Since Spring 2014 students in History 300 (Historical Materials) have been interviewing alumni, faculty and staff for the Lewis & Clark College Oral History Project. The interviews document and celebrate the rich history of the college through the collection of spoken memories. This is a joint venture of the History Department, Alumni and Parent Programs, and Watzek Library's Special Collections and Archives.
Jack Parr grew up in Eugene, Oregon, where he went to college at University of Oregon until transferring to Lewis & Clark, graduating in 1965 as a history major. He participated in the first study abroad program to Austria, and founded the men's soccer team. Post-grad, Mr. Parr became a small business owner in addition to working in the lumber and timber industry.
2016-10-14
Herb Swett was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where he attended local elementary, middle, and high schools. Though originally attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, he decided to transfer to L&C in the beginning of his sophomore year. At Lewis & Clark, Mr. Swett pursued a degree in history in hopes of pursing a career as a lawyer. After graduating in 1965, he attended Willamette Law School for a year until he decided to leave for a brief stint in the army, travelling to New Jersey and Georgia for training. Mr. Swett eventually returned to Oregon, attending Univeristy of Oregon in Eugene in order to earn a bachelor's degree in journalism. Mr. Swett worked for local Portland newspapers after leaving U of O, and currently works part time doing medical transcribing and writing occasionally for the local newspaper.
2016-10-28
"Violet Watson was born in Honolulu, HI during the Second World War. Violet’s father was from
Portland, OR and her mother was of Japanese descent but native to Hawaii. Violet grew up on
multiple military bases, attending a total of nine schools before graduating from high school,
though her family often relocated back to Honolulu. Her father served in WWII and the Korean
War, and his military career was a large influence on Violet’s life. She came to the mainland to
leave Hawaii permanently, and enrolled at Lewis & Clark to be close to her father’s family. In the
“little pink bubble,” Violet was a Theatre and Art double major, taking six years to complete her
Bachelor’s. Often in a scramble to pay tuition at Lewis & Clark, she worked up to three jobs at
once, while also performing in Theatre Department productions and being active in Theta Kappa,
a service sorority she belonged to. Shortly after graduation, Violet married a Lewis & Clark
graduate, and they attended the University of Oregon to pursue Master’s Degrees in theatre. Due
to an “uninformed” marriage, the two divorced and returned to Portland. Violet, to help pay her
student loans and continue her education, began working at Marshall High School while also
continuing her Master’s in theatre at Lewis & Clark. Obtaining her degree in 1972, she continued
teaching at Marshall before taking a year off. Violet then began teaching at Barlow High School
in Gresham, where she would teach theatre for twenty-one years. Bringing a progressive
perspective into a conservative community, Violet directed thought-provoking shows in a
sometimes hostile environment. After retiring, she tried her hand at small-scale farming in Sandy,
which did not work out. Now, she is active in the theatre community in Oregon, often judging
competitions and seeing performances of students she taught twenty years before."
2018-03-06
Betty Bachimont grew up in University Place, WA, where her parents taught foreign language: her mother taught Latin at the high school level and her father was a professor of German, French, and Spanish at the University of Puget Sound. After graduating from Curtis High School, Betty Bachimont enrolled in Lewis & Clark College in 1963. In the fall of 1965, Betty along with twenty-one other students traveled with Professor George Sinclair and Margaret Cooley to study abroad in both West Berlin and Munich, Germany. She was involved with the Delta Phi Gamma sorority. After graduating from Lewis & Clark with a German Studies degree, she got a job teaching for the Portland Public Schools. In 1968, Betty was back on campus and through her roommate Romona, met her future husband Hans Siebenmorgen. Betty taught German at a number of Portland public and private schools until retiring in 2000 at the age of 55. Her husband was a mechanic and retired five years later, in 2005. Betty and Hans live in Portland, OR and have two daughters, Anni and Karin, as well as one granddaughter, Mia.
20151002
Professor Emeritus of Health from 1967-1991& 1998-2004.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark alumnus Dell Smith, conducted by Jeremy Biskind on October 21, 2014. History Department, Fall Semester, 2014. TRANSCRIPTION PENDING
20141021
David Avison was born and raised in Salem, OR, among a family of lawyers. When he was a senior in high school he decided to attend Willamette University, since his father was terminally ill at the time and David didn’t want to be away from home. David switched from an engineering major to a history major in his sophomore year, and in 1965 he transferred to Lewis & Clark College after hearing about its esteemed history department. While at Lewis & Clark, David participated in student protests against the Vietnam War, and graduated as the student president of the class of 1968. After college, David enrolled in Officer Candidate School, and spent the next three years in active duty, where he held three commanding officer positions and was trained to be a military prosecutor. After spending one year of active duty in Vietnam, he attended law school and spent the next 21 years in the naval reserve. He currently practices estate-planning law in Portland, OR with his second wife and works with various nonprofits, including the United Church of Christ and the NW Baptist Foundation.
20160224
Marilyn Lane was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado where she grew up with three older brothers. Her mother and father both attended college where her father received an Associates of Business, so attending college was an expectation in her family. Marilyn attended Lewis & Clark College and graduated in 1968 with a degree in English. During her time at Lewis & Clark, Marilyn decided to study abroad in Iran during her senior year. After the Iran trip, Marilyn decided to become a teacher, achieving her masters and Ph.D. She later became a principal, and today runs a small non-profit professional organization to help people succeed in school. Marilyn now resides by the beach in Gearhart, Oregon with her puppy Sadie.
20151007
Bryan Harold Laycoe was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1942 and is the son of famous
hockey player Hal Laycoe. After frequently moving between cities in Canada and the United
States, Mr. Laycoe eventually settled in Portland and attended Cleveland High School. Upon
graduation, Mr. Laycoe enrolled at Lewis & Clark College for track and graduated in 1968
following a pre-med pathway. After Lewis & Clark, Mr. Laycoe studied medicine at Oregon
Medical School and had a doctoral internship at the University of Oregon. In 1973, Mr. Laycoe
volunteered to serve in the United States Navy and was stationed at Pearl Harbor for two years.
Upon completion of the Vietnam War, Mr. Laycoe worked as a practicing orthopedic surgeon for
40 years. For the past ten years, Mr. Laycoe has been involved with the American Legion, an
organization that serves veterans and contributes to the community. Today he and his wife raise
show horses in Washington.
2018-03-19
Jerry A Miller was born in Portland, Oregon in 1946 and was raised in The Dalles, Oregon. He
enrolled at Lewis & Clark in 1964 and graduated summa cum laude in May of 1968 with a
double major in math and physics. He was involved in demonstrations against the Vietnam War
in front of the Manor House during his time at Lewis & Clark. After he graduated, Mr. Miller
served in NOAA Corps for three years as an officer on the ship Oceanographer (OSS 01). After
his service, he earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
He worked for General Electric for thirty-four years performing startup tests in nuclear power
plants and later working with company mergers and acquisitions. Jerry is now retired and lives in
Snohomish, Washington. He enjoys traveling overseas.
2018-03-14
William (Bill) Cummings was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska , living with his two working-class parents and one sister until his time at Lewis & Clark. He graduated from Lewis & Clark in 1969 with a degree in History, and was very active in the school’s band during his time here. He lived on campus all four years, and lived in Forest Hall his first year at the school. After graduating from Lewis & Clark, he moved back to Anchorage for work, and eventually found his way back to Lewis & Clark for law school. He worked in the Alaskan state government for many years until his retirement when he finally settled in Juneau, Alaska. He and a partner started a law firm where Bill now works as an attorney, working mainly in civil law. He currently still resides in Juneau with his wife.
20150924
Klaus Engelhardt was born in Germany in 1936 and moved to Munich in 1945 at the age of nine years old. He attended the University of Munich for both undergraduate and graduate school, earning a Ph.D. in Romance Languages, specifically French. Aside from speaking his native German, he speaks Latin, English and French and has picked up bits of other languages over the years. He received a job offer from George Sinclair, the head of Lewis & Clark College’s Foreign Languages Department to teach French and German. Shortly afterwards, both he and his wife, Marie, moved to Portland in 1969. He has two children, a son and a daughter. His daughter was part of Lewis & Clark’s graduating class in 2000. Over his years at the school, Professor Engelhardt served as a program director for many of L&C’s overseas and abroad programs, as a faculty advisor for SAAB, and also as the Foreign Language Department Chair. He retired in 2002 and is now listed as a Professor Emeritus. He continues to teach German to children at a local community center.
Professor Engelhardt remains active on campus through his visits to the library and the gym, as well as through continued involvement with the Overseas Office and the Alumni Office.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark Professor Klaus Engelhardt, conducted by Heather Schadt on October 16, 2014. History Department, Fall Semester, 2014.
20141016
Roz Hamar moved to Portland in 1952, attending primary and secondary school in the city. Ms. hamar attended Lewis & Clark College, graduating with her degree in history in 1969, going on to receive her teaching credentials and Master's degree in education in 1974. While attending L&C, she was involved with dance, her church, and held an off-campus job. Post-graduation, she taught ninth grade in the Portland area.
2016-10-31
John Hammil is a local Portlandian. the son of two teachers, he was driven to go to college. He went to Lewis & Clark from 1963, traveled on two study abroad programs to Washington D.C. and Yugoslavia, amd graduated with a Bachelor's in History in 1969. He retired in 1995 at the age of forty with disablity, trained to become a medical transcriber, and then taught computer skills in Salem, OR. He is on the Board of Directors of Cherriots, the Salem-Keizer Transit Public agency, as well s a divisional leader for the Exchange Club of Salem.
2016-10-30
Steven Hopkins was born in Portland, Oregon and has lived in the area for most of his life. He began college at Multnomah Junior College in the fall of 1965, planning to transfer to Lewis & Clark in the next fall of 1966. Hopkins graduated from Lewis & Clark in the spring of 1969 with a B.A. in business. After college, Steve was drafted into the army to serve in the Vietnam War. He worked at Fort Reilly as a personnel clerk where he developed an important mentor relationship with the Colonel (who later became a General), Richard E. Cavazos. During his service, Steve also served in Germany in a Reforger Exercise. The Reforger Exercises, organized by NATO during the Cold War, required troops to occupy Germany so they could be deployed quickly in the event of a conflict. While still serving, Steve and his brother bought their parents’ auto parts store. When he returned to Portland, Steve expanded the company, creating a chain of auto stores in Portland. He has since sold his auto parts stores but remains involved in Portland business in many ways.
20160222
Alan Masden was born in Valdosta, GA, and moved often due to his father’s job
as a fighter pilot and flight trainer for the United States Air Force, mostly living in
California. Masden attended Lewis & Clark College from the fall of 1964 until the spring
of 1969, when he graduated with a BA in History. At a time rife with student protest
movements against the Vietnam War, Alan describes himself as an “anarchist” who had a
lot of respect for those in service in Vietnam, and who frequently found error in the ways
of the anti-war movement that defined his college years. After his graduation, Alan got
his Masters Degree in Counseling from Western Kentucky in 1974, the same college that
his father had attended. Inspired by his own lifelong struggles with Attention Deficit
Disorder and other chronic psychoses, Alan pursued a career in social work at the urging
of those around him. After working as a supervisor for various hospitals in the Pacific
Northwest for many years, he retired, and today lives with his wife, Becky, in Vancouver,
WA. He still meets with three friends from Lewis & Clark weekly to have coffee and
argue together.
2018-10-12
Roger Nelsen was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended DePauw University in Indiana where he majored in math before going to graduate school at Duke University. While working on his dissertation, he lived in France for a year, from November of 1967 to November of 1968. He began as a math professor at Lewis & Clark in the fall of 1969, where he continued to teach until he retired in 2009. He was married once and has no children. While teaching at Lewis & Clark, he led overseas programs to Denmark, France, and Spain. He has also traveled extensively for overseas math conferences and PhD committees. He lives just a few blocks away from Lewis & Clark and keeps an office on campus in the math department where he makes the coffee, works on math problems, and writes math textbooks.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark Professor Roger Nelson, conducted by Nora Sackett on October 17, 2014. History Department, Fall Semester, 2014.
20141017
Kathleen Todd was born into a small family in Tacoma, Washington. She came to Lewis & Clark determined to study abroad and to become the first person in her family to earn a degree. She studied education with the goals of teaching grade school humanities subjects, while incorporating the literature, geography, and history she learned in her studies abroad in Iran and Mexico. Her trip to Iran in 1968 provided lifelong friendships and developed interpersonal skills that she’s used throughout her life and career. She worked as the director of the Office of Citizen Involvement for Multnomah County for almost 20 years before her retirement in February 2015, and found the problem-solving abilities and social skills she gained at Lewis & Clark and abroad extremely valuable. Currently, she works with the Center for the Arts Foundation in Gresham and serves as a chair of the Vital Aging Network for Multnomah County.
20151014
David Poulshock was born in Los Angeles, CA and grew up in Klamath Falls, OR, where his mother and father were both musicians and educators. Poulshock came to Lewis & Clark in the fall of 1966, graduating in the class of 1970 with a degree in history. Poulshock was a varsity swimmer and very involved in politics on campus, leading strikes and teach-ins concerning the Vietnam War. He was the ASLC President his senior year and created and served on the Community Council, advocated for students and professors to be on the Board of Trustees, organized a campus wide referendum, created a new senate constitution, and came to heads with the President of the College John Howard. While at Lewis & Clark, Poulshock had the opportunity to meet President Richard Nixon at a conference in Washington D.C. for college student body presidents. After attending the Vietnam Moratorium in Washington D.C. in 1971, he opened a co-op called the Eleventh Muse in downtown Portland and joined the band UPEPO, which he was in from 1971-1983. He currently lives in Portland, OR with his partner Gini Chin, and owns his own production company Red Door Films where he directs, writes, produces, and edits commercials, corporate films, web videos, and documentaries.
20160318
Don Ruff grew up in Tacoma, Washington. Inspired by his mother's German-American heritage, Don chose to pursue a History degree at Lewis & clark, with an emphasis on Eastern Europe. After graduation, he went on to study engineering at Portland State University. He also worked as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War in Portland at an organization called FISH (Friends in Serving Humanity) in the time between his two degrees. He went on the abroad trip to Yugoslavia during his time at L&C, and has since travelled to Malaysia and Costa Rica. Don is now retired after having worked at Bonneville Power Administration. He also married a fellow Lewis & Clark graduate with whom he has raised two children.
2016-10-21
Paul Barker was born in Toledo, Oregon, and grew up on the Oregon Coast in a town called Newport. His father was a doctor, while his mother was heavily involved in volunteer work in their local community, which included being an active member of the county school board. Paul became interested in the Middle East as a young adult, and cultivated this interest during his time at Lewis & Clark when he took part in the college’s first overseas trip to Iran in 1968. After graduating from Lewis & Clark in 1971, Paul spent several decades in international aid organizations throughout the Middle East and Africa including: the Peace Corps Iran, Israel, the Westbank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. He also spent several years working with the organization CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) in Ethiopia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Palestine, establishing various programs aimed at the betterment of life for the populations the organization served. Although now retired, Paul remains an active participant in the Peace Corps Iran Association Advocacy Bulletin as its editor, in order to promote awareness amongst former volunteers about issues affecting the country.
2019-02-19
Susanne Carlson was born in Oakland, California and grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon. She
lived in Lake Oswego until she left home for Willamette University where she entered a pre-med
program. Though it was not common during the 1960s, Susanne’s parents encouraged her to
pursue an education and a professional career. Though misogynistic conceptions of women’s
ability barred her from entering medical school, Susanne instead enrolled in Lewis and Clark
College where she earned a Master's degree in health, physical, education, and biology in 1971.
During her time at Lewis and Clark, Susanne participated in the women’s movement, fighting for
the right to abortion, birth control, and economic equality. Susanne also stood against the United
State’s war in Vietnam and even volunteered for the Red Cross at anti-war protests. Susanne is
currently a healthcare practitioner in Portland, Oregon and is married to Bruce Odekirk, an
applied physicist. Susanne and Bruce have five children together; two biological and three
adopted. To this day, Susanne remains passionate about her activism and considers it just as
relevant today as it was during the 1960s and 1970s.
2018-10-08
Thomas Miller was born in Chicago, IL, and moved out to Hillsboro, Oregon when he was five years old. He went to middle school and high school in Portland, and after applying to college his draft number came up. Before being drafted, Thomas signed up for the Army, and after much training was sent to the Dominican Republic for a year. He was then sent to Vietnam for a secret mission, and upon returning was sent to Walter Reed Army Hospital for one year. After leaving Walter Reed, Thomas enrolled at Reed College in Portland, OR, but was harassed and abused there for being a GI and having his education paid for by the Army. The Army decided to not pay for Reed, and as a result, Thomas transferred to Lewis & Clark, where he pursued the sciences. Although studying science, Thomas found his artistic side at Lewis & Clark through art, music, and writing classes. After college, Thomas went to graduate school, and continues to value both science and art. He practices Buddhism and tries to work with other veterans in California that are struggling with PTSD.
20160219
Fred Viehe was born in Phoenix, Arizona to a mother who was a violinist and father who
was a self-taught electrical engineer who was never employed in that capacity. In Los
Angeles his father worked as an Inspector for the LA Department of Public Works. He
grew up in Los Angeles and volunteered for the Vietnam War in 1965, serving as a
paratrooper in the 82 nd Airborne Division, and applied to Lewis and Clark College in
1967 when he finished in the army. Upon his acceptance, he traveled to Portland with his
wife, Dianne, and began taking History and Religious Studies courses. While still
attending school, he became increasingly involved in campaigns for both presidential and
city council elections and participated in both the Lewis and Clark and Portland
Moratoriums for the Vietnam War. He graduated as a History major in 1971 and now
works as a professor of American Urban History at Youngstown State University.
2018-03-07
Dinah Dodds spent her formative years in Oakland, California, and attended a high school for girls in Berkeley. Upon graduation she pursued a Zoology major at Pomona College, which led her to accept a position as a lab technician in a Zoology lab at the University of Göttingen in Germany. During her three years there, she discovered her great passion for German literature and decided to change her academic focus. When she returned to the United States, she began graduate school in German Literature at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she got a Master’s Degree and Ph.D. Dinah Dodds came to Lewis & Clark College in 1972 upon completion of her Ph.D. program and taught German in the Foreign Languages department, later serving as Chair of the department for a number of years until her retirement in 2008. She returned for an additional two years as Chair of the Music department. Dodds remains deeply involved with the Lewis & Clark community, largely through the Dinah Dodds Endowment for International Studies created in her name.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark Professor Dinah Dodds, conducted by Kate Wackett on October 22, 2014. History Department, Fall Semester, 2014.
20141022
David grew up in Oregon City and attended Lewis & Clark College from fall of 1967 to spring of 1972. He was heavily involved in campus life, particularly with an on-campus fraternity and Resident Advisor duties. He graduated with a degree in accounting and went on to work in public and municipal accounting for the remainder of his career. He spent his first two years in municipal accounting for a local school district, which convinced him to stay in that type of work for the rest of his career. This was his term as a conscientious objector.
20160226
Christopher E. Jay was born and raised in Milton-Freewater, OR in the Walla Walla Valley only
7 miles from Walla Walla, WA. His parents were farmers and craftsmen, and he is one of four
boys. He attended Lewis and Clark from 1968-1972 and graduated with a degree in Political
Science. He was very active in student government and ran and won student senator in the spring
of 1971 He was in the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) for two years, studied in
Washington D.C., and was a Resident Advisor (RA) during his time at Lewis & Clark. He has
been married for the past 37 years to Mardra M. Jay, and has three kids and three grandkids.
2018-03-09
Bob Phillips was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He attended primary and secondary school here, graduating from David Douglas High School in 1968. Mr. Phillips attended Lewis & Clark College until 1972, when he graduated with a degree in education. While attending he lettered in football all four years, worked as a cook in the cafeteria and worked multiple jobs off campus. Upon graduating, Mr. Phillips worked in the Portland area as an elementary school teacher until his retirement in 2002. He returned to Lewis & Clark to receive his master’s degree in teaching, graduating in 1986. He met his wife of 22 years while attending Lewis & Clark, and has two daughters. Since retirement, Mr. Phillips has enjoyed spending time outdoors, mountain climbing, volunteering at local elementary schools and spending time visiting his children and grandchildren.
20150304
Rick Price was born in Valsetz, Oregon in 1949 to a superintendent father and a school teacher mother. They moved to Newport, Oregon shortly after. Rick started taking classes at Lewis & Clark College in the Fall of 1967. After only one semester at Lewis & Clark, Rick took part in the school’s study abroad program in Tehran, Iran in the spring of 1968. When he had finished his second semester on campus in the fall of 1968, Rick decided to transfer to the University of Oregon, where he earned a degree in General Social Science in 1973, and subsequently earned a doctorate in Geography from the University of Oregon. Rick now operates an international bike touring company, Experience Plus, out of Fort Collins, Colorado with his wife, Paola, and daughters Monica and Maria.
20151015
Dave Albertine spent his early years growing up in Gary, Indiana, which is a suburb of Chicago. His father’s name is Alexander Albertine. His mother’s name is Bernadette Cogozzo. In 1961 at the age of ten his family moved to Sherwood, Oregon. He graduated from Sherwood Union High School and was able to go to Lewis & Clark College with the support of his mother. He was an active member of Lambda Phi Epsilon and was an R.A. while attending Lewis & Clark. Lewis & Clark is also where he met his wife, Peggy. After graduating with his history degree, he became a teacher. He has recently retired and his kids have either graduated or are in college. He never moved from Portland and is still connected with the campus and other alumni living in the area.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark alumnus Dave Albertine, conducted by Dean Rieniker on February 27, 2015. History Department, Spring Semester, 2015.
20150227
Ed Curtis is a Portland native and grew up in the Northeast section of the city. Neither of
his parents attended college. His mother was a secretary for a local school district, and his
father was a carpenter and later a weights and measures Inspector for the State of Oregon.
Ed attended Lewis & Clark starting in 1969 and graduated in 1973. He was involved in
forensic debate in his time there, as well as enjoying employment as an RA in Juniper. He
described his most significant courses as his Communications (now Rhetoric and Media
Studies) and German classes. In his senior year, he was encouraged by one of the German
faculty members, Angela Young, to participate in the inaugural Year in Munich program.
Around fifteen Lewis & Clark students, as well as students from other various
institutions, attended the program. It ran from August 1972 to July 1973. On January
25th, 1973, a protest organized by students at Ludwig-Maximilians Universitat Munchen
against the Bavarian Higher Education Law took place in the main square of the
University, the Geschweister-Scholl-Platz. Ed and other Lewis & Clark students were
explicitly told not to participate, in fear that Lewis & Clark trustees would defund the
new study abroad program. After the protest, classes on the LMU campus were canceled
for a week. Ed had many insightful comments about the German education system, the
history that the protest drew on, and German militarization. After he graduated from
Lewis & Clark, Ed stayed in the Portland area, with his wife, who was also a Lewis &
Clark alumna. He was a high school teacher for 37 years.
2018-10-09
Lee Garrett was introduced to organ music in his family’s Episcopal church at age three. Animated by the grandeur of that sound, he dedicated his life to mastering and teaching the instrument. When he encountered Lewis & Clark’s Casavant, the world’s largest circular hanging organ, it struck him as confident and restrained, assertive and gentle. Garrett stayed at Lewis & Clark for twenty-nine years, teaching private organ lessons and courses in music theory and music history. He witnessed the presidencies of John R. Howard and Jim Gardner. In addition to teaching and chairing the music department, he offered consults on organ design to Portland churches and played the Casavant at Lewis & Clark’s special events. Garrett now serves as curator of the organ, maintaining the $1.5 million instrument.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark alumnus Lee Garrett, conducted by Caleb Diehl on October 27, 2014. History Department, Spring Semester, 2014.
20141027
David Lee Harris Sr. is a native Oregonian, born just outside of Portland in Beaverton,
Oregon. He attended grade school and high school in Beaverton and completed two years of
community college before transferring to Lewis & Clark College for his junior and senior years,
between nineteen seventy-two and nineteen seventy-four. He was a college student toward the
end of the Vietnam War, but was able to escape the draft using a full-time student exemption.
During his time at Lewis & Clark college he majored in business, earning a degree from the
business school and going on to work at a local Fortune 500 company recommended to him by a
professor. Following his time at said company, he went to work at his father’s petroleum
distribution company, which sparked his interest in environmental activist endeavors, leading
him to craft policies incentivizing both public and private organizations to reassess their own
environmental practices.
2018-10-26
Steven Hunt came to Lewis & Clark in 1973. He was a Director of Forensics for his entire career as an educator. He also picked up a JD (law degree) at Northwestern School of Law 1985. He served in many positions at Lewis & Clark including Chair of the Department of Communication (now RHMS), Chair of Curriculum Committee, Chair of Academic Advising, Admissions, and Financial Aid Committee, Faculty Parliamentarian, and Dean of Social Sciences. In the forensics community, I have edited Pi Kappa Delta’s The Forensic for four years and been President of the National Cross Examination Debate Association.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark Professor Steven Hunt, conducted by Spencer Lymburn on October 24, 2014. History Department, Spring Semester, 2014.
20141024
Randel Webb was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He grew up primarily in Long Beach
California, but moved around frequently because his father was in the Marine Corps. After high
school Randel joined the National Guard and he completed his six-year obligation to the Guard
in 1969. Following his time with the Guard, Randel attended Mt. Angel College in Oregon,
where he met his wife, Jan. However, Randel left Mt. Angel for his last year and went to Lewis
& Clark College because Mt. Angel was losing its accreditation. Randel studied music at Mt.
Angel and Lewis & Clark. He graduated from Lewis & Clark in April, 1973. Randel was
recruited to the Marine Corps while at Lewis & Clark, and he served in the Marine Corps from
1972 to 1993. He continued to serve as a US Marine Corps civilian from 1993 to 2014. While he
was never deployed, he was involved in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the war in
Afghanistan. He and his family lived in many beautiful coastal locations around the world and
eventually settled in Quantico, Virginia. He and Jan are still happily married.
2018-03-20
Jimmy Brown was born in Portland, Oregon. Since then, Jimmy has lived,
studied, and worked in many different communities throughout the Portland area.
He grew up in northeast Portland where—in 1970—approximately ninety percent
of Portland’s African American population lived. Jimmy began school at Lewis &
Clark college in 1970, and graduated from there in 1974 with a degree in
psychology. At Lewis & Clark he was one of very few African American students,
a fact that greatly impacted his experience on campus and in classes.
Throughout his time at Lewis & Clark Jimmy followed his passion for the social
services and participated in the University Year for Action program during his
junior and senior years. After college, Jimmy chose to stay in Portland and he
continued his work in the social services. He is married to Kathleen Brown who
was also a student at Lewis & Clark college.
2018-10-10
Marilyn McLean choose Lewis & Clark for its reputable international programs, outstanding music department, and quaint campus. Marilyn is originally from the Seattle area and lives there currently. Formerly a music major before switching to history, Marilyn remarked that one of her favorite classes was the Hitler seminar that she took her senior year. Working three jobs to support herself throughout college, Marilyn still found time to participate in extracurriculars. As a residential advisor, a member of the school choir, and the chief justice of the judiciary board, Marilyn kept herself very busy over the course of her time spent at Lewis & Clark. Marilyn studied abroad in what was formerly known as Yugoslavia in 1973. Marily firmly believes that Lewis & Clark's desire to expose its students to international cultures distinguishes it from other colleges. She went on to work as a lawyer after going to school later in life. Although it did not directly affect her career path, history helped Marilyn with the rest of her life by connecting her to other cultures and giving her the tools necessary to travel abroad as well as excellent research skills. Marilyn is still active in the alumni community to this day.
2017-03-01
Rich Peck worked as an Associate Professor of International Affairs at Lewis and Clark from 1974 until 2008. Before this, he attended graduate school at Yale and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California Berkeley. While at Lewis and Clark, Professor Peck was primarily involved with teaching courses on Africa and Southeast Asia. It was during this time that he helped the LC study abroad program expand into East Africa. He led students on trips where they studied African culture and Swahili in Nairobi and other areas in Kenya. Professor Peck still lives close to the Lewis and Clark College campus and he has remained involved with the school by hosting foreign exchange students for the past several years.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark Professor Rich Peck, conducted by John Hanton on October 16, 2014. History Department, Fall Semester, 2014.
20141016
Susan G. Reese was raised in White Salmon, WA. Valedictorian of her high school class, she
chose Lewis & Clark for its beautiful campus, academic rigor, and location in Portland, OR. As a
student here, she was heavily involved on campus through both employment and her work with
student government. Notably, she participated in a takeover of President John Howard’s office in
the Manor House to protest the US involvement in the Vietnam War, as well as some of
President Howard’s actions on campus. She was also an active member of the PPAC and the
NAACP in Portland. After graduating from Lewis & Clark in 1974, Susan pursued a number of
vocations before returning to school to get her Masters in English from Portland State University
and her MFA in Poetry from Pacific University. She teaches in the English department at PSU
and remains politically active. She lives in West Linn, OR.
2018-03-22
Jack Landau is an alumnus of Lewis & Clark's undergraduate and Law School programs. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the undergraduate campus in 1975, receiving degrees in both history and psychology. Mr. Landau eventually returned to L&C for his law degree and graduated with his juris doctorate in 1980. Mr. Landau is now an Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, but still lives in Portland, remaining an active alumnus who intermittently teaches classes at the Lewis & Clark Law School, as well as Benjamin Franklin High School.
2016-10-21
Susan Olson was born in 1953 and lived in Los Angeles, California, until age thirteen when she moved to Eugene, Oregon. She began her freshman year at Lewis & Clark in 1971. She was the team manager for the men’s track team, a recreational piano player, and an enthusiastic French student. In 1974 she participated in a Lewis & Clark overseas trip to the UK. After earning her bachelor’s degree in biology and graduating Lewis & Clark in 1975, she entered the medical school graduate program at Oregon Health and Science University (1978- 1984) to pursue cytogenetics. She married her husband, Bill Nelson, in 1988 and they have three daughters. She is currently a professor and director of two labs at Oregon Health and Science University. One of her roommates from Lewis & Clark has been working with her in the lab for more than two decades. Susan is certified in scuba diving, does international folk dancing for fun, likes going to the symphony with friends, and is currently working on practicing piano again.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark alumnus Susan Olson, conducted by Aubrie Rakus on February 27, 2015. History Department, Spring Semester, 2015.
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Deborah Sue Schallert grew up in Littleton, Colorado, the daughter of a businessman and a
registered nurse. After attending Arizona State University for her first semester, she transferred
to Lewis & Clark, where she took mostly psychology and biology classes and worked as a
Resident Advisor.. She graduated in spring of 1975, and then moved to Chicago to work at the
National Runaway Hotline. She returned to Lewis & Clark a few months later to become the
Resident Director of Akin Hall, which was then all-female. Deborah went on to work for Oregon
Parks and Recreation and Portland General Electric, and she now sits on Oregon’s State
Advisory Committee for Historical Preservation. She currently lives in Portland with her
husband Michael, the brother of one of her fellow Resident Directors.
2019-10-10
Richard Adams was a professor at Lewis and Clark College from 1976 to 2000. He was born in Yakima, Washington, and moved all over the state until the age of twelve. When Adams turned twelve, he moved to India with his family and lived there until the age of seventeen, attending boarding school while also taking a year off to spend time with his family and truly experience India. He then moved back to McMinnville, Oregon, at seventeen for his senior year of high school. After graduating high school, Professor Adams attended Hillsdale College in Michigan. While at Hillsdale, Professor Adams majored in Sociology with a focus on South Asian studies. He then went to Duke for graduate school on a South Asian fellowship for sociology. His first teaching job was at Hollands College in Roanoke, Virginia. He then moved to a teaching position at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon. Then Adams applied for a teaching job at Lewis and Clark College and was hired. Adams taught at Lewis and Clark College for twenty-four years until 2000, when he decided to retire from teaching and take a bigger role in his non-profit organization called the Zimbabwe Art Project. He was Executive Director of Zimbabwe Art Project from 2000 to 2010 until he officially retired from everything. He spends the days reading up on conquered people in historical empires, what happens to them, and what becomes of them. He also gives back to a variety of charities such as Habitat for Humanity. He also builds balsa and tissue model airplanes, for himself and his grandchildren. Adams is happily married with two daughters from a previous marriage and two grandchildren.
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark alumnus Richard Adams, conducted by Blake Howell on October 22, 2014. History Department, Fall Semester, 2014.
20141022
Originally from Camas, Washington, Janet earned her bachelor's degree in History from Lewis & Clark in 1976. Interestingly enough, she only applied to two places: Lewis and Clark and Western Washington University. She ultimately chose Lewis & Clark over the latter. She did her senior research project on the Japanese Internment Camp at the Expo Center during WWII and was subsequently published in a quarterly review. While a student at Lewis & Clark, Historical Materials was her favorite class. Janet graduated in three years with a sterling GPA. While a student at Lewis & Clark she read for leisure and took piano and organ lessons and, as an Akin resident, was able to practice quite frequently in the nearby chapel. Janet received a Masters in Librarianship at the University of Washington in 1978. After earning her master's degree, she went to the University of Oregon and earned a second bachelor's in Computer and Information Science. Gaining another master's in Applied Information Management from the University of Oregon later in life, Janet remarked on her interest in managing information and information systems. As a 4th generation Oregonian, she is somewhat troubled by the rapid growth of Portland but still calls this place home.
2017-03-13
After growing up in Denver, Colorado, Ken Goe attended Lewis and Clark College from 1972 to
1976. He was involved with the Pioneer Log and Student Government on campus but cites his
study abroad experience in Europe during his sophomore year as his favorite time during his stay
at Lewis & Clark College. Ken recalls hitchhiking around the Scottish Highlands, avoiding
British food and meeting local folk all while developing a closer connection to the cites he
studied as a communications and history major. On campus, an array of interesting and, at times,
problematic professors, a heated intramural football game and time spent with friends allow Ken
to look fondly back to his time as a pioneer before he became a sports journalist for the
Oregonian.
2017-03-06
Frances Hart was born in Long Beach, California in 1954 and raised in Orange County. At 13,
her grandparents took her on a trip through Europe and the Middle East. They reached Cairo
only days before the outbreak of the Six-Day War. Frances was still abroad when war was
officially declared. The summer going into her Senior year of high school, she went on a student
exchange program to Afghanistan, where she studied the Dari language. She came to Lewis and
Clark in 1972 and canvassed for presidential candidate George McGovern.. She did not graduate
from Lewis and Clark because an Anthropology major was never offered, so she transferred to
UC Santa Cruz and graduated in 1977. Frances now lives in Portland, Oregon.
2018-02-27
Steve West is originally from Seattle, Washington but moved to Portland to attend Lewis & Clark where he met his wife; he has lived here ever since excluding extended stays abroad. Steve was attracted to the overseas studies programs at Lewis & Clark and went to Greece his sophomore year. Despite his love for the beautiful campus, Steve did mention that the school was somewhat isolated during his time spent here. Steve was a History major at Lewis & Clark with a focus on modern Chinese history. His favorite history class was Czarist Russia and discussed the excellence of the department and its professors. After college Steve worked in the Peace Corps and then moved to Greece to teach for a living before moving back to Portland. Steve is also a graduate of the Lewis & Clark Law School where he took evening classes later on in his life. Despite how much the physical appearance of the college has changed over the years, Steve still enjoys walking around the campus grounds with his wife on the weekends.
2017-03-11
John Tess graduated in 1977 with a degree in History and went on to found his own historic preservation consulting firm. John transferred from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukie after his sophomore year to Lewis & Clark. He chose Lewis & Clark because of its beautiful campus and the scholarship money that he received for attendance. An avid bike racer from the Midwest, John enjoyed Lewis & Clark's vicinity to prime cycling territory, often training on what is now the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. While still a student at Lewis & Clark, John interned at the Mcloughlin House in Oregon City, which sparked his interest in historic preservation. John mentioned that Historical Materials as well as the incredible support of the professors gave him the tools necessary to succeed in his field.
2017-03-23
A Portland native, Rick Hennessy graduated from Lewis & Clark College in 1978 with a history degree. In 1981 he also completed his MAT in social studies from L&C. Hennessy played football and baseball during his time here, and received athletic scholarships which paid for tuition. Athletics played an important role in Hennessy's life, and his friendships built during his Lewis & Clark athletic days continue to this day. He is thankful to have avoided the Vietnam War draft and instead attended university on scholarship. Today, Hennessy is married, has three children, and works in the insurance business at State Farm Insurance.
2016-10-26
Diane Norwood-Watson was born in Chester, Chestershire, England in 1956, and attended a
private grade school, followed by an all-girls high school where she participated in a German
Exchange Program. She and her parents immigrated to the U.S. in September 1974. Upon
moving to the U.S., Diane immediately started her freshman year at Lewis & Clark College.
Diane majored in German, took education classes, and was always involved in the international
student scene during her time at Lewis & Clark. She participated in Lewis & Clark’s Munich
Study Abroad program during her sophomore year. Diane got her Master of Arts in Teaching at
the Lewis & Clark Graduate School in 1980, and taught German for five years in Oregon before
moving to Germany and staying there for forty years. When she moved back to Portland in 2011,
she got married, and has since been taking classes in interior design. She got her American
citizenship in August 2017. Diane continues to stay in touch with many international student
friends from places such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
2017-10-25
Katie Byrnes was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She graduated from Lewis & Clark College in 1979 with a degree in Education. While attending Lewis & Clark, she had the opportunity to study abroad in Turkey, an experience that she cites as a defining moment in her life. She has many fond memories of her time at Lewis & Clark (even if the food wasn’t that great), which include attending events on campus and pulling pranks on her friends. After graduating from Lewis & Clark, Katie worked for many years as a teacher in the Portland area. Katie and her husband Mike, who also graduated from Lewis & Clark, were high school sweethearts and are still together today! They have four children—three sons who attended Colorado College, and a daughter who attends Lewis & Clark—along with one granddaughter. Katie is very involved with alumni activities at Lewis & Clark and still keeps in touch with many of her friends from college
Oral history interview of Lewis & Clark alumnus Katie Byrnes, conducted by Allie Collins on March 3, 2015. History Department, Spring Semester, 2015.
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