Lee Hedgmon interview, June 9, 2016

There were a couple of crazy weeks there in the middle of June, with lots of events, and documentary launches, and oral histories. Over two separate days I interviewed Lee Hedgmon, Mellie Pullman, Emily Engdahl, Natalie Baldwin, and Sonia Marie Leikam. The last four on one day!

I’d intended to write up individual blog posts on each interview, but the reality of work and life means that I’m just not going to get to that – and I really want to share!! So I’m going to do a post with interview abstracts, pictures, and links.

RBMS 2016 Conference, Coral Gables, FL

This summer the OMA presented at the annual conference for the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

The OMA presented as part of the session “Short Papers Panel: Diversity and Cultural Communities.” The presentation was “Latinos en Oregón: sus voces, sus historias, su herencia ~ A Latino/a community oral history project.” In 2015 the Oregon Multicultural Archives began a Latino/a community-based oral history project Latinos en Oregón: sus voces, sus historias, su herencia. The project involves partnerships with Oregon State University’s Juntos program, the Canby Public Library, and various organizations within Yamhill County. The presentation focused on the importance of project partners and community liaisons, the relationship and trust building aspects of the project, the lessons learned and suggested best practices based on experience, as well as current models and ideas for the project’s sustainability.

Find out more on the Oregon Multicultural Archives blog!

The Pauling family at Deer Flat Ranch, 1973. Peter stands at left.

[The life of Peter Pauling, part 8 of 9]

It was the 1970s, and Peter Pauling was studying the molecular arrangement and physiological effects of hallucinogens. The field of psychopharmacology, crucial to psychiatric treatments of mental disorders, was at the time almost brand new. Only in the 1960s did most physicians begin to consider the potential of psychoactive pharmacological treatments in treating mood disorders and neurologically based physical ailments. The role that different substances played in the alteration of brain chemistry, their influence on synaptic changes, and the modifications in nervous response that they could bring about were all still poorly understood.

Curious? Read the whole post on the Pauling Blog!