Law Commons^™

Interview With Shep Lee, George J. Mitchell, And Harold Pachios By Mike Hastings And Andrea L’Hommedieu, Shepard 'Shep' Lee, George J. Mitchell, Harold 'Hal' Pachios

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Shepard (Lifshitz) “Shep” Lee was born in Lewiston, Maine, on November 13, 1926, to Ethel and Joe Lifshitz. His parents were both Russian immigrants, his mother a housewife, and his father an automobile dealer. He attended Lewiston public schools, graduating in 1943. He then attended Bowdoin College, taking military leave from the college between 1945 and 1946 to enlist in the navy. He returned to Bowdoin after his service and graduated in 1947 with a degree in government and economics. At that time he and his brother changed their surname to Lee. Lee returned to Lewiston after graduation …

Interview With Sam And Carol Shapiro By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Carol Shapiro, Samuel 'Sam' Shapiro

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Samuel Shapiro was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on August 26, 1927. His parents were Maurice and Anna (Silver) Shapiro. His father was born in the Ukraine and his mother in Lithuania. He spent two years in the Navy, then attended the University of Pittsburg on the G.I. Bill, graduating in 1952. He married and moved to Waterville, Maine, in 1953 and served as Maine Democratic Party treasurer for thirteen years. He also ran several furniture stores with his father-in-law. He served as Maine state treasurer for 16 years (1980-1996) during the Brennan, McKernan, and King administrations. He worked …

Interview With Pat Sarcone By Brien Williams, Patricia 'Pat' A. Sarcone

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Patricia Ann Sarcone was born in Newport, Rhode Island. She grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and was graduated from St. Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas, with a degree in business administration. In 1969 she joined Iowa Senator Harold Hughes’s staff in Washington, DC, where she remained until 1975. She then worked on Iowa Senator John Culver’s staff until 1980, when she joined Walter Mondale’s presidential campaign. She worked for Occidental International before joining Senator George Mitchell’s staff in 1988, working as Mitchell’s executive assistant until he retired in 1994, when she transitioned to work for Senator Tom …

Interview With Ann Tartre By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Ann P. Tartre

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Ann Pauline Tartre was born in Biddeford, Maine, in 1966. Her father owned the Paquin & Carroll insurance company in Biddeford and her mother was a homemaker. Ann attended Tufts University in Boston, and after graduating, she moved back to Maine to work on Joe Brennan’s campaign for six months. In 1988, she began working in George Mitchell’s office before going on to graduate school at Yale to study environmental issues. She returned to Mitchell’s staff as environmental legislative aide during his tenure as majority leader.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: growing up in Biddeford, Maine; attending Tufts …

Interview With Leonard Mulligan By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Leonard C. Mulligan

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Leonard C. Mulligan was born in North Andover, Massachusetts, in 1932. His family moved to Brunswick, Maine, in 1939, where he lived until he was graduated from Bowdoin College; he and George Mitchell were classmates (class of 1954). After graduation he entered the Army. He attended graduate school in Springfield, Massachusetts, and worked at Mass Mutual. He later returned to Maine, where he worked in Bath on housing development.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Bowdoin in the 1950s; Bowdoin Latin professor Nate Dane; Mulligan’s memories of George Mitchell while both were Bowdoin students; Mulligan working on a housing …

Interview With Robert Hazzard By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Robert 'Hap' Hazzard

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Robert Hazzard was born in Gardiner, Maine, in 1932 to Robert and Margaret (Wyman) Hazzard. His parents owned and operated a shoe factory while he was growing up. He attended local schools, Deerfield Academy, and was active in athletics. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1954 in the same class with George Mitchell, playing collegiate basketball and tennis. After graduation he worked as a CPA in Portland, Maine, where he occasionally continued to play tennis with Mitchell.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Hazzard’s childhood; meeting George Mitchell as a freshman at Bowdoin College; playing basketball and tennis …

Interview With Tom Allen By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Thomas 'Tom' H. Allen

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Thomas Hodge "Tom" Allen was born April 16, 1945, in Portland, Maine, to Charles W. “Charlie” and Genevieve (Lahee) Allen. His great-grandfather was John Calvin Stevens, a well known Maine architect. Tom was graduated from Bowdoin College and went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, studying at Oxford in the class immediately behind Bill Clinton's. He worked on Muskie’s 1970 senatorial reelection campaign and on the early part of the presidential campaign. He later attended Harvard Law School and subsequently returned to Maine to practice law. He worked on Mitchell's 1974 gubernatorial campaign. He served in the U.S. …

Interview With Barbara Keefe By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Barbara Keefe

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Barbara Keefe was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1940, and grew up in Trenton, New Jersey. She was graduated from Seton Hall University. She received a fellowship to study deaf education and worked at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, Mackworth Island, Maine. She joined the League of Women Voters and became involved in the National Women’s Political Caucus. She was treasurer for Senator Mitchell’s reelection campaigns in 1982 and 1988, and she has served on the Mitchell Institute Board since 1994.

Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Keefe’s introduction to politics through her father’s involvement; …

Interview With Arthur Strout By Mike Hastings, Arthur E. Strout

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Arthur Edward Strout was born in Rockland, Maine, on September 6, 1935, to Olive Mabel (Edwards) and Alfred Meserve Strout and grew up in Thomaston, Maine. His father, a graduate of Bowdoin College and Harvard Law School, was an attorney in Rockland, Maine, and came from an established Maine family. His mother, the daughter of English immigrants, worked at the Registry of Deeds and later was a homemaker. After attending Thomaston schools, Arthur spent his final year of high school at Hebron Academy. He attended Bowdoin College (class of 1957), where he met George Mitchell. He earned his …

Interview With Lula Davis By Brien Williams, Lula J. Davis

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Lula Johnson Davis was born in Potash, Louisiana. Her mother was a homemaker and her father worked in construction. She was awarded bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern University in Louisiana and married a Howard University professor, which brought her to Washington, D.C. She served as a legislative correspondent for Senator Russell Long in Washington, D.C., from 1980-1987 and later became an assistant for the Democratic Policy Committee’s floor staff office. In 1993, she began working for the Democratic floor staff and in 1995 rose to the position of chief floor assistant. From 1997 to 2008, she was …

Interview With Gordon Weil By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Gordon L. Weil

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Gordon Lee Weil was born March 12, 1937, in Mineola, New York, and grew up on Long Island. Sadye, his mother, worked for the Red Cross and was chairman of nursing services in Nassau County and of the USO during World War II, and she served as state president of the National Council of Jewish Women. Gordon attended Hempstead High School and Bowdoin College, where he majored in history with a concentration in government. He was on the Agriculture Committee of the 1956 Democratic Party pre-convention platform committee in Maine and served as a page at the 1956 …

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 Chris Potholm By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Christian 'Chris' P. Potholm

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Christian P. Potholm holds a chair in government and legal studies at Bowdoin College. He took his graduate work at Tufts University and specializes in Maine politics, warfare, African politics, and international conflict. He previously taught at Vassar, Dartmouth, and the College of the Virgin Islands. He worked on Harry Richardson’s staff and was Bill Cohen’s campaign manager in 1972; he continued to work for Cohen while also teaching at Bowdoin. He is the author of fourteen books on politics and founded Command Research, a national polling firm, and the Potholm Group, a consulting group that specializes in …

Interview With Steven Symms By Brien Williams, Steven S. Symms

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Steven Symms was born on April 23, 1938, in Nampa, Idaho. He earned his degree in agriculture in 1960 from the University of Idaho. He served in the Marines for three years, worked as a private pilot and a farmer, and was editor of the Idaho Compass. In 1972 he ran as a Republican candidate for Congress, serving for four terms in the House of Representatives until 1980, when he ran for the U.S. Senate and served two terms. After leaving the Senate, he founded the consulting firm Symms, Lehn Associates, Inc. At the time of this …

Interview With Chuck Robb By Brien Williams, Charles 'Chuck' S. Robb

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Charles “Chuck” Robb was born on July 26, 1939, in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew up near Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961. He joined the United States Marine Corps and was graduated with honors from Quantico. He met Lynda Bird Johnson, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, when he became a White House social aide; they were married there in 1967. He served two years of combat duty in Vietnam leading a rifle company, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star. Upon his military discharge, he …

Interview With Charles Kinney By Diane Dewhirst, Charles L. Kinney

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Charles Ludlow Kinney was born in Parksburg, West Virginia, on May 31, 1952. His father, David Whittemore Kinney, was born in Malden, Massachusetts, and his mother was also a Parksburg native. His parents met in the hospital during World War II; Charles is the third of four children. He grew up in Parksburg and was graduated from Georgetown University with a major in foreign service. He worked for Senator Byrd in the Senate Democratic Cloakroom in January of 1974. He was offered a position as a member of the floor staff for then Majority Leader Senator Byrd after …

Interview With Gerry Petruccelli By Mike Hastings, Gerald 'Gerry' F. Petruccelli

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Gerald F. Petruccelli was born on February 24, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Mary Rita (Madden) and Gerald F. Petruccelli, Sr. Gerry went to Archbishop Williams in Quincy, Massachusetts, and then to Boston College. He attended law school at the University of Toledo and then the University of Maine, receiving his degree from Boston College, where he was involved in Boston College’s Law Review. He served as professor of law at the University of Maine Law School from 1968-1975, lecturer from 1975-1979, and adjunct professor from 1979 to the the time of this interview. In 1971 he was …

Interview With Marjorie Bride By Mike Hastings, Marjorie M. Bride

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Marjorie McHenry Bride was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 17, 1939. Her parents, both from longtime Baltimore families, were James McHenry and Marjorie Ober McHenry. Her father was a gentleman farmer and so she lived in the countryside outside of town until she went to a boarding school, Dobbs Ferry, in New York. She earned her degree in economics from Bryn Mawr and worked for the Export-Import Bank in Washington, D.C. from 1961-1965, where she met her husband. She moved to Maine when her husband managed the Old Orchard Beach pier and later to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where …

Interview With Bill Bradley By Brien Williams, William 'Bill' W. Bradley

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
William Warren “Bill” Bradley was born July 28, 1943, in Crystal City, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. His parents were Warren and Susan Bradley, a banker and a teacher respectively. He excelled academically and athletically, as a basketball player, through high school. He entered Princeton in 1961, and in 1964 he was a member of the gold-medal Olympic basketball team before going on to be named the 1965 NCAA Player of the Year during his senior year. He won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford for two years. Upon returning to the U.S., he played professional …

Interview With Bennett Johnston By Brien Williams, J Bennett Johnston

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Bennett Johnston was born June 10, 1932, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was graduated from West Point United States Military Academy and served in the Judge Advocate Corps in Germany between 1956 and 1959. He won a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1964 and in the state Senate in 1968. In 1971, he ran for governor of Louisiana but was defeated in the runoff election. When the U.S Senate seat came up for election in 1972, he ran as a Democrat and won, receiving 54% of the vote, and he was continuously reelected to the Senate …

Interview With Fred Wertheimer By Diane Dewhirst, Fred Wertheimer

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Fred Wertheimer was born on January 9, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard Law School. From 1981 to 1995 he served as president of Common Cause, a nonpartisan citizens’ lobby, and he worked with Senator Mitchell on campaign finance reform issues while he was president of Common Cause. At the time of this interview he was president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit organization that promotes the government reform of campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics. He is married to Linda Wertheimer, the senior national correspondent for National Public Radio. …

Interview With Joe Wishcamper By Mike Hastings, L. Joe Wishcamper

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Lyndel “Joe” Wishcamper was born August 18, 1942, in Amarillo, Texas, to Joe Henry Wishcamper and Mildred Louise (Pierce) Wishcamper. He attended Yale University and later earned his law degree at Harvard Law School. He practiced law in New York, then transitioned to the investment and real estate businesses. He worked with Max Cardmen, who was instrumental in creating 221.B.3, one of the first government subsidized housing projects; during the Nixon era, this project morphed to become the Section 8 program in 1974. Wishcamper was involved in George Mitchell’s 1982 U.S. Senate campaign. He was involved in the …

Interview With Tim O’Neil By Mike Hastings, H. 'Tim' Timothy O'Neil

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Hugh Timothy “Tim” O’Neil was born in Geneva, New York, on June 13, 1935, to Mary Ann (Perrella) and Hugh Joseph O’Neil. He grew up in Binghamton, New York, and attended Colgate University. He married while he was a student there and graduated with a major in sociology. He spent nine years working in sales for Goodyear, then moved to Maine where he worked for Noyes Tire for nineteen years. He later worked for Portland Glass, becoming the company’s president. He first met George Mitchell as a litigator on the other side of a case involving Portland Glass, …

Interview With Rick Smith By Mike Hastings, Richard 'Rick' W. Smith

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Richard W. “Rick” Smith was born on July 5, 1947, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to Jacob and Sara (Levine) Smith. He grew up in Bath, Maine, and attended high school at the Tilton School in Tilton, New Hampshire. In 1969, he received a B.A. in government and legal studies from Bowdoin College. He spent six years in the National Guard in Bath and earned a law degree from Boston University. He volunteered in the Cumberland County (Me.) district attorney’s office during Joe Brennan’s tenure, where he met George Mitchell, who was then a part-time prosecutor. At the time of …

Interview With Jeff And Mary Porter By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Jeffrey 'Jeff' W. Porter, Mary A. Porter

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Mary Adele (Federle) Porter was born in Bronxville, New York, on July 23, 1966. Mary’s father, Victor Federle, was trained as a lawyer but worked in the shoe industry in Maine for Scoa Industries; her mother, Antoinette Federle, was a homemaker. Mary was the eighth of nine children and grew up in Waterville, Maine, where she was family friends with the Mitchells. Mary attended Colby College and took an internship in Senator Mitchell’s Washington, D.C. office during her junior year.

Jeffrey Wade “Jeff” Porter was born in January, 1966, in Portland, Maine. His parents, Yvonne (Cupo) Porter and …

Interview With Michael Aube By Mike Hastings, Michael 'Mike' Aube

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Michael “Mike” Aube was born on July 17, 1950, in Biddeford, Maine, and grew up in the Biddeford-Saco area in a Franco-American bilingual family. His mother worked as a clerk/cashier at a grocery store; his father was an electrical worker for a small electrical contractor in Saco, then began his own small electrical contracting business. Mike attended Boston College from 1968-1972, majoring in history and education. Although he became a certified teacher, he entered the realm of government and politics, working for George McGovern in 1972, and in 1973 becoming president of Maine Young Democrats. He served on …

Interview With James Ladd By Mike Hastings, James L. Ladd

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
James Loring Ladd was born February 18, 1933, in Milo, Maine, to Marianne Louise McKechnie and Vaughn Loring Ladd. He grew up in Milo and attended Foxcroft Academy. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1954 with a major in psychology; he and George Mitchell were classmates. Prior to the beginning of his senior year, he became married to Shirley Ladd; they have four children. He spent a year teaching, then was drafted into the Army and served in Korea for two years. He made a career in the real estate business in Milo, Maine, and is now …

Interview With Bob Packwood By Brien Williams, Robert 'Bob' W. Packwood

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Robert W. “Bob” Packwood was born on September 11, 1932, in Portland, Oregon. He attended Willamette University, graduating in 1954, and the New York University School of Law, subsequently returning to Oregon to practice law. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the Oregon legislature, and in 1968 he won election to the U.S. Senate, serving five terms as a Republican. He chaired the Senate Finance Committee from 1985 to 1987 and was active in passing the Tax Reform Acts of 1986 and 1995. He resigned from his Senate seat in 1995. Later he founded Sunrise …

Interview With Charlene Sturbitts By Brien Williams, Charlene Sturbitts

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Charlene Sturbitts was born in Evanston, Illinois, on June 16, 1950, to Mary Jane and William Sturbitts. She grew up in Washington, D.C., where her father was employed on the overt side of the CIA. She attended private schools and Sweet Briar College, where she volunteered for the Muskie presidential primary campaign. After graduating from college, she spent a summer as an intern on the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution and was then hired in the fall by Leon Billings as a researcher for the subcommittee. She attended law school at night at Catholic University while continuing …

Interview With Harris Wofford By Brien Williams, Harris L. Wofford

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Harris Llewellyn Wofford was born April 9, 1926, in New York City. He attended the University of Chicago and both Yale and Howard University Law Schools. During World War II he served in the Air Force. From 1954 to 1958 he served as an attorney for the Commission on Civil Rights, then in 1959 began teaching law at Notre Dame. He was an unofficial advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and an advisor to John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign. He became Kennedy’s special assistant on civil rights and helped form the Peace Corps, serving as the Peace …