Al Haunold is a currently retired PhD in Agricultural Sciences and the scientist who worked on developing the Willamette and Cascade variety of hops, among others. Haunold talks about his life growing up in Retz, Austria, the economics of the area between the two world wars, his family’s ties to agriculture, the Austrian school system, living conditions during the Nazi occupation, life in wartime Vienna while he was going to college, the modern refugee situation in Austria, his work in wheat genetics while in Austria, earning his doctorate degree in agricultural science at University of Nebraska, meeting his wife Mary in New York, job hunting in America after earning his PhD, moving to Oregon and his work with hops, breeding the Willamette hops variety, the hops market in 60s America, hops growing in Austria, and troubles he ran into while crossing hops in America.

This interview was conducted by Tiah Edmunson-Morton on August 1, 2017 in the Valley Library, Corvallis, Oregon. It is a component of the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives Oral History Collection, Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries.