SALEM, OR -- Governor Kate Brown signed into law Wednesday, a bill declaring March 22nd as Tom McCall Day in Oregon. McCall served two terms as Oregon's Governor, 1967-1975. He was born in Massachusetts on March 22, 1913 and grew up in Redmond and Prineville, graduating from Redmond High School. Tom McCall Elementary in Redmond is named after the 30th Governor.
His son Tad, who is an environmental consultant in Virginia, traveled to Salem to attend the ceremony. "On a personal level, it's a great honor for my father that he will be remembered this way; and, as a son of Oregon, I have a different reflection, that he is what Oregon stands for," Tad McCall told KBND News. "It's a celebration of what Oregonians think is important and will champion and will sustain."
The bill was introduced at the request of the Tom McCall Legacy Project, a non profit citizens group. Their goal is to educate newcomers and young people about Tom McCall and his influence on Oregon. Tad McCall said, "He really cared about people. He cared about women's rights, equal rights, and prosperity shared among all people. He believed as a society you take care of each other and be a steward of resources so they can take care of us and we can share and enjoy them."
McCall is perhaps best known for starting the country's first "Bottle Bill." He also passed legislation ensuring public ownership of the state's beaches and also started the state's land use planning system. He died of cancer in 1983. Tad is Tom McCall's closest living relative.
