Oral history interview with Bonnie J. Mentzer
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Bonnie J. Mentzer was conducted by Heather Vogelson at Mentzer’s home in Portland, Oregon, as part of the United States District Court Oral History Project. The interview was conducted in two sessions, on July 26 and August 2, 2008. The sound quality is very poor.
In the first interview session, Mentzer discusses her family background and early life in the Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood of Portland, including her education. She talks about properties her family owned and people they rented to. She discusses her college experience at Oregon State College, now Oregon State University, and speaks extensively about studying at the Northwestern College of Law, now part of Lewis & Clark College. She also discusses jobs she held during her time as a student and her involvement in the Oregon Democratic Party. She then talks about her experiences as a woman in law school.
In the second interview session, Mentzer discusses her career as a lawyer. She discusses her work as an Oregon assistant attorney general and cases she worked on, including cases regarding child welfare. She then speaks about her work as a lawyer for the Multnomah County Legal Aid Service. She talks about her experiences practicing law as part of the Mississippi Civil Rights Program in 1970. She discusses her involvement with the Queen’s Bench, an organization for women lawyers in Oregon. She closes the interview by talking about the increase in the number of women entering the legal profession.
Dates
- Creation: 2008 July 26-August 2
Creator
- Mentzer, Bonnie J. (Bonnie Jean), 1928-2015 (Interviewee, Person)
- Vogelsong, Heather (Interviewer, Person)
- United States District Court of Oregon Historical Society (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Joint copyright held by the Oregon Historical Society, the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society, and the estate of Bonnie J. Mentzer. Use of this interview is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted: https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Biographical note
Bonnie Jean Mentzer was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1928. During World War II, she worked as a welder in the Kaiser shipyards in Portland. She attended Reed College, then transferred to Oregon State College (now Oregon State University) to complete her bachelor’s degree in 1953. In 1955, Mentzer earned a degree from the Northwestern College of Law. She served as an Oregon assistant attorney general and as a branch office supervisor and senior attorney for the Multnomah County Legal Aid Service. In 1998, she received the Oregon ACLU’s E.B. MacNaughton Civil Liberties Award for her work with the Mississippi Civil Rights Program. Mentzer died in 2015.
Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Mentzer in her interview; obituary, Oregonian, April 3, 2015 (accessed May 2, 2025), https://obits.oregonlive.com/us/obituaries/oregon/name/bonnie-mentzer-obituary?id=17116737; obituary in Reed Magazine, September 2015 (accessed May 2, 2025), https://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/in-memoriam/obituaries/september2015/bonnie-mentzer-1953.html.
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (4 audiocassettes (5 hr., 8 min., 25 sec.))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with Bonnie J. Mentzer, conducted by Heather Vogelson on July 26 and August 2, 2008, as part of the United States District Court Oral History Project. Mentzer discusses her experiences as a woman in law school, as well as her career as an Oregon assistant attorney general and as a lawyer for the Multnomah County Legal Aid Service.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the United States District Court of Oregon Historical Society, January 2019 (RL2019-001).
Existence and Location of Copies
General
An incomplete transcript (21 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Subject
- Democratic Party (Or.) (Organization)
- Mentzer, Bonnie J. (Bonnie Jean), 1928-2015 (Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the oral history interview with Bonnie J. Mentzer
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Stroman
- Date
- 2024
- 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
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org