Oral history interview with Malcolm H. Clark, Jr.

Collection

Identifier: SR 9366

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Malcolm H. Clark, Jr., was conducted by Linda S. Dodds in Portland, Oregon, on February 7, 1980, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program. At the time of the interview, Dodds’ name was Linda S. Brody.

In this interview, Clark discusses his family background. He talks about his early education in Portland, and about his early interest in writing. He briefly describes his college experience, talks about dropping out to begin a career as a writer, and shares his memories of living in San Francisco, California, and in several towns in Mexico during the Depression. He also talks about working in a lumber camp during World War II. He discusses his career as a writer, beginning with submitting short stories to magazines, and later as an author of books on Oregon history. He speaks at length about his work to edit and publish the diary of Judge Matthew P. Deady.

Dates

1980 February 7

Creator

Clark, Malcolm, 1917- (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

Malcolm Hamilton Clark, Jr. was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1917. He dropped out of college to pursue a career as a writer. During the 1940s, he published several short stories in pulp magazines under pseudonyms. In 1943, he and Elsie June Kimpton were married; they later had two children. In the 1950s, he and his young family returned to Portland, and he worked in a law office with his brother. He was the author of "Eden Seekers: The Settlement of Oregon, 1818-1862" and editor of "Pharisee Among Philistines: The Diary of Judge Matthew P. Deady." In 1984, he remarried to Barbara Serrell. Clark died in 1989.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Clark in his interview.