Archives West Finding Aid

This oral history interview with Beulah J. Hand was conducted by Michael O'Rourke from November 5, 1991, to October 27, 1993. In this interview, Hand discusses her family background and early life in Baker and Portland, Oregon, including her early education and social life. She talks about attending Reed College, her marriage to Floyd Orville Hand, and her activities while Floyd was serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, including working in the Portland shipyards. She then talks about her involvement in local transportation issues, which led to her involvement with the Democratic Party. She talks about serving as a precinct committee person for the Democratic Party, and working with Monroe Sweetland. She also talks about serving as State Representative Richard Groener's secretary and about the practical jokes Groener played.

Hand talks about serving in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1957 to 1966. She discusses her campaigns, her committee assignments, and her fellow legislators. She talks about some of the legislation she worked on, including regarding public transportation, state parks, public utility districts, and civil defense funding. She talks about her experience contracting tuberculosis at age 30, her treatment, and her opposition to the closure of the Oregon State Tuberculosis Hospital in Salem, as well as her opinion of the level of care being provided by Fairview Hospital. She discusses friction with Speaker of the House Monte Montgomery; her opposition to the storage of nerve gas in Oregon; and the changes in the Legislature since the end of her service.

Hand talks about her activities since leaving the Legislature in 1966. She talks about lobbying for the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. She describes her unsuccessful campaigns for the Oregon Senate and Oregon secretary of state. She closes the interview by talking about her experience as a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention.