Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

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go back to Dan for a few seconds, before showing images of some men doing silly things. Hughes: I picked up on a piece that Dave Brewster wrote in 1972 in the Argus. He was recalling the 1968 convention and “The Perils of Political Virtue”: “Scene: The Beau Rivage Hotel, Miami Beach … It’s 1 a.m. and Dan Evans sits in his hotel room shortly after giving the disastrously over-rehearsed keynote address that put the convention to sleep.” The story proceeded to talk about Dan’s decision to endorse Rockefeller for president when most everyone was telling him the political thing to do would be to endorse Nixon. I sent a snippet of this story to Dan, and l think I sent it to you. Evans: Yes, you did. Hughes: Dan told me, “David Brewster’s article … is partly accurate but with a high percentage of fiction.” Evans: I remember I read it to him, but I can’t remember now what was wrong about it. Hughes: Well I think it was the part about the “disastrously over-rehearsed keynote address.” Evans: Well, if you read it you would think it was good, because he was talking about things that now are still issues. And he was looking ahead about what we need to do about civility and shared goals. It was really quite forward looking for the Republican Party at that time. But it was 11 o’clock at night back there and it had been a long day. Evans: As for “over-rehearsed” — he had 20 minutes in the auditorium for the first time using a Teleprompter. Those were very new in those days. And he had never used one. So he had a little time to practice on that, and that was it. Hughes: Brewster also wrote in that same piece: “This is the archetypal Evans” moment revealing the perils of political virtue. As Evans sounded out the room, the advice to endorse Richard Nixon was unanimous. That afternoon Nixon’s staff had informed the Evans’ men that the Washington governor was high on the list of vice-presidential prospects if he endorsed Nixon. Typically, Evans kept his staff in the dark about his decision and retired at 4 a.m. The next morning Evans picked up a stack of telegrams from the financial backers for his own 1968 re-election campaign. They said one thing: ‘Go for Nixon. A shooin, or else.’ A few hours later Evans announced his endorsement of Nelson Rockefeller, arguing simply that his keynote address had named domestic matters as the nation’s top 112
priority, and Rocky was stronger in this suit.’ ” Does that jibe with your memories? Evans: Mmmhhh. Hughes: Before Dan decided to endorse Rockefeller, another progressive, did you talk about that a lot? Did he say, “Oh Nancy, they’re telling me I could be vice-presidential material.” Evans: Being vice-president had nothing to do with it. It was purely philosophy. He did not support Nixon and he did like Nelson Rockefeller. It was as simple as that. Hughes: But the hubbub over the possibility of a vice-presidential spot. Is that something that you talked about? Evans: Well, yes, you can’t ignore it. It happened again in 1976 when Jerry Ford was president and that got a little further along, actually. In fact we were vacationing in Montana with our sons at a friend’s cabin up in Glacier Park – a grade school friend of mine. Pretty soon a plane was coming into where we were – and we were remote. (GOP operatives were arriving to check out Evans as a possible vice presidential candidate.) Hughes: I’d forgotten that the boomlet for Dan as a vice-presidential candidate was a lot stronger in 1976 with Gerald Ford than in 1968 with Nixon. Did you get to know the Fords pretty well? Evans: No, not real well. You don’t get to know any of these people really well. But we certainly had pleasant times together. Hughes: But there were Secret Service people sniffing around, doing the obligatory background checks, vetting Dan as a possible running mate for Ford? Evans: He was asked to put together his background, which he did. That was not an easy task. We read in the paper that Steve Ford, the Fords’ youngest son, said he was for Dan as VP. Hughes: To me, it’s quite remarkable – whether it was 1968, ’72 or ’76 – that Dan didn’t end up on the ticket. The only thing he didn’t have going for him is that we’re not exactly a populous state. Evans: Well, I think that’s a big issue. We’re not Texas. We’re not New York. We’re not California. Hughes: No, it’s not Kennedy needing LBJ to help carry Texas, a crucial state. 113
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Nancy Evans Research by John C. Hug
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certificate says Nancy Ann Bell, wh
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England family. There were a lot of
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Evans: Yes. My father’s mother wa
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Evans: Well, I was a spoiled brat.
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wartime. So that was a severe blow
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Madrigal Singers. I played the pian
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ecause she could say no. So I think
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had two grand pianos as well as the
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ecause he wasn’t waiting for me.
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and then I came. When I competed fo
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out of college, living with all the
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Christmas program. That was just a
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Hughes: What was your first impress
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in Vancouver. They were very Britis
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Evans: Dan tells this story wonderf
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Hughes: I’ve never met Sally Gort
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number of times but it’s still so
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SAS nonstop. You could have 40 poun
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Evans: No. I can’t. I think he wo
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Evans: Uh-huh. Hughes: Is that the
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Evans: That’s right. And lost. Bu
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Hughes: As things went along, were
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Hughes: Barry Goldwater may have be
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Hughes: Did you really find that pe
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Hughes: That’s funny. And then th
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Evans: Well, I used to always say t
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Evans: Yes, pronounced “Poe-gi.
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we’re sitting in the drawing room
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cabinet wives - the wives of the ca
Page 62 and 63: Evans: Well, Elsie was one. She was
Page 64 and 65: Evans: Yes. And in fact I remember
Page 66 and 67: governor was supposed to arrive at
Page 68 and 69: pointed two pillows for us that are
Page 70 and 71: dog, “Peggy! Peggy! Come here, Pe
Page 72 and 73: een assassinated. So there was a ne
Page 74 and 75: Hughes: I’m told that the chief h
Page 76 and 77: Hughes: Was Neil McReynolds the gov
Page 78 and 79: carpet layer. I was standing there,
Page 80 and 81: just all the time because we were l
Page 82 and 83: Nelsen was his name. We hired him a
Page 84 and 85: Hughes: Nancy didn’t go along? Ev
Page 86 and 87: The Governor’s Foundation wanted
Page 88 and 89: ecome “senior” now to separate
Page 90 and 91: a trundle underneath, so three bunk
Page 92 and 93: sort of stabbed at it and tried to
Page 94 and 95: whole thing. I remember I was very
Page 96 and 97: Hughes: I bet that made a big hit.
Page 98 and 99: They had been put to bed but they w
Page 100 and 101: Hughes: I read that you, and I thin
Page 102 and 103: adjourn. I was young and had never
Page 104 and 105: at the hotel and said, “Do you ha
Page 106 and 107: chickens. We don’t like whole chi
Page 108 and 109: good causes. I couldn’t believe t
Page 110 and 111: never left your eyes. Paul Newman w
Page 114 and 115: Evans: And we don’t carry that ma
Page 116 and 117: told me that on the first trip he e
Page 118 and 119: people. Never. Dan had worked quite
Page 120 and 121: Nancy plays the piano for a sing-a-
Page 122 and 123: Evans: No. It was organized (in 196
Page 124 and 125: inauguration of President Obama. Th
Page 126 and 127: this cute little guy. Then we start
Page 128 and 129: Evans: No. But we met her and Princ
Page 130 and 131: the way Pickleball started. The sto
Page 132 and 133: Evans: Pretty much. I would hope th
Page 134 and 135: the library, which used to be a lit
Page 136 and 137: told this story that Jean Gardner c
Page 138 and 139: Evans: A bit out of the norm. So I
Page 140 and 141: then sort of a Van Dyke, and finall
Page 142 and 143: Hughes: Tell me about that. Evans:
Page 144 and 145: Hughes: Tell us about any other tri
Page 146 and 147: aquavit, which was terrible. And th
Page 148 and 149: I remember I was standing in the fr
Page 150 and 151: early. Well, when Dan was a freshma
Page 152 and 153: time.” Finally he decided to do i
Page 154 and 155: and put him on the plane for his ju
Page 156 and 157: president of the college. He just d
Page 158 and 159: Evans: Yes. I know he likes and res
Page 160 and 161: Heffernan: The other question I hav
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He hooked up with a lot of Australi
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think very well. So it was a huge l
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first of January. Then after some l
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But I got the rental furniture deli
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was very interesting. And he always
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Evans: Yes, we did. Hughes: Did you
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So we enjoyed all of that. But when
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was all decorated with very, very c
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me again. But that was my daily wal
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Hughes: You bought a house, tore it
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away after building your first-ever
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had good friends, Sherman and Nouch
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Evans: Yes. And “What about my ch
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learned he was coming to Seattle to
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the fire is lit, the cookies and mi
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very successful and it’s a separa
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Sheppard and she attended the UW. I
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over here. Celia, being a mother, w
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Evans: So they didn’t have to wor
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Hughes: You have always been pretty
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that he’s always easy, but he is
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“Crosscut” 100 Crystal Mountain
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Minnesota 12 Minow, Newt 187 Minto,
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Wallgren, Monrad 2 Washington, D.C.
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Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

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