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Billie H. Strmiska shipbuilding memorabilia

 Collection
Identifier: Coll 939

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of newspaper clippings, publications, correspondence, images, and ephemera gathered by Billie H. Strmiska relating to her career as a shipyard welder during World War II in Portland, Oregon. A substantial amount of the collection concerns Strmiska's participation in welding contests in 1943, culminating in a national championship held at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi. These include newspaper clippings; issues of the Bo's'n's Whistle, a shipyard publication, with mentions about Strmiska; contest rules; photographs (prints and digitized images); correspondence; the transcript of a radio program that included an interview with Strmiska; and ephemera. Other materials in the collection consist of a letter certifying that Strmiska completed 130 hours of training in welding; a photocopy of a letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation manager Albert Bauer, which Bauer forwarded to Strmiska; a commemorative publication for Commercial Iron Works; an issue of The Victory Fleet that discusses women shipyard workers; and additional issues of the Bo's'n's Whistle.

Dates

  • 1942-1945
  • Majority of material found within 1943 March-June

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical Note

Hermina Henrietta “Billie” Strmiska, nee Cocek, was born in Penelope, Texas, in 1908. In 1927, she married Edward Strmiska. The couple spent the Great Depression in Oregon, Texas, and Washington. At the beginning of World War II, they returned to Oregon, and Billie Strmiska worked as a welder for the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation and for Commercial Iron Works in Portland. In 1943, she won the final round of a welding contest among women shipyard workers at the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation. She then competed at a national competition for women welders held on May 28, 1943, at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where she was defeated by Ingalls welder Vera Anderson.

After the war, the Strmiskas ran a berry farm near Oregon City. Billie Strmiska died in 1993.

Sources: Oral history interview with Billie H. Strmiska, SR 9085, in Northwest Women's History Project records and interviews, Coll 883, Oregon Historical Society Research Library; articles in the Oregonian and Oregon Journal, 1943; vital records on Ancestry.com.

Extent

0.23 Cubic Feet (1 slim legal document case)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Clippings, publications, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera relating to the shipbuilding career of Hermina "Billie" H. Strmiska (1908-1993) during World War II. Strmiska worked as a welder in Portland, Oregon, and participated in women's welding contests, including a national championship held in Pascagoula, Mississippi, which she lost to Vera Anderson.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged in rough chronological order.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Digitized photographs on compact disc require specialized equipment to access. Contact library staff for assistance.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Arnold W. Churchek, May 2004 (Lib. Acc. 25441).

Related Materials

An oral history interview with Strmiska is included in the Northwest Women's History Project records and interviews, Coll 883, Oregon Historical Society Research Library, which is available online in OHS Digital Collections at https://digitalcollections.ohs.org/sr-9085-oral-history-interview-with-billie-h-strmiska.

Separated Materials

Name sash that Strmiska wore at national welding competition was separated to Museum collections, Oregon Historical Society.

Title
Guide to the Billie H. Strmiska shipbuilding memorabilia
Status
Completed
Author
Jeffrey A. Hayes
Date
2023
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:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240