Showing 1 - 10 of 20 Items
Date: 2011-05-10
Creator: George J Mitchell
Access: Open access
Biographial 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 from the Senate, special advisor on Northern Ireland 1995-1998. Since 1998, Senator Mitchell has served on many boards and committees and has received high profile appointments including: chairman of the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee on the crisis between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (2000); overseer of the Red Cross Liberty Fund (2001); lead investigator into the illegal use of performance enhancing substances in Major League Baseball (2006); and special envoy for Palestinian-Israeli affairs (2009-2011).
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: motives for founding the Mitchell Institute; traveling around Maine as senator to visit high school assemblies and graduations; Mitchell’s perceived disparity in higher education opportunities among various Maine schools and school districts; the value and importance of a college education; raising funds to endow the Mitchell Institute and formulating plans to develop a scholarship program; Senate campaign fund-raising prior to Mitchell’s decision in 1994 not to seek reelection; Bill Hiss’s and Colleen Quint’s role in forming the Institute; the value and number of scholarships awarded; educational research conducted by the Institute; childhood reminiscences of playing sports in Waterville, Maine, especially baseball; involvement in professional baseball, meeting Bud Selig, and Mitchell’s being considered for the position of Major League Baseball commissioner; Baseball’s Blue Ribbon Commission on competitive team balance; involvement with the Red Sox baseball team; business consequences of accepting the post of special envoy to the Middle East peace process; investigating steroid use in Major League Baseball, the public’s intense interest in the report, and resistance to the investigation by the Players Association; friendship and playing tennis with Red Auerbach; impoverishment and jobs held while a student at Bowdoin College; working a summer job at Colby College after Mitchell’s senior year at Bowdoin; ROTC and subsequent Army service in Berlin in Counter-Intelligence; decision to enroll at Georgetown Law after military service.
Date: 2010-01-21
Creator: Ellyn 'Lyn' C Ballou
Access: Open access
Biographial 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 Wernick, and practiced law for several years. At the time of this interview she was teaching French in Topsham, Maine.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Ballou’s family background and the Quaker tradition; her interests and inspirations in high school; Middlebury; time abroad in France; meeting and marrying her husband, Peter; working at Pierce Atwood; Cumberland County District Attorney’s office; Joe Brennan; Arthur Stilphen; going back to law school; female lawyers; Murray, Plumb & Murray; her transition to teaching French; and George Mitchell scholars and the Mitchell Institute.
Date: 2010-04-20
Creator: Beverly M Sherman
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Beverly (Marshall) Sherman was born in 1937 in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, to Ruth and Norris Marshall. She attended the University of Michigan and the University of Southern Maine. She had slight involvement in Mitchell’s 1982 U.S. Senate campaign and was more deeply involved with events and fund-raising for his 1988 Senate reelection campaign. She also worked with Mitchell’s staff to organize several events, including visits from President Clinton and New York Governor Cuomo, as well as the “thank you” event in Maine upon Senator Mitchell’s retirement announcement.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Old Orchard Beach; description of George Mitchell in 1981-1982; frugality in the state field offices; U.S. Senate campaigns (1982 and 1988); Bill Clinton’s visit to Maine and organizing the event; Senator Mitchell’s retirement and the “thank you” event; Boys and Girls Club and cribbage story; and the Mitchell Institute.
Date: 2010-05-20
Creator: Jane F O'Connor
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Jane Frances O’Connor was born on March 13, 1960, in Augusta, Maine. She was one of twelve children born to Barbara Louise (Murray) and Dr. Francis J. O’Connor, both from Dorchester, Massachusetts. Her father was head of radiology at Augusta General Hospital; her mother was an artist and musician who stayed at home while her children were young. After growing up in Augusta in a nonpolitical family, Jane attended the University of Southern Maine and, later, Trinity College in Washington, DC. In the summer of 1980, she became an intern for Beverly Bustin-Hatheway, accompanying her around the state as a field representative for Senator George Mitchell, and she spent much of the summer helping pack up Senator Muskie’s papers for repository retention. In June 1981, O’Connor accepted a full time position as receptionist in Senator Mitchell’s office in Washington, DC, remaining in that position for about eight years. After Mitchell’s departure from the Senate, she went to work for a trade association.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Beverly Bustin’s state legislative campaign; Senate office staff in DC; Mitchell’s sense of humor; telephone story; bread story; brownies story; description of Senator Mitchell’s various offices and staff roles; Mitchell’s Senate retirement; his frugality; the apartment/video store story; Mitchell Institute; Gayle Cory; Martha Pope; and education of staff.
Date: 2009-09-24
Creator: Najeeb 'Naj' S Lotfey
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Najeeb S. Lotfey was born in July, 1942, in Portland, Maine, to Elias and Lillian Lotfey, both from Lebanon. He attended the Northeastern School of Accounting in Portland, Maine, served in the Army for two years, and later joined MacDonald Page where he became a managing partner and stayed for more than thirty years. He has served many of Senator Mitchell’s financial management needs over the years. Former Governor Joe Brennan appointed him to the Finance Authority of Maine.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: family and educational background; Portland, Maine community; the Depression era; career with MacDonald Page and George Mitchell as a client; keeping in touch with the Mitchells regularly; Joe Brennan; description of Joe Angelone and his political interests and pizza shops; Lebanese food; and George Mitchell’s qualities.
Date: 2009-06-25
Creator: Jeffrey 'Jeff' W Porter, Mary A Porter
Access: Open access
Biographial 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 John Warren Porter, were both teachers. Jeff attended the University of Maine, Orono and then transferred to the University of Southern Maine, where he also received an internship in Senator Mitchell’s office. After graduating, Jeff continued to work for the senator in the Portland, Maine, field office.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Mary’s familiarity with Mitchell and his family in Waterville; how Mary and Jeff got internships with Senator Mitchell; Mary and Jeff’s respective political backgrounds growing up; Mitchell’s focus on hiring students from Maine to intern in his office; responsibilities of interns in Mitchell’s office; description of Mary McAleney and Gayle Cory; relationship between Mitchell’s DC and Maine offices; Mitchell as Senate majority leader; Mitchell’s 1988 reelection campaign; Jeff getting to know Mitchell personally by driving him on campaign routes; Mitchell’s relationship with Senator Dole; Senator Muskie’s influence on Mitchell; and the Mitchell Institute and scholarships.
Date: 2009-04-14
Creator: Timothy Agnew
Access: Open access
Biographial Note
Timothy Agnew was born May 18, 1954, in Stamford, Connecticut. His parents were Jane Gillespie Agnew and Chares Dutiel Agnew, who owned a small plastics manufacturing business. He grew up in Stamford, attended Vassar College majoring in political science, and received his law degree from University of Virginia in 1980. He joined the law firm of Thompson, Ashley and Bull in Portland, Maine. After leaving the law firm in 1984, he began working at the Finance Authority of Maine, where Governor McKernan appointed him CEO in 1988; he served as CEO of FAME until 1999. In 2000-2001 he joined the board of the Mitchell Institute. For the past decade he has worked with the Mitchell Institute as a member of the board and also serves on the Maine Technology Institute board.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: childhood and educational background; Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) and its projects; being on the board of the Mitchell Institute; how the Mitchell Institute was created; Senator Mitchell’s current involvement with the institute; the selection process for the Mitchell Institute scholarships; Maine Venture Partners; and the Maine Technology Institute.
Date: 2009-07-24
Creator: Marjorie M Bride
Access: Open access
Biographial 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 she received a master’s degree in urban planning. She went into commercial development in Portland, Maine, in 1976 and became a broker, then started a tourism company called Experience Maine, and offered art tours along the coast. She spent a year in Washington, DC working in Mitchell’s Senate office; she sometimes played tennis with Senator Mitchell. At the time of this interview, she worked for Odysseys Unlimited and served on the boards of the Mitchell Institute, Outward Bound, and the Posse Foundation.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: childhood and education background; Washington, D.C. during the Kennedy years; brief discussion of Mitchell’s history; the start of Experience Maine; working in Washington; playing tennis with Mitchell; involvement with the Mitchell Institute as board member; Outward Bound and the Posse Foundation; the business of Odysseys Unlimited with college alumni; contact with Mitchell; Chris Bride’s working as an immigration adjudications officer; Libby Mitchell’s run for governor; the mystery surrounding Mitchell’s current work in the Middle East; and Mitchell Scholars brunch.
Date: 2009-08-26
Creator: Barbara Keefe
Access: Open access
Biographial 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; Keefe’s activity in the Maine League of Women Voters; starting the Maine Women’s Political Caucus with Patty Ryan; Keefe’s recollections of Mitchell’s 1974 campaign; what appealed to both Democratic and Republican women about George Mitchell; Keefe’s becoming treasurer for Mitchell’s 1982 reelection campaign; working with Larry Benoit and Mary McAleney on Mitchell’s staff; Mitchell’s friendship with Pat and Joe Angelone; Mitchell’s win in 1982; Keefe’s involvement with Mitchell between the 1982 and 1988 campaigns; fund-raising for Mitchell’s campaign in 1988; the development of the Mitchell Institute; how the Mitchell Institute is funded; and Mitchell’s commitment to education.
Date: 2009-09-29
Creator: Daniel 'Dan' E Wathen
Access: Open access
Biographial 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. Justice Wathen retired from the bench in 2001 and subsequently joined Pierce-Atwood law firm in Portland, Maine.
Summary
Interview includes discussion of: Dan Wathen’s legal career; practicing law in Augusta; becoming acquainted with George Mitchell through his practice in Maine; his parents’ recollections of George Mitchell; first impression upon meeting Mitchell; Freddy Vahlsing and sugar beet project; Mitchell’s 1974 gubernatorial campaign against James B. Longley; Wathen’s inspiration to be a judge; Mitchell’s judicial temperament; Mitchell’s diplomatic role; and the Mitchell Institute.