This oral history interview with Lorna Grabe was conducted by Bob Zybach at Grabe’s home in Corvallis, Oregon, on December 28, 1989. The interview was conducted as part of the Soap Creek Valley History Project, which was conducted by the Oregon State University Research Forests to better understand the history, ecology, and culture of the Soap Creek Valley in Benton County, Oregon.

In this interview, Grabe discusses her family background and early life in Iowa City, Iowa. She then talks about her marriage to Don Grabe and about his career, and she describes how they came to live in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1968. She describes life in the Soap Creek Valley area, including other families in the area and recreational activities, particularly bird watching. She speaks at length about her involvement in the Soap Creek Schoolhouse Foundation, including the history of the foundation, the preservation work it has sponsored for the schoolhouse, and other members of the foundation. She also speaks about the use of wildflowers in its landscaping and discusses the story of a ghost haunting a barn in the area. She closes the interview by talking about the Soap Creek Schoolhouse Foundation’s accomplishments and plans for the future, and by discussing the changes in the Soap Creek Valley from 1968 to the time of the interview in 1989.