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Identifier
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PUA_MS166_008
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Title
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Tim Schauermann oral history recording
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Description
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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.
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In the interview, Schauermann shares his memories of the festival and barbershop contest. Schauermann was born in Fort Morgan, Colorado in 1944 before moving to Forest Grove in 1949. He initially majored in engineering at Oregon State University before transferring to Pacific University to major in mathematics. A prominent businessman in the local community, Schauermann discusses local businesses that no longer exist in Forest Grove, like French's Menswear. He reflects on the festival decline, pointing to changing dynamics like reduced volunteerism and the rise of corporate America and alternate forms of entertainment. Schauermann highlights the immense sucess of the Concours d'Elegance, owing its success to the high energy and spirit of organizer Al Stevens.
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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 26, 2025
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Extent
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1 video file (1 hr. 12 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
