Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection
Watch oral histories with prominent figures in the Pacific Northwest including artists Jacob Lawrence and Kenneth Callahan; Governors Albert Rosellini and Dixy Lee Ray and Reverends David Colwell and Samuel McKinney.
-
Charles Odegaard Interview, 1984
Dr. Charles Odegaard (1911-1999) served as the president of the University of Washington from 1958 to 1973. Odegaard was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He attended Dartmouth College as an undergraduate and Harvard as a graduate student. After obtaining his PhD from Harvard, Odegaard worked as a history professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Odegaard served in the Navy during World War II. from scholar, educator and University president about his life and work. In 1953 he became dean of the University of Michigan’s College of Arts and Sciences. During his time as president at the University of Washington, the school saw unprecedented growth, going from 16,000 to 34,000 students and adding 35 new buildings to the campus.
Identifier: spl_ds_codegaard_01
Date: 1984
View this item -
Alexander Bill Interview, January 19, 1988
Dr. Alexander (Sandy) H. Bill Jr. (1914-1996) was a pediatric surgeon who worked at both Providence Hospital and Children's Orthopedic Hospital. Bill was born in Massachusetts and attended Harvard University where he received his medical degree. In his position at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Bill became chief of surgery and led research endeavors studying childhood cancer. He and his wife, Sally, had six children together and often went sailing as a family. Bill also served as Board President of the Bush School. Alexander and Sally Bill also played important roles in land preservation in the San Juans, helping to establish the San Juan Preservation trust, and donating land in Lopez Village which now serves as the location of a community garden, children’s center and farmer’s market. The couple first bought land on Lopez Island in 1964 and moved there full time in 1980 after their retirement.
Identifier: spl_ds_abill_01
Date: 1988-01-19
View this item -
Sam Smith Interview, April 28, 1988
Sam Smith (1922-1995) Smith was born in Gibsland, Louisiana. He was stationed in Seattle during World War II while serving in the Army. Following the war’s conclusion, he decided to stay in Seattle and attended Seattle University where he earned a degree in social science in 1951 and the University of Washington where he earned a degree in economics in 1952. After graduating, he began a career at Boeing. In 1958, Smith was elected to the Washington House of Representatives, becoming the third African-American to earn a seat in the State House. During his time there, he championed a bill banning discrimination in home sales and rentals based on race or religion. In 1967, Smith left the legislature to pursue a seat on the Seattle City Council. He became the first African-American to serve on the council and remained there until 1991. During this time on the city council he promoted an open housing initiative and ran for mayor four times.
Identifier: spl_ds_ssmith_01_01
Date: 1988-04-28
View this item -
Henry Kotkins Interview, July 16, 1987
Henry Kotkins was a native Seattlite, a Port of Seattle Commissioner and the founder of Skyway Luggage. Kotkins attended Garfield High School and the University of Washington. Kotkin’s father started the Seattle Suitcase, Trunk and Bag Manufacturing Company in 1910. Kotkins took over the business after his father’s death in 1936, when the Great Depression was threatening to shut it down. He turned the business around and changed the name to the Skyway Luggage Company, introducing innovations like wheeled suitcases in a variety of colors beyond black and brown. Kotkins served on the 1962 World’s Fair Committee and was a Port of Seattle Commissioner during the 1970s and 1980s. Kotkins was also a member of the Rotary Club of Seattle, the Corinthian and the Seattle Yacht Club.
Identifier: spl_ds_hkotkins_01
Date: 1987-07-16
View this item -
Hugo Eppich Interview, April 15, 1987
Hugo Eppich (1933-) was born in Yugoslavia. Together with his twin brother, Helmut, Hugo moved to Canada in 1953. They founded Ebco Industries Ltd in 1956 which specializes in metal fabrication. In 1990, the brothers received the BC Business Entrepreneurs of the Year award.
Identifier: spl_ds_hueppich_01
Date: 1987-04-15
View this item -
Bernice Stern Interview, August 18, 1987
Bernice Stern (1916-2007) was a Seattle native, the first woman to be elected to the King County Council and a community leader involved in many fields. Stern attended Broadway High School and the University of Washington. Following her marriage to Edward Stern in 1935, she became involved with the Council of Jewish Women at local and national levels. She participated in the Seattle Open Housing Campaign in 1959 and advocated heavily for women’s rights issues throughout her career. She was elected to the King County Council in 1970 and served until 1979. In the interview she discusses her life and involvement with the Council of Jewish Women, League of Women Voters, and Planned Parenthood, as well as work with blind children, aid to European Jews after World War II, and the civil rights movement of the 1960's.
Identifier: spl_ds_bstern_01
Date: 1987-08-18
View this item -
Samuel McKinney Interview, August 17, 1987
Reverend Samuel McKinney (1926-2018) was pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church for 40 years and a major leader in Seattle’s civil rights movement. McKinney was born in Flint, Michigan and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He served in the Air Force during World War II and in 1949 graduated from Morehouse College where one of his classmates was Martin Luther King Jr. In 1952 he graduated from Colgate Rochester Divinity School and in 1953 married his wife Louise. Together the couple moved to Seattle in 1958 where McKinney became the pastor of Mt. Zion. McKinney was a tireless advocate for social and civil rights causes. He was one of the founders of the Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, an organization providing job training; helped start Seattle’s first black-owned bank to help community members obtain home loans after discirimation from other banks; advocated for Seattle’s fair housing act as a member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission and participated in civil rights marches and demonstrations nationwide.
Identifier: spl_ds_smckinney_01
Date: 1987-08-17
View this item -
Webb Moffett Interview, February 9, 1986
Webb Moffett (1909-2008) was born in New York City in 1909. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and graduated with a degree in engineering. He moved to Seattle in the 1930s where he worked as Assistant Director for the Army Corps of Engineers at the Ballard Locks. Moffett was heavily involved in developing Western Washington’s ski industry and helped to install the first tow ropes at Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker and Snoqualmie Pass. With his company Ski Lifts, Inc. he made additional improvements to Snoqualmie Pass introducing ski patrols, chair lifts, electric lighting to allow night skiing and snow grooming equipment. Moffett was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1999.
Identifier: spl_ds_wmoffett_01
Date: 1986-02-09
View this item -
K. Alvin Merendino Interview, 1988
Alvin Merendino (1914-2011) was a noted thoracic surgeon, known for his innovative contributions to surgical techniques. Merendino was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia and attended Ohio University, Yale and the University of Minnesota to receive his undergraduate, M.D. and Ph.D. During his time in Minnesota, he worked as a research Assistant to Dr. Owen H. Wangensteen in the Experimental Surgery Laboratory. He came to Seattle in 1949 and joined the University of Washington as a professor of surgery. In 1950 he became directory of UW’s Experimental Surgical Laboratory where he remained until 1972. During his time he also became professor of surgery and chair of the Department of Surgery. 1956 Merendino became the first person on the West Coast to perform open heart surgery. His wife, Shirley, was a nurse to whom he attributed much of his career success. Together the couple had five children. In 1976, Merendino took a leave of absence from UW to take on responsibilities at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh where he soon became director of medical affairs and during a later stay, directory of the Cancer Therapy Institute and the King Faisal Medical City. He was also active in the medical community, serving as a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners and as chair of the American Board of Surgery. In 2002 Merendino and his wife, Shirley, established the Merendino Endowed Fellowship at the University of Washington to support talented and impactful surgeons.
Identifier: spl_ds_amerendino_01
Date: 1988-04-14; 1988-05-12
View this item -
Fred Haley Interview, May 2, 1986
Fred T. Haley (1912-2005) was the president of Brown & Haley, the confectionary company founded by his father in 1912 that became well known for manufacturing Almond Roca. Haley was heavily involved in civil rights and education issues in Tacoma and nationwide. He served on the Tacoma School Board from 1954 to 1965 and worked for school desegregation and increasing diversity among the faculty. He was also heavily involved in establishing a Tacoma campus for the University of Washington. Haley’s deep interest in social causes was further demonstrated by his participation in the 1963 March on Washington. The American Civil Liberties Union honored Haley with their William O. Douglas award in 1985 for his work to promote civil rights and racial equality and protecting targets of McCarthyism in the 1950s.
Identifier: spl_ds_fhaley_01
Date: 1986-05-02
View this item