HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Series JCHS BoCC_Aug 25 PresentationCULTURE + HERITAGE
RESOURCES
August 25, 2025
ORAL HISTORIES
800+ UNIQUE RECORDINGS
REPRESENTATION ACROSS COUNTY
ORAL
HISTORIES
BOTH FULL-LIFE AND EVENT-SPECIFIC
Listen to the Collection:
•Online Collection: jchsmuseum.org/photos
•SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-136993209
ROBERT “BOBBY” GOW
CENTENNIAL
COLLECTION
HIGHLIGHT
•Recorded in 1986 & 1987.
•Born in Port Townsend in 1903 (d. 1989).
•His parents were Chinese immigrants who had located
to PT for work. He left to work in Alaska canneries at
14, eventually returning. He was clever and worked
many jobs where he could make a small profit.
•His oral history reveals his depth of experiences and a
look at early PT as a Chinese-American.
JOSEPHINE YARR
CENTENNIAL
COLLECTION
HIGHLIGHT
•Recorded in 1987 & 1988.
•Born in Chimacum in 1904 (d. 2007).
•Her parents were early farmers and pioneers in the
Chimacum Valley. She was a teacher and dairy farmer.
•Her oral history reveals life in Jefferson County and
Chimacum Valley, the challenges of rebuilding the
family farm, and revolutionizing dairy farming in
Chimacum.
Search terms and indexes have
been made on some of the
oral histories for easier
searching.
WILLIAM E. MATHESON SR.
CENTENNIAL
COLLECTION
HIGHLIGHT
•Recorded in 1987, 1988, and 1989.
•Born in Port Hadlock in 1928 (d. 2015).
•His father was an immigrant and his mother from the
Snohomish Tribe. He spent his entire life in Jefferson
County and was strongly engaged with the community.
•His oral history reveals life in the Tri-Area before
WWII, Fort Worden, and the general lifeways of
people in the Tri-Area.
Transcripts, like William
Matheson’s, are preserved in
both print and digital versions.
PANSY HOWEATTLE HUDSON
CENTENNIAL
COLLECTION
HIGHLIGHT
•Recorded in 1988.
•Born at La Push in 1909 (d. 1994).
•She was the great granddaughter of Chief Howeattle, one
of the Quileute Tribe’s signees of the Quinault Treaty of
1856.
•Pansy spent much of her childhood with her grandmother
and aunties, learning traditional skills and knowledge. At
age 13, she was sent to Chemawa, the off-reservation
boarding school in Salem, Oregon. She returned to the
reservation at 16 and was a witness to cultural adaptation
of the Tribe as Hwy 101 changed the landscape and access.
Find the collection
from our website via
the Research tab
Either keyword search above or browse by collection
Records with images
typically have a link to
the recording
Search terms of topics
discussed in oral history
Recording link
Listen to the Collection:
•Online Collection: jchsmuseum.org/photos
•SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-136993209
TARA MCCAULEY
Executive Director
tara@jchsmuseum.com
@JCHSMUSEUM
JCHSMUSEUM.ORG
ELLIE DIPIETRO
Director of Research + Collections
ellie@jchsmuseum.com