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.
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John Clifford contract for employment with Pike Place Public Markets, Inc., January 1927
The contract presents the terms of John Clifford's employment as the Assistant Manager for Pike Place Public Markets, Inc. The contract stipulates that Clifford will work for the company for a period of ten years with a salary of $275 per month with additional stock benefits.
Identifier: spl_sh_00030
Date: 1927-01
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Ted Schuchat Interview, February 29, 1988
Theodore L. Schuchat (1923-2014) was a journalist and speechwriter who worked for the federal government for over 30 years. Schuchat was born in Warrenton, West Virginia and grew up in Baltimore. He attended West Virginia University where he was President of his class. Schuchat’s education was interrupted due to World War II when he joined the Army and served as a radarman. After the war he worked for an advertising agency in New York before resuming his college career at the New School. After graduating from college, he moved back to Washington D.C. and began working for the federal government in 1950. There he worked for the Interior Department and also wrote speeches for political figures. He also worked as a freelance writer with a focus on topics such as health, welfare and retirement. He was the author of syndicated column for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Outside of work, Ted served as the first president of Temple Micah in Washington, D.C. Schuchat moved to Seattle in 2005.
Identifier: spl_ds_tshchuchat_01
Date: 1988-02-29
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University Bridge, looking east, July 10, 1960
The University Bridge opened in 1919, connecting Seattle's University District with Eastlake. In this photograph, the bridge is open as boats travel underneath from Portage Bay to Lake Union.
Identifier: spl_dor_00001
Date: 1960-07-10
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Solomon Katz Interview, 1985
Solomon Katz (1909-1989) was a University of Washington professor, dean and provost and community patron of the arts. Katz was born in Buffalo, New York and attended Cornell University where he studied ancient history. In the 1930s, he taught Greek at the University of Oregon before moving to the University of Washington in 1936 where he taught Roman, Byzantine and medieval history. During World War II, Katz served as a major in the Army Air Force Intelligencer. Following the war, Katz returned to the University of Washington and became chair of the history department in 1954, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1960 and Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs in 1965. He retired from the University in 1979. Katz was part of many organizations including the Seattle Center Advisory Commission, the Lakeside School Board of Trustees, the board of the Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Seattle Arts Commission, the Seattle Art Museum, the Haas Foundation and Patrons of Northwest Civic, Cultural and Charitable Organizations (PONCHO).
Identifier: spl_ds_skatz_01
Date: 1985
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2nd Ave. north from near Columbia St., July 26, 1981
Photograph shows the Savoy Hotel Building, Marion Building, and Melhorn Building.
Identifier: spl_dor_00034
Date: 1981-07-26
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Angelo Pellegrini Interview, February 27, 1986
Angelo Pellegrini (1903-1991) was a food and wine expert, author, and a professor of English Literature at the University of Washington. He was born in Casabianca, Italy and was one of six children. His father, Piacento, was a sharecropper and left Italy for the United States in 1912 to seek a better life for his family. He found work first with the Northern Pacific Railway (which sent him to Washington) and then with the Henry McCleary Timber Company in Grays Harbor. The rest of the Pellegrini family followed in 1913. Angelo Pellegrini excelled in school, learning English and completing eight years of grade school in five years. He completed high school in three years and enrolled in the University of Washington where he studied history. Following his graduation from the University of Washington, he began became an English professor at Whitman College for a brief time before returning to teach at the University of Washington. Pellegrini published his first book, The Unprejudiced Palate, in 1948. Over the course of his career he earned several awards and honors including being named an "an Outstanding Citizen of Washington State" by the Washington State House of Representatives. He retired from teaching in 1973 but continued to write, authoring ten books in total over the course of his lifetime. His books were noted for their appreciation of food and culture and representation of the Italian immigrant experience.
Identifier: spl_ds_apellegrini_01_01
Date: 1986-02-27
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Ancil Payne Interview, January 19, 1988 and April 11, 1988
Ancil Payne (1921-2004) was the president and CEO of the KING Broadcasting Company. Payne was born in Mitchell, Oregon and attended both Willamette University and the University of Oregon. During World War II, Payne joined the Navy and served in the South Pacific. After returning from the war, he enrolled at the University of Washington. Following graduation, he was active in politics, becoming a top aide to Congressman Hugh B. Mitchell. In 1959 Payne began working at King Broadcasting, serving a number of roles including managing the company’s stations in Portland, Oregon before returning to Seattle and becoming president of the company in 1972. Payne played an important role in reviving the company and supporting its expansion into new markets. During his time at the company, he increased employee diversity, hiring more minorities and women to major roles, and took stances on controversial topics, speaking out against the Vietnam War, homophobia and the gun lobby. Payne retired from his role in 1987 but remained active with organizations such as the ACLU. He also established the Ancil Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism at the University of Oregon along with additional scholarships at Dalles High School and Willamette University.
Identifier: spl_ds_apayne_01
Date: 1988-01-19; 1988-04-11
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Robert J. Block Interview, July 30, 1987
Robert Block (1922-1996) was a managing partner of the accounting firm Laventhal and Horvath and an active civic leader in Seattle. Block grew up in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois. He served in the Navy during World War II and was stationed in Seattle which was where he met and married his wife, Marian Friedman. Over the course of his accounting career, Block acted as president of the Washington State Board of Accountancy, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and the Washington Society of CPA’s. Block was also active in his community, serving as president of Temple De Hirsh and vice president of the Seattle Opera.
Identifier: spl_ds_rblock_01
Date: 1987-07-30
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Edith Williams Interview, March 30, 1988
Edith Williams was the granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt and a champion of the Republican Party and environmental causes in the Pacific Northwest. She was born in New York and attended schools in New York and Switzerland. During the Great Depression, she worked at the American Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. She married her husband Andrew Williams in 1941 and the couple moved to Seattle. Her children attended Lakeside School and the St. Nicholas School. Williams was heavily involved in campaigning and fundraising for the Republican party, representing King County on the state Republican Committee. She was also active with the Elizabeth Fischer Orthopedic Guild and St. Mark’s Cathedral. She served as regent of the Washington State University from 1975 to 1981.
Identifier: spl_ds_ewilliams_01
Date: 1988-03-30
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Roy Jackson Interview, April 5, 1988
Roy Jackson (1916-2000) was the deputy director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and active in protecting salmon. He was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. Jackson graduated from the University of Washington College of Fisheries in 1939 and studied salmon in the Fraser River. In 1948 he graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in civil engineering. Between 1938 and 1955, he held a variety of roles with the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission including chief engineer and assistant director. In his time with the organization, he helped restore salmon spawning beds and establish fishways for salmon to travel, resulting in a dramatically more robust salmon population. In 1955 he accepted a role as the executive director of the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission which he held for several years before moving to Rome in 1964 to work for the United Nations. He became the deputy director of the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization in 1972. In 1979, he returned to Seattle and co-founded Natural Resources Consultants. He also held the role of chairman of the board for the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources.
Identifier: spl_ds_rjackson_01
Date: 1988-04-05
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