An audio recording of an oral history interview of Winifred McNair Hopkins (1887-1984) about her life in Oregon. Born in Riddle Point, Oregon, in 1887, Hopkins moved to the Forest Grove area in 1920 as a teacher. She grew up in a country neighborhood two miles from town in a large family of nine people. She went to a school in a one-room schoolhouse and to Riddle Point Presbyterian Church. The schoolhouse was located two miles away from their house and the children walked barefoot to school each day. Hopkins talks about two holidays, the Fourth of July and Christmas, and the traditional activities like picnics and dinners with neighbors. After getting involved with music at age 17, she went to school to study music, traveled around the country playing, and later taught it to others. She mentions reading the “Youth Companion” magazine along with the one newspaper that was produced. Hopkins even remembers attending the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, known as the “fair,” in Portland, Oregon, in 1905. Other topics include shopping in little stores, games that were played at church parties, the Depression, and prohibition. Changes that Hopkins has enjoyed seeing in her life include a freedom in thought and things to do. There is a lot of white noise in the recording so it can be difficult to understand parts of the answers that Hopkins gives.
An audio recording of a talk on Gales Creek at a Tualatin Plains Historical Society meeting. The recording was probably made around 1980 in Forest Grove, Oregon. It appears to have covered only the last part of a longer talk, and is mostly made up of questions and comments from the audience. One of the commenters notes his own family's history near Soda Springs, close to Gales Creek.
An audio recording of a talk by George Williams about the descendants of Alanson Hinman and the early history of Forest Grove, Oregon. George was the great-great-grandson of Alanson Hinman. Includes information about the Hinman House, an historic house located at 1651 Hawthorn Street in Forest Grove, Oregon.
An audio recording of a talk by Nellie Walker on early Forest Grove, possibly given at a meeting of the Tualatin Plains Historical Society in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Nellie Walker was a descendant of Elkanah and Mary Richardson Walker, who emigrated to the Oregon Territory as missionaries in 1838. Nellie recalls memories of Forest Grove in the late 1800s passed down from Mary Richardson Walker, and her own memories of Forest Grove from the early 1900s. Topics include the Forest Grove Indian School, changing land use patterns, the arrival of electricity, telephones and automobiles, picnics at Naylor Grove and juvenile delinquency, including the burning of the local Chinese laundry. The recording begins approximately halfway through the talk; the first half is missing. This recording is accompanied by a transcript.
An audio recording of an oral history of Jim Reeher. The interview took place at the Reeher homestead next to the Tillamook Forestry Center. Part 2 of 2.
An audio recording of an oral history of Jim Reeher. The interview took place at the Reeher homestead next to the Tillamook Forestry Center. Part 1 of 2.
An audio recording of an oral history of Cal Clayton at his home in Forest Grove, Oregon. Clayton brings the interviewer into his den to show him various things of his life including a gun collection, photographs of his wife and her family, and animals that he has hunted. Clayton had come to Oregon right after high school with the intentions of going to college, but instead he joined the service and entered the war. Clayton talks about his experiences in the military and his traveling around Europe. After returning to Oregon, he started working for Haney Trucking as a trucker. During his time driving, Clayton became the first person to ever pull a set of triples in a truck. When he got in an accident on a trucking route, he was put in a hospital for three months with a broken back. Haney, the owner of the company, promised him a continuing job and had him go back to school for a couple years. Clayton then worked as an attorney for two years then at Haney in sales, was promoted to sales manager, and slowly worked his way to the top as vice-president of the company. During his time in Forest Grove, he has also served as a city councilman and governor. Clayton had met his wife in Portland and tells the story of how he met her. Clayton’s daughter joins the interview about halfway through to fill in some of the stories. Clayton also had three sons, but has since lost all of them in the military. The daughter shows pictures to the interviewer of her trip to Mexico with her sister and some of the grandchildren. She talks about her time working and her experience with those of different cultures, specifically with a Japanese worker. Near the end of the interview, all three people go outside to the yard and discuss rose bushes and how Clayton continues working on the land to “keep him young.” The interviewer asks about a guy named Ray Hodges since he lives in his old house, and Clayton talks about what kind of person he was. The interviewer finishes the interview with mentioning the “table” that people gathered around to talk about Forest Grove and how things have changed. Clayton also mentioned a truck that he had given to Washington County Museum, but since they could not keep it, it was moved to Vernonia and was there at the time of the recording. There are a couple short pauses in the interview at 11:27 and 16:15.
