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Oral history interview with Wanda L. Krueger

 Collection
Identifier: SR9247

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Wanda Lee Krueger was conducted by Curtis Johnson on November 13, 1980, at Krueger’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, Krueger discusses working as a car-hop at drive-in restaurants around Oregon. She names the many drive-ins she worked at and talks about why she preferred working as a carhop. She describes her work as a carhop at Yaw’s Top Notch in Portland, Oregon, from 1966 until 1978. She speaks at length about interacting with customers, her co-workers, and the hazards she faced on the job. She discusses the popularity of Yaw’s Top Notch, their menu, and the decline of drive-ins. She talks about problems with customers, about tipping, and about the uniforms at Yaw’s. She closes the interview by revisiting the topics of interacting with customers and coworkers, the many drive-ins she worked at around Oregon, and the reasons she preferred working as a carhop.

Dates

  • 1980 November 13

Creator

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

Wanda Lee Mutschler was born in Elk City, Oklahoma, in 1933. She came to the Pacific Northwest when she was 14 years old. She worked as a waitress in drive-in restaurants in several cities across Oregon. In 1950, she and Harold Wright Cassity were married; they later had two children. She was known as Wanda Lee Cassity until their divorce in 1979. In 1966, she began working as a carhop at Yaw’s Top Notch in Portland, Oregon. She worked at Yaw’s for 12 years. In 1980, she and Donald Paul Krueger were married; they later divorced. She was known as Wanda Lee Krueger until her marriage to Hugh Harrison Harvey in 1992. She died in 2014.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (2 audiocassettes (1 hr., 11 min., 59 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Oral history interview with Wanda L. Krueger conducted by Curtis Johnson on November 13, 1980, as part of the Drive-in Restaurants of Portland Oral History Project. Krueger worked as a waitress in drive-in restaurants in several cities across Oregon.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Curtis Johnson, February 1981 (Lib. Acc. 28441).

General

Forms part of the Drive-in Restaurants of Portland Oral History Project.

General

Handwritten index (3 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Creator

Title
Guide to oral history interview with Wanda L. Krueger
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

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240