Butch Berquist, Ed Phillips, Jim MacMillan and Scott Harwood oral history interview on the Tualatin Valley Harmony Masters (TVHM) and Forest Grove’s barbershop history, recorded July 21, 2025 at the Friends of Historic Forest Grove Old Train Station Museum in Forest Grove, Oregon. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.
Tim Schauermann oral history interview on the Gay Nineties and Barbershop Ballad Contest, recorded June 26, 2025 at the Friends of Historic Forest Grove Old Train Station Museum in Forest Grove, Oregon. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.
Rosanna Steiner oral history interview on the Gay Nineties and Barbershop Ballad Contest, recorded June 12, 2025 at the Friends of Historic Forest Grove Old Train Station Museum in Forest Grove, Oregon. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.
Myra Beeler, Laura Frye, Jerry Frye, Jane Romig, and Peggy Alexander oral history interview on the Gay Nineties and Barbershop Ballad Contest, recorded July 11, 2025 at the United Church of Christ in Forest Grove, Oregon. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.
Mary Easton oral history interview on the Gay Nineties and Barbershop Ballad Contest, recorded July 2, 2025 at the Friends of Historic Forest Grove Old Train Station Museum in Forest Grove, Oregon. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.
Don Skinner oral history interview on the Gay Nineties and Barbershop Ballad Contest, recorded June 19, 2025 at the Friends of Historic Forest Grove Old Train Station Museum in Forest Grove, Oregon. Born in 1948, Skinner grew up in Forest Grove and served in the Vietnam war as a Photographic Laboratory Specialist in the Army before working for and retiring from Tektronix. He and his wife Cheryl are responsible for putting together the Old Train Station Museum as it is today. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.
David and Mary Jo Morelli oral history interview on Forest Grove and Friends of Historic Forest Grove history, recorded July 31, 2025 at their Forest Grove residence. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.
Carol Drew oral history interview on the Gay Nineties and Barbershop Ballad Contest, recorded June 20, 2025 at her residence in Forest Grove, Oregon. Born in 1939, Drew has lived in Forest Grove since the 1950s. A prominent member of the local community, she graduated from Pacific University in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.
A Fourth of July parade float near Forest Grove, Oregon circa 1910-1914. A note found with the original describes this as "Hillside Girls Float," indicating that the girls were from the Hillside neighborhood northwest of Forest Grove. A pennant on the front of the float that is faintly visible appears to say, "Hillside." One girl standing on a platform at the center of the float wears a sash that reads "Oregon." American flags and stars-and-stripes fabric decorate the float, which is built on a wagon drawn by a team of horses. Swags of greenery are draped over the wagon and the girls hold large bouquets of ferns and leaves, with crowns of flowers on their heads. For another view of the same float, see image PUA_MS154_048.
A Fourth of July parade float near Forest Grove, Oregon circa 1910-1914. A note found with the original describes this as "Hillside Girls Float," indicating that the girls were from the Hillside neighborhood northwest of Forest Grove. A pennant on the front of the float that is faintly visible says, "Hillside." One girl standing on a platform at the center of the float wears a sash that reads "Oregon." American flags and stars-and-stripes fabric decorate the float, which is built on a wagon drawn by a team of horses. Swags of greenery are draped over the wagon and the girls hold large bouquets of ferns and leaves, with crowns of flowers on their heads. For another view of the same float, see image PUA_MS154_017.
A black and white photograph featuring the finalists of the Original All-Northwest Barbershop Ballad Contest in 1961. A handwritten note on the back states: "Top 8 Quartets - 1961." The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph featuring the Agony Four with their 1952 Original All-Northwest Barbershop Ballad Contest trophy. The Agony Four were the contest's champions in 1950, 1951, and 1952. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph featuring an unknown couple posing in elaborate Gay Nineties attire sometime within the first few years of the Gay Nineties festival. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph taken in the first couple of decades of the Gay Nineties festival featuring Dave and Shirley Jones in costume and posed in front of Marsh Hall. A handwritten note on the back identifies the couple. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph by Allan J. de Lay featuring the Gay Nineties window display of Paterson's Furniture Store during the Gay Nineties festival in 1961. A handwritten inscription on the back reads: "Another Pattersons' furniture [sic] window 1960."
A black and white photograph featuring two teenagers in Gay Nineties swimming attire in the late 1940s or 1950s. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph featuring Forest Grove Mayor Lester Hughes inspecting Marvin Emerson's muttonchops during the Gay Nineties festival in the 1950s or early 1960s. A typewritten inscription on the back reads: "Lester Hughes, former mayor, admires Marvin Emerson's neatly trimmed beard before barbershop. Muttonchops and handlebar soupstrainers." An additional handwritten inscription on the back titles the photograph "a hair-raising sight." The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph featuring Big Tool and Little Tool, the 1956 Barbershop Ballad Contest's special guests. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph by Allan J. de Lay featuring a clown with a handlebar mustache riding a motorcycle in the 1961 Gay Nineties parade. The photograph was taken on a section of Pacific Avenue that was destroyed by a fire in 1982.
A black and white, staged photograph taken during the Gay Nineties festival in the 1950s or 1960s featuring two school children playing with paper boats in a schoolyard pond. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph taken during the Gay Nineties festival in the 1950s or 1960s featuring school children dressed up in Gay Nineties attire strolling through the schoolyard. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph taken during the Gay Nineties festival in the 1950s or 1960s featuring presumably a highschooler tipping his hat in the presence of a classmate. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
A black and white photograph featuring a group of five elementary schoolboys dressed up in barbershop attire during the Gay Nineties festival. The photograph was likely taken in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The photographer is unknown, but it may have been Allan J. de Lay, a staff photographer for The Oregonian who took numerous photographs of the event over the years.
