Gail Lorene Pyburn photograph collection

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: PH 373

Content Description

This collection contains twenty-six 35mm negative sheet holders, four associated contact sheets, and two BetaCam tapes of "Betty M" production. The collection documents lesbian culture in Eugene, Oregon during the 1980s and 1990s. Subjects include Starflower Natural Foods and Botanicals, Alton Baker Park, Excelsior Cafe, the Country Fair, and local women's softball teams: Peralander Pearl Divers, Jets, and Made in Oregon.

Dates

Creation: 1979-1985, 1997

Creator

Pyburn, Gail Lorene, 1953- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

Gail Lorene Pyburn was a member of the lesbian community in Eugene, Oregon who used photography and video to document the experiences of her community during the 1980s and 1990s. She was born in Albany, Oregon on March 4, 1953. Pyburn married at age eighteen. She was married for seven years, and had a daughter during that time. Pyburn fell in love with a woman, but found Albany to be a difficult place to be gay. Pyburn moved to Eugene in 1978. She worked as a trucker at a time when trucking was predominantly a male profession. This experience strengthened her as she was forced to navigate a male-dominated field. During her trucking career, she drove for Starflower, a natural foods distribution collective, as a contract worker. During her time in Eugene, Pyburn formed a band with three other women called Transister, which would later evolve into Soulicious at the hands of Cheryl Camillio and Paula Jo Vaden. In the late 1980s Pyburn moved to Hawaii and worked in the film industry. She lived in Hawaii for thirty-one years, before moving back to Oregon in 2016.

Extent

.25 linear feet (1 container) : 1 half manuscript box

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Gail Lorene Pyburn was a member of the lesbian community in Eugene, Oregon who used photography and video to document the experiences of her community during the 1980s and 1990s. This collection contains twenty-six 35mm negative sheet holders, four associated contact sheets, and two BetaCam tapes of "Betty M" production.