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Ervin A. Schultz was born in Niagara, Wisconsin, in 1909, and grew up near Green Bay. Charlotte Lillian "Dutch" Leonard was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1911. They married in 1932, and later had one child, Sandra.
Ervin Schultz joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, which became the U.S. Air Force, in 1929, and was a plane mechanic base inspector and accident investigator for the Corps. During and after World War II, he did reconaissance for the Air Corps in the Pacific theater, and after the war, the Schultz family lived in the Philippines. Ervin Schultz retired in the late 1940s, and the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona. He earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Arizona State University, and later worked for the Atomic Energy Commission at a test site in Nevada. Dutch Schultz worked for the Pan American airline, then was subcontracted to NASA at the same test site. In 1982, the family moved to Oregon. Ervin A. Schultz died in 1993, and Dutch Schultz died in 2004.
Sources: Information provided by the Schultzes in their interview; vital records on Ancestry.com.
Oral history interview with Ervin A. and Dutch Schultz, by Jim Strassmaier, SR 11254, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Ervin A. Schultz and Dutch Schultz was conducted by Jim Strassmaier in three sessions from March 2-23, 1984. The Schultzes' daughter, Sandra Lee Arbaugh, and several other unidentified members of the Schultz family were also present and often contributed to the interview.
In this interview, Ervin A. Schultz discusses his family background and early life near Green Bay, Wisconsin, his career in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1929 to the late 1940s, and his work for the Atomic Energy Commission in Nevada. Dutch Schultz discusses her family background and early life in Detroit, Michigan, her experiences raising a child while living in the Philippines after World War II, and her work for NASA as an employee of the Pan American airline.
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Ervin A. Schultz and Dutch Schultz. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted,
In the first interview session, conducted on March 2, 1984, Ervin A. Schultz looks at photographs taken during his service as a mechanic in the U.S. Army Air Corps and talks about them, including photographs he took in Guam during World War II, and pictures of other pilots he served with. He talks about his work doing reconnaissance in the Pacific theater after the war, discusses the effects of flying at high altitudes without supplemental oxygen, and shares his memories of being stationed at Selfridge Field in Michigan. He also describes plane crashes he witnessed. He shares his reasons for joining the Air Corps in 1929, and also talks about how the Depression affected him. He then looks at photographs from his early life near Green Bay, Wisconsin, talks about them, and discusses his early life.
In the second interview session, conducted on March 9, 1984, Ervin A. Schultz continues to discuss his early life on a farm near Green Bay, Wisconsin, and talks about his family background. He describes his career progression in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the 1930s and 1940s, talks about plane accidents he investigated, and shares his experiences doing reconnaissance in the Pacific theater during and after World War II. He speaks about his activities after retiring from the military, including going to college, working for the Atomic Energy Commission, and living on a ranch in Death Valley. Ervin A. Schultz, Dutch Schultz, and Sandra L. Arbaugh speak about living in the Philippines after World War II.
In the third and final interview session, conducted on March 23, 1984, the Schultz family continues to speak about living in the Philippines after World War II. They then eat dinner. Ervin Schultz speaks further about his family background and early life in Wisconsin. The Schultzes' grandson, James, then joins the conversation, and the family discusses his career. Dutch Schultz speaks at length about her family background; about her early life in Detroit, Michigan; about her marriage to Ervin A. Schultz; and about her experiences raising a child as an Army wife. Sandra L. Arbaugh shares her experiences as an "Army brat." Ervin Schultz and Dutch Schultz talk about their work at a nuclear test site in Nevada. The family closes the interview with casual conversation.