Tape 1, Side 1, through Tape 2, Side 1. In the first interview session, conducted on January 25, 2011, Nickum discusses her family background and early life in Portland, Oregon, including her experience of being hit by a car as a child, and talks about jobs she worked while in high school. She shares her memories of life in Oregon during World War II. She talks about her experience studying secretarial sciences at the University of Oregon in Eugene, and about her reasons for pursuing a career as a secretary. She talks about the secretarial jobs she worked after graduating, about working for the Davidson & Nikoloric law firm in Portland, and about her involvement with the Oregon Democratic Party. She describes how she became secretary for Senator Richard Neuberger.