The Register-Guard
Posted on 06/20/2002 2:08:57 PM PDT by Glutton
Activist, artist Silas Trim Bissell dies
By SUSAN PALMER
The Register-Guard
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Bissell, a Eugene resident since 1981 who co-founded the Campaign for Labor Rights in 1995, lived a varied life that included teaching college-level writing classes, a stint as a physical therapist and a decades-long career as an artist.
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 Silas Trim Bissell, shown in his studio in 1993, was an artist with a cause. Photo: The Register-Guard |
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Bissell was born in April 27, 1942, in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Hillary and Wadsworth Bissell. His mother was a civil rights activist and longtime friend of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His father was the son of the founder of the Bissell carpet sweeper company but was disinherited for refusing to join the family business.
Bissell, who had degrees from the University of Michigan and Syracuse University and North Carolina Central University, taught English literature at Wayne State University in Detroit before he began to take an active role in protesting the Vietnam War, eventually leading to confrontations with police.
``After his first arrest, his mother told him, `It's about time. I was afraid you would never be arrested,' '' his friend Chuck Kaufman said.
Bissell and his former wife, Judith, traveled to Seattle, where they joined the Weathermen, a militant underground group opposed to the war.
In January 1970, the couple planted a bomb in the stairwell of the Reserve Officer Training Corps center on the University of Washington campus. They were immediately arrested, and the bomb never went off. Bissell later said he learned that he had been betrayed by the Weathermen, who tipped police to further their cause with publicity.
Bissell's parents posted a bond of $25,000 each for Bissell and his wife. But the couple failed to show up in court and a federal warrant was issued for their arrest, earning them a spot on the FBI's Most Wanted list for a time.
They traveled to different cities before they split up and Bissell found his way to Eugene.
He attended several colleges and universities, eventually receiving a master's degree in physical therapy from Duke University. He returned to Eugene in 1981 and began working as a physical therapist under the name Terrence Peter Jackson while teaching himself to paint and sculpt.
In 1987, a friend tipped police to his real identity, a betrayal Bissell later said came simply to earn a $5,500 reward.
Bissell was arrested and spent 18 months in prison. It was in the prison chapel in 1988 that he married high school friend Ruth Evan.
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 After his arrest in 1987, Silas Trim Bissell is led into court for a bail hearing on assault charges stemming from decades-old crimes. Photo: Associated Press |
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"It was almost a sense of urgency, not knowing what would happen next," Klopfer said. "I can remember a quote from an interview where he said he pursued our artwork with deadly playfulness."
In 1995, Bissell helped form the Campaign for Labor Rights to bring attention to sweatshop conditions in factories around the world.
"He was an amazing person," said Scott Miksch, a coordinator for the Committee in Support of the Central American People.
"He was real good at thoughtful analysis, but he knew how to relate to people on a personal level," Miksch said.
Bissell's support for PCUN, a Spanish acronym for the Northwest Tree Planters and Farm Worker's union, put their boycott against the farmer's cooperative Norpac on the national agenda, Miksch said.
Norpac began negotiating this spring with PCUN, Miksch said.
Bissell had been the national coordinator for the Campaign for Labor Rights but stepped down in 1997 when cancer began affecting his memory.
Still, he stayed involved, said Sarah Jacobson, a local activist for Jobs with Justice.
In January, he called urging her seek to resolutions from labor councils and community groups in support of El Salvador workers fired for trying to organize a union.
"He was extremely committed to his work and very willing to help build new leadership," she said.
And he continued to create art until about five weeks ago, Klopfer said. The two had been collaborating on a metal sculpture that depicted field workers, but they never finished the piece.
"I noticed a little bit of hesitation the last time or two we were carving," he said.
Bissell died at home with his wife at his side, Kaufman said.
Klopfer said he saw Bissell the day before he died.
"He seemed to sense that he would be going and seemed peaceful to me," he said.
Survivors include his wife; a stepdaughter, Terrell Martinski of Berea, Ohio; two stepsons, Joseph Gelski of Cleveland, Ohio, and Kris Kopp of Portland; two brothers, Brereton Bissell of New Haven, Conn., and Torre Bissell of Schenectady, N.Y.
Graveside services will be held later in Lodi, Michigan. Memorial contributions may be made to the Campaign for Labor Rights, 1247 E St. S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003, or to the Committee in Support of the Central American People, 458 Blair Blvd., Eugene, OR 97402.
Sales of Bissell's artwork will go to help cover his medical expenses, many of which were not covered by insurance, friends said. For more information, contact Rich Klopfer at 683-5856.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I should mention this guy is of the Bissell family that started the vacuum cleaner company.
Don't you love "peace activists" who bomb, maim and kill? Cowards, every one of them.
kathy Ann Powers was found hiding here too. In fact, she was a partner in a popular campus restaurant before she was brought to justice for the murder of a cop in Boston during a politically motivated bank robbery.
I won't be mourning this creep.
Must have applied one of the family's products to his cranium at an early age.
PS: Good riddance!
Ever notice how advocates for "labor" have never worked a day in their lives?
Trim Bissell
Services will be held later for Trim Bissell of Eugene who died June 15 of brain cancer. Bissell, also known as Terrence Jackson, was 60.
Bissell was born April 27, 1942, in Grand Rapids, Mich., to Wadsworth and Hillary Rarden Bissell. He graduated from Central High School in Grand Rapids.
In 1964, Bissell received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. He earned a master's degree in 1965 at Syracuse University, then taught college level creative writing and wrote poetry for three years.
He moved to Seattle in 1968 and became involved in the Weathermen Organization, which led to living as a fugitive for 17 years. Using a new identity, he returned to college in Durham, N.C., and earned a bachelor's degree in biology at North Carolina Central University in 1979 and a master's degree in physical therapy at Duke University in 1981. Locally, he worked many years as a physical therapist for Sacred Heart Home Health.
Bissell married Ruth Evan in Lompoc, Calif., on Jan. 17, 1988.
In 1995, Bissell co-founded Campaign for Labor Rights, a national anti-sweatshop organization. He started working full time for the organization in 1997.
Bissell had been seriously pursuing his art since 1980 and was represented in several West Coast galleries. He began sculpting in the 1990s.
Survivors include his wife; a stepdaughter, Terrell Martinski of Berea, Ohio; two stepsons, Joseph Gelski of Cleveland and Kris Kopp of Portland; two brothers, Brereton of New Haven, Conn., and Torre of Schenectady, N.Y.; and four grandchildren.
Graveside services will be held later in Lodi, Mich. England's Eugene Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Memorial contributions may be made to Campaign for Labor Rights or to the Committee in Solidarity with the Central American People (CISCAP).
The eternal soul of Mr. Bissell will be held in hell.
If we treat terrorists this well across the board, I want to invest in a body bag company.
They obviously would do a booming business in a country where bombing things is a yawn.
"His coconspirator in the bombing of the abortion clinic noted that Billy lived his life with a balance of conviction and spontaneity. He was an amazing person. He was real good at thoughtful analysis, but he knew how to relate to people on a personal level, when not blowing them up."
Worse yet, he had several lenthly opinion pieces printed by the Register Guard and the Eugene Weekly on different topics over the years.
Bomb an ROTC, become a media star. YEEECH!
It's probably a very good thing his father was disowned from the Bissell fortune. This communist would have been even more dangerous with lots of money.
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