This oral history interview with Nancie P. Fadeley was conducted by Linda S. Dodds at the Capitol building in Salem, Oregon, on April 2, 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.

In this interview, Fadeley discusses her marriage to Ed Fadeley, talks about their reasons for moving to Eugene, Oregon, in 1954, and speaks about raising a family while working as an elementary school teacher. She discusses Ed Fadeley’s career as a lawyer and his service in the Oregon State Legislature, and talks about working as his secretary. She then discusses her own service in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1971 to 1981, including the challenges she faced as a woman campaigning for office, and how attitudes towards women in politics changed during her legislative career. She talks about legislation she worked on regarding women’s rights, including her role in Oregon’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and legislation to improve the social safety net for women. She shares her experience of studying journalism at the University of Oregon in the 1970s, and discusses her failed 1980 re-election campaign. She closes the interview by talking about her role in the passage of SB 100, Oregon’s landmark land-use legislation.