Kistler, Elmer Charles

Elmer Charles Kistler was a long-time Washington State labor unionist and Communist Party activist committed to social justice, labor rights, and racial equality.

Kistler was born on January 17, 1915, in Cleveland, Wisconsin, and in 1926 his family moved to Longview, Washington. After graduating from high school in 1931, Kistler worked in a plywood mill at a time when there was no union organization in the industry. In 1934 he moved to Seattle to attend the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington. As a student, he helped organize a local chapter of the American Student Union, organized peace demonstrations, and picketed in support of union organization.

In 1940 Kistler began working at Boeing Aircraft Company as a union shop steward in the Clipper shop. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, he worked in the shipyards and then entered the army as a volunteer officer candidate in July 1942. Kistler was commissioned in February 1943 and served in anti-aircraft until May 1944, when he was transferred to the infantry. Kistler was sent overseas in August 1944 with the 106th Division as a first lieutenant mortar platoon leader. He earned three battle stars, including the Ardennes for his service during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.

Kistler left the army in 1946 and returned to the University of Washington, where he helped organize the University District Post and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He served on the state board of Young Democrats from 1946 to 1947. Kistler left school in 1947 and worked in shipyards until 1951, when he went back to work in lumber mills. Kistler was later blacklisted from sawmill and construction jobs because of his affiliation with the Communist Party.

Kistler appeared at a hearing of the United States Subversive Activities Control Board in 1965. The hearing was part of an effort to prove that Kistler was a member of the Communist Party and in violation of the McCarran Act requirement that Communist Party members register with the attorney general. Robert W. Winsor, a Seattle attorney, served as Kistler's counsel. The Gus Hall-Benjamin J. Davis Defense Committee also assisted Kistler with legal defense.

Kistler ran unsuccessfully for elected office as a Communist Party candidate three times. These races included a run for Washington State's 35th legislative district representative seat in 1976 and again in 1984 for the 37th legislative district representative seat. In 1978 he challenged incumbent United States Representative Jack Cunningham on a platform of Native American land rights.

Elmer Charles Kistler died of cancer on November 28, 1996, at the age of 81.

From the guide to the Elmer Charles Kistler papers, 1917-1996, 1964-1984, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)