History Talk Lectures

Join longtime community journalist and Gresham resident Anne Endicott for an enlightening presentation on Zim's Twelve-Mile Store. Carl and Ada Zimmerman were more than just owners of a neighborhood grocery store. In the 1940s and 50s, Carl's creative marketing became as iconic as the landmark rotating rooftop sign that once marked 12-Mile Corner (223rd and Stark). Using photos and research from the GHS archives, Anne discusses the Zimmermans' incredible legacy and why it remains important today.

 At this event, Public Historian Stephanie Vallance describes the process of writing and launching Voices of Gresham.  This new podcast tells the history of Gresham in the voices of those who have lived it.  This video, taped during the podcast launch party on 6/29/2024, includes a full recording of the first episode, followed by a Q&A with podcast hosts Stephanie Vallance and Melissa Bevency.

Learn how to read the clothing of the past with Rose Caughie, the curator of our current fashion history exhibition: Making and Mending. This talk looks at the history of how Gresham's people presented themselves through their clothing in photographs around the turn of the 20th century. What did these people hope to say about themselves? How did they want to be remembered? Rose answers these questions and more, teaching you how to read clothing like a book.

Presented by Brendan Bender, this lecture spotlights Gresham’s Mt. Hood Festival of Jazz as preserved on professionally shot videotape footage. It discusses the history of the festival, its impact on Gresham, and the invaluable contents of this audiovisual collection. Includes a look at the technical processes behind preserving these surviving videotapes. The lecture concludes with a screening of specially curated footage from the collection, much of which has not been seen by the general public.