Oral history interview with Esther Azorr Rask

Collection

Identifier: SR166

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Esther Azorr Rask was conducted by Robert J. Gassner on September 10, 1988. The interview was one of a series conducted in 1988 by Oregon Historical Society volunteer Robert Gassner with members of the Syrian and Lebanese community in Portland, Oregon.

In this interview, Rask speaks at length about her family background, particularly the experience of her father, Albert Azorr, as a Syrian immigrant. She also talks about her family's connection to the Atiyeh family. She speaks about the Syrian-Lebanese community in Portland, Syrian-owned businesses, and the Syrian-Lebanese Social Club. She talks about the religious life of the Syrian and Lebanese community. She closes the interview by discussing her early life in Portland, including her education and social life.

Dates

Creation: 1988 September 10

Creator

Rask, Esther Azorr, 1928-2005 (Interviewee, Person)
Gassner, Robert J. (Interviewer, 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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

Biographical note

Esther Azorr Rask was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1928. She and Paul Joseph Rask were married in the 1950s; they later had seven children. She died in 2005.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (1 hr., 1 min., 12 sec.) + index (6 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Esther Azorr Rask conducted by Robert J. Gassner on September 10, 1988, as part of the Portland's Syrian/Lebanese-American Community series. Rask was a second-generation Syrian-American and was active in the Portland Syrian and Lebanese American communities.