CARROLL EDWARD MICHELSON

                 

Born	Nationality	Ethnicity	Fields			Institutions
San Francisco, California	United States of America	Norwegian Swedish	Business Administration	Foreign Agricultural Trade	NVL [1] Consultant	U.S. Department of Agriculture	U.S. Army Night Vision Laboratory	United States Coast Guard

INTRODUCTION

Carroll Edward Michelson was born in San Francisco California (7 April 1909) and died in Atlanta Georgia (27 July 1999). He was related to Christian Michelsen[2], the first Prime Minister of Norway through Michel Michelsen Hafsøen (1765-?). He was briefly married just prior to World War II, later getting a divorce and marrying Evelyn J. Michelson with whom he had his only son, Robert Carroll Michelson. After graduating from Stanford University[3][4] and serving in Persia and Italy while an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, he settled in the Washington D.C. area and worked for the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

EARLY LIFE

Carroll Michelson as a child 
in San Francisco ("Tom Sawyer" 
attire was for the photograph 
and not indicative of the dress 
code forSan Francisco children 
of the time)

Carroll Michelson was the only child of Ida and George Michelson. George Michelson was a machinist and Ida was a school teacher. The family espoused the Methodist religion although it was not until the end of Carroll's life that he seemed to embrace Christianity. He was baptized on 4 April 1911 at the Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church. He grew up within the city of San Francisco, however his parents owned a cabin in [Ben Lomond, California] where they spent time during the summers.

The cabin had a nearby creek which used a hydraulic ram to pump water up to the living quarters. The cabin was in a redwood forest that had been partially "logged out" for timber. As a youth, Carroll Michelson used to play on the giant stumps which were like level platforms along the steep slopes of hills near the cabin. He recounted that there was a hermit living in the hills near the cabin named "Johnny Olson". Most of his childhood however, was spent with friends and cousins in the city of San Francisco where he attended elementary school, high school, and college. His home, which he ultimately inherited, rented, and subsequently sold, was a typical San Francisco row house with a back yard, and abutting the street on the front. It was a multi-story frame structure with a basement, and as was typical, it was narrow in width, but extended quite a distance back from the street.

EDUCATION

Carroll Michelson attended Edison Elementary School in San Francisco California from 1915 to 1921, followed by three years at Horace Mann, Jr. High School from 1921-1924. He attended Mission High School from 1924 to 1927. After high school he was graduated from San Mateo Junior College in 1929. In 1931, he was graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Stanford University. He also did graduate work in advertising, public administration, and political science with courses including Federal Administration, Administration of Criminal Justice, and Public Personnel Administration at the University of California-Berkeley, California. Later during 1943 at the Columbia University in New York city, New York he studied International Law, Anthropology, Military Law, Island Geography, Asian Politics, and Geography. Michelson also studied Spanish (basic), Italian (intermediate), and Maylay (intermediate).

Carroll Edward Michelson during  
World War II in Khorramshahr Iran.

CAREER

After graduating, Carroll Michelson began a career in 1936 as a civil servant in Washington, D.C. During World War II, Michelson was a U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant assigned to Persian Gulf and Italy from 1943 - 1946. Upon returning from the war, Michelson returned to his job in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Agriculture where he remained until his retirement in 1972. He was a consultant to the U.S. Army Night Vision Laboratory[5] at Ft. Belvoir briefly during retirement. At the birth of his only child, Robert C. Michelson, he and his wife Evelyn lived at Park Fairfax,[6] Virginia. Around 1957 the family moved to Waynewood, a subdivision near Mount Vernon Virginia where he continued to live until 1980 when he and Evelyn moved to Dunwoody Georgia to be near his son's family.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Michelson's first job was with the Pelican Bay Lumber Company. He eventually retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and performed some consulting activities after retirement. The following is a chronological summary of his career activities:

• 1928 to 1928 Pelican Bay Lumber Company, Klamath Falls, Oregon: Chain Conveyor Man, Edger, Laborer.


• 1929 to 1929 Mountain Copper Company, Redding, California: Crusherman, Mucker.


• 1930 to 1931 Western Sugar Refining Company, San Francisco, California: Centrifugal Operator, Special Laborer.


• 1931 to 1934 California Division of Personnel & Organization, Sacramento, California: Examination Proctor and ultimately Chief Examination Proctor for San Francisco.


• 1934 to 1934 State Emergency Relief Administration, San Francisco, California: Personnel Assistant working with the Director to set up classification, salary, scheduling, and job specification systems.

Carroll Edward Michelson (left),  
his mother Ida Mae Michelson,  
his son Robert Carroll Michelson,  
and his wife Evelyn Jonas Michelson.  
Photograph taken around 1952 in California.

1934 to 1936 State Personnel Board, Sacramento, California: Personnel Technician working on allocation lists, specification writing, oral examinations, research and classification problems, personnel forms, and employment interview/examinations.

1936 to 1937 Home Owners Loan Corporation, Washington, D.C.: Classification Investigator surveying positions in the Washington office under the Federal Classification Act, giving stenographic tests, and recommending appropriate grades.

1937 to 1938 Soil Conservation Service, Washington, D.C.: Classification Investigator surveying 15,000 positions in both Washington and field offices for classification compliance, analyzing positions and preparing recommendations for submission to the Department of agriculture, making organizational studies, reviewing discipline cases, and recommending classification, compensation, and qualifications.

1938 to 1940 U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.: Personnel Investigator reviewing cases of contested salary classification and making allocations for the more difficult vacancies and new positions. This involved handling cases appealed directly to the Civil Service Commission.

Prime Minister David Ben Gurion  
discusses merits of U.S. fruit  
juices with U.S. Department of  
Agriculture Pavilion Director,  
C. E. Michelson at the Near East  
International Fair in Tel Aviv,  
Israel (1962) -  
(Paula Ben Gurion at right).

1940 to 1941 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.: Principal Classification Group Leader in charge of investigating, processing, and reviewing Washington and field personnel classification transaction for bureaus and offices in the Department. Bureaus under supervision by Michelson were Agricultural Marketing Service, Office of the Secretary, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Office of Budget and Finance, Extension Service and about 10 smaller departmental units.

1941 to 1943 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations, Washington, D.C.: Administrative Officer (interrupted by World War II conscription).

1943 to 1946 Carroll Michelson was a U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant (World War II). He trained at Columbia University as an occupational officer specializing in U.S. Navy Military Government. In preparation for his tour of duty, he took courses in island geography of the China Dutch East Indies, studied the India Malay language, Italian, Pidgin English, anthropology, military law, and international law. In spite of his government training in South Seas countries and languages, Michelson was subsequently assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard and left the U.S.A. on 3 March 1944 for duty in Oran Algeria, Port Said Egypt, Basra Iraq, and Naples and Leghorn Italy. His duties involved hearings on Merchant Marine officers and crew members to effect discipline investigations of casualties due to enemy action, negligence equipment failures, and other reasons concerning vessels operated by U.S. Merchant Marine for the War Shipping Administration and for private companies. Michelson determined compliance with U.S. navigation laws. He also performed American consular duties in connection with processing seamen's papers and ship's articles.

1941 to 1955 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations, Washington, D.C.: Administrative Officer handling foreign relations activities of the Department of Agriculture. His specific duties were those of Administrative Officer and Head of the Division of Administration reporting to the Director (GS-18 position). Functions included the coordination of the Administrative management and activities of the office including the fiscal and personnel phases, budget preparation, and maintenance of appropriations accounts. He assisted the Director in the presentation of budget requests to the Budget Bureau and to Congress. He was also charged with the administrative management (non-scientific) of ten agricultural experiment stations located in Ecuador, Guatemala, Canal Zone, Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador, and Brazil Personnel activities included the recruitment of agricultural scientists for foreign missions and for office staffing purposes, and the administration of salary and "additional compensation" plans for professional employees on foreign posts under Budget Bureau regulations. In later years, he supervised the administrative phases of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's participation in the Point IV program. He participated in the Budget Bureau and House and Senate Appropriation Committee hearings in 1942, 1947-1953. He was the Department's observer at the State Department Foreign Service Selection Board from 1948-1951, and again in 1954.

Carroll Michelson, USDA Pavilion Director, 
meets with the Grand Duke of Luxembourg  
(Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine  
Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano) and  
Grand Duchess of Luxembourg  
(Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium).

1955 to 1957 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Foreign Agricultural Service, Washington, D.C.: Michelson was in charge of a security program under Presidential Executive Orders 10450 (Personnel Security) and 10501 (Physical Security) for the newly formed Foreign Agricultural Service. The organization had staff of Agricultural Attaches located in most embassies abroad and with approximately 400 employees in Washington, D.C. The program involved personnel investigations, compliance with security regulations, recommendation of security policies within the Service, and coordination of policy with the Department of State in its security program. The Attaches were housed in the embassies and fell under the State Department security regulations in performing their duties for the Secretary of Agriculture. Sensitivity of positions were examined by Michelson and he recommended for approval to the departmental Division of Personnel. Investigations were analyzed to determine feasibility of hiring individuals for sensitive positions. Violations of security regulations were evaluated and penalties assessed accordingly. For this position, Michelson held a SECRET clearance under Executive Order 10450.

Sheikh Jaber Muadi of the Druze Tribe from Yirka 
(Northern) Israel reviews some photographs with  
Carroll E. Michelson and Evelyn J. Michelson at  
the Near East International Fair in Tel Aviv,  
Israel (1962). Standing behind Carroll Michelson  
is Chaim Sternberg (Michelson's personal assistant).
Uniformed personnel the Sheikh's body guards.

1957 to 1972 Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.: For the next fifteen years (up until his retirement from Federal service in 1972), Michelson worked in market development and trade promotion activities. Blocks of foreign currencies generated under sales of agricultural commodities to foreign government were set aside to develop new markets abroad through project agreements entered into between the Department and various private industry groups. Michelson's function was to evaluate budgets, maintain currency controls, prepare financial reports, and follow up on the distribution on several million dollar equivalents of approximately 30 different foreign currencies in the program (P.L. 480). In 1958 Michelson moved into other phases of market development activities involving international trade fairs financed with P.L. 480 foreign currencies. This work was concerned with mounting trade fairs abroad within the framework of U.S. budget and fiscal regulation, often with foreign contractors. Michelson's duties involved budgeting for trade fairs, arranging financing, contracting discussions with designers, construction firms, public relations groups, market research analysts, and generally supervising such operational functions as travel arrangements, procurement, and fair fund control in the capacity of "business manager" for the International Trade Fairs Division. For his outstanding performance in developing and directing these programs and events within the International Trade Fairs Division, Michelson received a U.S. Department of Agriculture Certificate of Merit in April of 1960. Subsequently, Michelson was the U.S. Pavilion Director at the Near East International Fair at Tel Aviv, Israel in 1962, in Luxembourg in 1965, and again in Copenhagen in 1966. He also worked on fairs in London (1968) and Belfast (1968).

1974 to 1974 U.S. Army Night Vision Laboratory, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia: Michelson served as a consultant to review five GS-11 positions for technicians at the Atlantic Research/Night Vision Laboratory. He completed an assessment of the factors influencing the reallocation of some positions to GS-12, retention of GS-11 positions with certain modifications in title and series, and retention in status quo with respect to title, series, and grade level for others.

AVOCATIONS

Carroll E. Michelson is greeted by  
Elders of the Druze Tribe at Yirka  
(Israel - 1962).

Carroll Michelson was an avid golfer most of his life. He was a early member of the Belle Haven Country Club[7] in Virginia (Washington, D.C. area). He continued to golf weekly while in Virginia and later in Georgia where he was a member of the Dunwoody Country Club. In 1994, he had the first of several strokes which prevented him from pursuing his passion for golf. He was also highly interested in literature and was an amateur author, writing a number of short stories and even a book on golfing entitled, "Businessman's Golf" which he attempted to get published as a "ghostwriter/author" for PGA Tour golfer, Byron Nelson.

FAMILY HISTORY

Unofficial genealogy as researched by Robert C. Michelson in 2007. [Click HERE for full sized version]

ARCHIVAL PHOTOS

U.S. Department of Agriculture Pavilion Director, Carroll E. Michelson at the Near East International Fair in Tel Aviv, Israel (1962).

Carroll Michelson, his wife Evelyn Michelson, and their only son, Robert Michelson (age 11).

Carroll Michelson and his wife Evelyn are interred at the Arlington National Cemetery
(Location: Court: 6, Section: M2, Column: 10, Niche: 4).

REFERENCES

1. U.S. Army Night Vision and Optics Laboratory
2. Nissen, Henri, "Noah's Ark Uncovered: An Expedition into the Ancient Past", Scandinavia Publishing House, 2005, DNT, Poland, pages = 318, pg. 278: "One of Michelson's forefathers was the Norwegian prime minister, Christian Michelsen...", ISBN = 8772478136}}
3. Stanford University - Quad Yearbook Class of 1930, Stanford University Press, 1930, Stanford, California, pg. 164: annotated Junior Year Band Page group photograph, accessdate= 2009-05-15
4. Park Fairfax
5. Belle Haven Country Club
6. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)