Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Oral history interview with Flavel W. Temple
Date(s)
- 1992-04-30 - 1992-10-13 (Creation)
Extent
.1 cubic feet; 9 audiocassettes (8 hr., 12 min., 34 sec.) + 3 photographs (color)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Flavel Wells Temple was born in Enterprise, Oregon, in 1902. In 1906, his family moved to Pendleton, where his father practiced medicine and operated the Temple Hotel. Temple attended Behnke-Walker Business School in Portland. In the late 1920s, he and Judith Evangeline Hoffman were married; they later had one child and divorced five years after marriage. In 1929, the couple returned to Pendleton, where Temple briefly worked at the Temple Hotel. In 1932, they relocated to Portland due to the Depression, and Temple shortly took over the management of the Washington Hotel. A few years later, he also took over the Congress Hotel. He was active in the Democratic Party of Oregon beginning in 1936. In 1939, he was elected vice president of the Oregon State Hotel Association and became its president in 1940. He was also active in several other hotel-related associations. In 1940, he and Hazel McBride were married; they later had one child. In the 1940s, he was active with the Al Kader Temple of the Shriners. In 1955, he added the Timber Topper Restaurant to the Washington Hotel. In 1958, Hazel Temple was killed in a car collision. During Flavel Temple's recovery from that accident, he organized the Oregon Restaurant Association, and served as its president. He also served as president of the Oregon Apartment Association and the U.S. Army Association. In 1963, he and Rachel E. Boyce were married. He sold the Washington Hotel and others in 1972. He died in 2001.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This oral history interview with Flavel W. Temple was conducted by Linda Watkins from April 30 to May 1, 1992, and by Jim Strassmaier at Temple's office in Lake Oswego, Oregon, on October 13, 1992. Tapes 1 and 2 are missing, but their contents are included in an incomplete transcript. The interview was conducted in 3 sessions.
In the first interview session, conducted on April 30, 1992, Temple discusses his family background and early life in Pendleton, Oregon, including his education and his family's ownership of the Temple Hotel. He talks about his experience at Behnke-Walker Business School in Portland, getting his start in the hotel business, and his experience during the Depression. He speaks at length about running the Washington Hotel in Portland, including the state the hotel was in when he took over, instituting weekly rates, and refurbishing the hotel. He also talks about speakeasies in Portland during Prohibition and about running the Congress Hotel in Portland. He describes his involvement in the Oregon Democratic Party, and talks about his involvement with several other clubs and organizations. He talks about racial discrimination in the hotel business and his reasons for being complicit in perpetuating it. He talks about his marriage to Hazel McBride in 1940, running a hotel during World War II, and his involvement with the Al Kader Temple of the Shriners. He also revisits the topic of running the Washington Hotel. He talks about his interest in a gold mine in Idaho; speaks at length about learning to fly planes and his involvement with various aviation organizations; and describes his interest in opera. He talks about his children, their families, and their careers; his interest in boating; and revisits his involvement with the Al Kader Temple and other organizations. He also discusses running the Timber Topper Restaurant.
In the second interview session, conducted on May 1, 1992, Temple continues discussing his involvement with the Al Kader Temple at length, particularly events he helped to organize and the organization's charitable works, including the Shriners Children's Hospital. He also talks about the Al Kader building and the decline in fraternal organizations' membership. He describes the car collision that killed his wife, Hazel Temple, and put him in the hospital for five months, and he talks about organizing the Oregon Restaurant Association during his recovery. He also talks about his involvement in the U.S. Army Association. He then revisits the topic of his recovery from the car collision. He talks about his marriage to Rachel E. Boyce and his involvement with the Save Our Stadium committee, and returns to the topic of managing the Washington Hotel. He discusses his travels with Rachel Temple in a motor home, revisits his involvement with the Al Kader Temple, and talks about the sale of the Washington Hotel and others in 1972. He describes his retirement activities, and talks about awards he received. He then tells a few anecdotes from his youth, about managing the Washington Hotel, about his involvement with the Al Kader Temple, and others. He reflects on his accomplishments and talks about his hopes for the future.
In the third and final interview session, conducted on October 13, 1992, Temple discusses arriving in Portland in 1932 and how he became involved in the hotel industry. He talks about his early years of managing the Washington Hotel during the Depression and Prohibition; discusses his involvement with the Democratic Party; and discusses running the Timber Topper Restaurant. He describes the improvements he made to the Washington Hotel, dealing with labor unions, and the sale of the Washington Hotel in 1972. He discusses the changes in the hotel industry from 1932 to the time of the interview in 1992, as well as hotel associations that he was involved with. He speaks about his marriage to and divorce from Judith Evangeline Hoffman, and talks about their child. He then talks about his involvement with the Al Kader Temple; describes the car collision that killed his wife, Hazel Temple, and put him in the hospital for five months; and speaks about learning to fly planes and his involvement with various aviation organizations. He discusses raising money for the Shiners Children's Hospital. He closes the interview by revisiting the topic of his involvement with the Democratic Party.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.
Copyright to photographs has not been determined, and use may require authorization from copyright holders.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
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
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Flavel W. Temple, by Linda Watkins and Jim Strassmaier, SR 809, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
General note
Incomplete transcript (182 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
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
Name access points
- Watkins, Linda (Contributor)
- Strassmaier, James (Contributor)
- Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America. Al Kader Temple (Portland, Or.) (Subject)
- Democratic Party (Or.) (Subject)
- Shriners Hospitals for Children (Subject)
- Washington Hotel (Portland, Or.) (Subject)