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.
An audio recording of an oral history of Bessie Helen Jones of Cornelius, born in 1896. She speaks about her life before coming to Oregon, including: early life in Minnesota; going to school on the frontier in North Dakota circa 1910; teaching country school; working as a dishwasher at Yellowstone National Park probably in the 1910s; living on a homestead in a sheep ranching area of Wyoming circa 1920; and various anecdotes about frontier life. The interview was recorded in front of an audience in 1987, possibly at Pacific University's Old College Hall. This oral history is accompanied by a transcript.
An audio recording of an oral history of Mary Windle about her family’s history reaching all the way back to the early nineteenth century. Windle first talks about her father’s side of the family, the Bennetts, who originally came from Cornwall, England, and emigrated to Canada in the early nineteenth century, and eventually moved to Washington. Windle inherited her grandfather’s sea chest that he had brought over from England. Then she talks about her mother’s side of the family, the Delanor-Sadds. They had settled in Cedar Canyon about the same time in the early nineteenth century. Eventually Windle’s family ended up in Cornelius, Oregon, where most of her relatives, including herself, attended school at Greenville. Windle talks about her childhood and remembers having a dog named Rover and riding ponies in long skirts. Windle recounts names and stories of her teachers at Greenville and her adventures into Forest Grove for shopping. She had started an annual family reunion that lasted for a while before it fizzled out. At about 20:00 of the recording, Windle shows her audience pictures of her parents and an uncle, as well as a book that came from her mother’s side of the family. The recording is really hard to hear in the beginning and throughout the first half with a popping in the sound and white noise.
An audio recording of a group conversation about local history in Forest Grove. The event was called Exploring Local History: A Sense of Place with Mary Cowan and Margaret Gilbert. The last 15 minutes of the recording is vintage (1930s or 1940s) music.
An audio recording of an oral history of Susanna “Sue” Harris and Edna Roberts recorded in about 1980 about their lives in Oregon. Harris was born in 1921 on a ranch in Oregon. She came to Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1977 looking for healthcare during a time that she was ill. She grew up in a country neighborhood attending a one-room schoolhouse with eight grades and one teacher. All of her life, Harris walked to school and in high school, she had to walk further to Vernonia. Church did not play a large part in her life because the nearest church was too far away to easily access it. She went to business college in 1956. Harris talks about her family and where her parents are from. Her mother was originally from Oregon while her father moved from Denmark but over the years living in Oregon, he lost his accent. Harris recounts how they spent their holidays and traditions including Christmas, the Fourth of July, and the last day of school. For entertainment, she attended dances, the theatre in Vernonia with her boyfriends, ate out in restaurants with her family, but there was no opportunity for her to play sports because she had to ride the bus home after school and was unable to stay after school. Work and school were her priorities. Each week, her mother made her clean her room and that was the only housekeeping chore that she had. She remembers listening to the radio frequently and then comments on the different transportation that she had been on in her life including a horse and buggy, automobiles, a ship, and an airplane. The Great Depression did not affect her family very much since they were self sufficient on their farm. Harris did not remember the Prohibition or World War One, but she did remember World War Two and the announcements over the radio of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the signing of the truce to end the war. Then Harris talks about her two marriages and how they were brothers and both left her widowed. She never had any children of her own, but had her husbands’ children. Her favorite change in the world was electricity and not having to carry kerosene lamps around any longer.
The interview with Harris ends at about 21 minutes and there is a pause in the recording before it switches to the interview with Edna Roberts. Roberts was born in Washington in 1891, but lived in Park Place, Oregon, in a country house next door to her combo school and church. She did not have any full-blooded siblings but had many half siblings from her father and stepmother. She talks about Memorial Day and the Fourth of July as holidays that she remembers. Roberts did not want to talk about what she did for entertainment, though she never danced or played horseshoe, and cards were not allowed in her house. She remembers going to the theatre for the first time in Oregon City and working in a restaurant for a while. As a teenager, she did housework and babysat for a mother of three and was given a lot of responsibility in that job. Roberts also talks about the different modes of transportation that she had been on in her life. She also does not remember the Great Depression but remembers World War One over World War Two because of a nephew that had died in the first war. She finishes with talking about her two marriages and how she also did not have any children of her own.
There were many older women in the room with the woman interviewer and Harris and Roberts. At times near the end, it is hard to distinguish who is answering all of the questions, Roberts or another woman. They all agreed on liking President Eisenhower when he ran for president and that a country neighborhood where everybody knows everybody is a nice way to live. The recording has a lot of white noise in the background throughout the entire tape, but the voices are clearly audible throughout. At about 3 minutes into the recording, a high pitched screech noise starts and gradually gets louder until it stops at about 29 minutes.
An audio recording of an oral history Hugh McGilvra, Lorna McGilvra, George Hoar, Eric Stewart, and Gladys Haynes on the history of Forest Grove. Part 2 of 2.
An audio recording of an oral history Hugh McGilvra, Lorna McGilvra, George Hoar, Eric Stewart, and Gladys Haynes on the history of Forest Grove. Part 1 of 2.
An audio recording of an oral history of Alberto Garcia, father of Virginia Garcia, a young child who died in 1975 in Washington County. Part 2 of 2. The recording continues from the end of Part 1, where Garcia was describing the inauguration of the clinic. He tells the story of a man by the name of 'Cortez' and some financial problems that were involved with this man (who was involved in the creation of the clinic). At about minute 11:45, Garcia tells more details of Virginia's death, sharing that the capsule that killed her was administered at home. They also share that Virginia's family nickname was 'Gina,' due to her younger brother being unable to pronounce her full name. Virginia is referred to as 'Gina' for most of the interview. At minute 20:30, Garcia talks of their decision to leave Oregon after Virginia's death and explains the various reasons why they did not return to after that. Garcia returns to the topic of the inauguration of the clinic and how they felt that day at minute 25:00. At minute 27:00 he talks about his big family, which now includes 12 grandchildren and a great-grandchild, and there is a brief pause at minute 30:35. He speaks of his wife's last days alive at around minute 31:45, and proceeds to share about his wife's life working in the fields. He ends the recording sharing that he is happy the clinic is helping the community, and shares of the many people he knew throughout his life as a migrant worker who did not have access to health care./////// Una grabación en audio de una historia oral de Alberto García, padre de Virginia García, una niña que murió en 1975 en el condado de Washington. La grabación continúa el tema del final de la Parte 1, donde García estaba describiendo la inauguración de la clínica. Cuenta la historia de un hombre con el nombre de 'Cortez' y algunos problemas financieros que estaban involucrados con este hombre (quien estuvo involucrado en la creación de la clínica). Alrededor del minuto 11:45, García cuenta más detalles de la muerte de Virginia, compartiendo que la cápsula que la mató fue administrada en casa. También comparten que el apodo familiar de Virginia fue 'Gina', debido a que su hermano menor no pudo pronunciar su nombre completo. Continúan refiriéndose a Virginia como 'Gina' durante la mayor parte de la entrevista. Al minuto 20:30, García habla de su decisión de abandonar Oregon después de la muerte de Virginia y explica las varias razones por las que no regresaron después de eso. García vuelve al tema de la inauguración de la clínica y cómo se sintieron ese día alrededor del minuto 25:00. En el minuto 27:00 él habla de su familia grande, que ahora incluye a 12 nietos ya un bisnieto, y hay una pausa breve en el minuto 30:35. Habla de los últimos días de vida de su esposa antes de morir alrededor del minuto 31:45, y procede a compartir acerca de la vida de su esposa trabajando en los campos. Concluye la grabación compartiendo que está contento que la clínica esté ayudando a la comunidad y comparte de los muchos trabajadores migrantes que conoció a lo largo de su vida que no tenían acceso a la servicios de salud.
