Oregon150

working for the phone company in 1926

marguerite dewitt
portland

by Marguerite Dewitt
Portland, OR
Ella moved here from Canada when she was 5 yrs old in 1912. In 1926 she applied for work at the phone company (At&T). They came out to her house to make sure she was from a ‘good’ family. She was hired and to insure that their operators were [...]

American Women in History

Liz Anderson
Champoeg

by Liz Anderson
Salem, OR
As Oregonians spend this year celebrating the 150th birthday of our State, it is only fitting that we recognize the citizens who have helped preserve our history.
The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution acknowledges the outstanding contributions of women through their Women in American History Project. DAR Chapters [...]

Susan Lindsay’s Oregon Story

Susan Lindsay
Portland

Listen to Susan Lindsay’s Oregon Story, as told to Jill Severson on Statehood Day, February 14th, 2009.

That remarkable group of women

Katherine Keniston
Oregon

submitted by Katherine Keniston
Portland, OR

“To me, as we grow, we don’t have to necessarily be the first, or the biggest; we simply need to stay concerned for the poor and vulnerable and we need to meet the needs of people today. It is about how good we can be – in the service to others.” [...]

Children’s Oregon Roots

Jean Hunsaker
Willamette Valley

by Jean Hunsaker
Salem, OR
My three children, Ron, Brett and Diane Hunsaker, have roots that go deep into Oregon’s history as a result of having had six great, great, great grandparents and four great, great, grandparents who crossed the Oregon Trail in 1846 and 1847. The two ancestors who came in 1846, [...]

Bethel Elementary School, Salem, Oregon – A Historic Farm Family Community

Kitri McGuire
Salem

by Kitri McGuire
Tigard, OR
When we were in grade school, my little brother Alex and I constantly (but unsuccessfully) tried to convince our parents to let us walk the half mile to school from our house. It was the 1980’s and there was no need for us to walk along busy State Street, a few [...]

The Little Heroine

William Minshall
Mount Hood

by William Minshall
Colverdale, OR
My grandaunt, Della A. (Watson) Montgomery (1876-1967), scaled Oregon’s highest mountain twice in the 1890s. Some of my most pleasant childhood memories were of visits to my Aunt Della’s home. Whenever entering her house, I would stop in the hallway to study a painting hanging on the wall [...]

MY MOTHER — ALICE CLARK TOMLIN AND HOW SHE BECAME A TEACHER

Carla Tomlin Mundt
Umatilla County and Wasco County

by Carla Tomlin Mundt
Albany, OR

My mother, a 2nd generation Oregonian, was born in 1901 in Ukiah, Oregon. Her first full term of school was at age 10; in 1919 she was in eighth grade. By this time her mother had had 15 births. In 1923 at age 22 she was the only graduate from [...]

James C Deaver, My Great Grandfather

Cynthia Whitney
My home

by Cynthia Whitney
Mill City, OR
The following is a excerpt from a interview my Great Grandfather gave to a Mr. Lockley from the Parkrose Enterprise in 1933
“After working for my uncle for about three months I learned that they were making up a train to go to Oregon, I didn’t know anything about Oregon, but I [...]

White Family History

Steve White
Union Hill

by Steve White
Aumsville, OR
My great, great grandfather Thomas Jefferson White came accross the Oregon trail from Indiana with his wife Rachel in 1861 and stayed that winter in LaGrande. In 1862 they continued on to Marion county homesteading 640 acres on the south side of Hwy 214 at the intersection with Drift Cr. Rd. [...]

Bridge of Nations - Lewis & Clark Expo

Don Alanen
Portland 1905

by Don Alanen
Beaverton, OR
Jack Larsen, my grandfather came to America at the age of 12. He was a foreman on the Bridge of Nations. They called him “pile-driver Jack” - he operated a steam pile-driver building many of the railroad trestles in the area. He found time to be a bouncer at the Erickson saloon. [...]