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Oral history interview with Dick Bown, 1991 November 20-December 2
Overview of the Collection
- Interviewee
- Bown, Dick (Richard Charles), 1928-
- Title
- Oral history interview with Dick Bown
- Dates
- 1991 November 20-December 2 (inclusive)1991-11-201991-12-02
- Quantity
- .1 cubic feet, (3 audiocassettes (2 hr., 2 min., 9 sec.))
- Collection Number
- SR 786
- Summary
- Oral history interview with Dick Bown conducted by Alex R. Toth, Jr., from November 20 to December 2, 1991. Bown was a race car driver from Oregon.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Digitization funded by the James F. Miller Endowment.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Richard "Dick" Charles Bown was born in Gettysburg, South Dakota, in 1928. He moved to Oregon in 1941. In 1950, he and Evelyn Constance Ferguson were married; they later had three children. Bown became a race car driver and competed in NASCAR races from 1961 to 1975. All three of his children were also involved in automobile racing. He also owned a service station and an auto wrecking business, Rose Auto Wrecking, in Portland, Oregon.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This oral history interview with Dick Bown was conducted by Alex R. Toth, Jr., at Rose Auto Wrecking in North Portland, Oregon, from November 20 to December 2, 1991. The interview was conducted in two sessions.
In the first interview session, conducted on November 20, 1991, Bown discusses his family background and early life, particularly relocating to the Portland, Oregon, area from South Dakota in 1941, and his early interest in cars. He talks about running a service station and a billiard supply business. He speaks at length about his life as a race car driver, including his various cars; his first races in Oregon in the early 1950s; NASCAR and Oregon Auto Racing Association races in the 1960s; and the different tracks he has raced on. He also talks about his auto-wrecking business, Rose Auto Wrecking. He then continues discussing his life as a race car driver, including his relationship with his fellow racers and his competitive spirit.
In the second interview session, conducted on December 2, 1991, Bown continues discussing his competitive spirit. He revisits the topic of running a service station and Rose Auto Wrecking, including his experience going bankrupt in 1953 and the history of both businesses. He then discusses his children – Chuck Bown, Sheri Bown, and Jim Bown – and their involvement in automobile racing. He revisits the topic of the race cars he has driven and the tracks he has raced at. He talks about media coverage of car racing on the West Coast, as compared to the South and the East Coast; discusses the athleticism involved in car racing; and describes changes in the technology of racing. He closes the interview by discussing the future of car racing in the Pacific Northwest, and the experience of raising a family as a race car driver.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
Audio available online in OHS Digital Collections.
Preferred Citation
Oral history interview with Dick Bown, by Alex R. Toth, Jr., SR 786, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Cassette | ||
1 | Interview session 1 | 1991 November 20 |
2 | Interview session 1 | 1991 November 20 |
3 | Interview session 2 | 1991 December 2 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Automobile racing
- Automobile racing drivers--Oregon
- Automobile wrecking and used parts industry--Oregon
- Automobiles, Racing
- Business enterprises--Oregon--Portland
Personal Names
- Bown, Chuck, Jr. (Richard Charles), 1954-
- Bown, Dick (Richard Charles), 1928-
- Bown, Jim T., 1960-
- Bown, Sheri (Sharon Ann), 1951-2020
Corporate Names
- NASCAR (Association)
- Rose Auto Wrecking (Portland, Or.)
Form or Genre Terms
- interviews
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Toth, Alex R., Jr. (Alex Robert), 1947- (interviewer)