The Marion County Historical Society started collecting oral history interviews in the 1950s, often broadcasting the the interviews on local radio stations. During the early 1990s under the leadership of Jackie Schulte, the society recorded and produced a number of interviews under the project name: Voices of the Valley. Today the Willamette Heritage Center is continuing this tradition, both collecting new stories and digitizing the old. Click on the icons below to listen to (or read) excerpts of some of these interviews and hear voices from Mid-Valley’s past.
Minnie Aline, WHC 2017.095.0003
Minnie Aline shares the rhyme her mother and her friends used to chant about Asahel Bush.
Digital Recording. WHC 2017.025.0003
Agnes Booth. WHC Collections 2012.049.0100 detail.
Agnes Christina Wadworth Booth (1901-1988) was a teacher and school administrator. A graduate of the Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University) and the University of Oregon, she taught and was a principal in Salem schools for 17 years and served as the superintendent of Marion County Schools for another 25. In this interview she discusses stories related to the history of local schools.
Cassette tape recorded from original reel to reel magnetic tape. WHC X2012.031.0012
Luella May Patton Charlton. WHC 2010.028.0004
Mrs. Charlton (1898-2007) was born in Salem and taught piano for many years of her century+ life. In this clip above she remembers prohibition rules passing in Salem (1913). Also: Hear her talk about her husband’s career in the Salem Police Force and her memories of the White House Restaurant.
From VHS original. WHC 2010.028.0004.
Jim and Phyllis Cloyd. WHC 2010.028.0005
James Keen Cloyd (1921-2008) was born in Jefferson. In high school he worked at the Dencer Prune Drier on South Liberty Road south of Salem. He married Portland native Phyllis Wilhelmina Martinsen Cloyd (1923-2014) in South Carolina in 1945 before the couple returned to settle in Salem.
VHS Recording. WHC 2010.008.0005
Helen Roberta Breithaupt Heath Crossland. 2010.028.0015d
Helen Roberta Breithaupt Heath Crossland (1910-2000) moved to Salem in 1922 when her father started a wholesale flower business. For nearly 40 years she worked as a florist in Salem, first at her family’s shop, and later as owner and operator of Heath Florist Shop. In this excerpt she describes her family’s experiences in the business, and how it has changed.
Digitized VHS Recording. WHC 2010.028.0015d.
Paul Ennor
Mr. Ennor’s parents bought the Arctic Circle on State Street in Salem during the 1960s. He recalls the restaurant and the drive-in culture in Salem during the time.
From Digital Recording. WHC 2015.003.0001.
Lee Eyerly. WHC 1998.034.0007
Leaman “Lee” Ulric Eyerly (1892-1963) moved to Salem in 1919. An aviator at heart, his design for a flight simulator soon took on new life as an amusement park ride. His company, Eyerly Aircraft, would go on to design and sell amusement park rides the world over. In this interview he talks about his growing up in Fulton County Illinois and Benchland, Montana.
Type written manuscript created by high school student John Wesley for his history class at North Salem High School, 1960. WHC 2010.021.0077
Dr. John Spaulding Griffith, 1947. From Salem High School Yearbook, WHC collections 2002.020.0011.
Dr. John Spaulding Griffith grew up on Court Street, in the area now known as the Court-Chemeketa Historic District. This excerpt from a longer interview explores Dr. Griffith’s childhood memories of the 1935 Oregon State Capitol fire and the sights, sounds and stories of his youth.
Oral History Interview conducted by the Willamette Heritage Center Staff February 24, 2016. WHC 2016.006.0003.
Portrait of Homer Harrison, originally published in the Oregon Statesman 28 June 1966.
Homer Harrison (1880-1971) worked for over half a century on the Salem, Oregon streetcar and later bus lines. In this interview with Ed Culp he discusses his experiences as a conductor, motorman and other reflections on Salem’s transportation history.
Cassette tape recorded from original reel to reel magnetic tape. WHC X2012.031.0013
Hattie Bratzel Kremen, 1996. WHC Collections 2010.28.20c
Hattie Bratzel Kremen (1908-1996) served as a court reporter for the Nuremberg Trials. She was elected as Marion County District Attorney in 1956, becoming the first female DA in Oregon.
Interview conducted by Don Upjohn. 2010.28.20c.
Kam Sang Kwan, 2015 at his restaurant in Salem, Oregon. WHC 2015.001.0004.
Kam Sang Kwan was a fixture in the Salem restaurant scene. His namesake restaurant served up meals for over 35 years. In this interview he explains in his own words how he got started in the restaurant industry at age 11 in Macau, his journey to the U.S., his unique seating management system, and his work ethic.
Interview conducted for the WHC’s exhibit Eating Salem in 2015. WHC 2015.001.0004.
Gerry Lewin. WHC 2007.001.1122.
Mr. Lewin worked as a photojournalist in the Mid-Willamette Valley for nearly three decades after immigrating from Germany. He talks about how he got his start in journalism at Salem’s Capital Journal and his philosophy on photography.
From digital recording. WHC 2016.032
Ruth DeSart Lively. WHC Collections 2013.051.0003
Mrs. Lively grew up working hops. In this clip she talks more about life in camp on a Hops Ranch.
Digital Recording. WHC 2013.051.0003
Wyona Sandau, interviewed 2016. WHC Collections 2016.004.
Wyona Sandau worked as a mender at the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. Hear how she met her husband Roray.
From digital recording. WHC 2016.004.
Kathy Saviers. WHC 2019.023.0001 screenshot.
Kathy Saviers is a former Vice President of Lightning Powder Company (Salem) and head of the Forensic Division of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (formerly located in the Sheriff’s substation in Gervais). In this interview she gives insight into the process and methodology of fingerprinting and other forensic investigation in our region.
Digital Recording, 2019.023.0001
Agnes Gilbert Shucking, WHC 2004.010.0256
Ms. Shucking (1883-1969) was named Salem’s first citizen in 1957. In this clip, recorded at the 1958 Salem First Citizen’s banquet, she describes the changes she witnessed in Salem during her lifetime.
From record. WHC 2012.070.0001.
Portrait of Della Bradley Stamps, c. 1900. Willamette Heritage Center 0063.001.0059.001.61
Della Bradley Stamps (1884-1971) remembers growing up in Woodburn, Oregon during the turn of the 20th Century.
From audio cassette tape of recording made for KOAC broadcast, WHC X 2012.031.0025.
Russell Stinnett being interviewed in 2015. WHC Collections 2015.001.0009
Russell Stinnett started working in the kitchen at the Oregon Room, a restaurant in Salem’s Meier & Frank Department Store in 1973. He tells of the sights, sounds and tastes of the restaurant.
From digital recording. WHC 2015.001.0009.
Suie Lai Sun (1894-1983). Photograph Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society 0135G011
Suie Lai Sun was born in Salem in 1894. He was interviewed by Keizer-based journalist Ann Lossner in 1980, and asked about his remembrances of the Qing Ming ceremonies that were held annually at Salem’s Pioneer Cemetery.
Reading from printed interview conducted by Ann Lossner as published in Looking Back
George R. Suniga, WHC 2016.086
Salem Builder and Developer George R. Suniga (1938-2017) shares his keys to success and the life experiences that brought him to Salem in the mid-1950s.
From digital recording. WHC 2016.086.
Haruko Tsukamoto. WHC Collections 0082.020.0001
Haruko Tsukamoto was born in Salem in 1926. In 1942, her family was forcibly removed to the Tule Lake Incarceration Camp because of their Japanese heritage. She wrote a letter back to her old classmates at Salem High School, to tell them about her experiences.
Letter published in the Salem High School Clarion newspaper in 1942. WHC Collections X2013.011.0022. Learn more about Haruko’s story here.