Law Commons^™

Interview With Tony Buxton By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Anthony 'Tony' W. Buxton

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Anthony “Tony” Wayne Buxton was born in Augusta, Maine, on December 19, 1946, and grew up in Readfield, Maine. His father, Wayne Wilson Buxton, an artist and writer, and his mother, Margaret (Murray) Buxton, an artist and teacher, both came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tony attended Bowdoin College, being graduated in 1968, then served in the Army from 1968-1970. He received his law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in 1978 and began working for the firm Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios in 1980. He co-founded the Energy Law Institute. Tony has served on both the Democratic State Committee …

Interview With Dan Wathen By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Daniel 'Dan' E. Wathen

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Daniel E. "Dan" Wathen was born November 4, 1939, in Easton, Maine, to Wilda (Persis) and Joseph Jackson Wathen. He was graduated from Easton High School and Ricker College in Houlton, Maine (1962), the University of Maine School of Law (1965), and the University of Virginia School of Law (1988). He was appointed to the Maine Superior Court by Governor James B. Longley and served there for four years. He was then appointed justice to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court by Governor John McKernan. He served as justice for ten years, then chief justice for ten more years. …

Interview With Bob Dole By Brien Williams, Robert 'Bob' J. Dole

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Robert J. “Bob” Dole was born July 22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas, and attended the University of Kansas. He served with distinction in World War II, and after the war earned his law degree at Washburn School of Law. He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1961, serving until 1969, when he ran for the U.S. Senate. He won and held that seat until 1996, when he became the Republican Party’s 1996 presidential nominee. He was on the Finance Committee and was minority leader when George Mitchell was majority leader; in 1994 …

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 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 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 Paula Silsby By Mike Hastings, Paula D. Silsby

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Paula D. Silsby was born on June 1, 1951, in Bangor, Maine, to Ruth Blaisdell and Herbert Trafton Silsby II; her father was an attorney practicing at Silsby & Silsby and became a superior court judge. Paula was graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1973 and the University of Maine Law School in 1976. From 1977 to 2001, she served as assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Maine, and as chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1994 to 2001. She has received the Caroline Duby Glassman Award from the Maine Bar Association, …

Interview With Francis Marsano By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Francis C. Marsano

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Francis C. Marsano was born on September 8, 1936, in Bangor, Maine; his parents were Elton L. Marsano and Gertrude Mannette Marsano. He was one of five children and grew up in Belfast, Maine, living there until World War II, when his family moved to Quincy, Massachusetts, so that his father could work in a defense plant. His mother was a nurse. His grandfather remained in Belfast after his family’s move, and they often traveled to Maine to visit him. On these trips Marsano frequently passed through Brunswick, Maine, and decided that he wanted to attend Bowdoin College. …

Interview With Ralph Lancaster By Mike Hastings, Ralph 'Ike' I. Lancaster, Jr.

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Ralph I. Lancaster, Jr. was born on May 5, 1930, in Bangor, Maine, to Ralph I. Lancaster, Sr. and Mary Kelleher Lancaster. He was reared in Bangor by Bridget and Charles Mylan. He attended high school at John Bapst and went on to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, being graduated in 1952 with a degree in English and a minor in history. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, then was drafted and spent two years in the Army. He returned to Maine to clerk for Judge Gignoux and remained in that …

Interview With Ken Cole By Mike Hastings, Kenneth 'Ken' M. Cole Iii

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Kenneth M. Cole III was born November 3, 1943, in Portland, Maine, to Kenneth Cole, Jr. and Lena T. Cole. He lived in Windham, Maine, moving to Bernardsville, New Jersey, with his family during his fifth-grade school year. His father worked for Boy Scouts of America. Ken was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1969, then attended law school at Cornell. He returned to Maine to work as a law clerk at Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry in 1971, becoming a lawyer for the firm in 1972. He has been practicing at the firm for thirty-seven years and worked …

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 …