Washington County Heritage Online
Not a member yet
20818 research outputs found
Sort by
Mary Easton oral history recording
No full textMary Easton oral history interview on the Gay Nineties and Barbershop Ballad Contest, recorded July 2, 2025 at the Friends of Historic Forest Grove Old Train Station Museum in Forest Grove, Oregon. Elle Griego, the interviewer, was a History and French undergraduate student at Pacific University from 2022-2026.Easton was born in 1934 in Scappoose, Oregon. In the interview, Easton shares her life story, describing her childhood in the Forest Grove area, working as a teacher, running the Ace Hardware store with her family, and traveling overseas. She reflects on the changes in Forest Grove over the years, including the decline of the festival, the number of local businesses, and community involvement.The Gay Nineties was an annual festival in Forest Grove, Oregon, centered around a theme of nostalgia for the 1890s decade. The event, which ran from 1947 through the 1990s, featured a parade downtown, residents dressing up in 1890s-themed costumes for the celebrations, local businesses decorating their window displays, and the crown jewel of the event, the Original All-Northwest Barbershop Ballad Contest, which earned Forest Grove the nickname “Ballad Town U.S.A.”This is one of a collection of oral history interviews on the Gay Nineties Festival and the Barbershop Ballad Contest at the Pacific University Archives. This recording is accompanied by a transcript, which was made through AI in 2025 with manual corrections
Boxer II second cast, packaged for shipping
No full textAn alternate cast of the "Boxer II" bronze statue by sculptor Pat Costello, sitting in a box surrounded by packing paper. Pat Costello was commissioned by Pacific University students in 1982-83 to create Boxer II as a replica of the original "Boxer" statue, the mascot of Pacific University, which had been missing since 1969. Costello made two casts of Boxer II. The first cast was given in 1983 to the students who had commissioned the work. While the first cast of Boxer II went missing from public view in the mid-2000s, the second cast was kept as a yard ornament in one of the Costello family members' homes. The Costellos donated this second cast of Boxer II to Pacific University in the Spring of 2025. This photograph was taken while the statue was being transported from their home to Pacific
Boxer, Boxer II and Boxer III in a wagon
No full textThree versions of Boxer, the statue that serves as Pacific University's mascot: the original bronze Boxer, which Pacific first acquired in the late 1890s (gold-colored, center); the second casting of Boxer II, created in 1983 (back, grey-green); and Boxer III, created in 2018 (front, lighter grey). The original Boxer had been missing between 1969-2024, when it was finally returned to the university. The first casting of Boxer II had been missing since the mid-2000s, but a second casting had just been returned to Pacific a few weeks before this event. The three statues are on a cart, being transported to their first-ever appearance together at a gathering of Gamma Sigma fraternity alumni on June 29, 2025. The photograph was taken by Martha Calus-McLain (Class of 2023), Pacific's Alumni Director
Boxer's torso, right side
No full textA photograph of the right side of the torso of the original "Boxer" statue, taken on February 25, 2024. This image shows: Boxer's side, covered in scales and lines representing magical flames that are commonly associated with Chinese depictions of qilins; extensive welding scars at the statue's neck and leg joints; and many etched names and initials of students who formerly possessed the statue. Some of the names that are visible include: Lynn Abraham (Class of 1951); Ellis Thompson; Herberts; and RWP.Boxer is a bronze statue in the form of a qilin, which was the inspiration for Pacific University's mascot. There was a tradition of students stealing, hiding and fighting over the original Boxer statue from the early 1900s through the 1960s. This image is one of a series of photographs that documented the physical appearance of the statue when it was returned to the university in 2024, after being hidden for the previous 55 years
Marissa Williams oral history recording
Full text linkAn audio recording of an oral history of Marissa Williams, Pacific University Class of 2019, recounting memories of her time at Pacific as a college student. The main topic of the interview is how she perceived diversity, equity and inclusion issues at Pacific during the late 2010s, including: her work with the Center for Gender Equity (CGE) and its director, Martha Rampton; the controversy around CGE's posters advertising The Vagina Monologues play in 2018; and the beginning of the Student Multicultural Center. Other topics covered briefly in the recording include: becoming a Gender and Sexuality Studies minor; participation in Delta Chi Delta and Student Senate; serving as a First Year Seminar (FYS) student mentor; memories of campus after the election of President Trump in 2018; and how her experience at Pacific helped her current work in advocacy in the 2020s.This is one of a group of recordings made during a reunion in October, 2024. The recording is accompanied by a transcript
Boxer statue on the day of its return, 2024
No full textA photograph of the original "Boxer" statue taken on the day when it was returned to Pacific University on February 21, 2024. This image shows Boxer's left side, with a clear view of the damage that the statue had sustained in past "Boxer Tosses", as well as dozens of marks that past alumni had etched into its side. The statue is flanked by family photographs in the place where it was posed, in the home of alumni John Howard (Class of 1972) and JoAnn Howard (Class of 1974) in Ojai, California.Boxer is a bronze statue of a qilin which was the inspiration for Pacific's mascot. There had been a tradition of students stealing, hiding and fighting over the original Boxer statue since the early 1900s. This image, taken in the home of an alumnus, is one of a series of photographs that documented the physical appearance of the statue
Boxer's spine, right side
No full textA photograph of the right side of the spine of the original "Boxer" statue, taken on February 25, 2024. This image shows: Boxer's spine, topped with a crest of scales that have been dented through past damage; lines representing magical flames that are commonly associated with Chinese depictions of qilins; and many etched names and initials of students who formerly possessed the statue.Boxer is a bronze statue in the form of a qilin, which was the inspiration for Pacific University's mascot. There was a tradition of students stealing, hiding and fighting over the original Boxer statue from the early 1900s through the 1960s. This image is one of a series of photographs that documented the physical appearance of the statue when it was returned to the university in 2024, after being hidden for the previous 55 years
Boxer's neck and mouth
No full textA photograph of the neck and mouth of the original "Boxer" statue, taken on February 25, 2024. This image is angled so that the viewer can see inside of Boxer's mouth, showing the tongue, teeth, and a hollow cavity. Also visible are: the remains of the hinge under Boxer's chin, which originally allowed the head to open; extensive damage including a hole extending from the roof of the mouth through Boxer's right cheek; numerous welding marks; and many etched names and initials of students who formerly possessed the statue.Boxer is a bronze statue in the form of a qilin, which was the inspiration for Pacific University's mascot. There was a tradition of students stealing, hiding and fighting over the original Boxer statue from the early 1900s through the 1960s. This image is one of a series of photographs that documented the physical appearance of the statue when it was returned to the university in 2024, after being hidden for the previous 55 years
Donna Maxey Easter oral history recording
Full text linkAn audio recording of an oral history of Donna Maxey Easter, Pacific University Class of 1970, recounting memories of her time at Pacific as a college student. The main topic of the interview is what her everyday experiences were like as a very social and involved African American woman in college from 1964-1970. Specific topics include: her first impressions of Pacific; becoming Secretary of the Freshman Class; socializing and dating; winning competitions such as the Omega Epsilon Phi Sweetheart contest; being loud and social as a library worker and being fired for it; what it was like coming to Pacific from Jefferson High School in Portland; being naive about sex and feeling embarrassed in class; memories of professors such as Dr. Prince (English), Dr. Roberts (Biology), and Dr. McVicker (Education); learning to study as a freshman for her Elementary Education degree and getting help from her dorm mates; having to dissect a frog and a rat in Biology; becoming a Boxerette; the value of a Pacific education; reactions to her interracial marriage when she and her husband Steve Pomerantz, who was white and Jewish, got married while they were students at Pacific; the mixed feelings she had about joining the Black Student Union because she wanted her husband to be able to join too; protests during the Vietnam War; being reprimanded as a Student Teacher for attending a protest during a school day and Pacific's lack of support for her at the time; working in the cafeteria and interacting with Auntie Edna (who would later be the Hawaiian Club advisor); the many other campus jobs that she held; receiving financial aid due to her father's poor health; dealing with prejudice from a staff member in Pacific's financial aid department; recalling how her father had been unable to get work as a teacher in Portland because he was Black; and working in Pacific's kitchen and watching a baker who always smoked while making pastries.This is one of a group of recordings made during a reunion in October, 2024. The recording is accompanied by a transcript
Boxer's spine, left side
No full textA photograph of the left side of the spine of the original "Boxer" statue, taken on February 25, 2024. This image shows: Boxer's spine, topped with a crest of scales that have been dented through past damage; lines representing magical flames that are commonly associated with Chinese depictions of qilins; and many etched names and initials of students who formerly possessed the statue.Boxer is a bronze statue in the form of a qilin, which was the inspiration for Pacific University's mascot. There was a tradition of students stealing, hiding and fighting over the original Boxer statue from the early 1900s through the 1960s. This image is one of a series of photographs that documented the physical appearance of the statue when it was returned to the university in 2024, after being hidden for the previous 55 years