Tape 1, Side 1, through Tape 3, Side 2. In the first interview session, conducted on January 7, 1995, Stranahan discusses his family background in Roslyn, Washington, and his early life in Portland, Oregon. He talks about his father’s career as a checker on the Portland docks, shares his memories of living in the Albina neighborhood, and discusses his early education in Portland schools. He also talks about his early awareness of politics and class divides, and shares his memories of the Depression. He speaks about the 1934 waterfront strike, in which his father took part; and about his awareness of the labor movement during the 1930s. He describes what the waterfront strikes accomplished for workers. He speaks about the development of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). He then talks about writing for the Northwest Labor Press in the early 1940s, and about his marriage to Lois Redding in 1940.