The Radical Elders Oral History Project (REOHP) was first organized in the mid-1970s by Bruce Kaiper and Lou Laub, owner of the Ark Bookshop in Berkeley; and Fred Cody of Cody’s Books. The project sought to record the memories of elderly (defined as 65 or older) West Coast radicals and labor activists who were active in the social movements of the 1920s and 1930s, and to use their oral histories for educational purposes. Their goals were four-fold: to develop research archives, make interviews available to mass audiences through media and other educational forums, hold oral history training workshops for the public, and sponsor public events to celebrate this radical heritage. By offering younger radicals the opportunity to interview elders, organizers hoped the project would encourage intergenerational contact and solidarity. Interviewees included former Communist Party members, prominent labor organizers, anti-war activists, professors, journalists, writers, artists, and army veterans. Alongside the recording and transcribing of interviews, many of which could run ten hours or longer, REOHP organized oral history workshops, radio programs, slide shows, documentary films, a speaker series in schools and at union programs, and other educational forums. Between 1978-1981, the organization also conducted annual retreats at Camp Cazadero in Sonoma County, where participants could socialize and attend symposiums on social, political, and labor issues.

REOHP was primarily volunteer-run, with one paid staff-person and a board of directors which provided executive oversight. The project depended on small grants, donations, and fundraising benefits to support its many initatives. In March 1978, REOHP successfully filed for incorporation as a nonprofit organization in the state of California.

In 1979 Jeff Johnson replaced Bruce Kaiper as director; Kaiper was unable to keep working due in part to health issues and the limited income the organization was able to pay. Other personnel included, at one time or another, Marcia Perlstein, Sam Krieger (before his death in 1981), Tuz Mende, Richard Bermack, Pat and Fred Cody, Marge Lasky, Lou and Edith Laub, Al and Ann Wasserman, Virginia Malbin, Harold Rossman, Peter Carroll, Harry Sheer, Richard Bermack, Eleanor Walden, Hank Levi, and Laurie Zoloth. Additional interviewers included Peter Carroll, Mike Munoz, and Elaine Johnson (Zahan). Richard Bermack was the project’s chief photographer.

Transcribing the cassette tapes, before the age of personal computers, was a major obstacle. In about 1982 it was decided to stop interviewing people and conducting programs, a controversial decision. However, the project was known in the community and people started donating interviews they had done with their relatives and others whose history they felt should be recorded, as well as a variety of other materials. In about 1987, the holdings of the project and about $1500 in funds were given to the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute in Berkeley to finish the transcribing and to serve as a repository for the collection.