Memorable Tom McCall quotes and moments

By 1000 Friends staff | 3-minute read

The late Governor Tom McCall was not only a trailblazer in conservation and land use and our co-founder, alongside our first executive director Henry Richmond. He was also a charismatic individual and a valued friend. Here are some of our members’ and staff’s favorite memories about, and quotes from, the man himself as we observe his upcoming birthday on March 22.

 

Tom McCall and his wife and kids standing by a bus painted with the slogan, "Band Wagon: Join your neighbors. Climb aboard!"
Tom McCall on the campaign trail, accompanied by his wife, Audrey McCall, and sons Samuel Walker McCall III and Thomas "Tad" McCall.

 

“Some highway engineers have a mentality ... that would run an eight-lane freeway through the Taj Mahal. That is our problem.”

—Tom McCall in a 1970 interview. As quoted in the Portland Monthly article “Tom McCall’s Way with Words.”

 

“Here’s something Tom McCall said to Henry Richmond in the late 70s. The situation that generated his comment was a visit to Henry by an executive of a potential donor (large grant) to 1000 Friends. Henry invited McCall to join them, Henry was answering the executive’s questions. One question was about how strict the Oregon land use law was. McCall said, ‘Well, I tell Henry we gotta let a little schlock in every once in a while.’ (My office adjoined Henry’s; I chuckled, inaudibly I think.)”

–As remembered by Richard Benner, McCall Society member and former staff attorney, 1000 Friends of Oregon.

 

A man reading by the light of a single oil lamp in an office
Governor Tom McCall used a kerosene lamp in his office during the 1973 energy crisis.

 

"Quality of life is the sum total of the fairness of our tax structure; the caliber of our homes; the cleanliness of our air and water; and the provision of affirmative assistance to those who cannot assist themselves. True quality is absent if we allow social suffering to abide in an otherwise pristine environment."

—Tom McCall's speech to the Oregon Legislative Assembly, 1973.

 

“Oregon is demure and lovely, and it ought to play a little hard to get. And I think you’ll agree you’ll be just as sick as I am if you find it is nothing but a hungry hussy, throwing herself at every stinking smokestack that’s offered.”

—Tom McCall’s comments during a 1982 event against Measure 6, as quoted in the Portland Monthly article “Tom McCall’s Way with Words.” Featured in our 2026 campaign against SB 1586.

 

A man standing, glaring, at a hotel on the beach
Governor Tom McCall arrived in Cannon Beach by helicopter to address issues of public access to the Oregon coast, before signing the Beach Bill in July 1967 to “forever preserve and maintain the sovereignty of the state heretofore existing over the seashore and ocean beaches of the state…so that the public may have the free and uninterrupted use thereof."

 

"Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: This is my community, and it's my responsibility to make it better.”

—A well-known Tom McCall quote that is a favorite of most of our staff. Reproduced in the Circle of Friends at Tryon Creek State Natural Area.

 

“You all know I have terminal cancer—and I have a lot of it. But what you may not know is that stress induces its spread and induces its activity. Stress may even bring it on. Yet stress is the fuel of the activist. This activist loves Oregon more than he loves life. I know I can't have both very long. The trade-offs are all right with me. But if the legacy we helped give Oregon and which made it twinkle from afar—if it goes, then I guess I wouldn't want to live in Oregon anyhow.”

—Tom McCall in a 1982 speech against Measure 6, as quoted in Fire at Eden’s Gate: Tom McCall and the Oregon Story by Brent Walth.

 

Learn more about Tom McCall