Ruth L. Van Beber oral memoir

Collection

Identifier: SR 2083

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral memoir by Ruth L. Van Beber was recorded from October 12, 1992, to May 7, 1993. The memoir was recorded in twelve sessions. Van Beber recounts her life story, including her childhood in Durango, Colorado; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and El Paso, Texas. Among the anecdotes she shares are stories about meeting President William Howard Taft, her experience in a Salvation Army Home for Wayward Girls, seeing Pancho Villa in El Paso, hitchhiking across the country during the Depression, homesteading in Oregon, running cafes in Alaska and Washington, and the 1964 earthquake in Alaska.

Dates

1992 October 12-1993 May 7

Creator

Van Beber, Ruth L. (Ruth Leota), 1902-1994 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this sound recording is held by the estate of Ruth L. Van Beber. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright, https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Biographical note

Ruth Leota Van Beber, nee Leota Ruth Goff, was born in Durango, Colorado, in 1902. Her family moved to New Mexico and later to El Paso, Texas. As an adult, she lived in Alaska, Southern California, Washington state, and New York, and she eventually moved to Southern Oregon, where she homesteaded. She was married several times, and also went by the surnames of Garrison, Stevenson, and Carter. She died in 1994.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (26 audiocassettes (37 hr., 4 min., 54 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral memoir by Ruth L. Van Beber recorded from October 12, 1992 to May 7, 1993. Van Beber recounts her life story, including her childhood; experience in a Salvation Army Home for Wayward Girls; hitchhiking across the country during the Depression; homesteading in Oregon; running cafes; and the 1964 earthquake in Alaska.