Description:
Michael C. Barr was born in White Plains, NY, in 1947. In the interview, he discusses his family history, including his father's service as a US Marine in World War II. He lived the first ten years of his life in various towns in New York before his family settled in Flemington, New Jersey in the mid-1950s.
Barr gives readers an in-depth look at life in rural Hunterdon County, NJ, in the 1950s and 1960s. He recalls working as a young adult at the Presco spice factory and as a roofer in the area.
He entered Rutgers University in 1965, where he witnessed the transformation of the campus culturally and politically in the late 1960s. He majored in history and served as president of Ford Hall dormitory. In 1969, he graduated and joined the US Navy's "Ensign 1955 Program," which allowed him to go to law school.
Barr earned his law degree at Columbia Law School, then, entered active duty in the Navy as a Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps attorney. He discusses the types of cases he dealt with in the post-Vietnam period. After leaving the service, he practiced law for several years before going back to Columbia for an MBA. He then embarked upon a career that included investment banking and reporting for Dow Jones and Standard & Poor's.
Barr also became very involved in historic preservation, particularly on the Rutgers Campus, where he helped preserve such landmarks as Old Queens and Kirkpatrick Chapel.
The Rutgers Oral History Archives received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. In the 2024-2025 cycle, this grant assisted the ROHA staff in making this oral history available to you for your use.