Oral history interview with Nan M. Brewster

Collection

Identifier: SR 9568

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Nan M. Brewster was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on June 25, 1976, as part of the oral history program at the society’s research library.

In this interview, Brewster speaks at length about her Montgomery and Gill family background, and talks about the history of the J.K. Gill Company. She discusses her early life in Portland, including her recreational activities and her social life. She talks about her education, about her career as a columnist and illustrator for Portland newspapers, and about her volunteer work for health organizations. She also talks about her marriage to William L. Brewster. She closes the interview by describing vacations at Seaview, Oregon.

Dates

1976 June 25

Creator

Brewster, Nan M. (Frances Ann Montgomery), 1903-2005 (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 Nan M. Brewster. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Biographical note

Frances Ann “Nan” Montgomery Brewster, nee Frances Ann Montgomery, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1903. She studied art at the Museum Art School, which later became the Pacific Northwest College of Art. In 1931, she and William Lewis Brewster, Jr., were married; they later had two children. She died in 2005.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (54 min., 39 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Nan M. Brewster conducted by Charles Digregorio on June 25, 1976. Brewster discusses the Gill and Montgomery family histories, and the history of the J.K. Gill Company in Portland, Oregon.