Tom Fuller (2)

This book is a great resource for people who have mid-level knowledge about Oregon. I have lived in Oregon four four years and I thought I was knowledgeable enough about this state in terms of history and tourism. Nevertheless, Oregon At Work provided me with fresh information, recounting the state’s history from labor’s perspective.

Oregon At Work is well organized and balanced. It divides sections into three eras: 1859–1909, 1909–1959, and 1959–2009. Each section includes a show more distribution of occupations and explains how people with those jobs worked at that time. It not only shows dry governmental data but also personal episodes. In fact, the authors visited families whose ancestors immigrated in the early time and interviewed them. Each page contains a couple of photos that help readers visualize. Although the authors are white men, they also shed lights on women, Native Americans, African Americans, and other minorities.

The most interesting episode was Laverne Pritchard in 1910. She was one of the very rare female bankers at Citizen Bank (now US Bank) in Portland. She happened to be headhunted by the Bank of California because her boss lost a golf competition against a manager of the Bank of California, having put her forth as the wager. At the Bank of California, she became a branch manager, which was unusual at all, and was provided a large authority, dealing with a huge amount of money. This book includes many of these intriguing individual stories.

Oregon At Work would never tire even readers who are familiar with Oregon. It is easy enough for middle-school children to read. It would be good literature to read on Oregon’s birthday, February 14, or Labor Day in September, ruminating over resilient Oregonians. show less