Tom McCall's Grandads Not Hughes Fans

From Tom Huston Collection

APIC Member Tom Huston recently posted a picture of this book by a Thomas W. Lawson. Oregonians may recognize that name, as Dorothy Lawson McCall's father. He was a rather wealthy man in the era of the Rockefellers and Astors at the start of the 20th Century. He used his wealth to buy a home for his daughter and her husband to raise their kids in Eastern Oregon. One of those kids was future Oregon Governor Tom McCall. Young Tom would travel often between Oregon and Massachusetts to spend time at Thomas Lawson's home and the family ranch in Eastern Oregon. His other grandfather, Samuel W. McCall, happened to be Governor of the Bay State in 1916.

A Look at Bob Straub (1954-1962)

At the recent meeting of the Oregon Political Item Conservators in Salem, Oregon author Charles Johnson shared with us some highlights of his recently completed book, Standing at the Water's Edge: Bob Straub's Battle for the Soul of Oregon  

 Members were captivated by the contrasts between Governor Tom McCall and Governor Bob Straub, who both vied for the Governor's Mansion at the same time during the 60s and early 70s. Many of the McCall environmental initiatives are owed to the work Straub did to bring those issues to the front of McCall's attention. In their attempts to one up each other, they made each other better candidates and public servants.