Assembling a Life: James L. Wasson and Old Portland Hardware
Greta Smith · Oregon Historical Quarterly · 2015
The contents of an old steamer trunk found in the basement of a Portland home were on display in a summer 2015 exhibit at the Old Portland Hardware (OPH). “What, at first glance appeared to be a ‘random collection of vintage ephemera from the 20s and 30s,” told the story of James L. Wasson's life in Portland's Albina area from the 1920s through 1980. Wasson was a soldier during the Mexican Revolution and World War I and worked as a mechanic and automobile electrician. His passion for photography is well documented throughout the trunk's collection, including self-portraits, negatives of portraits of Portland's African American community members, a receipt for professional photography equipment, and numerous photographs of his wife Marcelita. OPH donated the collection to Portland State University Library Special Collections, where it is open to the public for research.