Oral history interview with Mary E. Blossom

Collection

Identifier: SR 9416

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Mary E. Blossom was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on May 10, 1977, as part of the oral history program at the society's research library. A transcript is available.

In this interview, Blossom discusses her family background and early life in the Nob Hill neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. She describes the use and appearance of calling cards and speaks at length about prominent people and families who lived in Portland during the early 20th century. She also talks about her career as a librarian for the Multnomah County Public Library.

Dates

1977 May 10

Creator

Blossom, Mary E. (Mary Eveleen), 1892-1987 (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Mary E. Blossom. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Biographical note

Mary Eveleen Blossom was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1892. That same year, her family moved to San Francisco, California. She returned with her family to Portland around 1902. She later taught piano for several years, then lived in Europe until the mid-1930s. She earned a bachelor's degree in library science from the Pratt Institute, now the Pratt Institute School of Information, in New York, New York. She was a librarian at the Multnomah County Public Library in Oregon, and also served as president of the Pacific Northwest Library Association. She died in 1987.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (47 min., 13 sec.) + transcript (30 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Mary E. Blossom conducted by Charles Digregorio on May 10, 1977. Blossom was a librarian at the Multnomah County Public Library in Oregon in the mid-20th century.