Forms part of the Marian Wood Kolisch Oral History Collection.
Collection is open for research.
Gift of Marian W. Kolisch, April 1988 (Lib. Acc. 18764).
Sir James McDonald was born in Scotland in 1899. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917, serving as a gunner in the Bristol Fighters during World War I. After the war, he immigrated to Canada and worked on farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan. He came to San Francisco, California, in the early 1920s and became a timber inspector. In 1926, he relocated to Portland, Oregon, and began a lumber export business. He was appointed British Consul for Oregon in 1938. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1967. He died in 1989.
Forms part of the Marian Wood Kolisch Oral History Collection.
Oral history interview with Sir James McDonald, by Marian W. Kolisch, SR 1069, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Marian Wood Kolisch collection, Org. Lot 1048, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Sir James McDonald was conducted by Marian W. Kolisch at McDonald's home on February 6, 1986. The interview was part of a series conducted by Oregon photographer Marian W. Kolisch to accompany portraits of Oregon artists, businesspeople, and politicians.
In this interview, McDonald discusses his family background and early life in Scotland, including his education. He talks about working for the British Civil Service and living in London, and describes German bombings of London during World War I. He then talks about his experiences in France as a gunner in the Royal Air Force from 1917 to 1918. He also describes his memories of the end of the war. He talks about moving to Canada after the war and working on farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan. McDonald and Kolisch then speak away from the microphone about the process of recording the interview. McDonald goes on to describe traveling to San Francisco, California, and getting into the timber business. He describes his career as a timber inspector, starting his own lumber export business in Portland, Oregon, and a trip he took back to Europe for his business. He closes the interview by talking about serving as British Consul in Portland throughout World War II.
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Sir James McDonald. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted,