An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin criticizing Bush's proposed national missile defense system, deeming it useless against "rogue" terrorist attacks who avoid using missiles and cooperation in the first place. On the other hand, AuCoin asserts that access to plutonium is indeed a real concern: "according to Sam Nunn... 60% of the former Soviet Union’s plutonium stocks are lying around Russia in unsecured storage. Think of it as terrorist theft waiting to happen." This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2001.
Two form letters addressing the case of Naum Chernobelsky. The first letter is a "dear colleague" letter from November 1987, requesting that members of congress sign the second letter, which asks Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Soviet Union, to begin the emigration process for Naum Chernobelsky. The Chernobelskys were a Ukrainian Jewish family of "refuseniks," an unofficial term for individuals, most commonly Soviet Jews, whose requests to emigrate from the Soviet Union were denied by officials. In the case of the Chernobelsky family, Naum's parents and sister were able to emigrate to Portland, Oregon in 1979, but he, his wife, and his children were not permitted to leave the Soviet Union. In February 1986, Naum's sister Raisa requested help from Representative AuCoin, who spent the next 2 years lobbying the Soviet Union for Naum Chernobelsky's release. Naum and his family were eventually allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union to the United States in late 1988. This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. See also PUA_MS147_111 through PUA_MS147_113 for other materials related to the Chernobelsky family.
Memorandum on December 9th, 1987 to Representative Les AuCoin concerning an upcoming press conference on about Naum Chernobelsky. The Chernobelskys were a Ukrainian Jewish family of "refuseniks," an unofficial term for individuals, most commonly Soviet Jews, whose requests to emigrate from the Soviet Union were denied by officials. In the case of the Chernobelsky family, Naum's parents and sister were able to emigrate to Portland, Oregon in 1979, but he, his wife, and his children were not permitted to leave the Soviet Union. In February 1986, Naum's sister Raisa requested help from Representative AuCoin, who spent the next 2 years lobbying the Soviet Union for Naum Chernobelsky's release. Naum and his family were eventually allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union to the United States in late 1988. This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. See also PUA_MS147_111 through PUA_MS147_113 for other materials related to the Chernobelsky family.
Personal journal of Representative Les AuCoin detailing his work on the Chernobelsky case. The Chernobelskys were a Ukrainian Jewish family of "refuseniks," an unofficial term for individuals, most commonly Soviet Jews, whose requests to emigrate from the Soviet Union were denied by officials. In the case of the Chernobelsky family, Naum's parents and sister were able to emigrate to Portland, Oregon in 1979, but he, his wife, and his children were not permitted to leave the Soviet Union. In February 1986, Naum's sister Raisa requested help from Representative AuCoin, who spent the next 2 years lobbying the Soviet Union for Naum Chernobelsky's release. Naum and his family were eventually allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union to the United States in late 1988. This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. See also PUA_MS147_111 through PUA_MS147_113 for other materials related to the Chernobelsky family.
General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev greets the congressional delegation to the Soviet Union. This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. It originally appeared in an AuCoin family scrapbook documenting U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright's visit to Spain, the Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany in April 1987. The congressional delegation included Representative Les AuCoin and his wife Sue. Other members of congress on the trip included Tony Coelho, Dick Cheney, Jim Howard, Les Aspin, John Paul Hammerschmidt, Jim Scheuer, Lawrence Coughlin, Ralph Regula, Carrol Hubbard, Tom Downey, Norm Dicks, Wes Watkins, Mickey Leland, Steny Hoyer, Esteban Torres, and Sherwood Boehlert. The AuCoin family loaned the scrapbook to Pacific University Archives in 2022 for digitization, and the scrapbook remains with the AuCoin family.
Representative Les AuCoin presents a peace quilt sewn in Beaverton, Oregon to Minister Eduard Shevardnadze of the Soviet Union. PUA_MS147_122 offers a description of the quilt: "This quilt was stitched by students of Vose Elementary School in Beaverton. As part of the Campfire Organization's 'A Gift of Peace' project nationally, Campfire members at Vose conceptualized the making of two quilts - one to be presented to President Reagan and the other to be presented to General Secretary Gorbachev". See PUA_MS147_122 for a full description. This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. It originally appeared in an AuCoin family scrapbook documenting U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright's visit to Spain, the Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany in April 1987. The congressional delegation included Representative Les AuCoin and his wife Sue. Other members of congress on the trip included Tony Coelho, Dick Cheney, Jim Howard, Les Aspin, John Paul Hammerschmidt, Jim Scheuer, Lawrence Coughlin, Ralph Regula, Carrol Hubbard, Tom Downey, Norm Dicks, Wes Watkins, Mickey Leland, Steny Hoyer, Esteban Torres, and Sherwood Boehlert. The AuCoin family loaned the scrapbook to Pacific University Archives in 2022 for digitization, and the scrapbook remains with the AuCoin family.
Representative Les AuCoin presents a peace quilt sewn in Forest Grove, Oregon to a group of politicians in the Soviet Union. PUA_MS147_122 offers a description of the quilt: "This quilt was stitched by the women of the Forest Grove Stitchery Group. In the fall of 1983, this group began planning an Oregon peace quilt that would demonstrate to the women of the Soviet Union, especially, that the women of the U.S.A. stood for friendship and peace between our two countries." See PUA_MS147_122 for a full description. This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. It originally appeared in an AuCoin family scrapbook documenting U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright's visit to Spain, the Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany in April 1987. The congressional delegation included Representative Les AuCoin and his wife Sue. Other members of congress on the trip included Tony Coelho, Dick Cheney, Jim Howard, Les Aspin, John Paul Hammerschmidt, Jim Scheuer, Lawrence Coughlin, Ralph Regula, Carrol Hubbard, Tom Downey, Norm Dicks, Wes Watkins, Mickey Leland, Steny Hoyer, Esteban Torres, and Sherwood Boehlert. The AuCoin family loaned the scrapbook to Pacific University Archives in 2022 for digitization, and the scrapbook remains with the AuCoin family.
This document describes two peace quilts created in Oregon as gifts for the Soviet Union. The Vose Quilt, created by students of Vose Elementary School in Beaverton, Oregon, was one of two matching quilts created for U.S. President Regan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The Oregon Peace Quilt, created by the Forest Grove Stitchery Group, was created to "demonstrate to the women of the Soviet Union, especially, that the women of the U.S.A. stood for friendship and peace". See also PUA_MS147_116, PUA_MS147_125, PUA_MS147_126 for images of the quilts. This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. It originally appeared in an AuCoin family scrapbook documenting U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright's visit to Spain, the Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany in April 1987. The congressional delegation included Representative Les AuCoin and his wife Sue. Other members of congress on the trip included Tony Coelho, Dick Cheney, Jim Howard, Les Aspin, John Paul Hammerschmidt, Jim Scheuer, Lawrence Coughlin, Ralph Regula, Carrol Hubbard, Tom Downey, Norm Dicks, Wes Watkins, Mickey Leland, Steny Hoyer, Esteban Torres, and Sherwood Boehlert. The AuCoin family loaned the scrapbook to Pacific University Archives in 2022 for digitization, and the scrapbook remains with the AuCoin family.
Representative Les AuCoin speaks with Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In typed notes about the image, AuCoin writes: "Sue and I were members of Speaker Jim Wright's 1986 mission to Moscow. At the Kremlin, I talked briefly with Mikhail Gorbachev about a bill I helped pass that banned flight tests on anti-satellite weapons. It was the first form of arms control ever conceived in and passed by Congress." This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. It originally appeared in an AuCoin family scrapbook documenting U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright's visit to Spain, the Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany in April 1987. The congressional delegation included Representative Les AuCoin and his wife Sue. Other members of congress on the trip included Tony Coelho, Dick Cheney, Jim Howard, Les Aspin, John Paul Hammerschmidt, Jim Scheuer, Lawrence Coughlin, Ralph Regula, Carrol Hubbard, Tom Downey, Norm Dicks, Wes Watkins, Mickey Leland, Steny Hoyer, Esteban Torres, and Sherwood Boehlert. The AuCoin family loaned the scrapbook to Pacific University Archives in 2022 for digitization, and the scrapbook remains with the AuCoin family.
This scrapbook page includes two photos of Representative Les AuCoin and his wife Sue meeting Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. See also PUA_MS147_121 and PUA_MS147_37 for other images of the meeting. This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. It originally appeared in an AuCoin family scrapbook documenting U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright's visit to Spain, the Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany in April 1987. The congressional delegation included Representative Les AuCoin and his wife Sue. Other members of congress on the trip included Tony Coelho, Dick Cheney, Jim Howard, Les Aspin, John Paul Hammerschmidt, Jim Scheuer, Lawrence Coughlin, Ralph Regula, Carrol Hubbard, Tom Downey, Norm Dicks, Wes Watkins, Mickey Leland, Steny Hoyer, Esteban Torres, and Sherwood Boehlert. The AuCoin family loaned the scrapbook to Pacific University Archives in 2022 for digitization, and the scrapbook remains with the AuCoin family.
Representative Les AuCoin presents a peace quilt sewn in Forest Grove, Oregon to a group of politicians in the Soviet Union. PUA_MS147_122 offers a description of the quilt: "This quilt was stitched by the women of the Forest Grove Stitchery Group. In the fall of 1983, this group began planning an Oregon peace quilt that would demonstrate to the women of the Soviet Union, especially, that the women of the U.S.A. stood for friendship and peace between our two countries." This is one of a collection of digitized objects from the Les AuCoin Papers (MS.147) at the Pacific University Archives. It originally appeared in an AuCoin family scrapbook documenting U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright's visit to Spain, the Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany in April 1987. The congressional delegation included Representative Les AuCoin and his wife Sue. Other members of congress on the trip included Tony Coelho, Dick Cheney, Jim Howard, Les Aspin, John Paul Hammerschmidt, Jim Scheuer, Lawrence Coughlin, Ralph Regula, Carrol Hubbard, Tom Downey, Norm Dicks, Wes Watkins, Mickey Leland, Steny Hoyer, Esteban Torres, and Sherwood Boehlert. The AuCoin family loaned the scrapbook to Pacific University Archives in 2022 for digitization, and the scrapbook remains with the AuCoin family.
