Oral history interview with Warne H. Nunn

This oral history interview with Warne H. Nunn was conducted by Jim Strassmaier in three session, from October 20 to November 3, 1987, at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, as part of the Senator Mark O. Hatfield Oral History Project. Accompanying the audio, are a transcript and two prints of a black and white photograph of Nunn taken by Strassmaier in the OHS research library, at the time of the interview.

In this interview, Nunn discusses his family background and early life on a farm outside Salem, Oregon, and talks about attending Willamette University. He talks about his career in civil service for the state of Oregon, beginning with a job at the Civil Service Commission in 1945, on the Public Utilities Commission in 1952, and as director of the Department of Motor Vehicles in 1956. He speaks about working with Mark Hatfield as assistant secretary of state from 1957 to 1959, and talks about Hatfield’s campaigns for Oregon governor. He discusses serving as chief of staff for Hatfield from 1959 to 1967, including Hatfield’s efforts to reorganize the state government. He also describes Hatfield’s views on the Vietnam War. He speaks extensively about Hatfield's efforts toward Oregon’s economic development. He then discusses the 1968 Republican Convention when Hatfield was being considered as Richard Nixon’s running mate. He speaks about serving as chief of staff for Hatfield for three months in 1967 after Hatfield was elected as a U.S. senator. He closes the interview by discussing his departure from Hatfield’s staff and his return to Oregon.