Interviewer: Gary Blanchard
Interview Date: Fall 2008
Location: Summit, Oregon
Duration: 1:43:38
In this interview, Richard and Dorothy Gassner discuss their respective upbringings in rural Oregon, their marriage, and their reflections on how the world has changed since they were children. Richard briefly discusses his experience attending a Catholic school as a child, before moving on to his participation in World War II. He notes that he never saw combat, as he caught malaria shortly after being deployed to Guadalcanal. He was then sent to recover in Washington, where he met Dorothy.
Dorothy also briefly discusses her childhood, before sharing her perspective on the couple’s meeting in Washington. She explains that young women from surrounding areas often visited the military bases in Washington to attend dances and meet young soldiers. She recalls their wedding and shares her memories of the honeymoon, which involved a visit to the Oregon Coast and stays with both her and Richard’s families.
The couple then talk about their children. They make particular note of how different their children’s youth was compared to their own, especially with respect to available technologies. Dorothy explains that when she was a girl her family didn’t have electricity or other amenities mostly absent rural areas until the later twentieth century, whereas her own children never experienced life in that way.
The interview next turns to Richard’s experiences in the logging industry in Oregon. He describes different logging techniques and tools that were popular throughout his career, reflects on his first job in logging at Marvin Ellis’ sawmill, and provides anecdotes about the difficulties of loading and unloading logs onto trucks and moving dirt. Dorothy and Richard then recall when their children began to help with the logging work, mentioning that some of their sons decided to make their own career in the logging industry themselves.
Finally, the interview closes out with a discussion of the Gassner’s farm and their experiences as agricultural workers. They reminisce about raising animals including sheep, rabbits, and pigs, and make note of the challenges they faced while working on their farm. Richard and Dorothy also describe the different forms of equipment they use on their farm, and highlight their memories of the transition from manual to mechanized farming, particularly when it came to hay production and butchering animals.
Richard Gassner was born in Stayton, Oregon in 1924. He spent his childhood working on his family’s farm, before joining the Marine Corps after he turned eighteen. He married Dorothy Mae Dallas in 1946. After leaving the Marine Corps, he entered into a career in logging, running his own company and also working for Starker Forests until his retirement in 2003. He and his wife also owned and worked on their family farm in Summit, Oregon. He died in 2009.
Dorothy Gassner was born in White Salmon, Washington in 1927. She was the oldest of seven children, and raised on a farm. She married Richard Gassner shortly after graduating from high school, and move to Oregon with him, where she worked on their farm and raised their four children. She passed away in 2023.
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Dorothy also briefly discusses her childhood, before sharing her perspective on the couple’s meeting in Washington. She explains that young women from surrounding areas often visited the military bases in Washington to attend dances and meet young soldiers. She recalls their wedding and shares her memories of the honeymoon, which involved a visit to the Oregon Coast and stays with both her and Richard’s families.
The couple then talk about their children. They make particular note of how different their children’s youth was compared to their own, especially with respect to available technologies. Dorothy explains that when she was a girl her family didn’t have electricity or other amenities mostly absent rural areas until the later twentieth century, whereas her own children never experienced life in that way.
The interview next turns to Richard’s experiences in the logging industry in Oregon. He describes different logging techniques and tools that were popular throughout his career, reflects on his first job in logging at Marvin Ellis’ sawmill, and provides anecdotes about the difficulties of loading and unloading logs onto trucks and moving dirt. Dorothy and Richard then recall when their children began to help with the logging work, mentioning that some of their sons decided to make their own career in the logging industry themselves.
Finally, the interview closes out with a discussion of the Gassner’s farm and their experiences as agricultural workers. They reminisce about raising animals including sheep, rabbits, and pigs, and make note of the challenges they faced while working on their farm. Richard and Dorothy also describe the different forms of equipment they use on their farm, and highlight their memories of the transition from manual to mechanized farming, particularly when it came to hay production and butchering animals.
Richard Gassner was born in Stayton, Oregon in 1924. He spent his childhood working on his family’s farm, before joining the Marine Corps after he turned eighteen. He married Dorothy Mae Dallas in 1946. After leaving the Marine Corps, he entered into a career in logging, running his own company and also working for Starker Forests until his retirement in 2003. He and his wife also owned and worked on their family farm in Summit, Oregon. He died in 2009.
Dorothy Gassner was born in White Salmon, Washington in 1927. She was the oldest of seven children, and raised on a farm. She married Richard Gassner shortly after graduating from high school, and move to Oregon with him, where she worked on their farm and raised their four children. She passed away in 2023.