Teddy Johnnie Oral History Interview, February 10, 2018

Partial Transcript: So could you start by telling me your birthdate and birthplace?

Segment Synopsis: Describing living situation while growing up in Portland, OR., lived with grandmother, single mother, older brother and twin sister.

Keywords: Portland, Oregon; brother; family; grandmother; mother; twin sister

Partial Transcript: And what did your mother do for a living?

Segment Synopsis: Father left the family and and mother raised her and her siblings without any monetary assistance; Teddy's mother was the first woman appraiser at Multnomah County. Although she received top test scores, the county was't sure they wanted a woman worker so she was placed in difficult situations as a way of testing her.

Keywords: Appraisers; Monetary assistance; Multnomah county; Service time; Single mothers; Women's movements; World War II

Partial Transcript: What were some of your interests growing up?

Segment Synopsis: Participation in choir in grade school and rally squad in high school, explains how high school was a wonderful experience. Growing up Teddy's family did not have a car so they went everywhere by bus or by foot.

Keywords: Elvis Presley; Neighborhood; bus; choir; families; grade school; hide-and-seek; high school; kickball; rally squad; tetherball

Partial Transcript: With the time period you grew up in, did the Vietnam War affect you and your peers a lot?

Segment Synopsis: Discussion of how the Vietnam War affected Teddy and her peers. The war escalated in 1961 and her future husband had to sign up for the draft but was not enlisted due to physical limitations. They lost many friends to the war including Teddy's sister-in-law's brother.

Keywords: Vietnam War; draft; physical limitations

Partial Transcript: So, speaking of the path that lead you to Oregon State University, how did you end up going there?

Segment Synopsis: Importance of attending college to her single mother and that her children grew up to be independent. Teddy talks about taking secretarial classes in high school to prepare for college and that OSU was an easy choice due to their great business program. Her family has a long history of women attending college (beginning with her grandmother). She does not feel as though expectations set for her were ever different from those set for her brother.

Keywords: Marines; Oregon State; Secretarial classes; Single mother; Willamette University; business school; expectation of attending college; peer's expectations; secretarial science; typing

Partial Transcript: So you and your sister went to Oregon State what year?

Segment Synopsis: Teddy and her twin sister attended Oregon State during the years 1957 and 1958. She describes the college experience and her feelings of excitement upon becoming a student at OSU. Her academic expectations involved learning everything she could and focusing on secretarial sciences with a minor in home economics. Teddy felt that she was treated equally compared to her male counterparts although the courses she took were more women-oriented.

Keywords: College experience; academic expectations; career; checkbook; college savings account; electives; encouragement; excited; finances; home design; home economics; home refinance; learning; leaving home; male counterparts; minor; new experience; secretarial science; speed reading; summer jobs; typing

Partial Transcript: Did you have a job while you were at Oregon State?

Segment Synopsis: Teddy worked at the Memorial Union for 20 hours a week sending telegrams and worked as a receptionist.

Keywords: job; memorial union; receptionists; student worker; telegrams

Partial Transcript: So campus-experience-wise, what was it like being away from home for the first time?

Segment Synopsis: Teddy describes fun campus experiences such as talent shows, football games and basketball games as well as pranks pulled on the freshmen by the upperclassmen.

Keywords: Talent shows; basketball games; bonfire; football games; freshman; picking pawpaws

Partial Transcript: I actually had three roommates in a two roommate apartment at Sackett A

Segment Synopsis: Description of living in Sackett Hall her freshman year. Teddy had two roommates with different personalities that she knew from high school. She explains that only women lived in her dorm building and that all dorms were segregated.

Keywords: Grant High School; Roommates; Sackett Hall; bunk beds; dorm experience; friends; gender segregation

Partial Transcript: Okay, so what do you remember about the city of Corvallis?

Segment Synopsis: Description of the city of Corvallis and certain rules students had including a 10:00 pm curfew (although students would put a stick in the door so that the housemother didn’t know if they got home later). Teddy also described OSU’s involvement in her personal life and states that she didn't find them to be too involved.

Keywords: Corvallis; activities; basketball games; boundaries; boyfriend; curfew; dances; dorm; entertainment; father's weekend; football games; fraternity dances; freedom; gender segregation; housemother; independent; no fussing; personal life; picnics; regulations; rugs; school involvement; sorority; sporting events; sports; stick in door; washroom

Partial Transcript: You rushed for a sorority?

Segment Synopsis: Teddy describes rushing for her sorority and how being a member of Pi Beta Phi shaped her college experience. She lists events she partook in as a sorority member and describes how fraternity men pulled pranks on the women.

Keywords: Malboro man; Pi Beta Phi; Sorority; bridge; chickens; drinking; fraternity; living in; pigs; pranks; rushing experience; sisters; sleeping porch; smoking; smoking room; walking

Partial Transcript: So what are some of Oregon State's traditions that you remember?

Segment Synopsis: Description of OSU traditions including Mother's Weekend Father’s Weekend and homecoming.

Keywords: Bill Cosby; Father's weekend; Homecoming; Mother's weekend; Traditions; activities; bonfires; pranking freshmen; talent shows

Partial Transcript: Do you remember anything about the pinning serenade traditions?

Segment Synopsis: Teddy describes the importance of the pinning and serenade tradition and talks about how her twin sister was pinned by her to-be-husband. This was a very exciting tradition as it was an engagement precursor.

Keywords: Fiji; Pinning; University of Washington; engagement; fraternity pin; pinned; romantic; serenade; traditions

Partial Transcript: My boyfriend was working full time and he actually showed up late for our Pi Beta Phi dance

Segment Synopsis: Teddy describes her boyfriend’s marriage proposal her sophomore year and explains how her boyfriend showed up late for her sorority dance then ended up proposing. She later married this boyfriend and they had two children together.

Keywords: Boyfriend; Pi Beta Phi; advertising; engagement ring; marriage; picnic; sophomore dance; sorority dance