Oral history interview with Ken Jernstedt
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Ken Jernstedt was conducted by Clark Hansen from February 23 to April 13, 1995, in Hood River, Oregon. In this interview, Jernstedt describes his family background and early life on a farm in Yamhill, Oregon, including growing up during the Depression and his education at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. He also discusses his service during World War II, including his pilot training in the U.S. Marines aviation corps; joining the First American Volunteer Group and flying with the Flying Tigers for the Chinese Air Force; and his experience fighting against Japanese forces in China. He also talks about working as a test pilot after the war and meeting Charles Lindbergh. He then discusses returning to Oregon in 1946; purchasing Hood River Bottling Works; and his experiences as mayor of Hood River. Jernstedt also discusses his experiences in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1967 to 1968, including his campaign, party politics, and Monte Montgomery as speaker of the House. He then talks about his experiences in the Oregon Senate from 1969 to 1984, including legislation on taxation, particularly a sales tax; revisions to the criminal code; his objections to the 1971 Bottle Bill; liquor laws; and campaign finance. Other topics include prison labor, field burning, the expansion of the Capitol building, wage increases, elections, and the state’s investments in apartheid South Africa. Jernstedt also speaks at length about Shree Bhagwan Rajneesh and his coming to the central Oregon town of Antelope in Jernstedt's legislative district. He also discusses working in the Senate with Ted Hallock, John D. Burns, Vic Atiyeh, Jason Boe, and John Kitzhaber. He also briefly talks about U.S. Senate Majority Leader Newt Gingrich.
Dates
- 1995 February 23-April 13
Creator
- Jernstedt, Ken (Kenneth Allen), 1917-2003 (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Biographical note
Kenneth Allen Jernstedt was born in Yamhill County, Oregon, in 1917. He attended Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. In 1941, he joined the U.S. Marines air corps and trained as a marine aviator, but before deployment, he was recruited into the American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force, also known as the Flying Tigers. He married his first wife, Laura Elliot, in 1943, shortly after returning from the war. He returned to Oregon to raise his family in 1946 and purchased Hood River Bottling Works, which he ran for the next 25 years. Laura Jernstedt died in 1960, and he married in 1962, to Genevieve Weder Carl. He served as mayor of Hood River from 1959 to 1961, and again from 1980 to 1991. He was a Republican and represented Hood River in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1967 to 1968; Hood River and Wasco counties in the Oregon Senate from 1969 to 1984; and Sherman, Gilliam, Wasco, Jefferson, and Wheeler counties from 1985 to 1988. He died in 2003.
Extent
.1 Cubic Feet (19 audiocassettes (21 hr., 10 min., 21 sec.))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with Ken Jernstedt conducted by Clark Hansen from February 23-April 13, 1995, in Hood River, Oregon, as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series. Jernstedt was an Oregon state representative and senator.
Existence and Location of Copies
General
Forms part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series.
- Alcohol -- Law and legislation -- Oregon
- Atiyeh, Victor
- Boe, Jason, 1929-1990
- Burns, John D. (John David), 1936-
- Campaign funds -- Law and legislation -- Oregon
- China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group
- Convict labor -- Law and legislation -- Oregon
- Crime -- Law and legislation -- Oregon
- Farm life -- Oregon
- Fighter pilots
- Gingrich, Newt
- Hallock, Ted
- Hood River (Or.)
- Hood River Bottling Works (Hood River, Or.)
- Jernstedt, Ken (Kenneth Allen), 1917-2003
- Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974
- Mayors -- Oregon -- Hood River
- Montgomery, Monte (Finis Firman), 1924-2016
- Oral Histories
- Oregon
- Oregon. Legislative Assembly
- Political Campaigns -- Oregon
- Republican Party (Or.)
- Sales tax -- Law and legislation -- Oregon
- Taxation -- Law and legislation -- Oregon
- Test pilots
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
- interviews
Creator
- Jernstedt, Ken (Kenneth Allen), 1917-2003 (Interviewee, Person)
- Hansen, Clark (Interviewer, Person)
- Title
- Guide to oral history interview with Ken Jernstedt
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Stroman
- Date
- 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- 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.
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