Oral history interview with Nora B. Womack
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Nora B. Womack was conducted by Robert J. Gassner on September 6, 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, Womack discusses her family background and early life in St. Helens, Oregon, particularly the immigration of her parents from Lebanon to the United States in the 19th century. She talks about the Syrian and Lebanese community in St. Helens and in the Portland, Oregon, area. She briefly discusses working for the telephone company, as well as the work of her husband, Robert W. Womack, for the Jones Lumber Company. She then revisits the topic of her childhood and the Syrian and Lebanese community in St. Helens, including her memories of cooking Lebanese food. She talks about the activities of the Lebanese Ladies’ Society, as well as other Lebanese cultural groups in Oregon. She talks about how the independence of Lebanon affected the Lebanese community and about the contemporary issues affecting Lebanon. She discusses the charitable work of the Lebanese Ladies’ Society and talks about Lebanese cuisine. She closes the interview by discussing her siblings and their families, as well as her extended family.
Dates
- Creation: 1988 September 6
Creator
- Womack, Nora B. (Nora Baseel), 1905-1998 (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
Nora Baseel Womack, nee Nora Martha Baseel, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1905. She grew up in St. Helens and in 1933, she moved to Portland, where she worked for the telephone company. She and Robert William Womack were married in 1948. She died in 1998.
Extent
.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (45 min., 49 sec.) + index (5 pages))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with Nora B. Womack conducted by Robert J. Gassner on September 6, 1988, as part of the Portland's Syrian/Lebanese-American Community series. Womack was a Lebanese-American living in Portland, Oregon.
Existence and Location of Copies
General
Forms part of the Portland's Syrian/Lebanese-American Community series.
Subject
- Lebanese Ladies' Society (Or.) (Organization)
- Womack, Nora B. (Nora Baseel), 1905-1998 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to oral history interview with Nora B. Womack
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Stroman
- Date
- 2020
- 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.
- Sponsor
- Digitization funded by the James F. Miller Endowment.
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