Oral history interview with Richard Bryson

Oral history interview with Richard Bryson [Transcript] Oral history interview with Richard Bryson [Session 01, Recording 01] Oral history interview with Richard Bryson [Session 01, Recording 02] Oral history interview with Richard Bryson [Session 02, Recording 01] Oral history interview with Richard Bryson [Session 02, Recording 02]

Identity elements

Reference code

SR 1258

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Collection

Title

Oral history interview with Richard Bryson

Date(s)

  • 1990-03-14 - 1990-04-11 (Creation)

Extent

0.1 cubic feet; 2 audiocassettes (2 hr., 52 min., 51 sec.) + transcript (99 pages)

Name of creator

Biographical history

Arthur Richard Bryson was born in Eugene, Oregon, in 1916. He attended Stanford University, then transferred to the University of Oregon, earning his bachelor's degree in 1938. He attended Stanford Law School for a year, then returned to the University of Oregon, earning his law degree in 1941. He met Helen Margaret Roberts while at the University of Oregon, and they married in 1941; they later had two children. He practiced law in Eugene as a partner with Smith, Harris, & Bryson. At the beginning of the U.S. involvement in World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and worked in counterintelligence in Europe. After he was discharged in 1945, he joined the Eugene law firm of his father, Edwin R. Bryson. He died in 1999.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This oral history interview with Richard Bryson was conducted by Les M. Swanson, Jr. at Bryson's office in Eugene, Oregon, from March 14 to April 11, 1990. The interview was conducted in two sessions.

In the first interview session, conducted on March 14, 1990, Bryson discusses his family background and early life in Eugene, including the law career of his father, Edwin R. Bryson, and grandfather, John R. Bryson; his education; and his interest in golf. He speaks at length about studying law at Stanford University and the University of Oregon, including his professors and social life. He briefly talks about his service in counterintelligence in Europe during World War II. He discusses working as a lawyer in Eugene, and talks about judges he argued before, including G.F. Skipworth and James Alger Fee. He discusses some of the cases he worked on.

In the second interview session, conducted on April 11, 1990, Bryson continues to discuss his work as a lawyer in Eugene, and to talk about judges he argued before. He speaks about lawyers he worked with, particularly Windsor Calkins. He also revisits the topic of his early life in Eugene and his father's law career. He closes the interview by talking about cases he worked on.

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Conditions governing access

Copyright held by the Lane County Bar Association. In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Conditions governing reproduction

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

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Finding aids

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Notes element

General note

Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Richard Bryson, by Les M. Swanson, Jr., SR 1258, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

General note

Typescript index (8 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

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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

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