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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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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Municipal Plans Commission of the City of Seattle map showing Harbor Island Waterfront District, 1911
Map showing proposed city improvements under the Plan of Seattle, commonly known as the Bogue Plan. Designed by Virgil Bogue, Seattle's municipal plans director, the Bogue Plan proposed a series of improvements aimed at beautifying the city and making it making it more cohesive after years of rapid growth and industrialization. The plan worked in tandem with the Olmsted Brothers new system of parks, begun in 1903, and proposed new government buildings, an improved city center and an interurban road connecting the city together. The plan was rejected by voters in 1912.
Identifier: spl_maps_2465533_6
Date: 1911
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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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R. Duke Watson Interview, May 8, 1986
R. Duke Watson (1915-2010) was born in Alton, Illinois. He grew up with a heavy interest in the outdoors and first visited Seattle on family trips to the West Coast. He attended the Western Military Academy and the University of Illinois where he graduated with a degree in forestry in 1937. Watson moved to the Pacific Northwest shortly after to pursue a career in the timber industry. When World War II began, Watson enlisted in the Army where he served with the Tenth Mountain Division and became a major. On his return from the war, Watson married his wife, Marillyn Black and started his own lumber wholesale business. His interest in the outdoors continued throughout his lifetime and he became one of the founders of the Crystal Mountain ski area and a significant figure in the early history of North Cascades mountaineering.
Identifier: spl_ds_rwatson_01
Date: 1986-05-08
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Central Seattle' booklet, July 1927
July issue of 'Central Seattle,' a monthly publication containing information on local businesses, property changes and development in central Seattle.
Identifier: spl_sh_00022
Date: 1927-07-01
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Laurene Gandy interview, April 6, 1987
Laurene Tatlow Gandy (1908-1993) was born in Denver, Colorado. She attended Colorado University for two years before transferring to Smith College where she earned her degree in English literature. She received her masters degree from the University of Denver and taught English there until she met and married in Joseph Gandy in 1937. Joseph Gandy was appointed as the president of the 1962 Century 21 Exposition and Laurene was often referred to as the fair’s “First Lady.” She served an important role hosting hundreds of visiting dignitaries and celebrities visiting the fair. Gandy was active in a variety of civic activities throughout her lifetime including serving on the board of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, acting as president of the Seattle Children’s Home and helping to found the Seattle Center Foundation in 1977.
Identifier: spl_ds_lgandy_01_01
Date: 1987-04-06
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Stan Pocock Interview, September 1986
Stan Pocock (1923-2014) was a prominent rower and coach in Pacific Northwest rowing. He was born in Seattle and had an interest in rowing from an early age thanks to the legacy of his father, George Pocock (1891-1976) who was renowned for his design and construction of rowing shells. George Pocock was responsible for the construction of the rowing shells used by the University of Washington in their 1936 Olympic championship and supplied collegiate rowing shells across the nation. Stan attended the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in engineering. Stan carried in his father’s footsteps and became known for his own innovations, creating the first fiberglass rowing shell in 1961. He also became a successful rowing coach, leading eight crews to the Olympics during the 1950s and 1960s; coaching the University of Washington rowing team and acting as the first coach of the Lake Washington Rowing Club. In 2012, USRowing awarded Pocock the Medal of Honor, honoring his lifetime achievement in the field.
Identifier: spl_ds_spocock_01
Date: 1986-09-14; 1986-09-17
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Helmut Eppich Interview, February 6, 1987
Helmut Eppich (1933-) was born in Yugoslavia. Together with his twin brother, Hugo, Helmut 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_heeppich_01
Date: 1987-02-06
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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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