Interview conducted by Michael Grice.

Location:  Location Unknown.

Woodrow E. Wilson was born in Dallas, Texas on January 13th in 1924. His mother placed him and his siblings in an all-black orphanage home in Gilmer, Texas where he stayed until he was fourteen. At seventeen he moved in with his half-brother’s family in Portland Oregon. He joined the Navy in 1942 and joined the Union Pacific Railroad in Portland when he returned to civilian life in 1946. Wilson describes working first as a fourth cook, then third cook, and finally second cook, and describes the duties of each level. An unknown speaker in the recording tells stories about waiters making fun of him as a dishwasher on the train. Wilson talks about working at a hospital for four years and about working on special trains and his involvement with the association of chefs in Portland. He relays passenger feedback about the food served on the train. Wilson also discusses the pros and cons of railroad work and recalls getting trapped on a train in a 1948 snowstorm.