Oral History Commons^™

Interview With George Mitchell (6) By Andrea L’Hommedieu, George J. Mitchell

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
George J. Mitchell was born on August 20, 1933, in Waterville, Maine, to Mary Saad, a factory worker, and George Mitchell, a laborer. Senator Mitchell spent his youth in Waterville. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1954, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps until 1956. In 1960 he earned a law degree from Georgetown University. Mitchell worked for Senator Edmund S. Muskie as executive assistant and as deputy campaign manager during Muskie's 1972 presidential campaign. He later became U.S. senator (D-Maine) 1980-1995, Senate majority leader 1989-1995, and, upon his …

Interview With George Mitchell (5) By Andrea L’Hommedieu, George J. Mitchell

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
George J. Mitchell was born on August 20, 1933, in Waterville, Maine, to Mary Saad, a factory worker, and George Mitchell, a laborer. Senator Mitchell spent his youth in Waterville. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1954, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps until 1956. In 1960 he earned a law degree from Georgetown University. Mitchell worked for Senator Edmund S. Muskie as executive assistant and as deputy campaign manager during Muskie's 1972 presidential campaign. He later became U.S. senator (D-Maine) 1980-1995, Senate majority leader 1989-1995, and, upon his retirement …

Interview With Peter Lunder By Mike Hastings, Peter H. Lunder

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Peter H. Lunder was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on September 14, 1933, to Ann and Michael Lunder. He was graduated from Colby College in 1956 with a degree in business. He joined the family shoe business, where he eventually became president and co-chair of the board for Dexter Shoes. His uncle was Harold Alfond. In 1977 he was part of the Yawkey Group that bought the Red Sox. He served on the Smithsonian American Art Museum Board in the early 1990s, and at the time of this interview he was an overseer of Colby College.

Summary
Interview includes …

Interview With Warren Rudman By Brien Williams, Warren B. Rudman

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Warren B. Rudman was born on May 18, 1930, and served as a Republican in the U.S. Senate from 1980-1993 representing New Hampshire. He worked with George Mitchell on the Iran-Contra and Sharm el-Sheikh committees, but they had known each other earlier through their respective legal careers. He was appointed by President Clinton to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and served from 1993-2001.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: legal careers; Iran-Contra; position of Senate majority leader; Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee; Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to balance the budget; relationships between senators; and changes in the Senate over the years.

Interview With Sandy Maisel By Mike Hastings, L. Sandy Maisel

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Louis "Sandy" Maisel was born on October 25, 1945, in Buffalo, New York. He attended Harvard, where he became involved with various campus and political organizations, and Columbia University, where he earned his Ph.D. in political science. In 1971 he settled in Maine, working on Bill Hathaway’s campaign for Senate, teaching at Colby College, and volunteering for Maine Democrats, including George Mitchell. In 1977, Maisel was the research director for the House Commission on Administrative Review. In 1978, he ran unsuccessfully in the congressional primary in Maine. At the time of this interview he was professor of government …

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 Brendan Melley By Brien Williams, Brendan G. Melley

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Brendan G. Melley was born on July 3, 1963, in Hartford, Connecticut, to Joseph Melley, Jr. and Rita Murphy Melley. He attended Providence College in Rhode Island and was commissioned to the Infantry in the Army upon graduation, where he served seven years active duty. In 1993, he began working for Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, DC. He worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington and then the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. In 2000, he worked with Mitchell on the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee to support peace and stability in the Middle East. At the …

Interview With Brett O’Brien By Diane Dewhirst, Brett O'Brien

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Brett O’Brien was born on January 27, 1963, in Inglewood, California, to William and Rosalie O’Brien. He spent most of his youth in San Diego and attended Harvard, graduating in 1985. He worked for the American University in Cairo, Egypt, completed a master’s program at the London School of Economics, and then worked at the Congressional Research Service in foreign affairs and national defense. He worked for Congressman Jim Bates from San Diego, California, as a legislative assistant in foreign affairs. He began working for George Mitchell on the Democratic Policy Committee as a researcher and writer, which …

Interview With Ed King By Brien Williams, Edward 'Ed' L. King

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Edward L. “Ed” King was born November 7, 1928, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Edgar L. and Zula Mae (Birch) King. He served in the Army during World War II and the Korean War and was a career officer from 1945 to 1969. He became executive director of the Coalition for National Defense and Military Policy and testified often before the U.S. House and Senate. He was hired by Senator Mike Mansfield, and in 1975 he became Maine Senator Bill Hathaway’s administrative assistant. He also worked for Senators Tsongas, Byrd, and Mitchell, focusing most specifically on Central America …

Interview With Seth Bradstreet By Mike Hastings, Seth H. Bradstreet

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Seth H. Bradstreet, Jr. was born on February 26, 1933, in Albion, Maine, to Seth H. Bradstreet and Ethel G. (Nelson) Bradstreet, who were farmers; he was one of twelve siblings. He attended the University of Maine, and after graduation he taught at Corinna Union Academy from 1954-1955. In 1955, he and his wife purchased a farm and went into potato farming. In 1962 he ran as a Democrat for the Maine state legislature and served two terms. He served on the Agriculture Committee when Mitchell was chair of the Maine Democratic Party, and he was state director …

Interview With John Warner By Brien Williams, John W. Warner

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
John William Warner was born February 18, 1927, to John W. Warner and Martha Budd Warner. He grew up in Washington, D.C. and was graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1945. He enlisted in the Navy after high school and is a veteran of World War II. After leaving the service he attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, graduating in 1949. He attended law school at the University of Virginia but left to serve in the Marines during the Korean War; subsequently, he received his law degree from George Washington University in 1953, served as …

Interview With Fred Hof By Brien Williams, Frederic 'Fred' C. Hof

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Frederic C. Hof was born on July 14, 1947, to Alice and Frederic Hof in Brooklyn, New York. Before he was school-age his family moved to Port Washington, New York, on Long Island. In the summer of 1964, after his junior year of high school, he participated in an exchange program and went to Damascus, Syria. He completed high school in Port Washington and then attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. At Georgetown he participated in ROTC and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. He spent 1970 in Vietnam with the 101st Air …

Interview With Senator Kent Conrad By Diane Dewhirst, Kent Conrad

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Kent Conrad was born on March 12, 1948, in Bismarck, North Dakota, to Abigail and Gaylord Conrad. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1966, he attended Stanford University; he later received an MBA from George Washington University. After college, Conrad became an assistant to the North Dakota tax commissioner. He became tax commissioner in 1980, a job he held until 1986, when he successfully ran for the Senate as a Democrat representing North Dakota, when George Mitchell was chair of the DSCC. In 1992, he chose not run for reelection because of a campaign promise he made …

Interview With Gerard Goldstein By Mike Hastings, Gerard D. Goldstein

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Gerard Goldstein was born August 30, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Bernard and Tilly Jepsky Goldstein. His father’s family immigrated from Russia in the early 1900s and his father owned a shoe factory. His mother’s family were also Russian immigrants and were involved in the paint and wallpaper business. Gerard grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts, and attended Lynn English High School. He and George Mitchell were both in Bowdoin College’s class of 1954. While at Bowdoin, Goldstein played on the football team and was a member of ARU (All Races United) fraternity. He earned his law degree from …

Interview With Berl Bernhard By Brien Williams, Berl Bernhard

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Berl Bernhard was born in New York City on September 7, 1929, to Morris and Celia (Nadele) Bernhard. He grew up in New Jersey, then attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1951, and took his law degree at Yale Law School in 1954. His law career began in Washington as a law clerk to Luther Youngdahl. In the late 1950s he took a position on the Civil Rights Commission, and he was appointed staff director by John Kennedy in 1961. In 1963 he returned to private practice and in 1965 became counsel to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. He …

Interview With Patrick Hunt By Mike Hastings, Patrick E. Hunt

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Patrick E. Hunt was born on August 19, 1946, in Bangor, Maine, and grew up in Island Falls with his parents, Theodore E. Hunt and Margaret I. Doherty, and his three sisters. Theodore attended Husson College, and operated a restaurant in Island Falls until the 1960s, when he became the village postmaster; Margaret was from Boston, a graduate of Charlestown High School, and of Irish descent from Clonmany County, Donegal. Patrick attended Ricker College, entered the Army in 1968, and served in Korea; he completed his degree in economics at Ricker in 1971. Subsequently, he joined the Drug …

Interview With Larry Pope By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Laurence 'Larry' E. Pope

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Laurence E. “Larry” Pope was born on September 24, 1945, in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts. He attended Bowdoin College; upon graduating in 1967, he entered the Peace Corps and then the foreign service in 1969. He spent thirty-one years as a diplomat, serving as ambassador to Chad and as a political advisor to General Tony Zinni. He was the original staff director for the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee chaired by Senator George J. Mitchell.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Braintree, Massachusetts, during the 1950s; interest in the Foreign Service; Bowdoin College; events …