Theodore Carlos Combs Oral History Interview

Interviewed by Carol Bugé

Interview Sessions from 1987
  • December 8, 1987
  • December 17, 1987

Abstract

An interview in three sessions in December 1987 with Theodore C. Combs, Caltech BS 1927 and former secretary of Caltech’s Board of Trustees. He recalls his undergraduate years at Caltech, his work as a civil engineer in Upland, Long Beach, and in the timber industry, and his wartime work for the 9th Corps Area in California and in purchases and contracts for the under-secretary of war in Washington, DC.
He retired from the timber industry and returned to Caltech in the mid-1960s, initially working in corporate relations and later as secretary of the Board of Trustees (1968-1973). He comments on the contributions of various trustees and board chairmen over the years and discusses his longtime involvement with the Alumni Association, the Gnome Club, the Caltech Y, the Industrial Relations Center, and the Caltech Associates.

Archival record in collection guide

PDF version of transcript [0.28 MB]

Preferred Citation

Theodore Carlos Combs Oral History Interview, interviewed by Carol Bugé, Caltech Archives Oral History Project, December 8, 1987, December 17, 1987, http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Combs_T.

Note to Readers

Oral history interviews provide valuable first-hand testimony of the past. The views and opinions expressed in them are those of the interviewees, who describe events based on their own recollections and from their own perspective. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Caltech Archives and Special Collections or of the California Institute of Technology.