Oral history interview with John P. Meynink

Collection

Identifier: SR600

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with John P. Meynink was conducted by Kellie A. Roche from June 6-20, 1990. The interview was conducted in two sessions. A microphone issue during session one caused audio distortion to Meynink’s answers.

In the first interview session, conducted on June 6, 1990, Meynink discusses his family background and early life in the Netherlands, including his education, dairy farming, and his favorite childhood memories. He also talks about his experience as a civilian in Europe during World War I. He then discusses his reasons for immigrating to the United States in 1923, finding work in Hood River, Oregon, and learning English as a second language. He talks about some of the jobs he held in Oregon, including owning several Texaco gas stations; and about starting a family later in life with Wanda Marie Meynink.

In the second interview session, conducted on June 20, 1990, Meynink discusses his reasons for immigrating to the United States in 1923, his journey to New York, and adjusting to life in the United States, including learning English as a second language. He talks about some of the jobs he held in Oregon, including owning the State Hotel in Astoria and an ice cream shop in Newberg. He discusses his marriage to Wanda Marie Meynink and talks about becoming an accountant later in life. He then talks about working as a tour guide in downtown Portland after retiring in the 1970s and his interest in cast iron architecture. He closes the interview by discussing the changes in Portland over the decades, as well as return trips to the Netherlands beginning in the 1960s and the changes he noticed in that country since he left in 1923.

Dates

Creation: 1990 June 6-20

Creator

Meynink, John P. (John Phillip), 1899-1995 (Interviewee, Person)
Roche, Kellie A. (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 Phillip Meynink, nee Johannes Phillippus Meynink, was born in Oosthuisen, Netherlands, in 1899. In 1923, he immigrated to the United States, where he first settled in Hood River, Oregon. In 1939, he and Wanda Marie Rohrbough were married; they later had two children. He had a variety of careers over his lifetime including running an ice cream shop, becoming a candy peddler, owning several Texaco gas stations, and becoming an accountant at the end of his working life. He retired in 1972. During his retirement, he worked as a tour guide in downtown Portland. He died in 1995.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (5 audiocassettes (3 hr., 39 min., 43 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with John P. Meynink conducted by Kellie A. Roche from June 6-20, 1990. Meynink immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands in the early 20th century, and he eventually settled in Oregon.