Oral history interview with Gladys L. Randall, 1980
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Interviewee
- Randall, Gladys L. (Gladys Louise), 1901-1992
- Title
- Oral history interview with Gladys L. Randall
- Dates
- 198019801980
- Quantity
- 0.1 cubic feet, (1 audiocassette (35 min., 24 sec.) + transcript (18 pages))
- Collection Number
- SR 9300
- Summary
- Oral history interview with Gladys L. Randall conducted by Emily Renfrow in 1980. Randall was a hatmaker in Portland, Oregon, and in Hollywood, California, in the early 20th century.
- 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 Note
Gladys Louise Randall, nee Wilson, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1901. She began working as a milliner as a teenager. In the 1920s, she moved to the Hollywood, California, area, and continued to work as a milliner. She returned to Portland in 1936, and in the 1940s she began working with Olga Lanphier, creating hats on their label, Olga & Louise. In 1947, she and Richard H. Randall were married. In the 1950s, she ceded the label to Olga Lanphier, and continued a millinery business from her home. She died in 1992.
Other Descriptive Information
A handwritten index (1 page) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Content Description
This oral history with Gladys L. Randall was conducted by Emily Renfrow in 1980; in addition to the audio recording, a transcript is available. In this interview, Randall discusses her early life in Portland, Oregon. She talks about her early career as a milliner in Portland, including the training she received as an apprentice. She speaks about working as a milliner in Hollywood, California, during the 1920s and 1930s, and talks about some of the celebrities she made hats for, including Shirley Temple. She then speaks at length about making and selling hats in Portland on the label Olga & Louise with Olga Lanphier, from the 1930s through the 1950s. She discusses the effect of World War II on her business, and talks about changes in the fashionability of wearing hats. She closes the interview by talking about her early interest in millinery, and about making hats for Mae West.
Use of the Collection
Alternative Forms Available
Audio and transcript available online in OHS Digital Collections.
Preferred Citation
Oral history interview with Gladys L. Randall, by Emily Renfrow, SR 9300, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright for this interview is held by the estates of Emily Renfrow and Gladys L. Randall. In Copyright - https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Administrative Information
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Fashion merchandising--Oregon--Portland
- Millinery
- Millinery workers--California--Hollywood
- Millinery workers--Oregon--Portland
Personal Names
- Lanphier, Olga, 1904-1990
- Randall, Gladys L. (Gladys Louise), 1901-1992
Corporate Names
- Olga & Louise (Portland, Or.)
Form or Genre Terms
- interviews
- oral histories (literary works)
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Renfrow, Emily (interviewer)
