Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

told me that on the first trip he ever took to New York with you two when he became press
secretary that the Rockefellers had you and the other Republican governors and spouses
up to their penthouse. And the next day when he saw you he asked, “What did you
think?” And you said, “They’ve got a Picasso in the bathroom.”
Evans: Oh, and they had a Leger just painted on the wall. Not a framed Liger but just
painted on the wall over the fireplace. Art was everywhere. It was absolutely stunning.
Hughes: Jay also said you were showing him some of the gifts you received from the
Rockefellers, and there was a Steuben glass in the shape of a salmon. Later, he said he and
Don Moos were walking down 5 th Avenue and happened to pass the Steuben shop, so they
went inside to check out how much a piece like that would be worth. It was about $5,000.
Evans: It’s a couple thousand. It’s in the living room.
Hughes: Was there any prohibition against keeping gifts like that?
Evans: No. Those were not state funds. This was a Republican conference and it was a gift
from them.
Hughes: From Rocky and Happy.
Evans: They could afford it. But we would have to have donations to buy gifts when we
entertained because we didn’t have personal money. Those gifts (from the Rockefellers)
were lovely and certainly more expensive than what we would normally receive. In some
states they were very small tokens of appreciation, something that was typical of the state
or whatever.
Hughes: Ted Agnew was governor of Maryland at the time. Did you meet Agnew?
Evans: Oh sure.
Hughes: Did you have any kind of funny, fleeting feeling about him?
Evans: No. And I liked his wife very much. She was very nice. But, no, you don’t get
to know them that way and you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. (With
Agnew) nobody did. But I don’t know that he was one of our favorite people. I didn’t
know him that well. But she and I talked.
Hughes: He came and visited out here, didn’t he?
Evans: Yes, in fact he came to the Mansion in 1971. He had been over in Dan’s office and
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