Norton Clapp (1906-1995) was a Seattle businessman and philanthropist. Clapp started working for the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company part-time in 1938, and returned to the company after serving in the Navy, replacing his father as director after his death. In 1960, he became president of Weyerhaeuser, serving in that position until 1966, and as Board member until 1970, before leaving to pursue other business interests and devote his energy to philanthropy. Among other ventures, Clapp served as as president of the Boy Scouts of America, chairman of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, director of the National Parks Foundation, president of both the Tacoma and the Seattle Chambers of Commerce, longtime trustee of the University of Puget Sound, director of Safeco and of Seattle First National Bank, and as a member of innumerable boards and committees. The Seattle-King County Association of Realtors named him First Citizen of 1970, and the National Conference of Christians and Jews gave him an award for his humanitarian work in 1973. Clapp also left his mark on Seattle by being one the five original private investors in the Space Needle.

Interview conducted by Elizabeth Adkins on June 12, 1985 at the Norton Building. This interview is part of the Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection. Don Schmechel, who was a member of the Seattle Public Library Foundation board, began this project with Seattle Public Library in 1984, with the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) brought on board as a partner in early 1985. Schmechel himself worked to raise the funding for the project, and volunteered his time to manage the project, and to conduct interviews along with a crew of volunteers. Originally titled the Videotaping Historic Figures (VHF) Program, the project interviewed 91 people, and MOHAI holds the interviews for 32 of these individuals.