Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Oral history interview with Mira H. Ehrman
Date(s)
- 1976-01-20 (Creation)
Extent
0.1 cubic feet; 1 audiotape reel (1 hr., 1 min., 21 sec.)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Mira Harris Ehrman, nee Mira A. Harris, was born in San Francisco, California, in 1892. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, and earned a bachelor's degree in Greek and a master's degree in archaeology. In 1919, she moved to Portland, Oregon, and that same year she and Symund Mason Ehrman were married; they later had two children. The next year, she became involved with the Oregon Social Hygiene Society. She was a Red Cross volunteer and was active in numerous Portland civic organizations, including the Council of Jewish Women, the Visiting Nurses Association, the Oregon Mental Hygiene Society, the Fruit and Flower Mission, the Family Service Committee, and the Portland Garden Club. In 1942, she helped found the Portland USO (United Service Organizations), and in 1970, she was the first woman to be awarded the National USO Award for Distinguished Service. She was also chosen as the First Person of Portland in 1966. She died in 1982.
Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Ehrman in her interview.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This oral history interview with Mira H. Ehrman was conducted by Charles Digregorio at Ehrman's home in Portland, Oregon, on January 20, 1976, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program.
In this interview, Ehrman discusses her involvement with the Oregon Social Hygiene Society, the Mental Hygiene Society, the Fruit and Flower Mission, the Portland Symphony, Catlin Gabel School, and other organizations. She also talks about her early life in the San Francisco Bay Area, including her education at the University of California at Berkeley, her experience during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and her work at a medical clinic. She discusses fundraising for the various civic organizations she was involved in, talks about awards she received, and shares her knowledge about Portland Mayor William Spencer Mason. She speaks at length about her involvement with the USO and also describes her work organizing 500 women volunteers during World War II.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Mira H. Ehrman. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/
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
Mira H. Ehrman papers, Mss 2966, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Mira H. Ehrman, by Charles Digregorio, SR 9434, 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
- Digregorio, Charles (Contributor)
- United Service Organizations (U.S.) (Subject)