweetland, SR 1129, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

General note

Handwritten index (2 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

General note

Sound quality is extremely poor.

Specialized notes

Alternative identifier(s)

Description control element

Rules or conventions

Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.

Sources used

Archivist's note

Sarah Stroman

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Genre access points

Accession area