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Identifier
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PUA_MS166_007
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Title
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Rosanna Steiner oral history recording
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Description
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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.
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In the interview, Steiner shares her memories of the festival and contest from the 1970s to the early 1990s. She recalls the community's involvement, including school activities, the parades, and the Ballad Town Belle contest. Steiner discusses nostalgia and the more lighthearted aspects of the festival, as well as how the event brought the community together. She also discusses the town's changes, including the loss of old houses and the rise of new businesses. She also discusses her involvement with Friends of Historic Forest Grove.
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The Gay Nineties was an annual festival in Forest Grove, Oregon, centered around a theme of nostalgia for the 1890s decade. The event, which ran from 1947 through the 1990s, featured a parade downtown, residents dressing up in 1890s-themed costumes for the celebrations, local businesses decorating their window displays, and the crown jewel of the event, the Original All-Northwest Barbershop Ballad Contest, which earned Forest Grove the nickname “Ballad Town U.S.A.”
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This is one of a collection of oral history interviews on the Gay Nineties Festival and the Barbershop Ballad Contest at the Pacific University Archives. This recording is accompanied by a transcript, which was made through AI in 2025 with manual corrections.
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Date: Year(s)
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2025
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Date: Display
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June 12, 2025
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Extent
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1 video file (35 min.)
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Copyright
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http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
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Contributor
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Griego, Elle
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Format
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MP4
