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Oral history interview with Sally H. Cohn, 2011 February 8
Overview of the Collection
- Interviewee
- Cohn, Sally H. (Sally Helen), 1934-
- Title
- Oral history interview with Sally H. Cohn
- Dates
- 2011 February 82011-02-082011-02-08
- Quantity
- 41.5 megabytes, (1 audio file (MP3, 1 hr., 30 min., 41 sec.) + transcript (51 pages))
- Collection Number
- SR 11237
- Summary
- Oral history interview with Sally H. Cohn conducted by Jade Davis and Erin Babcock Musick on February 8, 2011, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. Cohn was a gay rights activist, author, and handwhistler in Portland, 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
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Sally Helen Cohn was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1934. She grew up in Heppner, in eastern Oregon. In 1956, she graduated from the University of Oregon. She then lived on the East Coast for over a decade before returning to Portland in 1972. She worked in a substance abuse clinic in Portland, now known as the Avel Gordly Center for Healing, until her retirement in 1998. She was a gay rights activist, a singer, and musician. She wrote "A Handwhistler: Memories of Creativity and Activism," which was published in 2007. In 2010, she appeared on "America's Got Talent" as a handwhistler.
Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top
Forms part of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest (GLAPN).
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This oral history interview with Sally H. Cohn was conducted by Jade Davis and Erin Babcock Musick at Cohn's home in Portland, Oregon, on February 8, 2011. Davis and Musick conducted the interview for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest as part of Professor Pat Young's senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University.
In this interview, Cohn talks about teaching herself to hand whistle. She discusses her preference for short hair and talks about lesbian stereotypes. She talks about her involvement in gay and lesbian rights organizations, including the Lesbian Community Project and Old Lesbians Organizing for Change. She also shares the experience of coming out to her family in the 1970s. She talks about her volunteer work; about the fight against Measure 9, an initiative against LGBTQ rights, in 1992; and about her work for an alcohol and drug treatment center in Portland, which is now known as the Avel Gordly Healing Center. She closes the interview by talking about writing her book, "A Handwhistler: Memories of Creativity and Activism," and speaking about her 2010 appearance as a handwhistler on "America's Got Talent."
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Oral history interview with Sally H. Cohn, by Jade Davis and Erin Babcock Musick, SR 11237, 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
Acquisition Information
Gift of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest, July 2011 (Lib. Acc. 27383).
Preservation Note
Audio and transcript available online in OHS Digital Collections.
Related Materials
An interview with Sally Cohn conducted in 1977 is held by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, and is available online at https://www.ojmche.org/oral-history-people/sally-cohn/
Related Materials
Oral history interview with Sally H. Cohn, by Ashley Baldwin and Russell Sanchez, SR 11441, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Gay rights--Oregon
- Lesbians--Oregon
- Whistling
- Women authors--Oregon--Portland
Personal Names
- Cohn, Sally H. (Sally Helen), 1934-
Form or Genre Terms
- interviews
- oral histories (literary works)
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Davis, Jade (interviewer)
- Musick, Erin Babcock (interviewer)
Corporate Names
- Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest (sponsor)
