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 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 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 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 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 Jim Reeher. The interview took place at the Reeher homestead next to the Tillamook Forestry Center. Part 2 of 2.
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 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.
