Collection is open for research.
Hobart McKinley Mitchell was born in Gervais, Oregon, in 1897. In 1901, the family moved to Portland. In 1919, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Stanford University. He returned to Oregon and worked as a produce wholesaler. He retired during World War II. He married twice and had no children. He died in 1980.
Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Mitchell in his interview.
An incomplete transcript (12 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Oral history interview with Hobart M. Mitchell, by Charles Digregorio, SR 9479, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Hobart M. Mitchell was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on May 4, 1977, as part of the oral history program at the society's research library.
In this interview, Mitchell discusses his family background and talks about his father, McKinley Mitchell, including his father's friendship with cartoonist Homer Davenport, his career as a general store owner, and his service in the Oregon State Legislature. He discusses his own youth in Portland, and talks about how the city has changed over the 20th century. He then discusses his career as a produce wholesaler during the 1920s and 1930s, including his experiences providing provisions for Russian ships. He talks about his activism regarding taxes, and closes the interview by sharing his memories of the Portland waterfront.
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Hobart M. McKinley. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted,