Oral history interview with Margaret M. Cabell

Collection

Identifier: SR 9390

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Margaret M. Cabell was conducted at Cabell’s home in Portland, Oregon, on March 4, 1976. The interview was part of a series conducted by Oregon photographer Marian W. Kolisch to accompany portraits of Oregon artists, businesspeople, and politicians.

In this interview, Cabell discusses her family background and early life in Portland. She talks about her early interest in gardening, and about her early education. She shares her memories of buying tamales from street vendors in Portland. She talks about living in London, England, during World War I, and about her marriage to Vernon Alexander Cartwright. She discusses her role in the founding of the Portland Garden Club, and speaks at length about her involvement with the organization. She also talks about her involvement with the Pittock Mansion, about her work with the Portland Japanese Garden, and about items of clothing she donated to the Oregon Historical Society. She speaks at length about her interest in bonsai trees. She closes the interview by discussing entertaining guests at her home.

Dates

1976 March 4

Creator

Cabell, Margaret M. (Margaret Malarkey), 1894-1985 (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the estates of Margaret M. Cabell and Marian W. Kolisch. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright - https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Biographical note

Margaret Malarkey Cabell, nee Margaret Malarkey, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1894. In 1914, she and Vernon Alexander Cartwright were married; they later had two children, then divorced in 1928. In 1931, she remarried to Henry Failing Cabell. She was a charter member of the Portland Garden Club, and later served as secretary and president of the club's board. She also served as director of the board of the Garden Club of America, and was involved in the founding of Portland's Japanese Garden, as well as a Portland chapter of the Bonsai Society. She was a member of the Junior League and a charter member of the Town Club. She died in 1985.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Cabell in her interview.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (1 hr., 1 min., 49 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Margaret M. Cabell conducted by Marian W. Kolisch on March 4, 1976. Cabell discusses her involvement with the Portland Garden Club, the Pittock Mansion, and the Portland Japanese Garden.