About the FWOH Program
The volunteers of the Fort Worden Oral History Program have collected almost 300 interviews with the men and women who have served, lived, worked, or visited Fort Worden over its long history since the program’s inception in 2003. The interviews tell of the real life experiences of those who served at Fort Worden during the military era; who worked or lived here during the Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center days; or have visited, participated in activities, or worked at the fort since it became a state park conference center.
These interviews, which have been transcribed and cataloged, form a rich treasure trove of stories that should be mined for source material by historians, students, genealogists, and writers.
Interviews by Subject
- 369th EASR
- Army
- Army Families
- Army Wives
- Artillery Hill
- Atomic Bomb Tests
- Campgrounds
- Centrum
- Centrum Foundation
- Children's Games
- Closing of the Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center
- Coast Artillery-248th
- Coast Guard
- Commanding Officers
- Commanding Officers Quarters at Fort Worden
- Cottage Parents
- Cottages
- Death
- Discipline
- Enemy Fire
- Engineer Amphibious Support Regiment (EASR)-369th
- Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment (EBSR)
- Ferries
- Festival of American Fiddle Tunes
- Fiddle tunes
- Fort Flagler
- Fort Lewis
- Fort Worden
- Fort Worden Parade Ground
- General James H. Cunningham
- Greenland
- Guns
- Hangar (Balloon)
- Harbor Entrance Control Post
- Housing
- Hydrophones
- Inchon Landing
- Isolation
- Japan
- Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center
- Korean War
- Korean War Era
- Living Conditions
- McCurdy Pavilion
- Meals
- Military Police
- Mines
- National Guard
- Navy
- Officers Row
- Park Rangers
- Point Wilson Lighthouse
- Port Townsend
- Prisoners of War
- Pusan
- Residents (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center)
- Runaways
- Russians
- Seasickness
- Sergeants
- Shift Duty
- Ships
- Socialization
- Social Life
- Social Workers
- Staff (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center)
- State Parks
- Strait of Juan de Fuca
- Submarines
- Target Practice
- Teachers
- Weather
- Weddings
- Wildlife
- World War II
Interviews by Category
- General (2)
- Juvenile Diagnostic & Treatment Center (47)
- Military (125)
- Washington State Parks (42)
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Recent Posts
Interview Archives
- March 2015 (6)
- February 2015 (1)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (2)
- November 2014 (3)
- October 2014 (4)
- September 2014 (1)
- July 2014 (6)
- June 2014 (7)
- May 2014 (5)
- April 2014 (1)
- January 2014 (1)
- December 2013 (1)
- November 2013 (1)
- October 2013 (1)
- September 2013 (2)
- August 2013 (3)
- July 2013 (2)
- June 2013 (6)
- May 2013 (2)
- April 2013 (1)
- March 2013 (4)
- February 2013 (5)
- January 2013 (4)
- December 2012 (7)
- November 2012 (8)
- October 2012 (2)
- September 2012 (2)
- August 2012 (8)
- July 2012 (4)
- June 2012 (4)
- May 2012 (7)
- April 2012 (6)
- March 2012 (39)
- February 2012 (49)
- January 2012 (4)
Tag Archives: Port Townsend
Interview With William G. Trafton
From the interview with William G. Trafton of Port Ludlow, WA conducted at the Fort Worden History Center on August 13, 2013 by Clio Ward. Mr. Trafton is the son of Gordon Trafton, who was the maintenance supervisor at Fort … Continue reading
Posted in Juvenile Diagnostic & Treatment Center
Tagged Ethel June Beatty Trafton, Fort Worden, Gordon Trafton, Hot Rod Automobiles, Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center--Family Life, Model A Roadsters, North Beach Port Townsend, Popular Mechanics magazine, Port Townsend, Residents (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center), Richard Stapf, Staff (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center), Teenage Pranks
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Interview With Ed Edwards
From the interview with Ed Edwards of Port Townsend conducted by Teddy Clark at the Fort Worden History Center on March 6, 2003. Mr. Edwards’ parents worked at the Fort Worden Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center as Cottage Parents. The … Continue reading
Posted in Juvenile Diagnostic & Treatment Center
Tagged Asbestos Exposure at Fort Worden, Balloon Hangar, Children's Games, Cottage Parents, Families of Staff (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center), Fort Worden Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Living Conditions, Mc Curdy Pavilion, Port Townsend, Residents (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center), Staff (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center)
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Interview With James D. Farmer
From the interview with James D. Farmer of Acme, WA conducted by Clio Ward by phone from the Fort Worden History Center on July 30, 2013. Mr. Farmer was the Fort Worden State Park Conference Center Manager from 1991 to … Continue reading
Posted in Washington State Parks
Tagged Anne Murphy, Centrum, Coast Artillery Museum, Commanding Officers Quarters at Fort Worden, Dan Harpole, Fort Worden Advisory Committee, Fort Worden Centennial Celebration, Fort Worden Oral History Program, Fort Worden State Park, Fort Worden State Park Conference Center, Friends of Fort Worden, George Thomsen, Guard House Gift Shop at Fort Worden, Heritage Group at Fort Worden, Joan Thomsen, Joseph Wheeler, Laurie Medlicott, Lynn Kessler, Nancy Fitch, Nora Porter, Peter Badame, Peter McCracken, Port Townsend, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Sam Hamill, Susan Sidle
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Interview With Darrel R. “Gus” Gustafson
An excerpt from the interview with Darrel R. “Gus” Gustafson of Edgewood, WA conducted by phone from the Fort Worden History Center on September 25, 2012 by Clio Ward. Mr. Gustafson worked at Fort Worden from April 1973 until December … Continue reading
Posted in Washington State Parks
Tagged An Officer and a Gentleman movie, Ballet Camps at Fort Worden, Building 225 at Fort Worden, Centrum Foundation, Cooks, Dancers, Debra Winger, Dining Hall at Fort Worden, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Fiddle tunes, Fire Protection at Fort Worden, Food at Fort Worden, Fort Worden, Fort Worden State Park Conference Center, Glen Bellerud, Improvements to Fort Worden, Louis Gossett jr, McCurdy Pavilion, Movie Company Personnel, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Port Townsend, Renovation of Buildings at Fort Worden, Richard Gere, Tourism at Fort Worden
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Interview With John L. Johnson
Excerpts from the interview with John L. Johnson of Portland, OR conducted by Tim Caldwell at the Fort Worden History Center on October 17, 2002. Mr. Johnson is the son of Major Ralph L. Johnson (1883-1966), who was Harbor Defense … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged Army Trucks, Closing Fort Worden, Decommissioning Equipment and Supplies, Disposing of Artillery Ammunition and Materiel al, Fort Worden, Fred Testo, Harbor Defense Puget Sound, Major Ralph L. Johnson, Military Police, Military Protocol, Movies at Fort Worden, MPs, Officers Row, Officers' Families, Port Townsend, School, Sidearms, US Army, Wheeler Theater
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Interview With Richard L. French
From the interview with Richard L. French of Port Angeles, WA conducted by John Croghan at the Fort Worden History Center on October 14, 2004. Mr. French served in the US Navy in World War II and later in the … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged Army, Brigadier General Joseph J. Twitty, Camp Mc Gill Japan, Camp McCoy WI, Colonel Alexander, Commanding Officers, Couriers, Engineer Boat Support Regiment (EBSR)-532nd, Engineer Special Brigade (ESB)-2nd, Fire at Fort Worden Officers Club, Football Team at Fort Worden, Fort Worden, Fort Worden Chapel, General D.A.D. Ogden, Hudson Point, Inchon Landing, Korean War, Landing Craft Medium (LCMs), MPs, Point Hudson, Port Townsend, Pusan, Second ESB Headquarters Company, Sixth Army Football Championship, Wonsan North Korea
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Interview With Rosalie Lindquist
From the interview with Rosalie Lindquist of Port Townsend conducted by Eleanor Rigby at the Fort Worden History Center on July 14, 2005. Mrs. Lindquist is the widow of Elmer G. “Gus” Lindquist, the first superintendent of the Fort Worden … Continue reading
Posted in Juvenile Diagnostic & Treatment Center
Tagged Carleton College, Chehalis WA, Commanding Officers Quarters, Elmer G. "Gus" Lindquist, Families of Staff (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center), Fort Worden, Green Hill School, Gus Lindquist, Kansas State Industrial School for Boys, Lawrence KS, Minnesota State Reformatory for Men, Northfield MN, Port Townsend, Social Life, Social Workers, St. Cloud MN, Staff (Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center), Sullivan's Grocery Store in Port Townsend, Tom Wilson in Port Townsend, Topeka KS
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Interview With Ruth Benson Short
From the interview with Ruth Benson Short of Port Townsend conducted by Wendy Los at the Fort Worden History Center on March 3, 2004. Mrs. Short, a longtime Port Townsend resident, served as a Gray Lady volunteer for the Red … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged American Red Cross, Blaine Street in Port Townsend, Fort Worden, Gray Ladies, Housekeeping, Lieutenant Colonel Fred W. McIlroy, Marguerite Van Bibber McIlroy, Military Protocol, Morgan Hill in Port Townsend, Newlyweds, Port Townsend, Red Cross, Social Life, World War II
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Interview With Deb Johnson
From the interview with Deb Johnson of Port Townsend, WA conducted by Patience Rogge on October 28, 2004 at the Fort Worden History Center. Ms. Johnson was Dean of Jefferson Educational Services for Peninsula College. The Peninsula Community College District … Continue reading
Posted in Washington State Parks
Tagged Fort Worden, Morgue in the Schoolhouse Building, Peninsula College, Peninsula College Historyg, Peninsula Community College District, Port Townsend, Psycho Ward in the Schoolhouse Building, Schoolhouse Building at Fort Worden, Wally Sigmar, Water Street in Port Townsend, Waterman Katz Building
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Interview With William F. Gurley
From the interview with William F. Gurley of Kingston, WA conducted by Ken Brink at the Fort Worden History Center on July 2, 2002. Mr. Gurley’s father, Captain Franklin Chris Gurley of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps, commanded A … Continue reading
Posted in Military
Tagged A Battery, Army, Artillery Hill, Captain Franklin C. Gurley, Charles Meyers jr, Children's Games, Coast Artillery, Colonel Pace, Fort Worden, Fort Worden Parade Ground, General James H. Cunningham, Major Charles Meyers, Officers Row, Officers' Jobs, Port Townsend, Post Security
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