Laise, Caroline.Toc.Pdf

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project Women Ambassadors Series AMBASSADOR CAROLINE CLENDENING LAISE (BUNKER) Interviewed by: Ann Miller Morin Initial interview date: May 8, 1985 Copyright Ann Miller Morin (used with permission TABLE OF CONTENTS Bac ground Born in VA, raised in WV and DC American University, Washington, DC Professional Beginnings Civil Service Commission London ' UNRRAA Department of State, Bureau of UN Affairs UNESCO, WHO, Ruhr Authority Joined Foreign Service under Wriston Program Ne, Delhi First Secretary and political officer Tibetan refugees and Dalai Lama Pres. Eisenho,er.s visit Accused of being a Mata Hari Role of 0ndian ,omen Vice President Johnson.s visit Department of State Senior seminar Division of South Asian Affairs 0nvasion of 0ndia by China Temporary assignment to Ne, Delhi Member of Harriman1Sandys 2ashmir Mission Deaths of 2ennedy, Nehry, Shastri 0ndia1Pa istan ,as Mrs. 3andhi.s visit to Washington 1 Ambassador to Nepal Senate hearings No reaction in Nepal to her being a ,oman Presentation of credentials Nepali charges of interference in internal affairs Tibetan refugees Large A0D mission Operations Management style 3ood post morale American hippies Nepal ' Marriage to Ambassador Ells,orth Bun er Nepal Relations ,ith 2ing Economic development Relations ,ith press E4change visits ,ith husband in Saigon US1China diplomatic opening ' changes in South Asia Dept. of State Assistant secretary for public affairs Relations ,ith Secretary of State Henry 2issinger Director 3eneral of Foreign Service Tas force for personnel changes Open assignments Vie,s on Foreign Service INTERVIEW Q: This is a record of an interview with Caroline Clendening Laise (Bunker for the (omen in Federal Government Oral History Pro.ect, sponsored by the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College. The interviewer is Ann Miller Morin. This interview is taking place in Ambassador Laise2s home in (ashington, D.C. Today is May 8, 1985. I wonder if you would tell us a little about your family, Ambassador Laise. 4ou were born in (inchester, 5irginia, I believe. LA0SE5 6es, that is correct. My father7s family ,as from Virginia and West Virginia, my mother7s family from Ne, England. So a great deal of our childhood ,as spent ,ith 2 ,inters in Virginia and West Virginia, and the summers in upstate Ne, 6or and Ne, England. Q: (ere your parents of English origin7 LA0SE5 My father7s family, Laise, is Pennsylvania Dutch. His mother and maternal forebears ,ere Scotch10rish, Clendening. My name is actually Caroline Clendening Laise. 0 ,as named for both of my grandmothers. My grandmother on my mother7s side, ,hose name ,as Frances Caroline Sa4e, li e Sa4e Coburg, and my father7s mother ,hose maiden name ,as Clendening. So that on my father7s side, it ,as Pennsylvania Dutch and 3erman, as ,ell as Scotch10rish. On my mother7s side, it ,as also 3erman, as the name Sa4e ,ould imply, and English. Q: 4ou had one brother, I think you mentioned. LA0SE5 The family consisted of a sister and a brother. My brother is still living. My sister ,as illed by an automobile, ,hich struc her as she ,as returning home from school, at the age of about seven. So that in most of my life, the family consisted of my mother, father, brother and myself. My grandparents on my mother7s side originally came from Boston. My grandfather ,as a Methodist minister, educated at Wesleyan College in Connecticut and Boston University. Because of that fact, of course, it meant he, in his ministry, moved from place to place. So that at the time my mother and father ,ere married, my grandfather ,as a minister in Rutland, Vermont. So my parents ,ere married in Vermont. And of course, no, 07ve returned to Vermont as a part1time home, and used to holiday there. So that it7s not altogether a strange place. On my father7s side, the Pennsylvania Dutch emigrated from 3ermany and then spread from Pennsylvania do,n through the Shenandoah Valley, and ,ere mostly farmers and orchardists. So his family ,as a family of independent farmers in the Shenandoah Valley. He, himself, 0 thin , ,as perhaps the first in the family to receive a college education. He ,ent to Dic inson College. My mother ,as not the first in the family to have a college education. She received her education at 3oucher College in Baltimore. My father and mother ,ere both teachers. My father ,as teaching in Connecticut and my mother also in 3reen,ich, Connecticut, as a matter of fact. And that is ,here they met. Ho,ever, my father got ill after their marriage and the birth of my brother, and so he returned to the family home in, curiously enough, Bun er Hill, West Virginia, and ,ent into business. We stayed in Bun er Hill, West Virginia, until 0 ,as of age to enter the eighth grade, at ,hich point, his business brought him to Washington. Q: I see. (ere you the youngest child or the . 3 LA0SE5 No, 0 ,as the middle child. The youngest ,as my sister, ,ho ,as illed at the age of seven. Q: I see. Then you went to school in the (ashington schools, did you7 That is, for your .unior and senior high school7 LA0SE5 6es. 0n other ,ords, my early upbringing ,as in a rural community, ,here the family ,ere community leaders. My father and mother had associations and ties in both large to,ns on either side of our community, that is, Winchester, Virginia, and Martinsburg, West Virginia. A lot of their social activity ,as there. My father, nevertheless, brought in lectures and entertainment and cultural events into this small community from the outside ,orld. 0 thin one could fairly characteri8e it as an upbringing in a rural environment ,ith the traditional American values, and a very happy childhood in the country, so to spea . country pursuits of picnics and s,imming and sports and things of that sort. My mother, in the course of her career as a teacher, also ,as an accomplished musician. She played the piano and she also sang. So ,e had a good deal of music, and a lot of the family entertainment ,as music at home or singing. Q: Did you learn any musical instrument7 LA0SE5 No. Of course, all of us, at one stage, had a go at the piano. But 07m afraid 07m the least musical member of the family. My brother does not play an instrument, but he has a good musical ear and sings very ,ell. Q: (hat about church7 Did you belong to any particular church7 LA0SE5 Well, yes, as you can imagine, being the daughter of a minister, as my mother ,as, ,e ,ere very active in the Methodist Church. We used to spend summers ,ith my grandparents, ,ho had a summer home just outside of Saratoga Springs, Ne, 6or . Because Saratoga happened to be one of his parishes, he apparently li ed it ,ell enough to retire there ,hen he finished at his last church. His last church ,as at Albany, Ne, 6or . So that most of my mother7s friends, ,hom 0 ne,, ,ho ,ere ,hat ,e called 9courtesy9 aunts and uncles, ,ere clustered in Albany, Ne, 6or . We sa, a good deal of them, because they also used to come to this resort. So that the summers ,ere spent in a community, just south of Saratoga, called Round La e, ,here there used to be a large auditorium for a great deal of summer activity of the churches from the larger cities, and also a great deal of music, because it ,as very often the site of ,or shops for musicians coming from Ne, 6or . My mother continued her studies in organ and singing during the summer. Q: It must have been a very rich life you had. LA0SE5 0t ,as very pleasant, li e 0 say. As 0 recall those summers, since it ,as on a la e, a great part of the day, as far as 0 ,as concerned, ,as spent on the ,ater or in the ,ater. 4 Of course, tennis courts. 0t ,as very remar able for a small community such as that ,as, :in that; it had a very good library and librarians, so 0 did a great deal of reading. Q: 4ou were an early reader and an avid reader7 LA0SE5 6es. Q: Could you tell us a little about your schooling7 (ere you a good student7 LA0SE5 6es. (Pause) My father ,ent through college, 0 thin , in three years. He ,as a very good student and ,as very good at mathematics. That ,as the subject that he taught. My mother, 0 thin , 07m not certain, but 0 thin she taught English. So that the combination provided an encouragement to all of us in our studies. 0 don7t have any recollection of any e4treme pressures, nor do 0 have any recollection of fighting home,or , or things li e that. 0 no, that my first1grade teacher ,as considered very good. 0 don7t have a recollection of any . 07m sorry, my first1grade teacher and my seventh1grade teacher ,ere very good. Those are the only recollections 0 have of any special leadership in the school at Bun er Hill. When 0 came to Washington and ,ent to grade school and eighth grade in Chevy Chase, ,hich ,as ,here ,e lived, it seemed rather tough at first, but 0 had a very good teacher there. So that 0 did not have too much trouble ma ing a transition from a rural school to a city school, and 0 guess, graduated from eighth grade satisfactorily at some,here near the top of the class. Then ,hen 0 ,ent to high school, it ,as Western High School in Washington, ,hich ,as the only high school serving the North,est area at that point.

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