Oral history interview with Sam Teeny and Minerva Teeny

Collection

Identifier: SR167

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Sam Teeny and Minerva Teeny was conducted by Robert J. Gassner on September 8, 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, Sam Teeny discusses his family background and early life Zahle, Lebanon, and Portland, Oregon. He talks about members of the Syrian and Lebanese community in Portland, and about his social life. He also talks about speaking English as a second language. He discusses his involvement in the Lebanese/Syrian softball league. The Teenys talk about the history of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Portland and the Syrian Lebanese American Club. They describe the effect that Lebanese independence had on the Syrian and Lebanese community in Portland. Sam Teeny then talks about Syrian and Lebanese businesses in Southeast Portland, particularly the businesses operated by his relatives. In closing, Minerva Teeny describes a traditional Lebanese wedding and Sam describes the various businesses he's owned and his youth ministry work.

Dates

Creation: 1988 September 8

Creator

Teeny, Sam (Samuel Joseph), 1924-2016 (Interviewee, Person)
Teeny, Minerva, 1929- (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

Samuel Joseph Teeny was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1924, but spent most of his childhood in Zahle, Lebanon, returning to the United States at age 13. Minerva Ghossain was born in Lebanon in 1929. Sam Teeny served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and several years later, in 1949, he and Minerva Ghossain were married in Lebanon. The couple returned to Portland, where Sam Teeny drove a taxi and ran Teeny's Department Store and Menlo Shoes. In 1964, the Teenys opened MidEast Bakeries, now called Teeny Foods, where they sold pita bread. Sam Teeny died in 2016.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (1 hr., 1 min., 5 sec.) + index (5 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Sam Teeny and Minerva Teeny conducted by Robert J. Gassner on September 8, 1988, as part of the Portland's Syrian/Lebanese-American Community series. The Teenys owned and operated MidEast Bakeries, now called Teeny Foods, where they sold pita bread.