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Identifier
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PUA_OH_54
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Title
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Wid Bleything oral history
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Description
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An oral history audio recording of Willard "Wid" Bleything, former Dean of the School of Optometry at Pacific University. In addition to serving as Dean, Bleything was also a Professor of Optometry and earned three degrees at Pacific: an undergraduate degree in 1951, an O.D. in 1952, and an MS in 1954. He then joined the Air Force and later, the Air Force Reserves, retiring with the rank of Colonel.
This oral history centers on Bleything's experiences as a student at Pacific University from 1947-1954 and his experiences living in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1950s. Topics include: starting as a student at Pacific in 1947; his participation in the Gamma Sigma fraternity; hazing of freshmen; memories of Religion Professor Gertrude Boyd Crane; veterans coming to Pacific University under the G.I. Bill; memories of Math Professor Andrewa Noble; joining the Air Force; his experiences with an African American roommate at Pacific (possibly referring to the first African American male alumnus of Pacific University, William Hilliard); moving to Alabama in the 1950s and seeing terrible racial discrimination there; witnessing Martin Luther King's early activism and the Rosa Parks bus boycott in Montgomery.
This oral history was recorded in 2016 as part of the Pacific University "Boxer Voices" program, coordinated by Pacific magazine editor Jenni Luckett. It is accompanied by a typed transcript.
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Date: Year(s)
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2016
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Date: Display
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2016
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Extent
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1 audio file (14 min.)
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Copyright
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English
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
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Format
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MP3
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PDF
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Language
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English
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Contributor
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Luckett, Jenni
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Type
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Sound
PUA_OH_54.mp3 