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Only top-level descriptions United States. Bonneville Power Administration Electric utilities--Oregon
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Oral history interview with Charles F. Luce

  • SR 1571
  • Collection
  • 1984-09-07 - 1984-11-20

This oral history interview with Charles F. Luce was conducted by Gene Tolefson from September 7 to November 20, 1984. The interview was conducted in two sessions.

In the first interview session, conducted on September 7, 1984, Luce briefly discusses his early life in Platteville, Wisconsin, his college experience at Yale law school, and clerking for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black. He talks about his desire to move to the Pacific Northwest and about lobbying for a job with the U.S. Interior Department, which led to his career at the Bonneville Power Administration beginning in 1944. He discusses his role as legal counsel for the BPA, initiatives relating to public utility districts, and helping PUDs get set up. He talks about his appointment as Bonneville Power Administrator in 1961 and describes his new duties. He discusses controversies surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Power Plant; forming treaties with Californian and Canadian power companies; and building dams. He talks about the benefits and drawbacks of hydroelectric power, and his involvement in the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) project.

Between the two sessions is an incomplete segment from a panel discussion regarding the Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada. The discussion, held circa 1990, is moderated by Gordon Gulp, with an introductory speech by Charles F. Luce.

In the second interview session, conducted on November 20, 1984, Luce discusses the Columbia River Treaty, including his own role as a negotiator, the terms of the treaty, and other members of the negotiating team. He talks about attempts to sell surplus power to California and Idaho, opposition to the Columbia River Treaty, and the long term benefits of the treaty. He closes the interview by talking about the early plans for Bonneville that he helped put together when he first began working at BPA in 1944.

Luce, Charles F. (Charles Franklin), 1917-2008

Oral history interview with Ambrose A. Oderman

  • SR 11275
  • Collection
  • 2005-04-05 - 2005-04-25

In this interview, Oderman discusses his family background and early life in Foxholm, North Dakota. He describes his experience during the 1918 flu pandemic, including the death of his father. He discusses his mother's remarriage and his early education. He talks about moving to Monroe, Oregon, in 1926, as well as his high school experience there. He then discusses studying business at the University of Oregon during the Depression, including his plans to become an accountant. He also tells several stories about growing up on a farm. He discusses working for the Public Utility Commission and the Bonneville Power Administration as an accountant and auditor. He talks about his family and his social life during that time. He then discusses his service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and living in Vanport, Oregon, after the end of the war. He discusses his service as western region audit director for the U.S. Interior Department. He closes the interview by discussing his retirement.

Oderman, Ambrose A. (Ambrose Adolph), 1912-2014