Rod Ross Oral History Interviews
In November 1984, Archivist of the United States Robert Warner appointed archivist Rod Ross to conduct oral histories to document the agency's General Services Administration (GSA) years, 1949–1985. Ross completed 22 interviews with former National Archives and Records Service (NARS) employees as well as individuals outside the agency who had been instrumental in securing independence from GSA. In addition, Ross "grandmothered" into the collection a 1982 interview with longtime and beloved employee Sara Jackson.
Transcripts were not made for most of the interviews but instead we have summaries (with the exception of the interviews for James Rhoads and Harold T. Pinkett which are fully transcribed). The original audio recordings are in RG 64 (Records of the National Archives) with the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video unit.
Disclaimer: The views presented in these oral history interviews are those of the participants and not of the National Archives or the U.S. Government.
Robert H. Bahmer was the fourth Archivist of the United States. Ross interviewed Bahmer on November 6, 1985, at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.
Charlene Bickford started at the National Archives in 1967 and moved to the First Federal Congress Project five years later. In the interview, Bickford discusses NARA’s independence from General Services Administration (GSA), the Emergency Committee to Preserve the National Archives, the Coalition to Save our Documentary Heritage, and the First Federal Congress Project.
From 1962 until December 1, 1980, John Porter Bloom served as head of the Territorial Papers project at the National Archives. After Bloom left the National Archives he became a freelance historian. The interview concentrates mostly on Bloom’s work with the Territorial Papers project.
At the time of the interview, Mary Ann Chaffee was an examiner with the Division of Economics and Government of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In her interview, she discusses OMB’s involvement in the split between the General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Archives.
Stephen Daniels was on the Republican staff of the House Government Operations Committee. In his interview, Daniels discusses the legislation in the House and Senate regarding the independence of the National Archives as well as the oppositions from the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department.
Stanley Falk was a federal historian. Falk discusses his involvement with Page Putnam Miller in regards to the Archives independence bill. Also discussed is Falk’s career as an Air Force Chief Historian.
James L. Gear was a chemist in the National Archives Document Preservation Branch. Ross interviewed Gear on April 16, 1985, at Gear's home in Annandale, Virginia.
Dorothy Hill Gersack began her National Archives career in 1936 in the Division of Cataloging. She worked in numerous units until she retired in 1975 while working in the Records Disposition Division of the Office of Federal Records Centers. Note: Her oral history was conducted by Kathryn Murphy in 1982 and transcribed by Rod Ross.
Edward Gleiman was a counsel for the Subcommittee on Government Information, Agriculture and Justice of the Government Operations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. In his oral history he discusses the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and the independence of the National Archives from GSA.
Gerald Haines was an archivist from 1974 to 1984 in the Diplomatic Branch of the National Archives. He later worked for the National Security Agency as a historian. Haines discusses the Emergency Committee to Save the National Archives in response to Admiral Freeman’s efforts of decentralization. He also discusses the differences of attitudes between archivists and senior management, journeyman archivists versus subject specialists, as well as the role of the National Archives Assembly.
Leroy Harvey worked from many years at the Records Center in Alexandria, Virginia, and later at the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland. Ross interviewed Harvey at Harvey's home in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Sara Jackson was a longtime National Archives employee who worked in various capacities including for the Military Archives Division and the National Historical Publications & Records Commission. Ross interviewed Jackson on July 5, 1982, at her home in Washington, DC.
Robert McConnell served as Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs. McConnell discusses the independence of the National Archives from GSA, particularly the Justice Department’s opposition.
Page Putnam Miller was the director of the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCC). Miller was very involved in the independence movement of the National Archives and discusses this along with other individuals involved in the movement.
Marion Morris was the staff assistant for Senator Charles McCurdy Mathias on the Subcommittee on Governmental Efficiency and the District of Columbia, which is a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Morris discusses Senators Mathias, Mark Hatfield, and Thomas Eagleton’s collective role in the National Archives independence movement and the atmosphere on the night of passage of S. 905, the National Archives and Records Administration Act.
John Parisi served as minority counsel on the Subcommittee on Government Information, Justice and Agriculture of the House Government Operations Committee. In his interview, Parisi discusses the issue of the National Archives’ independence in relation to Representative Thomas Kindness and Representative Frank Horton.
Thomas Persky worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as the Commissioner’s Assistant for Legislative Liaison. In his interview, Persky discusses the independence of the National Archives specifically regarding the concerns of the IRS.
Harold T. Pinkett was hired in 1942 as the first African American archivist at the National Archives. In his oral history interview, Pinkett discusses his long career at the National Archives and affiliations with several historical and archival organizations. After serving in World War II, he returned to the National Archives to work in records description, particularly with Department of Agriculture records. Among the records in that department were the Forest Service records, which included records on Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service. Pinkett wrote his doctoral dissertation on Pinchot, earning his PhD in 1953. During the latter part of his archival career, Pinkett was editor of the American Archivist from 1968-1971 and chief of the Legislative and Natural Resources Branch. Pinkett retired from the National Archives in 1979, and passed away in 2001.
James Berton "Bert" Rhoads was the fifth Archivist of the United States. Ross interviewed Rhoads on December 29, 1984, in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency in Illinois Center at the 99th annual meeting of the American Historical Association.
At the time of the interview, Ira Shapiro was an administrative assistant to Senator Jay Rockefeller, but previously was an assistant for Senators Gaylord Nelson and Thomas Eagleton. In his interview, Shapiro discusses his work for Senator Eagleton on Archives independence. Also discussed are the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and the National Archives and Records Administration Act of 1984.
James “Jimmy” Dent Walker was a well-known genealogical consultant at the National Archives. He was particularly noted for his knowledge of military and pension records, and his ability to uncover sources important to African American genealogy. Ross interviewed Walker on March 27, 1985, at the DAR Building in Washington, DC.
Gordon Wheeler worked for the Legislative Affairs Office within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He provided perspective on the Archives independence from OMB and his experience working in OMB’s Legislative Reference Division.