Showing 851 - 900 of 6045 Items
Date: 2009-09-22
Creator: Robert 'Bob' J Dole
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Robert J. “Bob” Dole was born July 22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas, and attended the University of Kansas. He served with distinction in World War II, and after the war earned his law degree at Washburn School of Law. He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1961, serving until 1969, when he ran for the U.S. Senate. He won and held that seat until 1996, when he became the Republican Party’s 1996 presidential nominee. He was on the Finance Committee and was minority leader when George Mitchell was majority leader; in 1994 he became Senate majority leader. At the time of this interview, he served as special counsel in the law firm Alston & Bird.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: relationship with Senator Mitchell; when Mitchell emerged as a potential leader; comparison of working with Mitchell and Byrd; Mitchell’s partisanship; relationship with Mitchell when Bill Clinton succeeded George Bush; health care reform; Dole’s meetings with George Mitchell; Dole’s and Mitchell’s working together to pass the ADA bill; reaction when Mitchell announced his retirement; Mitchell’s legacy; working at Verner Liipfert law firm with Mitchell; working on a bipartisan nonprofit healthcare effort with Mitchell (Bipartisan Policy Center); and George Mitchell’s legacy.
Date: 2008-08-19
Creator: James 'Jim' W Case
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
James W. “Jim” Case was born on June 21, 1945, in Chicopee, Massachusetts. His father was a firefighter and his mother was a homemaker who raised seven children; Jim was the fourth of five boys. His family was Irish-German Catholic, and his parents were involved in local politics. He grew up in a blue-collar mill town with a good public educational system; he attended Clark University, where he majored in psychology. He was drafted in November 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War and served two years as an administrator in a physical therapy clinic at an Army hospital. Subsequently, he attended the University of Maine School of Law, became active in politics as co-chair of the local Kennedy campaign committee, and developed an interest in labor law. He also worked on George Mitchell’s gubernatorial campaign in 1974. After law school he went to Washington, DC to work in Senator Muskie’s office, first as assistant counsel to the Committee on Environment and Public Works, which involved economic development and environmental policy, and later as legislative director. He was Senator Mitchell’s first administrative assistant, a post he held until 1981. At the time of this interview he was a partner in the McTeague, Higbee, Case, Cohen, Whitney & Toker law firm.
Summary
Interview includes discussions of: 1972 Muskie presidential primary race; 1974 Maine gubernatorial race; factors that contributed to the results of the 1974 election; Mitchell on the campaign trail; Mitchell’s role in Muskie’s 1976 reelection campaign; how Mitchell came to be appointed U.S. attorney and later a federal judge; the transition in the Senate office when Muskie moved over to the State Department; Mitchell getting committee assignments; issues he worked on in his first year of office; Finance Committee deregulation of the banking industry; Case’s predicting that Mitchell would be Democratic leader; Senate prayer breakfasts; Case’s bringing David Johnson in to replace himself when he left in 1981; Mitchell’s accessibility to Mainers and commitment to Maine; and the mutual loyalty between Senator Mitchell and his staff.
Date: 2008-05-14
Creator: Laurence 'Larry' E Pope
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Laurence E. “Larry” Pope was born on September 24, 1945, in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts. He attended Bowdoin College; upon graduating in 1967, he entered the Peace Corps and then the foreign service in 1969. He spent thirty-one years as a diplomat, serving as ambassador to Chad and as a political advisor to General Tony Zinni. He was the original staff director for the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee chaired by Senator George J. Mitchell.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Braintree, Massachusetts, during the 1950s; interest in the Foreign Service; Bowdoin College; events surrounding the Iraq Liberation Act and Pope’s nomination to become ambassador to Kuwait; the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee; the fact-finding process with Israelis and Palestinians; Pope’s resignation from the commission; selecting Fred Hof as deputy staff director and later director; Senator Warren Rudman; and appointment of Khai Eide as Czar of International Reconstruction Efforts in Afghanistan.
Date: 2009-07-26
Creator: Gerald 'Gerry' F Petruccelli
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Gerald F. Petruccelli was born on February 24, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Mary Rita (Madden) and Gerald F. Petruccelli, Sr. Gerry went to Archbishop Williams in Quincy, Massachusetts, and then to Boston College. He attended law school at the University of Toledo and then the University of Maine, receiving his degree from Boston College, where he was involved in Boston College’s Law Review. He served as professor of law at the University of Maine Law School from 1968-1975, lecturer from 1975-1979, and adjunct professor from 1979 to the the time of this interview. In 1971 he was a special assistant attorney general in Maine, and from 1973 to 1980 he practiced law at Preti Flaherty. Since 1980, Petruccelli has worked for Petruccelli, Martin, and Haddow, LLP in Portland, Maine.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: childhood and educational background; background in politics; description of Boston College Law School Dean Bob Dryden; becoming a member of the faculty at the University of Maine Law School; the change in Uniform Commercial Code; how Petruccelli met George Mitchell through Joe Brennan; working for Mitchell as a lawyer; the Muskie reelection in 1970; working at the district attorney’s office with Mitchell when Joe Brennan was elected; interaction with Mitchell in the Democratic primary election of 1974; working on a major marijuana importation case with Mitchell as U.S. attorney; and meeting with managers of TV stations on behalf of Mitchell in the 1982 campaign.
Date: 2009-07-10
Creator: L. Joe Wishcamper
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Lyndel “Joe” Wishcamper was born August 18, 1942, in Amarillo, Texas, to Joe Henry Wishcamper and Mildred Louise (Pierce) Wishcamper. He attended Yale University and later earned his law degree at Harvard Law School. He practiced law in New York, then transitioned to the investment and real estate businesses. He worked with Max Cardmen, who was instrumental in creating 221.B.3, one of the first government subsidized housing projects; during the Nixon era, this project morphed to become the Section 8 program in 1974. Wishcamper was involved in George Mitchell’s 1982 U.S. Senate campaign. He was involved in the Section 8 program in Portland, Maine, renovating many buildings to be used as subsidized housing, in part working with the Tax Reform of 1986. At the time of this interview, he was president of Wishcamper Industries, which is based in Maine.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Wishcamper’s legal career; 221.B.3 housing project; Section 8 housing; Nixon administration; playing tennis with the Senator; Mitchell’s U.S. Senate appointment (1980); U.S. Senate campaign (1982); Mitchell’s role in the low income housing tax credit; Tax Reform of 1986; and entrepreneurship in Maine.
Date: 2009-04-09
Creator: Paul Orloff, Germaine A Orloff
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Paul Orloff was born in Waterville, Maine, on June 30, 1931. He is first-generation American, the son of two immigrants from Belarus, and one of two children. He met the Mitchell family at a young age because Mrs. Mitchell and his father would commute together to the woolen mill in Waterville. Consequently, he spent much of his time in the Mitchell home growing up, eventually becoming best friends with Robbie Mitchell, George’s brother. He attended Michigan State University, keeping in contact with Germaine, whom he was then dating, by letters. He served on the Waterville School Board for eight years. Germaine Alice (Michaud) Orloff was born in Waterville, Maine, in 1933. The daughter of a Canadian immigrant, she grew up in the French section of Waterville, one of six children. She attended Colby College, living at home while commuting to campus. She served on the city council in Waterville for six years, running on the Democratic ticket.
Summary
This interview includes discussion of: growing up in Waterville, Maine, in the mid-twentieth century; immigrant cultures in Maine; lower middle class experience in Waterville; the Mitchell family; Robbie Mitchell’s personality; Hollingsworth & Whitney; George Mitchell as a young man; George Mitchell’s dating; Bowdoin and Colby Colleges; participation in the Democratic Party; the Orloff family; activities at the Boys and Girls Club; memories about various members of the Mitchell family; tennis; growing up as first generation Americans; George Mitchell’s current activities; and local political activity.
Date: 2009-06-26
Creator: H. 'Tim' Timothy O'Neil
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Hugh Timothy “Tim” O’Neil was born in Geneva, New York, on June 13, 1935, to Mary Ann (Perrella) and Hugh Joseph O’Neil. He grew up in Binghamton, New York, and attended Colgate University. He married while he was a student there and graduated with a major in sociology. He spent nine years working in sales for Goodyear, then moved to Maine where he worked for Noyes Tire for nineteen years. He later worked for Portland Glass, becoming the company’s president. He first met George Mitchell as a litigator on the other side of a case involving Portland Glass, and through some mutual friends they became frequent tennis partners. O’Neil has four children and lived in Scarborough, Maine, at the time of this interview.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; O’Neil’s connection to Harvey Picker; working for Goodyear; moving to Nashua, New Hampshire; how O’Neil came to work for Portland Glass; meeting George Mitchell; Mitchell as a lawyer and a tennis player; an anecdote about Mitchell’s helping O’Neil’s daughter get her divorce finalized; Mitchell’s dislike of partisanship; talking to Mitchell during the 1982 campaign and his first TV ads; visiting Mitchell in D.C. and Naples, Florida, to play tennis; Mitchell’s current position as special envoy to the Middle East peace process; the respect that people have for Mitchell; Mitchell as a businessman; Mitchell’s not being a good handyman; and O’Neil’s current business.
Date: 2009-04-20
Creator: Thomas 'Tom' A Daschle
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Thomas Andrew Daschle was born on December 9, 1947, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Elizabeth B. Meier and Sebastian C. Daschle. He attended South Dakota State University, being graduated with a degree in political science in 1969. After college he served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. He started in politics as a staff member to South Dakota Senator James Abourezk. In 1978, Daschle was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served for four terms there. In 1986, he ran for the U.S. Senate and won, serving until he lost the seat in the fall 2004 elections; he succeeded George Mitchell as Senate majority leader in the Senate in 1995. He served as a key advisor to Barack Obama in his presidential campaign of 2008 and was nominated to be the secretary of health and human services; his nomination proved controversial, and he withdrew his name from consideration. He has been heavily involved in working for health care reform. At the time of this interview, he served as a policy advisor at the firm Alston & Bird and was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: becoming acquainted with Mitchell; making the move to the Senate from the House; Mitchell’s role as chairman of the 1986 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; the Senate class of 1986; the Democratic trend in the 1986 elections; working in the Senate compared to working in the House; the similarities between Daschle and Mitchell and the foundation of their friendship; Daschle’s role as co-chair of the Policy Committee; the Policy Committee’s functions and Mitchell’s role in expanding its responsibilities; Mitchell’s interest in baseball; Daschle’s campaign and election to majority leader; the procedure of the Senate leader election; Mitchell’s advice to Daschle as his successor as majority leader and his help in making the transition; Daschle’s surprise at Mitchell’s retirement decision; the 1994 elections; the check scandal that involved the House bank; Byrd’s decision to move from majority leader to chair of the Appropriations Committee; how Mitchell ought to be remembered; the Bipartisan Policy Center; thoughts on how Mitchell would have been as a presidential candidate; and Mitchell’s and Daschle’s mutual interest in hearing and telling funny stories.
Date: 2009-08-04
Creator: Charles 'Chuck' S Robb
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Charles “Chuck” Robb was born on July 26, 1939, in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew up near Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961. He joined the United States Marine Corps and was graduated with honors from Quantico. He met Lynda Bird Johnson, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, when he became a White House social aide; they were married there in 1967. He served two years of combat duty in Vietnam leading a rifle company, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star. Upon his military discharge, he earned a doctor of law degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1973. Following a clerkship with a federal appeals judge, he entered private practice as a lawyer. He served as lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1978 to 1982 and as governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986. He was elected to the U.S. Senate and served from 1989 until 2001, was instrumental in creating the Super Tuesday primary, and co-founded the Democratic Leadership Council. In 2004, he chaired the Iraq Intelligence Commission. Since 2001, he has held the position of distinguished professor of law and public policy at George Mason University.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Robb’s political family history; comparison of serving as governor and as senator; the work accomplished as governor; running for U.S. Senate; the CODEL to Kuwait; the founding of and involvement with the Democratic Leadership Council; the process of electing Mitchell as majority leader; Mitchell’s leadership; conflict with the Budget Committee; partisanship in the Senate; Mitchell’s position with the party spectrum; the continued growth of the DLC and recruiting Bill Clinton; Mitchell and the DLC; success as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC); Mitchell’s retirement from the Senate; Robb’s last term; the Vietnam group of six in the Senate; and George Mitchell’s legacy.
Date: 2010-01-28
Creator: John B Breaux
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
John Berlinger Breaux was born in Crowley, Louisiana, on March 1, 1944. He was graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana at Lafayette in 1964 and Louisiana State University Law School in 1967. He served as assistant to U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. After Edwards resigned in 1972, Breaux was elected to his seat in the U.S. Congress in a special election. He served in the House of Representatives until 1987, when he was elected to the Senate, where he served until 2005. In 1993, Senate Democrats elected him deputy majority whip. Since retiring from the Senate, he has worked as a lobbyist and taught at Louisiana State University.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Breaux’s entering the Senate when Mitchell was chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC); succeeding Russell Long in the Senate; difference serving in the Senate after serving in the House; Senate majority leader race in 1988; Mitchell’s start as Senate majority leader; responsibilities of Senate majority leader; Breaux’s role as whip; Mitchell’s focus on functional leadership; importance of majority leader’s relationship with the House; Mitchell and Dole; working with presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; Mitchell’s relationship with Bill Clinton; Breaux as a deal maker and bridge builder; working on the Clean Air Act with Mitchell; health care reform; 1990 Mitchell’s legacy in the Senate; John H. Chafee; Moynihan; Lloyd Bensten; Kennedy; Breaux’s retirement in 2004; and Mitchell as a conflict solver.
Date: 2010-05-17
Creator: Diane Dewhirst
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Diane Dewhirst was born on May 28, 1957, in Framingham, Massachusetts, to Joan Priscilla Audubon and Robert Thornton Dewhirst. She grew up in Boston and Philadelphia. Her father worked in sales for an energy firm. Majoring in journalism at the University of Ohio and then transferring to Northwestern, she was graduated with a degree in political science. She worked on Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign in 1976, as an intern for Common Cause, the Democratic National Committee, and briefly for ABC News on delegate selection rules, covering the 1984 presidential election. She then became press secretary for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which George Mitchell chaired, and later joined Mitchell’s press staff, where she served as his communications director for over ten years. At the time of this interview, she was senior advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Iran-Contra and writing Men of Zeal; clean air; acid rain; long term health care; spousal impoverishment; how the press office operated; the national press; the “dugout” on the Senate floor; Clarence Thomas hearings; CODELs; Foreign travel: Canada, Mexico, Soviet Union, Germany, Middle East; health care debate; and relationship with Bob Dole.
Date: 2009-11-11
Creator: Alan K Simpson
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Alan K. Simpson was born September 2, 1931. He attended Cody, Wyoming, public schools and the University of Wyoming, taking a B.S. degree in 1954 and a law degree in 1958. In 1954, he married Susan Ann Schroll, who was a fellow student at the University of Wyoming. He practiced law in Cody, held positions as assistant attorney general and city attorney, and was a United States Commissioner from 1959-1969. He was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1964-1977. Subsequently, he served in the U.S. Senate as a Republican representing Wyoming from 1979-1997, first by briefly filling the seat vacated by Clifford P. Hansen, and then by election. His father, Milward L. Simpson, also served as senator for Wyoming (1962-1967), and as governor (1955-1959). Alan was Senator Bob Dole’s assistant (majority/minority) leader for ten years, including the six years when George Mitchell was majority leader. In addition to other committee service, he served as chair of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee from 1981-1987.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Edmund S. Muskie story; description of Senator Mitchell; Clean Air Act; Iran-Contra; speaking engagements with Mitchell; majority leader; senatorial relationships; Simpson-Mitchell relationship; Al Gore; George Mitchell’s sense of humor; and Mitchell’s legacy.
Date: 2009-09-14
Creator: Donald "Don" Riegle
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Don Riegle was born in Flint Michigan in 1938. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan-Flint in 1960, his M.B.A. from Michigan State University in 1961 and attended Harvard Business School. He worked for IBM from 1961 to 1964 and has taught at Michigan State University, Boston University, University of Southern California, and Harvard University. He served five terms in Congress and three in Senate as a representative from Michigan. He was one of the Keating Five, US Senators accused of corruption in 1989. From 1989 to 1995 he served as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. In 1995 he began working for Shandwick International in Washington, D.C.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: why Riegle changed parties in 1973 (from Republican to Democrat); Phil Hart who succeeded Riegle in 1976; Riegle’s 1976 Senate campaign; the Senate class if 1976; Riegle’s interactions with Ed Muskie; the attitude when Mitchell replaced Muskie; Mitchell’s rise to majority leader; Senator Byrd; George H.W. Bush’s presidency; Mitchell’s partisanship; Riegle and Mitchell’s big issues and crossover; the Banking Committee and the Finance Committee; Clinton’s presidency; the Keating Five; and McCain’s role in the Keating Five.
Date: 2010-04-29
Creator: Edward 'Ed' M Bonney
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Edward Mason “Ed” Bonney was born April 5, 1933, in Buckfield, Maine, and grew up in Lisbon Falls, Maine. His parents, Mason Turner and Beatrice Evelyn (Dean) Bonney, were Roosevelt Democrats. Ed served four years in the Air Force and later became an air traffic controller in New York for several years. He and his wife moved back to Maine to raise their family and became involved in Maine Democratic politics. Ed served as chair of the Cumberland County Democratic Committee, where he first met George Mitchell, and later was executive director of the Maine Democratic Party when Mitchell was state chair. He served as executive director of the Maine State Bar Association for twenty-five years.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; WWII recollections; work as an air traffic controller; John F. Kennedy; involvement in Democratic politics in Maine; Mitchell’s time as chair of the Maine Democratic Party; Ken Curtis; description of George Mitchell in the late ‘60s; Severin Beliveau; Democratic National Convention (1968); Maine State Bar Association and continuing legal education; descriptions of Ed Muskie and George Mitchell; driving Senator Mitchell; and changes to the Maine Democratic Party.
Date: 2010-06-24
Creator: Allan 'Bud' H Selig
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Allan Huber “Bud” Selig was born on July 30, 1934, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father, Ben, was a businessman and his mother, Marie, taught school; they were both immigrants from Romania and the Ukraine, respectively. His mother instilled in him a love of baseball at a young age. He attended the University of Wisconsin and became president of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team as a young man. At the time of this interview he was the ninth commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; love of baseball and his mother’s influence; commissioner of Major League Baseball; steroid use in Major League Baseball and the Mitchell Report, 2008; and George Mitchell’s personal qualities.
Date: 2018-10-05
Creator: Anonymous (Paula)
Access: Open access
- Transcription of statement includes parts 1 and 2, recorded on October 5 and October 9, 2018. This statement was given privately.
Date: 2014-05-01
Creator: Sarah Mary McCarron
Access: Open access
Date: 2015-01-20
Creator: Allen Sockabasin
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-06-27
Creator: Wayne Walker
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-12-05
Creator: Anonymous
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-11-29
Creator: Michael Petit
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-11-03
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-10-16
Creator: Sandra Pictou
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-11-18
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-03-28
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-05-02
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-03-05
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-11-18
Access: Open access
Date: 2008-05-23
Creator: Clyde MacDonald
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Clyde MacDonald, Jr. was born in 1929 in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, to Nellie MacDonald and Clyde MacDonald, Sr., who were both of Canadian descent. The oldest of four children, Clyde enlisted in the Army and served in Germany during the Korean War. After his military discharge, he became interested in politics at the local level. He attended Portland Junior College for two years and then Bates College for two years. He later earned a doctorate at the University of Maine while teaching undergraduate classes there. During that period, he became active in local Democratic politics and found himself in more regular contact with Senator Muskie. He eventually went to work for Muskie, becoming an aide and close personal adviser. He subsequently transitioned to Senator Mitchell’s office, where he was the field representative in Bangor throughout Mitchell’s Senate career, hiring many Maine field office staff.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; introduction and expansion of the cranberry industry in Maine; involvement in Democratic politics since leaving Mitchell’s Senate staff; the Mikulski Commission; anti-war movement’s role in strengthening equality movements; an argument for proportional representation in the national Democratic primary; meeting Senator Mitchell; inheriting his political structure and increasing his involvement with politics; confronting Senator Muskie for support of an amendment; meeting with people to increase support for Senator Eugene McCarthy; the 1974 Maine gubernatorial campaign; relationship between Joe Brennan and George Mitchell; suggestions to increase Mitchell’s popularity; the 1982 Senate campaign; surprise in Brennan’s appointing Mitchell to the U.S. Senate; and Anita Jensen.
Date: 2008-12-08
Creator: Lee E Lockwood
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Lee Enfield Lockwood was born February 17, 1946, in Cumberland, Maryland, to Sarah and Sam Enfield. She grew up in Houston, Texas, attending a local public elementary school and a private high school. She was graduated from Duke University in 1968 with a major in political science. She moved to Washington, DC, and was hired onto Senator Muskie’s staff. She worked for Muskie from 1969 to 1978, first sorting and reading the mail and eventually handling speech writing and legislation. She worked for Senator Mitchell when he was majority leader, handling correspondence in his Senate office from 1989-1993.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Muskie’s Senate office; Muskie’s 1972 presidential bid and working in the “boiler room” of that campaign; differences between Muskie and Mitchell related to the office environment; the process of handling the senators’ mail; Senator Mitchell’s relationship with his staff; the qualities that make a successful Senate staffer; what Mitchell will be remembered for; and the difference between academic discussion of politics and the interpersonal relationships that make it work.
Date: 2015-01-12
Creator: Debora McLaughlin, Barbara Kates, Lynn Nye, Richard Nye, Reba Parsons, Stephanie Spencer, Bette Hoxie, Holly Shafer
Access: Open access
Date: 2009-08-17
Creator: Gordon L Weil
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Gordon Lee Weil was born March 12, 1937, in Mineola, New York, and grew up on Long Island. Sadye, his mother, worked for the Red Cross and was chairman of nursing services in Nassau County and of the USO during World War II, and she served as state president of the National Council of Jewish Women. Gordon attended Hempstead High School and Bowdoin College, where he majored in history with a concentration in government. He was on the Agriculture Committee of the 1956 Democratic Party pre-convention platform committee in Maine and served as a page at the 1956 Democratic National Convention, Chicago. He worked in Washington, DC, with the European Common Market from 1963 to 1966. He also worked for the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of The Long Shot, which chronicles his service as George McGovern’s executive assistant in 1971 and 1972 during McGovern’s presidential campaign. Weil was a Democratic State Convention delegate in 1974, was active in the George Mitchell 1974 gubernatorial election, and worked for Bill Clinton on his 1992 presidential campaign. He subsequently developed a legal expertise in power transmission and energy policy and regulation.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: becoming involved in the Democratic Party at Bowdoin; the Democratic National Convention in 1956; Muskie as chair of the Maine delegation; meeting George Mitchell in 1972 when he was campaigning to be the chair of the Democratic National Committee; Weil’s becoming part of the strategy group for Mitchell’s 1974 gubernatorial campaign and Mitchell’s strategy; Weil’s role in supporting Mitchell’s appointment to federal judge; Weil’s working for Joe Brennan; Ken Curtis; Arthur Stilphen’s relationship with Brennan; relationship between Joe Brennan and Mitchell; Mitchell’s speaking style; relationship between President Bill Clinton and George Mitchell; Clinton offering Mitchell an appointment to the Supreme Court; and Mitchell’s potential as a presidential candidate and career accomplishments.
Date: 2008-07-31
Creator: Paul J Mitchell
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Paul J. Mitchell was born on January 20, 1926, in Westfield, Massachusetts, to Mary (Saad) and George J. Mitchell, Sr. and grew up in Waterville, Maine, after the death of his grandfather. His mother worked as a weaver in the local woolen mills, and his father worked for the Central Maine Power Company, and later for Colby College. In 1944 Paul enrolled in the Navy’s V-12 program at Bates College. He then matriculated at the University of Maine to complete his degree, graduating in 1949, and received a master’s degree in education from Columbia University. He worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in New York City from 1951 until 1956, when he and his family moved to Boston, where he began to work in sales for Liberty Mutual. In 1958 he moved back to Waterville, buying an insurance agency and serving on the city’s Board of Aldermen. He became very involved in the Urban Renewal Authority in Waterville, serving as its executive director for sixteen years. He has also served as a trustee of the University of Maine. Paul is the brother of Senator George Mitchell, John Mitchell, Robbie Mitchell, and Barbara (Mitchell) Atkins. At the time of this interview he continued to live in Waterville, Maine, with his wife, Yvette.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: childhood and educational background; Mitchell family history and genealogy; Waterville, Maine; Bates College, the United States Navy’s V-12 and V-5 programs during World War II; Boys Club; the activities of the Urban Renewal Authority in Waterville, Maine; the Charles Street Project, the Head of Falls Project, and the North End Project; public university education in Maine; the politics of the insurance industry; playing tennis; and descriptions of his parents.
Date: 2009-11-20
Creator: Kermit V Lipez
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Kermit Victor Lipez was born August 18, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Abraham Hyman Lipez and Beatrice (Mayerson) Lipez. He was graduated from Haverford College in 1963 and took his law degree from Yale Law School in 1967. In 1990, he obtained a master of laws degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He began his legal career in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice (1967-1968) before serving as special assistant and legal counsel to Maine Governor Ken Curtis (1968-1971). From 1971 to 1972, he served as a legislative aide to Senator Edmund Muskie and then entered private practice as an attorney in Maine. From 1985 to 1994, he presided as a justice of the Maine Superior Court, and from 1994 to 1998 he sat on the Maine Supreme Court. Since 1998, he has served as a federal judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; early civil rights work; 1970 Maine gubernatorial election recount; Maine 1974 gubernatorial campaign; playing tennis; George Mitchell’s personal attributes; First Circuit Court of Appeals; Ken Curtis; Edmund S. Muskie’s staff.
Date: 2014-06-18
Creator: Brian Altvater, Sr., Dale Mitchell, Stephanie Bailey, Ed Basset
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-07-30
Creator: Francis Joseph, Jr., Juanita Grant, Terri Elder, Tonisha Bassett, Allan Sockabasin
Access: Open access
Date: 2008-09-27
Creator: Floyd L Harding
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Floyd L. Harding was born on August, 26, 1923, in Albion, Maine. His father was a rural mail carrier and his family lived and ran a small family farm. He is one of twelve children (10 boys and 2 girls). He attended Bessey High School in Albion and Colby College. He served in the Army for three years, where he was taken prisoner-of-war. In 1949, he received his law degree from Boston University; he then moved to Presque Isle, Maine, and has practiced law there ever since. He worked for the Maine Potato Growers as assistant general counselor from 1950-1954 and established his own practice in 1954. He served three terms on the Maine state Senate (his wife ran one of his campaigns). He and his wife raised nine children.
Summary
Interview includes discussions of: parental political leanings and the naming of their son Warren; Harding’s experience as a prisoner-of-war in Dresden during World War II; his work for the Potato Board; family law in Presque Isle; the Democratic Party’s development in Maine; serving as a state senator and as majority leader; the “car beside the road” analogy for progressive policy; Mitchell’s cow joke; the contrast between Mitchell and Muskie; Loring Air Force Base closure and its transition to various civilian uses; the founding of Northern Maine Community College; taking issue positions during a campaign and how Mitchell learned from Harding; and Mitchell as an advocate for Maine.
Date: 2009-02-20
Creator: Gerard D Goldstein
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Gerard Goldstein was born August 30, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Bernard and Tilly Jepsky Goldstein. His father’s family immigrated from Russia in the early 1900s and his father owned a shoe factory. His mother’s family were also Russian immigrants and were involved in the paint and wallpaper business. Gerard grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts, and attended Lynn English High School. He and George Mitchell were both in Bowdoin College’s class of 1954. While at Bowdoin, Goldstein played on the football team and was a member of ARU (All Races United) fraternity. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. He specializes in real estate law and is also involved in various philanthropic activities through the local Jewish community, Temple Emmanuel in Marblehead, and the Retina Foundation.
Summary
Interview includes discussions of: the Goldstein family history of immigrating from Russia and Romania; attending Lynn English High School in the late 1940s; the process of selecting a college and choosing Bowdoin College; football at Bowdoin; favorite professors; the social scene at Bowdoin and the All Races United fraternity; ROTC; Harvard Law School; Karen Mills’s appointment to the Small Business Administration; the ongoing connection with Bowdoin alumni; George Mitchell at Bowdoin; Goldstein’s connection to Mitchell through legal work in Maine; Goldstein’s real estate business; Mitchell’s new appointment as special envoy to the Middle East; Goldstein’s trips to Israel and involvement in Jewish philanthropic organizations; his work with the Retina Foundation and Schepens Eye Research; steroids in baseball controversy; and the influence of a Bowdoin education on later life.
Date: 2009-08-31
Creator: Robert 'Hap' Hazzard
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Robert Hazzard was born in Gardiner, Maine, in 1932 to Robert and Margaret (Wyman) Hazzard. His parents owned and operated a shoe factory while he was growing up. He attended local schools, Deerfield Academy, and was active in athletics. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1954 in the same class with George Mitchell, playing collegiate basketball and tennis. After graduation he worked as a CPA in Portland, Maine, where he occasionally continued to play tennis with Mitchell.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Hazzard’s childhood; meeting George Mitchell as a freshman at Bowdoin College; playing basketball and tennis with GJM; and Bowdoin College in the 1950s.
Date: 2008-08-11
Creator: Barry L Valentine
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Barry Lee Valentine was born September 12, 1943, in Emporia Kansas. He grew up in York Harbor, Maine, attended York High School, and received a degree in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. During college he took part in ROTC and after graduation joined the Air Force, serving as a pilot in Vietnam. He left the Air Force in 1972 and returned to Maine, where he helped run an airfield and became involved in politics because a neighbor ran for a seat in the Maine state legislature. He was the York county coordinator for the Maine public power campaign and then joined George Mitchell’s 1974 gubernatorial primary campaign, serving as a scheduler and driver. That fall he ran unsuccessfully for state Senate. He worked in Augusta, Maine, as a staffer for the state House majority leader. In 1976 he made a successful bid for a seat in the state legislature. In 1979 he became a district manager for the 1980 census. He worked in aviation, managing the Portland Jet Port, serving as the regional vice chairman of the National Association of State Aviation Officials, and as chairman of the Airports Committee. Then in 1992 he began work as a staffer for Senate Majority Leader Mitchell on the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. After the committee completed its work, Valentine became an administrator at the FAA during the Clinton administration. At the time of this interview he was semi-retired.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Valentine’s love of flying; Air Force and Vietnam; working on Neil Rolde’s 1972 campaign; the Maine public power referendum; working for George Mitchell in the 1974 gubernatorial campaign; an anecdote about a mill worker who wanted to know what Mitchell would ‘do about them women’ who were getting jobs on the mill floor; Barry’s insights as scheduler/driver; Mitchell’s position on two Democratic planks – gay rights and amnesty for those who avoided the draft – and an anecdote explaining his position to four truckers at a Bangor truck stop; Barry’s running for state senate in 1974 and winning election to the state legislature in 1976; the 1980 census; Mitchell’s 1982 campaign; working on the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs; the 1992 presidential election; and Mitchell’s commitment to his beliefs even when they were politically unpopular.
Date: 2019-05-31
Creator: Jenna Burton
Access: Open access
- Jenna Burton (Class of 1994) describes the process of making friends through Hyde Hall and the sailing team. She also speaks about her experience being part of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and becoming its first female president. Burton reminisces about the hurdles and triumphs of starting the women’s rugby team and discusses the camaraderie and support she found within the team. Additionally, Burton talks about her on-campus job as a Resident Assistant, her Biology major, and reflects on working with Safe Space to critically examine the College’s sexual harassment policy. Finally, she touches on some of her favorite memories, like long brunches in Thorne Dining Hall and broom hockey on the quad.
Date: 2023-12-01
Creator: Ariana Lee
- This paper was submitted as part of EDUC 2285 Ivory Tower: Higher Education in American History, Fall 2023.