Oral history interview with Alice Tomkins Fee, 1985 February 8
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Alice Tomkins Fee was conducted by Rick Harmon in Portland, Oregon, from February 8 to March 8, 1985. In this interview, Fee discusses her family background and early life in Portland and Cascade Locks, Oregon, including her education, her memories of World War I, and the lack of career options available to women. She discusses attending the Oregon Normal School in Monmouth, including her teachers and social life, and studying music at the University of Oregon. She then talks about her career as a teacher and principal at schools in Malin, Pine Grove, and Hood River, Oregon. She also discusses the numerous health issues she’s had over the years. She speaks about working as a typist in the clerk’s office for the U.S. District Court of Oregon, then as a stenographer for naturalization and bankruptcy cases, and then as a law clerk. She discusses the judges she worked with, the Pioneer Courthouse, and the procedures of the court. She speaks at length about her husband, Judge James Alger Fee, including his family background, early life, and judicial career, as well as cases he presided over and her work as his secretary. She discusses the circumstances surrounding Judge Fee’s heart attack in 1959 and his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. She closes the interview by talking about her activities since her husband’s death, including traveling, cooking and reading.
Dates
- Creation: 1985 February 8
Creator
- From the Collection: Fee, Alice Tomkins (Alice Emma Tomkins), 1897-1995 (Interviewee, Person)
- From the Collection: Harmon, Rick (Interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Collection: .1 Cubic Feet (9 audiocassettes (8 hr., 24 min., 52 sec.) + transcript (200 pages))
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org