Oral history interview with John L. Frewing

Collection

Identifier: SR2813

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with John Frewing was conducted by Judy Hartman on January 18, 1988. The interview was conducted as part of the Portland General Electric Centennial Oral History Series, which marked PGE’s 100th anniversary and was used in the writing of the book “Electrifying Eden.”

In the interview, Frewing discusses working in Portland General Electric’s nuclear division and working on the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant. He talks about the construction of the Trojan plant and shares his reasons for leaving the nuclear division. He discusses the competition between private and public electric utilities in the Pacific Northwest, PGE’s relationship with the people of Portland, and the company’s workplace culture. He closes the interview by talking about his hopes for an upcoming book about PGE, “Electrifying Eden.”

Dates

Creation: 1988 January 18

Creator

Frewing, John L. (John Lewis), 1940- (Interviewee, Person)
Hartman, Judy (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

John Lewis Frewing was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1940. He began working for Portland General Electric in the nuclear division in 1969, and worked on the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant. He was also an early member of the Oregon Environmental Council.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (47 min., 59 sec.) + transcript (16 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with John L. Frewing conducted by Judy Hartman on January 18, 1988, as part of the Portland General Electric Centennial Oral History Series. Frewing worked on the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant for Portland General Electric.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Craig Wollner, 1989 (Lib. Acc. 28418).

Existence and Location of Copies

Audio and transcript available online in OHS Digital Collections.

Related Materials

The Oregon Historical Society Research Library also holds photographs and documents relating to PGE in Coll 415, the Portland General Electric collection, and Org. Lot 151, the Portland General Electric photographs.

Publication note

This oral history interview was used in the writing of Electrifying Eden: Portland General Electric, 1889-1965, written by Craig Wollner and published in 1990 by the Oregon Historical Society Press.