Oral history interview with Walter E. Hazlett
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Walter E. Hazlett was conducted by Jim Strassmaier in February 1974. In this interview, Hazlett discusses his early life in Portage and Willmore, Pennsylvania, including his courtship with Naomi Ruth Long (also known as Ruth Hazlett), as well as working in coal mines. He also talks about working in the shipyards in Washington during World War II. He speaks about Ruth Hazlett, including her family background and their marriage. He describes his experience during the 1948 Vanport flood and talks about its aftermath at length. He speaks further about Ruth Hazlett. He speaks more about working in coal mines in Pennsylvania, including participating in labor strikes. He talks about his children, their careers, and his relationship with them. He then gives a timeline of the places he lived; talks about injuries he sustained in the workplace and in a car collision; and revisits the topic of his marriage. He also talks about his and Ruth Hazlett’s family educational background. He closes the interview by revisiting the topic of working in coal mines in Pennsylvania and his experience during the Depression.
Dates
- Creation: 1974 February
Creator
- Hazlett, Walter E. (Walter Earl), 1905-1976 (Interviewee, Person)
- Strassmaier, James (Interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Walter E. Hazlett. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/.
Biographical note
Walter Earl Hazlett was born in Portage, Pennsylvania, in 1905. In 1930, he and Naomi Ruth Long were married; they later had three children. Hazlett worked in coal mines in Pennsylvania, and briefly worked in Detroit, Michigan. During World War II, the couple moved to Bremerton, Washington, where Hazlett worked in the shipyards. After the war, they moved to Vanport, Oregon. After the 1948 flood that destroyed Vaport, they moved around Oregon, living in Mollala, Lebanon, Boring, St. Helens, and Portland. Hazlett died in 1976.
Extent
.1 Cubic Feet (2 audiocassettes (2 hr., 16 sec.))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with Walter E. Hazlett conducted by Jim Strassmaier in February, 1974. Hazlett discusses his marriage to Naomi Ruth Long and his experience during the 1948 Vanport flood.
Existence and Location of Copies
General
Incomplete transcript (8 pages), summary (14 pages), and a poem by Hazlett are available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Subject
- Title
- Guide to oral history interview with Walter E. Hazlett
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Stroman
- Date
- 2021
- 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