Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project
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Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR A. ELLEN SHIPPY Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy Initial interview date: August 27, 2001 Copyright 2007 ADS TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born in Colorado raised in New Mexico University of New Mexico The (eorge )ashington School of Law Peace Corps Volunteer Tacachico ,l Salvador 19..-19.0 Local environment )orking with 1H Clu2s Culture 3elations with ,m2assy ,ntered the Foreign Service 1970 (uatemala City (uatemala (eneral Officer 1970-1972 Security (overnment 7idnappings Visa cases Peace Corps Controversy over female consular assignments State Department8 Latin American Affairs8 Press guidance 1972-1973 Preparing reports from press clippings (eorge )ashington U. law student (night) State Department8 Mexican Affairs8 Assistant ,con/Pol. Officer 1973-1975 State Department8 7enya-Tanzania Desk Officer 1975-1977 Swahili language training 3ansoming of kidnapped students in Tanzania Tanzania re2el groups President Nyerere 1 US assistance US interests Development Tri2alism )omen@s Class Discrimination Suit 1975 Unhappiness with Consular Cone issue Court rulings Assued covered in suit Final verdict favors plaintiffs Banzi2ar8 Principal Officer 1977-1979 3elations (overnment Nyerere US economic assistance Consular corps ,nvironment Lis2on Portugal8 Political Officer8 Socialist Party 3eporting 1979-1902 Political leaders Azores negotiations British use of Azores in Falkland )ar 3elations )orldwide Socialist Union (overnment Portuguese colonies Seattle )ashington8 Pearson Program 1902-1901 Office of Antergovernmental Affairs Local issues Program evaluation Sister cities ,nvironment State Department8 Operations CenterC Line/)atch Officer 1901-1905 Duties Dhaka Bangladesh8 Political Counselor 190.-1900 ,nvironment (overnment Political Parties National Democratic Anstitute US assistance USAAD and N(O@s 2 Floods 3elations with Andia Moslem religion 7arachi Pakistan8 Deputy Principal Officer 1900-1991 (ulf )ar and evacuation Violence ,thnic groups Aslam Benazir Bhutto US aircraft carrier visit 3egional security ,nvironment 7ampala Uganda8 Deputy Chief of Mission 1991-1991 President Doweri Museveni AADS 3elations with neigh2ors 3wanda genocide Sudanese refugees National 3esistance Movement (N3M) 3eligious groups Senior Seminar 1991-1995 State DepartmentC Board of ,xaminers 1995 State Department8 Director Office of Science Technology 1995-1997 and Health Office organization HAV/AADS policy Space Program Capstone Course8 Student 1997 Am2assador to Malawi 1990-2000 Past history as British colony Hastings 7amuzu Banda To2acco Malawi Congress Party Malawi Doung Pioneers (MDP) ,lections US assistance USAAD HAV/AADS Program Malawi-South Africa relations 3 President Bakili Muluzi Human 3ights US commercial interests Ful2right exchange program Self Help Projects Peace Corps Bim2a2we African Crisis 3esponse Anitiative State Department8 FSA8 Dean School of Professional and Area 2000-2001 Studies (SPAS) Orientation courses and training Ancreased FSO enrollment Scarcity of FS-03 officers INTERVIEW Q: oday is August 27, 2001. his is an interview with Ellen Shippy. Do you have a middle initial% SHAPPDC At is Amelia ,llen Shippy. Q: Amelia Ellen Shippy. his is being done on behalf of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and raining, and I am Charles Stuart Kennedy. Let)s start at the beginning. Can you tell me when and where you were born, and a little bit about your family% SHAPPDC A was born Octo2er 23 1911 in Denver Colorado. My parents moved to Silver City New Mexico when A was two years old and A grew up in Silver City. A have one sister Eean who is four years younger than A am. My father taught high school physics and chemistry and my mother worked as a secretary in a local elementary school. Q: Well now, let)s talk about your father)s family. What were the roots of the Shippy family% SHAPPDC My father Homer Charles Shippy was born in Aowa. His father and two of his father@s brothers went from Aowa to Limon Colorado to homestead in that area which is on the plains east of the 3ockies. He grew up in Limon. His mother claimed to be descended from Sir Asaac Newton but A@m not aware that claim has been researched. My father@s family was a farm family8 both of his parents were teachers as well as engaged in farming. Q: Where had they been able to go to, probably a normal school or the e,uivalent, to be a teacher% 1 SHAPPDC A don@t know how his parents became teachers. My father went to grade school in Limon and was sent to Denver for high school where he lived with one of his aunts. He taught in country schools for six years before he went to college. Q: Where did he go to college% SHAPPDC He got a Bachelor of Science in 193. from Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now Colorado State University) in Fort Collins Colorado. He earned a Master@s Degree from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces New Mexico in 1953 going summers while we lived in Silver City. Q: He was a teacher of what, physics% SHAPPDC Physics and chemistry8 he also taught general science and general math. Q: What about your mother. where did she come from% SHAPPDC My mother@s name was Amelia (iles. (A was named after her but was called by my middle name ,llen so there wouldn@t be two FAmeliasG in the house.) Her mother@s family were (erman immigrants by the name of 7roeger. They came to the United States in the 1000s migrated across the U.S. and ended up just outside of Durango Colorado in the late 1000s. Her father Eames Tandy (iles was of ,nglish heritage. There is a good story a2out his marriage to my mother@s mother. He was several years older than she was. He wanted to get married but she said that she was too sickly and would not be a2le to get married. Something like ten years later he asked her again and she finally agreed. They had four children. My mother is the third youngest two older sisters and a younger 2rother. My mother@s father died from a heart attack at the dinner ta2le when she was young a2out nine years old and her mother brought up the four children taking in sewing renting out the pasture chopping ice from the creek in winter to sell making a go of things. Q: Were there any stories about, I think during WWI or so, there was a great e/pansion of the central plains, particularly the high plateau around Colorado and then the rain went away. It was a very rough time in that part of the central plains. SHAPPDC My father always felt that his family was poor. They had five kids in the family and there were times when his father would be teaching and living at one school and his mother would be teaching and living at another school in a different community. They were basically separated and only saw each other on school vacations when they would go back to their house to get together. They were dry land farmers and often made no income from farming because of the dryness. They went into teaching to have another source of income. Durango Colorado is in the southwest corner of Colorado and really not part of the (reat Plains. My mother@s mother was keeping a family together without a hus2and and times were hard but she did it and did it well. 5 Q: Well you moved where, you went to New Me/ico when you were very small. SHAPPDC )hen A was two. My father had worked for a man named 7osten2ader in ,rie Colorado. 7osten2ader moved down to Silver City New Mexico to become principal of the high school. He offered my father a teaching jo2 in the high school there. My father took it and we moved down when A was two years old. At that time New Mexico paid teachers better than Colorado did. Q: his would be 1234, right after the war. What was Silver City like% SHAPPDC Silver City was a small town. At had a2out 0 000 people in it. The town was originally based on mining not particularly silver although originally there had been some silver mines. There was a big 7ennecott copper operation a2out 15 miles away. Phelps Dodge had another copper mine a2out 15 miles away in another direction which was closed when A was growing up. They later reopened it. There was cattle ranching in the area. Silver City is in the southwest corner of New Mexico. At forms a triangle with Lords2urg and Deming. Lords2urg and Deming are both on main routes through the state 2ut Silver City is not. Q: Close to Ari5ona and to Me/ico% SHAPPDC 3easona2ly. Silver City is also the gateway to the (ila )ilderness which was the first primitive area designated by the U.S. Congress. Q: As a young girl, what was it like. I mean we are talking about elementary school particularly. How was it then% SHAPPDC Silver City was a good place to grow up. At was a small town with a teacher@s college. Fortunately in those days we didn@t have to be afraid of strangers. )e had pretty free run. )e lived on the outskirts of town and there were hills around and we were allowed to wander around the hills with cautions a2out staying away from a2andoned Huarries. The elementary school A went to called the FLa2oratory School G was attached to the teacher training college in Silver City8 it was not the pu2lic elementary school. )e had small classes of 1. each in a class with two classes per classroom (1st and 2nd 3rd and 1th etc.). )e had many student teachers from the college. The regular teachers were very good teachers and we had good basic grounding.