Life Sciences Commons^™

Barbara Sanford Oral History, Barbara Sanford

Oral History Collection

Susan Mehrtens' Note:

Barbara Sanford's interview echoes most of what I have heard from many of the staff regarding the Lab's mission and goals. The Lab's ideal size, geographical location--with its pluses and minuses--and the environment in which to do science in the current period--all find echoes on other tapes. There is little of candor, consequence or calculation here. Sanford clearly recognizes the stressful nature of scientific life in these times of federal cutbacks, and, as well, the frustrations of directing a laboratory whose size, complexity and needs preclude personal scientific work by the Director. In the face of such …

Donald Bailey Oral History, Donald Bailey

Oral History Collection

Susan Metrhens' Note:

Regarded by many of his peers at Jax as one of the most intuitive, prescient and creative scientists at the Lab, Bailey was a very reflective narrator. While he provides one anecdote of c.c. Little1s sartorial habits, this tape is largely devoid of anecdotal material, and is more a reminiscence by a scientist who was at Jax in the early '50's, who left and returned in 1967. I tried, through a variety of questions, to probe the synergy between Bailey and the Lab, the degree to which his prescience and creativity might be due to the freedom …

Priscilla "Skippy" Lane Oral History, Skippy Lane

Oral History Collection

Susan Mehrtens' Note:

We have in this tape the recollections of one of the most prolific authors in the field of mouse mutants, an indefatigable co-worker of Margaret Dickey, Margaret Green and currently, Muriel Davison. Full of scientific terms, this tape reveals clearly Lane's thorough absorption in the field to which she has devoted nearly the last forty years of her life. Toward the end of this tape, Lane alludes to Earl Green's sexist attitude, which other women have also mentioned to me on and off tape. Lane also waxes eloquently here about her efforts to establish a hiera'rchy within …

Thomas Roderick Oral History, Thomas Roderick

Oral History Collection

Susan Metrhens' Note:

Roderick has been a scientist at Jax for thirty years, working in no other place. He was hired just as Earl Green replaced C.C. Little and Roderick worked with and for Green for some dozen years before moving into his own lab, on his own grants. Roderick is both perceptive and analytical and this tape is valuable for his willingness to reflect on trends and personalities. He also has a philosopher's willingness to consider the values that drive the lab. Roderick was forthcoming with anecdotes, including a most telling one of Rich Prehn showing the courage of …

Dale Foley Oral History, Dale Foley

Oral History Collection

Susan Mehrtens' Note:

Dale Foley was the administrative "right arm" of both Little and Green, and, as such, was in a position to comment on the Lab's financial and administrative activities from the perspective of a key participant. As we began, he brought out several pages of notes, which formed the basis of the monologue that followed. To my surprise, his tape consists almost totally of accounts of the acquisition of property and building of the major Jax buildings. Aside from references to several valued Jax volunteers--several of them wealthy Trustees--Foley stuck to the physical plant in his interview. Intuitively, …

Willys Silver Oral History, Willys Silver

Oral History Collection

Susan Mehrtens' Note:

Both Will Silvers and I enjoyed this interview, despite the hot, stuffy room we had at the Lab (in which the wind seemed to howl incessantly, through some pinhole crack somewhere, as is audible on tape). Initially at a loss as to what to expect in this process, Silvers soon moved into high gear and his verve and excitement are obvious. Perhaps more than anyone else included in this project, Silvers spans the constituencies ~f the Lab, as summer student, employee, summer investigator, and finally BSO member. He is forthcoming about all these roles, giving us a …

James Ebert Oral History, James Ebert

Oral History Collection

No abstract provided.

Joan Staats Oral History, Joan Staats

Personal Papers Collection

No abstract provided.

Leroy Stevens Oral History, Leroy Stevens

Oral History Collection

Dr. Stevens seemed remarkably nervous throughout our taping, commenting several times that he felt he had nothing to say. In fact, he did, but only in a corroborating way: his tape confirms much said by Russell, Snell and other old-timers. Interestingly, Stevens represents an age group, or "generation" with few members left at Jax: the immediate post-World War II group hired by C.C. Little just as federal funding began to be a feature of American science. Stevens makes reference to five or six scientists hired when he was, who are no longer at Jax. In terms of anecdote, or vignette, …

American Philosophical Society Finding Aid For Jax Oral History, Aps Phila, Pa

Personal Papers Collection

In 1929, the geneticist C. C. Little founded the Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, a major center for the study of mammalian genetics, cancer, and related areas in basic biomedical research. An independent institution, the Lab has maintained a consistent scientific reputation both as a supplier of inbred strains of mice for genetic and biomedical research and for the scientific achievements of its researchers. Conducted by Susan Mehrtens in 1986, the Oral History Collection includes transcripts of extensive interviews with fifty scientists, administrators, and staff members of the Jackson Laboratory. At greater or lesser length depending …