Oral history interview with Paul T. Gillette

Collection

Identifier: SR822

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Paul T. Gillette was conducted by Jim Strassmaier on February 9, 1983. An unidentified woman was also present and occasionally contributed interview questions.

In this interview, Gillette discusses his family background and early life in Ellston, Iowa, including life on his grandparents’ farm. He talks about teaching high school in South Dakota and shares his memories of the Depression. He discusses his marriage to Jennie Maude Maule, his association with football player Frank Leahy, and working for the Kresge Company, which later became Kmart, in Buffalo, New York. He reflects on the places he lived and shows photographs to the interviewers, while discussing the effects of aging on his appearance and health. He then revisits the topic of his family background and early life in Ellston, Iowa. He talks about his religious affiliation, coaching basketball at a school in South Dakota, and attending the University of South Dakota. He closes the interview by revisiting the topic of working for the Kresge Company.

Dates

Creation: 1983 February 9

Creator

Gillette, Paul T. (Paul Traverse), 1902-1992 (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 Paul T. Gillette. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/.

Copyright to photographs has not been determined, and use may require authorization from copyright holders.

Biographical note

Paul Traverse Gillette was born in Ellston, Iowa, in 1902. He attended the University of South Dakota. He worked for the Kresge Company, which later became Kmart, and ran one of their stores in Buffalo, New York, for 20 years. In the 1940s, he and Jennie Maude Maule were married. He moved to Oregon in 1959, and owned the Ben Franklin store in Northeast Portland. He died in 1992.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (1 hr., 34 min., 38 sec.) + 2 photographs (black and white))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Paul T. Gillette conducted by Jim Strassmaier on February 9, 1983. Gillette worked for the Kresge Company, which later became Kmart, and ran one of their stores in Buffalo, New York, for 20 years.