Oral history interview with Vern Cook [Sound Recording 41]

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SR1167_T21S1

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Oral history interview with Vern Cook [Sound Recording 41]

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  • 1995-10-15 (Creation)

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Audiocassette; 00:18:41

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Biographical history

Robert Vernon "Vern" Cook was born near St. Francis, Kansas, in 1925. His family moved to Las Animas, Colorado, around 1930, then to Gresham, Oregon, in 1937. He enrolled at Reed College in 1938 with the intention of joining the Navy after graduation, but he contracted polio and wasn't able to graduate until 1948. He began attending the University of Oregon law school in 1949 while supporting himself by working concessions with his brother in California. He graduated in 1952 and passed the Oregon state bar soon after. He opened a law office in Gresham and founded the Gresham Bar Association. He married Beryl Kirkwood in 1956, just before winning his first election to the state Legislature. He was a liberal Democrat who represented Multnomah County in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1957 to 1960 and in the Oregon Senate from 1961 to 1980. After leaving the Legislature, he continued working as a lawyer. He died in 2008.

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Tape 21, Side 1. This oral history interview with Robert Vernon "Vern" Cook was conducted by Clark Hansen at Cook's law office in Gresham, Oregon, and Cook's home in Troutdale, Oregon, from December 15, 1994, to October 15, 1995. In the interview, Cook discusses his family background and early life during the Depression in Las Animas, Colorado, and in Gresham. He also describes being a young man during World War II; being denied enlistment in the Navy due to polio; and his rehabilitation from polio. Cook discusses studying political science at Reed College and law at the University of Oregon, all while working concessions at various businesses in California with his brother. He talks about practicing law in Gresham; his involvement with the Democratic Party; and his first campaign for the Oregon House of Representatives in 1956. Cook discusses the legislation he worked on while serving in the House, including taxation, education, and worker's compensation. He also talks about serving on the judicial committee and related issues. He discusses some of the legislators he worked with, including Pat Dooley and Monroe Sweetland, as well as Governor Mark Hatfield. Cook then describes his experience in the Oregon Senate, including serving on the judiciary committee and legislation on taxation, particularly sales taxes, as well as health insurance, education, land use, agriculture, domestic violence, and labor. He also talks about working with senators Tom Mahoney, Edith Green, Walter Pearson, Debbs Potts, Monte Montgomery, Alice Corbett, Ted Hallock, Jason Boe, and Vic Atiyeh. Cook also discusses party politics and its influence on the effectiveness of the Legislature during his tenure; the 1968 Democratic National Convention; and working with Governor Tom McCall and Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt. He also talks about his unsuccessful campaigns for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate; his involvement in Frank Church's campaign in the Democratic presidential primary in 1976; and the financial difficulties he faced as a legislator. He closes the interview by discussing his career as a lawyer since leaving the Legislature in 1980.

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

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  • eng

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