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Oral history interview with George Oberg

 Collection
Identifier: SR 11293

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

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.

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).

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

Contact:
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Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240