Oral history interview with Ida Mae Shepherd
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Ida Mae Shepherd was conducted by Greta Smith Wisnewski from August 14 to October 26, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the interview was conducted using Zoom, a video conferencing software. Shepherd was nominated by Oregonians to be interviewed as part of a program by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library to enhance and expand the range of voices in the library's collections. Interviewees are selected from the pool of nominees by a staff committee appointed by the historical society's executive director. The interview was conducted in five sessions.
In this interview, Shepherd discusses her family background and life in the Albina area of Portland, Oregon, particularly the Eliot neighborhood. She describes her experiences living in Vanport during World War II, including her escape from the 1948 flood that destroyed Vanport. She speaks at length about her involvement with Albina Fair Share, and also shares her thoughts about the mass displacement of Black residents during the construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s and the expansion of Legacy Emanuel Hospital in the 1970s.
Dates
- Creation: 2020 August 14-October 26
Creator
- Shepherd, Ida Mae, 1929-2022 (Interviewee, Person)
- Wisnewski, Greta Smith (Interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Portions of the interview have been restricted by Ida Mae Shepherd, and the audio and transcript have been redacted. The remainder of the interview recording and transcript are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Biographical note
Ida Mae Shepherd, nee Gross, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1929. Her parents divorced when she was around 13, and when her mother remarried, the family moved to Vanport. After the 1948 flood that destroyed Vanport, they briefly lived in Guild’s Lake. She married three times, first to Theodore Cassidy Powell, with whom she had one child. They divorced, and she briefly remarried, to Curley Massey, in 1958. In 1964, she married Emmett Edwin Shepherd, and they later had three children. Ida Mae Shepherd worked in housekeeping and janitorial services, and was active in Albina Fair Share. After her retirement in the late 1980s, she volunteered for multiple organizations in Portland, including as a tutor at Boise-Eliot/Humboldt School. She died in 2022.
Extent
1.31 Gigabytes (5 audio files (WAV, 6 hr., 7 min., 32 sec.) + transcript (192 pages))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with Ida Mae Shepherd conducted by Greta Smith Wisnewski from August 14 to October 26, 2020. Shepherd discusses her life in the Albina area of Portland, Oregon, particularly the Eliot neighborhood, as well as her involvement with Albina Fair Share.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Immediate Source of Acquisition
RL2022-011, February 2022.
Subject
- Shepherd, Ida Mae, 1929-2022 (Person)
- Albina Fair Share (Organization)
- Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church (Portland, Or.) (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the oral history interview with Ida Mae Shepherd
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Stroman
- Date
- 2022
- 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.
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