Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

had two grand pianos as well as the piano we all took lessons on. One was a wonderful
old German piano. Hans wanted to know if the Governor’s Mansion would be able to
use it. And I said it was a lovely, lovely offer, but the Mansion already had been given two
Steinways and there was no room for any more. But as I thought about it, it occurred to
me, “What about the reception room in the Capitol?” So I contacted someone and asked
if there was a piano there, and if not, would the Capitol accept the gift of a very nice grand
piano. They said yes, so Hans made sure that it was all fixed up and cleaned up. And then
he died. Mary had it all packaged up and sent it to Olympia. That’s the piano that’s in the
reception room now. It’s a beautiful instrument.
Hughes: Do you still play the piano?
Evans: I don’t. The eyes are so important that I’d have to get special glasses, which I’m
never going to do. So my piano now is in my son’s house here where our granddaughter is
playing the piano, taking lessons. That’s Dan Jr.’s daughter, Isabelle.
Hughes: So with brother Bill eligible for the draft, do you have vivid memories of Pearl
Harbor Day? You were 8 years old.
Evans: No. I don’t remember Pearl Harbor Day. But then Bill went in the service. He
fought in the terrible Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944, and was injured there. In
the den, my father had on the wall a big map of Europe. And he would try to follow Bill
through his letters from overseas. You couldn’t say exactly where you were because of
wartime censorship. I followed the war’s progress on my father’s map. Then we learned
my brother was coming through Spokane on the train on the way to Madigan Hospital,
near Tacoma. So we all went down to the train station. And I still remember this gaunt
young man standing in the doorway of the train on crutches. And I thought, “Oh my gosh,
is that my brother?!” I couldn’t believe it was, because he was so thin. He was so haggard
looking. He went on to Madigan where he recuperated. Then he was discharged from the
Army. Bill always said he was grateful to the Army because the (trench mouth) injury on
his lip no longer bothered him. People assumed it was part of the injuries he had received
in the war.
I was in the seventh or eighth grade when the war ended. I remember that vividly.
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