Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins

Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Photograph] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 01] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 02] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 03] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 04] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 05] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 06] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 07] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 08] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 09] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 10] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 11] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 12] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 13] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Sound Recording 14] Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier [Transcript]

Identity elements

Reference code

SR 470

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Collection

Title

Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins

Date(s)

  • 1986-07-07 - 1986-08-01 (Creation)

Extent

.1 cubic feet 7 audiocassettes (6 hr., 24 min., 12 sec.) + transcript (138 pages) + 1 photograph (black and white, 1 x 3 in.)

Name of creator

(1910-1989)

Biographical history

Windsor Calkins was born in Eugene, Oregon, in 1910. He met Doris Helen Patterson while in junior high school and they married in 1932. That same year, he graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law. He practiced law in Eugene for 12 years, from 1932 to 1944. He was president of the Lane County Bar Association in 1940, as well as a member of the Eugene City Health Board from 1943 to 1944. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1944 and served in the Mediterranean until the end of the European conflict in World War II, then the Philippines until the end of the war. He was a part of the occupying force in Japan until his discharge in 1946. Upon his return to Oregon, he served as counsel for the Eugene Water and Electric Board. He was appointed to the senior advisory board for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1985. He died in 1989.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This oral history interview with Windsor Calkins was conducted by Jim Strassmaier in Calkins' office in Eugene, Oregon, from July 7 to August 1, 1986. In the interview, Calkins discusses his family background and early life in Eugene, including a 1922 trip on foot from Newport to Florence, Oregon, with his father. He also discusses his father's career as a court reporter, as well as his own interest in the law. Calkins talks about studying law at the University of Oregon, including taking classes from Wayne Morse. Calkins talks about practicing law in Eugene and some of the cases he argued, including bootlegging and murder cases. He also discusses the effect the Depression had on his family. He then talks about his experiences in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Calkins also talks about notable people from Eugene, including William G. East and other judges. He then discusses his work as a lawyer for the Eugene Water and Electric Board and Sacred Heart Hospital, as well as his involvement with the Lane County Bar Association, the Eugene City Health Board, and other civic organizations. He closes the interview with a description of malpractice lawsuits, as well as his family life.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

Collection is open for research.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright held by the Oregon Historical Society. Licensed under Creative Commons, BY-NC-SA: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

Language and script notes

Finding aids

Acquisition and appraisal elements

Custodial history

Immediate source of acquisition

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

Reminiscences of Windsor Calkins's father, Sylvenus Calkins, Coll 532, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Related descriptions

Notes element

General note

Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Windsor Calkins, by Jim Strassmaier, SR 470, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Specialized notes

Alternative identifier(s)

Description control element

Rules or conventions

Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.

Sources used

Archivist's note

Sarah Stroman

Access points

Genre access points

Accession area