Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Oral history interview with Connie McCready
Date(s)
- 1981-04-01 - 1984-06-17 (Creation)
Extent
.1 cubic feet; 4 audiocassettes (2 hr., 55 min., 48 sec.)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Constance "Connie" McCready, nee Averill, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1921. She studied journalism at the University of Oregon and was a reporter for the Coos Bay Times and the Oregonian newspaper before going into politics. She married Albert L. McCready on New Year's Eve, 1945. She was the first woman elected to the Oregon House of Representatives from the East Portland district. She represented Multnomah County in the Oregon House from 1967 to 1970, served on the Portland City Council from 1970 to 1979, and was mayor of Portland from 1979 to 1980. She died in 2000.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This oral history interview with Connie McCready was conducted by Linda S. Dodds in Portland, Oregon, from April 1 to June 17, 1981. At the time of the interview, Dodds' name was Linda S. Brody.
In this interview, McCready discusses her family background and early life in Pendleton and Portland, Oregon. She focuses particularly on her father, Edgar Averill, and his career as a reporter for the East Oregonian and later as state game warden. She talks about studying journalism at the University of Oregon, including working on the student newspaper, the Daily Emerald. She also discusses other newspapers she worked for after college, including the Coos Bay Times, now The World, and the Oregonian. She talks about meeting Albert McCready, a reporter for the Oregonian, and their subsequent marriage. She also describes some of her other colleagues at the Oregonian; the Oregonian strike of 1959 to 1965; and the merger of the Oregonian and Oregon Journal.
McCready discusses her entry into Portland politics as a result of her father's failing health. She talks about serving on the Citizens School Committee for Portland Public Schools, which was a body that sought to recruit candidates for the school board; serving as precinct committeewoman for the Oregon Republican Party; and her involvement with the League of Women Voters. She describes her successful 1966 campaign for the Oregon House of Representatives and some of the legislation she worked on during her single term in the Legislature, including on fish conservation, littering, and the creation of Tri-Met. She also talks about working with Representative Betty Roberts on legislation concerning fair employment practices and abortion. She discusses her experiences as one of only four women in the Legislature. She then discusses her appointment to the Portland City Council, and subsequent resignation from the Legislature, in 1970, as well as her re-election campaign later that year. She discusses working with Portland mayors Terry Schrunk and Neil Goldschmidt; her committee assignments; and her fellow city commissioners. McCready talks about serving as Portland mayor from 1979 to 1980, including her accomplishments, as well as her support for controversial issues such as fluoridation, women's rights and gay rights. She speaks at length about her unsuccessful re-election campaign in 1980. She closes the interview by discussing the difficulty of balancing political and personal life.
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 for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following license: 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
Oral history interview with Connie McCready, by Clark Hansen, SR 1148, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Connie McCready, by Linda S. Dodds, SR 9046, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
General note
Incomplete transcript (63 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
- Dodds, Linda S. (Contributor)
- Oregonian (Firm) (Subject)
- Republican Party (Or.) (Subject)
- Oregon. Legislative Assembly (Subject)
- Averill, Edgar F., 1881-1955 (Subject)
- McCready, Albert L. (Subject)