Oral history interview with Elston L. Ireland

Collection

Identifier: SR9244

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Elston L. Ireland was conducted by Curtis Johnson on November 21, 1980, at Ireland’s home in Portland, Oregon. The interview was conducted as part of the Drive-in Restaurants of Portland Oral History Project, a series of interviews that Johnson conducted about the history of Portland drive-ins, with a particular emphasis on Tik-Tok and Yaw's Top Notch.

In this interview, Ireland discusses how he got involved in the restaurant business during his early life in Pasadena, California. He talks about opening and running restaurants serving toasted sandwiches, particularly Ireland's Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, and about competing with drive-in restaurants, particularly Yaw's Top Notch. He speaks about the popularity of hamburgers; discusses government regulation of restaurants; and talks about unionization. He closes the interview by discussing the effect of World War II on the restaurant business; using infrared light to cook sandwiches; and the cost of running a restaurant.

Dates

Creation: 1980 November 21

Creator

Ireland, Elston L. (Elston Longmoor), 1900-1986 (Interviewee, Person)
Johnson, Curtis (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

Elston Longmoor Ireland was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1900. He moved to Oregon with his family in 1910 and attended high school in Pasadena, California. He attended the University of Oregon. In 1931, he and Mary C. Peattie were married; they later had two children. He was a restaurateur affiliated with a total of 14 restaurants in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, over the course of his career, including Ireland's Restaurant in Portland. He died in 1986.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (59 min., 38 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Elston L. Ireland conducted by Curtis Johnson on November 21, 1980, as part of the Drive-in Restaurants of Portland Oral History Project. Ireland was a restaurateur affiliated with a total of 14 restaurants in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, over the course of his career, including Ireland's Restaurant in Portland.