Theme: Forest Products Industry
John Bliss Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
August 21, 2015
John Bliss (b. 1951) was the first Starker Chair in Private and Family Forestry, occupying
this position within the OSU College of Forestry from its inception in 1998 to his
move into administration in 2012. A leading researcher on private forest policy and
forest-based rural development, Bliss has conducted influential work on the socioeconomic
impact of the forestry industry, paying particular attention to the roles played by
small woodland foresters. From 2012 to his retirement in 2016, Bliss served as Associate
Dean for Graduate and International Programs within the College of Forestry and, in
this capacity, contributed significantly to the increasing internationalization of
the college. His interview traces the progression of his academic career; his close
involvement with research and experiential learning opportunities both globally and
in Oregon's rural communities; and the advancement of the OSU College of Forestry
during his years of association.
Memories of Clackamas County Extension
Two life history interviews conducted by Mike Dicianna.
November - December 2016
The Oregon State University Extension Service traces its roots in Clackamas County
to 1917, when the service assigned a home economist to the region for the first time.
Today, the Clackamas County office oversees a robust schedule of programming focusing
on trees and forests, 4-H youth, family and community health, home gardening, agriculture,
and watershed health. In anticipation of Clackamas County Extension's one-hundredth
anniversary, two interviews were conducted in 2016 with individuals who maintain close
ties to the region and the office. Merilly Enquist, a 1959 OSC graduate and fourth-generation
descendent of Oregon pioneers, manages timber stands on her family's 300-acre estate
near Molalla, Oregon. Harold Black, a World War II veteran and 1947 OSC Farm Crops
graduate, worked as a 4-H Extension agent and administrator for more than three decades
in Columbia, Clackamas and Multnomah counties.
Jim Denison Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
September 24, 2014
Jim Denison (b. 1927) spent more than sixty years working in Oregon's forests as a
timber cruiser, land surveyor and forestry consultant, co-founding two companies along
the way - Denison Surveying and Coastal Land Management. A World War II veteran,
Denison attended Oregon State College from 1946-1950, majoring in Forest Engineering
and funded by the G.I. Bill. The primary focus of his interview is his long and multifaceted
career in forestry, with his OSC and military experiences included as secondary topics.
Bob Lundeen Oral History Interviews
Four life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
July - August 2013
Bob Lundeen (1921-2016) graduated from Oregon State College in 1942 with a BS in Chemical
Engineering. Lundeen served in the Army Air Corp during World War II as a weather
officer stationed in China. After the war, he began working for Dow Chemical Co.,
eventually rising to the position of Chairman of the Board. Following his retirement
from Dow in 1986, he served on the Board of Directors for Tektronix and later became
CEO. In retirement Lundeen has made a deep impact at OSU as a donor, an honorary OSU
trustee, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the OSU Foundation. Topics covered
in the Lundeen interviews include his early life, his experiences during wartime,
and his memories of Oregon State College. Other subjects discussed include his long
career at Dow, family life, retirement and philanthropy.
Duane McDougall Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
July 15, 2015
Duane McDougall (b. 1952) is a native Oregonian and an OSU alum who graduated in 1974
with a degree in Business and Technology, focusing primarily on Accounting. After
college, McDougall spent twenty-three years at Willamette Industries, a forest products
company with headquarters in Oregon. During that time, McDougall rose steadily up
the ranks within the company until ultimately receiving promotion to the position
of President and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. McDougall led Willamette Industries
for the remainder of its existence, stepping down only after the company succumbed
to an eighteen month-long hostile takeover bid launched by Weyerhaeuser and consolidated
in 2002. Later on, McDougall joined the leadership team at Boise Cascade, serving
as CEO for nine months and chairing the company's board for nearly six years. McDougall's
interview traces his memories as a student and supporter of OSU as well as his years
as a forest products executive during very turbulent times.
Gilbert Shibley Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
November 10, 2015
Gilbert Shibley was born in Estacada, Oregon in 1938 on land that his family homesteaded
in 1863. After spending a decade teaching Biology at Lawrence University in Appleton,
Wisconsin, Shibley returned to the family property and found work as a 4-H Extension
Agent in Multnomah and Columbia Counties. After retiring in 1990, Shibley became increasingly
interested in family forestry, completing the Extension Service's Master Woodland
Manager program in 1993, and ultimately moving into a half-time position as Extension
Forestry Assistant for Clackamas County, from which he retired in 2008. Shibley's
interview details his deep family ties to the Estacada area and concentrates, in large
part, on his experiences managing the family property and working to educate other
family foresters on issues of resource management, taxation, and political action.
Eighty Years of Starker Forests, Inc.
An interview with Gary Blanchard, Bond Starker and Anna (Starker) May, conducted by
Mike Dicianna.
August 29, 2016
Founded in 1936 by OAC alum and professor T.J. Starker, the Corvallis-based timber
management and harvest company Starker Forests, Inc. has been managed by four generations
of Starkers, each of them educated in Forestry at Oregon State University. The model
of a successful family business, Starker Forests, Inc. now manages over 85,000 acres
of forestland and employees twenty people full-time. In this interview, company CEO
Bond Starker, his daughter Anna (Starker) May, and long-time employee Gary Blanchard
share their memories of the company and of OSU, while also detailing the field innovations
and business acumen utilized by T.J. Starker and his son Bruce in building the company
into a regional powerhouse.
Jean Starker Roth Oral History Interviews
Four life history interviews conducted by Maia Fischler.
September - November 2007
Jean Starker Roth (1920-2015) was an influential alumna who supported a wide range
of initiatives on the OSU campus and in the Corvallis community. The daughter of
T.J. Starker - an OAC graduate and faculty member in Forestry, and a successful businessman
and civic leader - Starker Roth completed her degree in Home Economics in 1942. She
worked for seven years as a teacher and Extension staffer, and also supported the
war effort at Camp Adair and elsewhere. In 1948 she married Kermit Roth, and over
the decades that ensued the couple raised four children. After Kermit's death in 1979,
Jean assumed control of the family's business activities while also giving back generously
to the community and to her alma mater. Over the course of four interviews, Starker
Roth recalls her upbringing and schooling in Corvallis, her management of the Roth
family household, her involvement with a variety of business concerns, and her many
philanthropic activities.
Tony Van Vliet Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
November 14, 2013
Tony Van Vliet (b. 1930) is both an alum and an emeritus member of the OSU faculty.
Van Vliet studied Forestry at Oregon State College, graduating with a B.S. in 1952
and attaining a master's degree in Forest Products in 1958. He began his teaching
career in 1955, a tenure that lasted until 1990 and included thirty-five years on
faculty in the College of Forestry. From 1971-1978, Van Vliet was also involved with
the university's Career Planning and Placement Center, serving as Director from 1978
until his retirement from OSU. Van Vliet likewise built a second career as a legislator
in the Oregon House of Representatives. A moderate Republican, Van Vliet served in
Salem from 1974-1995, during which time he focused on support for education and revision
of the state's tax system. His interview focuses on his background and early years,
his experiences as an OSC student, his memories of working in the legislature, and
his successful advocacy of the Corvallis Riverfront project.