Sierra Club-Related Oral Histories

The following oral histories were not underwritten by the Sierra Club, but they include Sierra Club topics and people. 


 SINGLE INTERVIEW VOLUMES

Francis P. Farquhar
 On Accountancy, Mountaineering, and the National Parks (c. 1960)
 - Sierra Club director (1924-1951), president (1933-1935; 1948-1949), and editor the Sierra Club Bulletin (1925-1946), discusses early Sierra Club leaders and his achievements with the Sierra Club.

Marjory Bridge Farquhar
 Pioneer Sierra Climber, Conservationist and Photographer (c. 1994)
 - Wife of Francis P. Farquhar recollects her activity in the Sierra Club and the conservation movement.

August Frugé
 A Publishers Career with the University of California Press (c. 2001)
 - Chair of the Publications Committee of the Sierra Club in the 1960s.

Carroll T. Harris
 Conversations on Type and Printing (c. 1976)
 - Printer who contributed to the art of fine printing in San Francisco. Primary printer of the Sierra Club’s “Exhibit Format Series” books.

Arthur L. Jordan 
 Interview with Arthur L. Jordan (c. 1970)
 - Recollections including Sierra Club outings with John Muir and William E. Colby.

Marshal H. Kuhn
 Catalyst and Teacher, San Francisco Jewish and Community Leader, 1934-1978 (c. 1979)
 - Longtime Sierra Club member (1949-1978). Served as the founding chair of the Sierra Club History Committee. Facilitated the transfer the Sierra Club’s historic records to the Bancroft Library archives at UC Berkeley, and fostered many oral histories of Sierra Club leaders.

Luna B. Leopold
 Hydrology, Geomorphology & Environmental Policy: US Geological Survey, 1950-1972, and UC Berkeley, 1972-1987 (c. 1993)
 - Held a position on the Sierra Club Board of Directors from 1968 to 1971. Discusses working with David Brower, opposing dam building on the Colorado River.

Bernice Hubbard May
 A Native Daughter's Leadership in Public Affairs, Volume I, and Volume II  (c. 1976)
 - Berkeley city council member with a distinguished career in local government entities and environmental organizations. Life member of the Sierra Club recollects High Trips in the 1930s.

Mel Nutter
 California Coastal Commission Oral History Project (c. 2018)
 - Environmental lawyer and coastal advocate in Long Beach, CA. Served in executive capacities on the Sierra Club Coastal Committee.

Margaret Wentworth Owings
 Artist, and Wildlife and Environmental Defender (c. 1991)
 - Recollections of her work with numerous conservation organizations, including  the Sierra Club. Reflections on many prominent conservation leaders.

David Pesonen
 Attorney and Activist for the Environment 1962-1992; Opposing Nuclear Power at Bodega Bay and Point Arena, Managing California Forests and East Bay Regional Parks (c. 1996)
 - Worked for David Brower, then executive director of the Sierra Club, and became involved in the opposition to a proposed nuclear power plant at Bodega Head and later at Point Arena. Mediated a dispute between the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.

Ronald B. Robie
 State Department of Water Resources 1975-1983 (c. 1989)
 - Discusses background on water issues, including litigation with the Sierra Club related to the Peripheral Canal (a series of proposals to divert water from California's Sacramento River, around the periphery of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, to uses farther south). 

Margaret Avery Rowell
 Master Teacher of Cellists, and Humble Student of Nature (c. 1984)
 - Cellist and music instructor, recollects family outings with the Sierra Club. Mother of Galen Rowell, renowned wilderness photographer, adventure photojournalist, and mountaineer. (The Sierra Club published many books by and about Galen.)

 

MULTIPLE-INTERVIEW VOLUMES 

Saving Point Reyes National Seashore, 1969-1970: An oral history of citizen action in conservation (c. 1993)
 See the following interviews in this volume for topics related to the Sierra Club: 
 Margaret Azevedo. Civic Leader and Save Our Seashore Board Member.
 Peter Behr. Marin County Environmentalist and Political Leader: Spearheading the Save
 Our Seashore Campaign.
 Katy Miller Johnson. Catalyst and Citizen-Lobbyist in Washington.
 Boyd Stewart. Point Reyes Rancher and Seashore Supporter.

The Women’s Faculty Club of the University of California, Berkeley, 1919-1982 (c. 1983)
 See the following interview in this volume for topics related to the Sierra Club: 
 Josephine Smith. Re: Skiing (p. 27).