Oral history interview with Clyde Rice

Oral history interview with Clyde Rice, 1985 January 22-March 13

Overview of the Collection

Interviewee: Rice, Clyde, 1903-1998
Title: Oral history interview with Clyde Rice
Dates: 1985 January 22-March 13 (inclusive)
1985-01-221985-03-13
Quantity: .1 cubic feet, (13 audiocassettes (11 hr., 15 min., 46 sec.) + 5 photographs (color))
Collection Number: SR 1054
Summary: Oral history interview with Clyde Rice conducted by Rick Harmon from January 22 to March 13, 1985. Rice was an author from Portland, Oregon, and he discusses his novel "A Heaven in the Eye," as well as his family background and early life, his marriages, and his father's flavor extract business.
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

Clyde Harvey Rice was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1903. He attended the Portland Art Museum School, now the Pacific Northwest College of Art. In 1921, he moved to San Francisco, California. In 1922, he and Marguerite Evelyn "Nordi" Nordstrom were married; they later had one child. In 1934, the couple returned to Oregon and homesteaded in Clackamas County. In 1937, the couple returned to Portland, where Rice helped his father run a flavor extract business until 1958. Clyde Rice and Nordi Rice were divorced in 1945, and the same year, Clyde Rice married Nordi's niece, Virginia Lee "Ginny" Broms. Later in his life, Rice became a writer. He published his first book, "A Heaven in the Eye," when he was 81 years old. He died in 1998.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

Incomplete transcript (240 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This oral history interview with Clyde Rice was conducted by Rick Harmon at Rice's home in Clackamas, Oregon, from January 22 to March 13, 1985. The interview was conducted in seven sessions. The audio on tapes 3, 4, 6, and 13 is affected by speed issues. In the interview, Rice discusses his family background and early life in Portland and Salem. He talks about his marriage to Marguerite Evelyn "Nordi" Nordstrom, and speaks at length about his affair and subsequent marriage with Virginia Lee Broms. He discusses his career as an author, particularly the process of writing and publishing his first novel, "A Heaven in the Eye."

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

Audio available online in OHS Digital Collections.

Preferred Citation

Oral history interview with Clyde Rice, by Rick Harmon, SR 1054, 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/. Copyright to photographs has not been determined and use may require authorization from copyright holders.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Related Materials

An additional interview with Clyde Rice, SR 67, and a collection of Rice's stories and poetry, Lib. Acc. 24926, are also held by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Cassette
1-2	Interview session 1 Tape 1, Side 1 through Tape 2, Side 1. In the first interview session, conducted on January 22, 1985, Rice discusses his family background, particularly his father's flavor extract business. He talks about his early life in Portland and Salem, including his family's Christian Science faith, his social life, and his relationship with his family.	1985 January 22
2-3	Interview session 2 Tape 2, Side 2 through Tape 3, Side 1. Audio on Tape 3 is affected by speed issues. In the second interview session, conducted on January 29, 1985, Rice continues discussing his early life in Portland and Salem, including his family's Christian Science faith. He tells several anecdotes about his early school life; describes racism he observed; and shares his memories of World War I.	1985 January 29
4-5	Interview session 3 Tape 4, Side 2, throught Tape 5, Side 2. Audio on Tape 4 is affected by speed issues. In the third interview session, conducted on February 7, 1985, Rice discusses his involvement with the Portland Art Museum School (now known as the Pacific Northwest College of Art), including the professors and curators. He talks about the artistic community in Portland and discusses his own art. He revisits the topic of racism that he observed and Portland politics in the early 20th century.	1985 February 7
6-7	Interview session 4 Audio on Tape 6 is affected by speed issues. In the fourth interview session, conducted on February 14, 1985, Rice continues discussing Portland politics in the early 20th century. He then talks about homesteading in Clackamas County during the 1930s and describes clearing the land, hunting, and farming. He discusses returning to Portland a few years later and working for his father's flavor extract business. He talks about his marriage to Marguerite Evelyn "Nordi" Nordstrom, and about meeting his second wife, Virginia Lee Broms.	1985 February 14
8-9	Interview session 5 In the fifth interview session, conducted on February 21, 1985, Rice describes building a rammed earth house in the Mt. Scott neighborhood of Portland during the late 1930s. He speaks at length about his affair with Virginia Lee Broms. He also revisits the topic of working for his father's flavor extract business. He talks about spending time in Alaska before his divorce from Nordi Rice, his marriage to Virginia Lee Broms, and how both events affected his son.	1985 February 21
10-11	Interview session 6 In the sixth interview session, conducted on March 7, 1985, Rice discusses his experiences working in the Oregon shipyards during World War II, shares his opinion about the war, and talks about living in Vanport. He then discusses the marriage of Nordi Rice and Ray Neufer, as well as his own marriage to Virginia Lee Broms. He then discusses his interest in writing and his development as an author.	1985 March 7
12-13	Interview session 7 Audio on Tape 13 is affected by speed issues. In the seventh and final interview session, conducted on March 13, 1985, Rice continues discussing his development as an author. He describes the years-long process of writing and publishing his first novel, "A Heaven in the Eye." He also talks about plans to publish his other writings.	1985 March 13
Folder
SR1054	Photographs of Clyde Rice	circa 1985

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents