History Commons^™

Interview With Bruce And Nancy Chandler By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Bruce Chandler, Nancy Chandler

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Bruce Chandler was born May 6, 1931, in Nahant, Massachusetts, to Henry Warwick Chandler and Florence Johnson Chandler. His father worked for General Electric Company and became assistant to the vice president of the Jet Engine Division. His mother was a teacher before marriage, then a homemaker. Bruce went to Bates College, and after graduating in 1953 he was drafted into the armed forces from 1954 to 1956. Later, he attended law school at Georgetown University, then moved back to Maine and became a lawyer in 1961. During twenty-four years being involved in Maine state politics, he served …

Interview With Diane Dewhirst (1) By Mike Hastings, Diane Dewhirst

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical 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 …

Interview With Bob Dunfey By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Robert 'Bob' J. Dunfey, Sr.

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Robert “Bob” Dunfey was born February 9, 1928, in Lowell, Massachusetts. His family, including twelve siblings, was involved in the restaurant business, and later Bob became successful in the hotel business. He bought his first hotel in 1954 and purchased the Eastland Hotel in Portland, Maine, in 1961. He lent his support to numerous campaigns, including George Mitchell’s and Ed Muskie’s, by making rooms and meeting space available in his establishments. He ran Ken Curtis’s campaign for Maine governor; his brother Bill, in New Hampshire, was regional director of the Democratic National Committee at that time.

Summary
Interview …

Interview With Heather Mitchell (1) By Brien Williams, Heather M. Mitchell

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Heather McLachlan Mitchell was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, and lived in Paris, France, for fifteen years. She was assistant to the executive director of the Association of Tennis Professionals and subsequently represented professional male tennis players. She relocated from Paris to New York and in 1993 met George Mitchell at the U.S. Open. The two were married in 1994. She later worked independently coordinating tennis events. Once their children started school, she began working as a literary agent at Gelfman Schneider.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Heather Mitchell’s career representing professional tennis players; meeting George Mitchell …

Interview With Debbie Ward By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Deborah 'Debbie' B. Ward

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Deborah “Debbie” (Bedard) Ward was born in Saco, Maine, on March 22, 1951. She was graduated from Thornton Academy in 1969 and then attended Westbrook College. Subsequently, she worked as a secretary for the Westbrook College Department of Nursing. In 1972, she became involved in reviving the Saco Young Democrats, and in 1973 George Mitchell hired her as the first staff person for his gubernatorial campaign. After Mitchell lost the election to Jim Longley, Ward returned to Westbrook College to work as a house mother. She took the position of calendar clerk for the Maine state legislature, then …

Interview With John Breaux By Brien Williams, John B. Breaux

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical 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 …

Interview With Carl Levin By Brien Williams, Carl M. Levin

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Carl Milton Levin was born June 28, 1934, in Detroit, Michigan. He was graduated from Swarthmore College in 1956 and Harvard Law School in 1959. He practiced law in Detroit and was state assistant police officer and general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission from 1964-1967. He has been in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat representing Michigan since 1978 and has served on the Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, the Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Levin’s interactions with Mitchell; …

Interview With John Nale By Mike Hastings, John E. Nale

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
John Elias Nale was born on September 4, 1949, in Farmerville, Louisiana, to Caroline Theresa (Boles) and Melvin Travis Nale. The family had moved to Louisiana from Bangor, Maine, returning first to Bangor and then to his mother’s home town, Waterville, Maine, during his childhood. He is a second cousin of George Mitchell; his grandmother and George Mitchell’s mother were sisters. Nale is a graduate of the University of Maine, Orono and the Franklin Pierce Law Center. Upon joining the bar, he practiced law in Waterville and Portland, Maine, including practicing law with his three brothers for fifteen …

Interview With Lyn Ballou By Mike Hastings, Ellyn 'Lyn' C. Ballou

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Ellyn “Lyn” Clemmer Ballou was born in Patterson, New Jersey, on December 8, 1944, to Hazel Hendrickson and John Gerhard Clemmer, Jr. Her father worked for the Philadelphia Electric Company and her mother was a homemaker. Lyn attended Middlebury College, studying languages. She and her husband moved to Maine so he could go to the University of Maine School of Law. She worked at the law firm Pierce Atwood while he attended school, and she worked for Joe Brennan in the District Attorney’s Office, where she met George Mitchell. She later earned her law degree, clerked for Sidney …

Interview With Mike Hastings (2) By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Michael 'Mike' M. Hastings

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Michael M. Hastings, a native of Morrill, Maine, graduated from Tilton School (NH) in 1968 and Bowdoin College in 1972. Following a year of graduate study in Public & International Affairs at George Washington University, he worked for seven years as a foreign and defense policy aide to Senator William S. Cohen (1973-1980) and for four years for Senator George J. Mitchell (1980-1984). In October 1984, he joined the international staff of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and moved to Africa. Over a span of eight years, he worked as a CRS development administrator in Kenya, Tanzania, Togo and …