Letters to Hal Stoltz from Terry Schrunk and Tom McCall

Collection

Identifier: Coll 968

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of two letters written to Harold D. "Hal" Stoltz: one from Portland, Oregon Mayor Terry Schrunk (co-signed by Commissioner of Public Works Lloyd E. Anderson), and the other from Oregon Governor Tom McCall. The letters, which both misspell Stoltz's name as "Steltz," thank him for his involvement with the group People for Portland in helping to prevent violence during the American Legion Convention in Portland in August 1970.

Dates

Creation: 1970 September 8-29

Creator

Stoltz, Hal (Harold D.), 1943-2023 (Correspondent, Person)
Schrunk, Terry D., 1913-1975 (Correspondent, Person)
McCall, Tom, 1913-1983 (Correspondent, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical Note

Harold D. "Hal" Stoltz (1943-2023) was born in Wendell, Idaho, and grew up in Jerome, Idaho. He earned a degree in sociology from the University of Puget Sound in 1965. Soon after, he was drafted into the U.S. Army; he mainly served in Würzburg, Germany. After his two-year tour, he worked for the Boy Scouts of America in Portland, Oregon. He later earned a master's degree in counseling from Lewis & Clark College, and worked as a high school counselor in Newberg, Oregon, and then at Bothell High School and Woodinville High School north of Seattle, Washington. Stoltz was passionate about the history of the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest, and participated in living history activities for the Champoeg Historical Pageant and at Fort Clatsop.

Source: Information provided by Greg Stoltz, Hal Stoltz's son, in 2023.

Historical Note

In the summer of 1970, anti-war demonstrators were expected to protest the American Legion convention in Portland, Oregon. Two Portland residents, Craig Berkman and Mike Ragsdale, sought to prevent the outbreak of violence during the convention through citizen involvement. They founded a volunteer organization, People for Portland, which conducted training sessions for between 1,500 and 2,000 people. During the convention, about 700 members were present in downtown Portland to help prevent escalation between demonstrators and the Legion and its supporters. In September 1970, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners awarded Berkman, Ragsdale, and Phil Hitchcock (the who had served as the organization's senior counsel) a citation for their work, and the organization was credited at the time for having helped to prevent violence during the convention.

Sources: Articles in the Oregonian, September-November 1970.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder in shared box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Letters from Terry Schrunk, mayor of Portland, Oregon, and Oregon Governor Tom McCall to Hal Stoltz (1943-2023) thanking him for his work with People for Portland. People for Portland was a volunteer organization formed in the summer of 1970 with the goal of preventing violent confrontation during demonstrations against the American Legion convention in Portland that August.