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Oral history interview with Hector Macpherson, Jr.

 Collection
Identifier: SR1121

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Hector Macpherson, Jr. was conducted by Clark Hansen at Macpherson’s farm in Oakville, Oregon, from February 14-25, 1992. MacPherson’s wife, Katharine "Kitty" Macpherson, was also present. In this interview, Macpherson discusses his family background and early life on a dairy farm in central Oregon. He speaks at length about his father, Hector Macpherson, Sr., and his activism regarding farm cooperatives and higher education. He then discusses his high school education, particularly his involvement in debate; the history of the land his family’s dairy farm is on; and life for farmers during the Depression. He talks about studying science at Oregon State College, training for his military service during World War II, and meeting Kitty. He then discusses running a dairy farm, including water rights and milk pricing. He describes his interest in land-use planning in rural areas. Macpherson also talks about his time in the Oregon Senate from 1971 to 1974, particularly his work on Senate Bill 100, which concerned land-use planning. He also talks about his involvement with the Republican Party, his political campaign against Glenn Huston, and the election of John Burns as Senate president. He speaks about the nature of his constituency, and his thoughts on why rural areas tend to oppose environmental regulation. He then discusses other legislation he worked on, including on field burning, bicycle paths, the Bottle Bill, and additional land use planning. He talks about legislators he worked with, particularly Vic Atiyeh, Jason Boe, Ted Hallock, and Betty Roberts. He closes the interview with a discussion about serving on the Land Conservation and Development Commission, land-use laws in other states, and his impressions of the 1992 Oregon delegation to Congress.

Dates

  • 1992 February 14-25

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright to interview held by the Oregon Historical Society. Licensed under Creative Commons, BY-NC-SA: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. Copyright to photographs has not been determined, and permission for use may require authorization from copyright holders.

Biographical note

Hector "Huck" Macpherson, Jr. was born in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1918. His family moved to a dairy farm in Oakville, Oregon, when he was around 6 years old. He graduated from Oregon State College (now Oregon State University) with a degree in agricultural technology in 1940. He signed up for the Reserve Officer Training Corps while still in college, and served as an aerial photographer and then a bombing navigator until 1945. He and Katharine “Kitty” Brownell Smith were married in 1943; they later had five children. He was a dairy farmer and a Republican politician. He represented Linn County in the Oregon Senate from 1971 to 1974. He was appointed to the Land Conservation and Development Commission by Governor Neil Goldschmidt, serving from 1990 to 2000. He died in 2015.

Extent

.1 Cubic Feet (10 audiocassettes (10 hr., 12 min., 23 sec.) + 3 photographs (color ; 4 x 6 in.))

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Oral history interview with Hector Macpherson, Jr. conducted by Clark Hansen from February 14 to 25, 1992, as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series. Macpherson was an Oregon state senator from 1971 to 1974.

General

Forms part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series.

General

Incomplete transcript (90 pages) available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Creator

Title
Guide to oral history interview with Hector Macpherson, Jr.
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Stroman
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.
Sponsor
This project is supported in whole or part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Oregon.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240