Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
Oral history interview with Mildred B. Engdahl and Marion F. Kingery [Sound Recording 01]
Date(s)
- 1977-06-09 (Creation)
Extent
Audiocassette; 00:31:03
Name of creator
Biographical history
Marion Farrell Kingery, nee Marion Lockwood Farrell, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1904. She was married twice, first to Fred Jacobs, whom she married in 1925; they had one child. Jacobs died early in their marriage, and she remarried in 1929, to Lyle B. Kingery, with whom she had a second child. She was an actress at the Portland Civic Theatre under the name of Marion F. Jacobs. She later served as president of the Town Club and National Society of Colonial Dames of Oregon. She died in 1995.
Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Kingery in her interview.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Mildred Butler Engdahl, nee Mildred Allen Butler, was born in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1897. During her teen years, her family lived in St. Louis, Missouri. She attended Wellesley College and after graduation, taught high school English for several years. In 1925, she left teaching to become the director of the Little Theatre League of Richmond, Virginia, and in 1927, she became director of the Portland Civic Theatre in Portland, Oregon. In 1929, she moved to Los Angeles, California, and later directed the Cheviot Hills Community Players there. In 1932, she and Amandus Julian "Jack" Engdahl were married. In the 1950s, she earned a master's degree in drama from the University of Oregon, and again was a director at the Portland Civic Theatre. She also directed children's theater productions, published scripts for children's plays, and wrote several historical books and magazine articles. She died in 1987.
Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Engdahl in her interview.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Tape 1, Side 1. This oral history interview with Mildred B. Engdahl and Marion F. Kingery was conducted by Charles Digregorio at Engdahl's home in Portland, Oregon, on June 9, 1977, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program. Henry C. C. Stevens was also present and occasionally contributed to the interview.
In this interview, Engdahl discusses her work as director of the Portland Civic Theatre from 1927 to 1929. She describes how she came into that position and talks about shows that were performed during her tenure. Kingery talks about her acting career with the theater. Engdahl discusses her return as director in 1954 and talks about how the theater had changed. She also discusses her work directing plays for children. Both Engdahl and Kingery talk about actors they worked with at the Portland Civic Theatre. Engdahl closes the interview by discussing her work as an author.
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 estates of Mildred B. Engdahl and Marion F. Kingery. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, https://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
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Digregorio, Charles (Contributor)