Oral history interview with George Oberg
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with George Oberg was conducted by Heather Burmeister and Brian Aune on February 18, 2009, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. The interview was conducted as part of a senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University with instructor Pat Young. A transcript of the interview is available.
In this interview, Oberg discusses his early life on a farm in Hazel Dell, Washington, and talks about his involvement in the Portland gay community in the 1960s. He shares the origins of the Second Foundation, the first gay support organization in Oregon; talks about his work as president of the foundation; and speaks at length about the work of the organization. He also talks about working as a teacher to visually impaired young adults. He speaks about his life with his partner, Gary, talks about his partner’s death from AIDS, and shares his memories of the effect of the AIDS epidemic on the gay community in Oregon and Washington. He closes the interview by speaking further about the work of the Second Foundation, including its newsletter, “The Fountain.” He closes the interview by sharing a story about a company he worked for, in which the company discovered it had been polluting the Columbia River.
Dates
- Creation: 2009 February 18
Creator
- Oberg, George, approximately 1938- (Interviewee, Person)
- Aune, Brian (Interviewer, Person)
- Burmeister, Heather Jo, 1971- (Interviewer, Person)
- Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest (Sponsor, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is 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
George Oberg was born around 1938 and grew up on a farm in Hazel Dell, Washington. In 1958, he graduated from Clark College. Oberg was the founding president of the Second Foundation, Oregon’s first official gay support organization.
Extent
763 Megabytes (2 audio files (WAV, 1 hr., 15 min., 39 sec.) + transcript (36 pages))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with George Oberg conducted by Heather Burmeister and Brian Aune on February 18, 2009, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. Oberg was the founding president of the Second Foundation, Oregon’s first official gay support organization.
Technical access
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Pat Young, May 2012 (Lib. Acc. 27620).
General
Forms part of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest (GLAPN).
Subject
- Second Foundation of Oregon (Organization)
- Oberg, George, approximately 1938- (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the oral history interview with George Oberg
- 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