Philip S. Hitchcock Papers, 1923-1977

Philip Stanley Hitchcock was born September 28, 1904 in Pomeroy, Washington. While residing in Finley, he graduated from Kennewick High school in 1921 and went on to attend Washington State University where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economic Science and History in 1926. During his college years he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and the Phi Kappa Phi honorary society. He also participated in drama and wrestling. He married Sally Wyatt in 1939 and they raised three children- Philip Jr., Martha, and Stephen Eric.

After completing college he engaged briefly in the insurance business in Spokane, Washington and subsequently in a trucking business venture in Lewiston, Idaho. His interests turned to lumbering at which he had had some experience as a youth. His logging activities centered in Oregon around Sisters and near Klamath Falls where he also owned a logging equipment business. Later he became the Superintendent of the White Swan Lumber Company near Yakima, Washington.

Mr. Hitchcock remained an active Presbyterian throughout his entire adult life. Although raised in a Campbellite family, he was converted to Presbyterianism in his early twenties. He acted as Moderator for the Presbyterian Synod of Oregon in 1948.

As the President of the Oregon Council of Churches he represented that body in the National Council of Churches during 1957. He held the office of Senior Vice President of the National Council for United Presbyterian Men before being elected President of that organization in 1961.

Mr. Hitchcock served as state senator from Oregon's 17th District from 1948 through 1954 term. The highlight of his political career came in 1949 with his successful fight in the legislature for passage of laws barring racial and religious discrimination in employment practices. In 1956 he made an unsuccessful bid for the Republication nomination for the United States Senate seat.

Mr. Hitchcock's public service was not limited to that of holding elected office. A licensed pilot, he led the effort to persuade the National Aviation Board to initiate airline service into southern Oregon and in 1945 he was elected President of the Oregon State Aviation Council. A lifelong Kiwanian, he served as Governor of the Pacific Northwest District for the 1942-1943 term. From 1954 through 1958 he was Director of Church and Public Relations for the Lewis and Clark College of Portland, Oregon, and later was an assistant to the President of that institution. For a number of years he was a Trustee of the Central Oregon Community College Foundation, Bend, Oregon. In 1972 he was appointed Chairman of the Oregon State Board of Parole and Probation.

Over the years the former legislator received numerous awards for his outstanding service. In 1956, the National Conference of Christians and Jews awarded him their Brotherhood Citation. Whitworth College, Spokane, Washington, bestowed an honorary Doctor of Laws on Mr. Hitchcock in 1962 and four years later he was recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, Iowa. For his achievements in the area of civil rights in Oregon, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People posthumously awarded him a President's Plaque.

On October 12, 1977, at the age of 73, Mr. Hitchcock passed away at his home in Sisters, Oregon.