Oral history interview with Becky Johnson
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Elizabeth Johnson was conducted by Rick Harmon in three sessions from June 25, 1986, to June 19, 1987, and by Jim Strassmaier in two additional sessions, on March 30 and March 31, 1993, at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon. The interview was conducted as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series, a project focused on the experiences of people involved in Oregon government. A transcript of the interview is available.
In this interview, Johnson discusses her family background and early life in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Bellevue, Ohio, including her family’s religious faith, and life under Prohibition and during the Depression. She talks about her college experience at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachsetts. She shares her experience as a woman in the Navy during World War II, serving with the WAVES, particularly her time stationed in Portland and Astoria, Oregon. She speaks at length about the family background and early life of her husband, Oregon State Representative Sam Johnson. She talks about their marriage, about living in Redmond, Oregon, and about Sam Johnson’s career with his family’s timber business. She also discusses the S. S. Johnson Foundation, which funds programs for nursing students. She talks about her involvement in Oregon politics, particularly her role on the State Board of Education. She also talks about Sam Johnson’s time in the Oregon House of Representatives, and as mayor of Redmond. Johnson closes the interview by talking about her family life.
Dates
- 1986 June 25-1993 March 31
Creator
- Johnson, Becky (Elizabeth Avery Hill), 1913-2007 (Interviewee, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright held by the Oregon Historical Society. Licensed under Creative Commons, BY-NC-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Biographical note
Elizabeth "Becky" Avery Johnson, nee Hill, was born in Indiana in 1913. Her family moved to Bellevue, Ohio, when she was an infant. She graduated from Miami University in Ohio in 1935 with a bachelor’s degree in education, and subsequently from Wellesley College with a master’s degree. She taught English at high schools in Lima, Ohio, and in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, until 1942. She joined the Navy during World War II, serving in the WAVES beginning in 1943. While in the service, she was stationed in Portland, Oregon, where she met Sam Johnson, who later became an Oregon state representative. They were married in 1944 and had two children. She was a member of several organizations, including the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, the Teachers Standards and Practices Commission, and the Oregon Historical Society. She died in 2007.
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (15 audiocassettes (13 hr., 32 min., 11 sec.) + transcript (306 pages))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with Becky Johnson conducted by Rick Harmon and Jim Strassmaier from June 25, 1986, to March 31, 1993, as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series. Johnson, who was the wife of Oregon State Representative Samuel S. Johnson, discusses her family background; her experiences during the Depression, Prohibition, and in college; her experiences serving with the WAVES during World War II; her husband and his work in the timber industry and as an Oregon legislator; and her own involvement in Oregon politics and government, including her role on the State Board of Higher Education.
Existence and Location of Copies
General
Forms part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series.
General
A handwritten index (10 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
- Depressions -- 1929 -- United States
- Educational law and legislation -- Oregon
- Forests and forestry -- Chile
- Forests and forestry -- Oregon
- Gout
- Johnson, Becky (Elizabeth Avery Hill), 1913-2007
- Johnson, Sam (Samuel Spencer), 1911-1984
- Legislators -- Oregon
- Lumber trade -- Oregon
- Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) -- Students
- Oral Histories
- Oregon
- Oregon -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Prohibition -- United States
- Republican Party (Or.)
- United States. Naval Reserve. Women's Reserve
- Women -- Political activity -- Oregon
- interviews
- oral histories (literary genre)
Creator
- Johnson, Becky (Elizabeth Avery Hill), 1913-2007 (Interviewee, Person)
- Harmon, Rick (Interviewer, Person)
- Strassmaier, James (Interviewer, Person)
- Title
- Guide to the oral history interview with Becky Johnson
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Stroman
- Date
- 2019; revised 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
- Sponsor
- This project is supported in whole or part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Oregon.
Revision Statements
- 2024-02-23: Revised to include session-by-session description of the the interview.
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