Oral history interview with Laurence Pratt

Collection

Identifier: SR 9487

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Laurence Pratt was conducted by Linda S. Dodds in Portland, Oregon, on December 15, 1981, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program. At the time of the interview, Dodds’ name was Linda S. Brody. Eugene E. Snyder was also present and occasionally contributed interview questions.

In this interview, Pratt discusses his early life in Portland, Oregon, including working in his brother’s print shop in downtown Portland and attending the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. He shares the reasons why he dropped out of school as a child, talks about finishing his education at the age of 22, and discusses his experiences at Reed College. He then talks about his career as a professor of English at Pacific University and a teacher at Portland public high schools. He closes the interview by discussing his poetry.

Dates

1981 December 15

Creator

Pratt, Laurence, 1888-1985 (Interviewee, Person)

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, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

Luther Laurence Dowrick Pratt was born in Jetmore, Kansas, in 1888. Soon after, his family relocated to the Pacific Northwest, and he grew up in Portland, Oregon. In 1910, he and Susie B. Smith were married; they had two children and later divorced. In 1918, he graduated from Reed College. He worked at the paper mill in Camas, Washington for one year, then became a professor of English at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. After five years, he became an English teacher at Portland public high schools, and retired in 1954. He wrote several books of poetry, including “A Saga of a Paper Mill.” He died in 1985.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Pratt in his interview.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (58 min., 57 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Digitized audio recording of an oral history interview with Laurence Pratt conducted on December 15, 1981. Pratt discusses his career teaching English at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, and as a high school teacher in Portland, Oregon, as well as his work as an author and poet.