?Giores” (name changed at narrator’s request) was born in Colima, Mexico and spent most of his adult life in Mexico City before relocating to the United States. Giores found life in Mexico City fast paced, uncertain, and stressful. After working at a number of different occupations there he moved to Oregon—a place that he had some knowledge of through a relative. Starting with fieldwork, he transitioned to landscaping, and now works as a painter. Giores obtained his GED after relocating and lives in Cornelius. He and his wife are enrolled in the microbusiness program at Adelante Mujeres; they hope to begin a tax preparation business and create more financial stability for their family.
Giores talks about the reasons why he left Mexico and the pull of the “American dream” that prompted him to relocate. He speaks about the difficulty of the border crossing. The experience inspired him to write a short piece about the border crossing of an individual named Juan. An excerpt from that piece is included at the end of this transcript, shared with the permission of the narrator. Giores elaborates on the process of adjusting to life in Washington County. He explains his relationship with Mexican culture, the country of Mexico, and the ways that he remains in contact with family members there. He also offers his opinions on English-speaking U.S. culture and society. Though work in the United States has not been easy, Giores has overall felt well treated in Washington County and recalls the support of volunteer English teachers and the appreciation that bosses and clients have demonstrated for his work accomplishments. Interview is in Spanish. There is a transcript of this interview.
An audio recording of an oral history of Eduardo Corona. Corona was born near Mexico City. He graduated from Mexico City’s Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana with a major in Business Administration. He moved to California in 1999 to work for a U.S.-based company with multinational operations, and then moved to Beaverton, Oregon to work for a telecommunications company that was opening a branch in Mexico. After a work-necessitated return to Mexico and several changes of employment, Eduardo and his family moved back to Oregon. He began working as the director of the small business development program for Adelante Mujeres; the program provides Spanish-language instruction and support for men and women in Washington County who are looking to start their own businesses. Eduardo recalls the work opportunities that brought him and his family to Oregon, and compares his life in Oregon to his experiences in both California and Mexico. He mentions instances of discrimination in Washington County, but believes that overall he and his family are comfortable in Hillsboro. He shares his perceptions of the community of Hillsboro, and talks about the opportunities that his work with Adelante Mujeres is helping to create for Spanish-speaking individuals residing in the county. Eduardo is proud of his Mexican identity and culture, and appreciates the ways that his children retain Mexican values while incorporating U.S. culture into their lives. There is a transcript of this interview.
An audio recording of an oral history of Florence Evers Heinrich on the Washington County Fair and the 1934 Dairy Club. The recording sounds like it was copied from cassette but original format is unknown. Audio quality is poor.
An audio recording of an oral history of Neal McInnins on his family moving from Scotland to Oregon and his experiences with 4-H. Audio quality is poor.
An audio recording of an oral history of Charles (Chuck) Colgrove on the fair board and 4H Club. Scratchy quality. Digital copy is .wav file; sounds like it is copied from cassette but original format is unknown.
An audio recording of an oral history of Patrick Green on his experiences working at Tektronix and Planar in Washington County's 'Silicon Forest.' Topics include: how his interest in science developed; calculators and computers at work in the 1970s; the earliest personal computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s; being hired at Tektronix in 1979; working in research & development (R&D); designing screen display technologies; working as an engineer and a project manager; the spinoff of Planar as a company; creating display technologies at Planar; cultures of the two companies; international business; filing patents and publishing research; development of the 'Silicon Forest' in Washington County, Oregon; women and people of diverse backgrounds in the technology sector; and other topics. This recording is accompanied by a transcript.
An audio recording of an oral history of Tony Schmidt on the Silicon Forest and Rodgers Instruments, a digital music organ company. Topics include: his education as an accountant; the culture at Rodgers; working his way up from Accounting Manager to Chief Financial Officer beginning in 1989; the relationship between Rodgers and Roland Corporation; the origins of the Rodgers company in 1958; technological advancements in electronic organ design; environmental compliance issues; the market for organs centered on churches; changes to traffic and the landscape of Washington County between the 1980s-2000s as technology companies grew; and other topics. There is a transcript of this interview.
Part 2 of an audio recording of an oral history of Bill Roesch. on the semiconductor industry in Washington County, particularly at the companies Tektronix and TriQuint. This section includes: his early interest and education in technology; being recruited to work at Tektronix in the early 1980s; semiconductor technology at Tektronix in the 1980s; daily work in the testing unit at Tektronix; lack of women in the semiconductor industry; demise of mainframe computer terminal manufacturing at Tektronix; creation of spin-off companies; experimental products at Tektronix; origins of TriQuint's gallium arsenide semiconductor business; being recruited to join TriQuint; technological advancements using gallium arsenide components; revenue sources; and other topics. There is a transcript of this interview.
Part 1 of an audio recording of an oral history of Bill Roesch. on the semiconductor industry in Washington County, particularly at the companies Tektronix and TriQuint. This section includes: how TriQuint's gallium arsenide semiconductor wafers differ from silicon wafers; manufacturing processes at TriQuint; an audio tour of the fabrication section and test section of TriQuint company headquarters; shift schedules and daily work in the fabrication unit; and processes in manufacturing and testing semiconductor products. There is a transcript of this interview.
Part 2 of an audio recording of an oral history of Bill Walker on the Silicon Forest and Tektronix. Topics in this section include: Tektronix's international business and the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC); the effect of the early 1980s Recession on Tektronix; profit sharing with employees; the development of the 'Silicon Forest' in Washington County; the founding of Electro Scientific Industries (ESI); annual shareholder meetings; his children's careers; stories about how Tektronix was founded; other key people in Tektronix's history; and other topics. There is a transcript of this interview.
Part 1 of an audio recording of an oral history of Bill Walker on Tektronix and the 'Silicon Forest' in Washington County, Oregon. Topics in this section include: his education; military service during the Korean War; using Tektronix products in the military; going to work as an engineer for Tektronix in the 1950s; creating the 'Phase System' of development; starting an integrated circuit working group; working his way up to be Chief Operating Officer of Tektronix; starting the Tek Development Company to incubate spinoff companies; training opportunities; author Jean Auel working at Tektronix; office culture; international business with Europe and Japan; and other topics. There is a transcript of this interview.
Part 2 of an audio recording of an oral history of Lee Mason on the Silicon Forest and Tektronix. Topics in this section include: resigning from the Southern Pacific Railroad; returning to Oregon in 1956 and applying for work at Tektronix; being hired to work on the production line; doing shift work with sheet metal and injection molding; manufacturing processes; working in the plastic pre-production unit; plastics plant in the early 1980s; creating his own small plastics company; retirement around 1984; other spinoff plastics companies; how production rates were set; racial and ethnic diversity of the production staff; and other topics. There is a transcript of this interview.
