Oral History Interview with Laura Newell Stockford

The Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project collection consists of interviews of 83 people for the Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project, conducted by Professor Judith Raiskin and Curator Linda Long at the University of Oregon starting in the summer of 2018.; Interview conducted on Wednesday, August 28, 2019. Laura was born in Tampa, Florida in 1957. She spends time talking about her childhood and her growing up years. Her grandparents were Native Americans and members of the Penobscot tribe. She went to college at the University of Maine in 1977, graduating with a degree in business. A friend suggested she move to Eugene, which she did in 1982 by taking a Trailways bus across the country. Near Denver she broke her leg and talks about the kindness of a woman who helped her. She arrived in Oregon and describes the beauty of Oregon and how lush everything looked, especially traveling along the McKenzie River. While working at the phone company in Eugene where she was out, Laura received a death threat. She describes living in a collective household in the River Road area, nicknamed “Elkay Island.” She spent considerable time in the southern Oregon lesbian communities. She describes Tee Corinne and her work. Laura became a therapist. Many of her clientele were and are transgender people. She discusses gender issues. She also discusses aging issues. Laura concludes her interview by reading a passage in her diary from 1984 when she came out as a lesbian.