Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

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had good friends, Sherman and Nouchi Huffine, who lived out on Cooper Point in Olympia. She was from the Olympia Brewery family. They loved music, and they had two grand pianos in their living room. They had Sunday soirées, musical programs, and then they served coffee and tea and I suppose cookies or something. And we would go periodically to them. One time it was Yo-Yo Ma, and he was just a kid, a young teenager. But he was wonderful. The next day they were trying to get Yo-Yo Ma back to Seattle. It would have been a Monday because these were on Sunday evening. Dan said, “Well, I’m going to Seattle. I’d be happy to take him.” So Sherman drove Yo-Yo up to the Governor’s Mansion and left him off. He was very impressed with the Mansion. Then he rode up to Seattle with Dan. We don’t really remember this in much detail because at that time we didn’t know who he would become. But Yo-Yo Ma remembered it very well because I talked to him later on about that. Hughes: The technique of those virtuosos is just so incredible. Evans: And he’s wonderful because he’s gotten into so many other areas of music, putting together classical cello music or other music with guitars and country music. He’s wonderful; he’s so creative that way, and he seems to enjoy it so much. Hughes: How is the Seattle Symphony doing in terms of financial wherewithal? Are you on solid grounding? Evans: No, it’s very difficult right now. Very difficult. And we have accumulated deficits. I think we just need to do a better job in the future once we get through this time because it’s really tough. Our attendance hasn’t dropped nearly as much as with orchestras around the country. We actually do quite well on ticket sales, but it has dropped. And that cuts your revenue. People are giving, but not as much. I hate to say it, but every arts organization right now is struggling. It’s very, very hard. Hughes: I keep hearing on NPR and reading that symphonies, great symphonies, are an endangered species. Evans: A number of the really good ones are. Absolutely. And the other thing is that while we raised this money and built this wonderful new hall, we have never had what some of these older Eastern, Midwest orchestras have – the big endowment. A great deal of their earnings come from the endowment. We have a very small endowment. We were about 184
to start a campaign for the endowment when the economy fell to pieces. So that’s been put on hold for now. Hughes: The Whitman College endowment, though, is still strong, isn’t it? Evans: Yes it is, particularly for a Northwest college. But if you look around the country some of them have endowments that are much, much larger than ours. So we’re always trying to grow the endowment. And it’s the only way that you can do the things we do in terms of financial aid. Tuition doesn’t cover the costs, obviously, of education. And a number of years ago we really knew it was time to do something about faculty salaries because we were a very good school but they were not being rewarded reasonably. So we have continually tried to improve salaries and to bring in new scholars. And when you’re hiring new people costs go up, too, because they demand more. And many of them come with spouses who want to teach as well. So it’s sometimes quite complicated. Whitman is very solid, but they’ve lost money, obviously, in their endowment. Also, we’ve had a diversity issue because it’s Walla Walla, Eastern Washington. In the last number of years, we’ve worked hard, our presidents, the trustees and everybody – worked really hard at trying to become more diverse as a faculty and student body. And to encourage minorities, particularly African Americans, to come to Whitman. It’s expensive, and unfortunately a lot of them need financial aid as well. Sometimes you bus them in or fly them in, trying to get them there just to visit the campus. Then if they like it and want to apply, and even if they’re educationally qualified, a lot of them just do not have the wherewithal. But we work really hard and set aside money for that effort. Hughes: Tell me more about the Friends of the Cancer Lifeline because this topic is really close to my heart. We were very active in the Relay for Life when I was at the newspaper. Is the Friends of Cancer Lifeline an outreach hotline – that if you have just been diagnosed with cancer or you’re doing chemo that you can talk to someone? Evans: Well, when it was started that was what it was – just a 24-hour phone line. Then it went to an 800-line in-state. People fighting cancer needed practical advice. There was just not a lot of data and information available on where to buy a wig— Hughes: “I’m losing my hair! How can I stop it?” 185
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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
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Evans: Well, Elsie was one. She was
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Evans: Yes. And in fact I remember
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governor was supposed to arrive at
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pointed two pillows for us that are
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dog, “Peggy! Peggy! Come here, Pe
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een assassinated. So there was a ne
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Hughes: I’m told that the chief h
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Hughes: Was Neil McReynolds the gov
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carpet layer. I was standing there,
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just all the time because we were l
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Nelsen was his name. We hired him a
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Hughes: Nancy didn’t go along? Ev
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The Governor’s Foundation wanted
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ecome “senior” now to separate
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a trundle underneath, so three bunk
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sort of stabbed at it and tried to
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whole thing. I remember I was very
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Hughes: I bet that made a big hit.
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They had been put to bed but they w
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Hughes: I read that you, and I thin
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adjourn. I was young and had never
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at the hotel and said, “Do you ha
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chickens. We don’t like whole chi
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good causes. I couldn’t believe t
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never left your eyes. Paul Newman w
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go back to Dan for a few seconds, b
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Evans: And we don’t carry that ma
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told me that on the first trip he e
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people. Never. Dan had worked quite
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Nancy plays the piano for a sing-a-
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Evans: No. It was organized (in 196
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inauguration of President Obama. Th
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this cute little guy. Then we start
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Evans: No. But we met her and Princ
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the way Pickleball started. The sto
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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
Page 162 and 163: He hooked up with a lot of Australi
Page 164 and 165: think very well. So it was a huge l
Page 166 and 167: first of January. Then after some l
Page 168 and 169: But I got the rental furniture deli
Page 170 and 171: was very interesting. And he always
Page 172 and 173: Evans: Yes, we did. Hughes: Did you
Page 174 and 175: So we enjoyed all of that. But when
Page 176 and 177: was all decorated with very, very c
Page 178 and 179: me again. But that was my daily wal
Page 180 and 181: Hughes: You bought a house, tore it
Page 182 and 183: away after building your first-ever
Page 186 and 187: Evans: Yes. And “What about my ch
Page 188 and 189: learned he was coming to Seattle to
Page 190 and 191: the fire is lit, the cookies and mi
Page 192 and 193: very successful and it’s a separa
Page 194 and 195: Sheppard and she attended the UW. I
Page 196 and 197: over here. Celia, being a mother, w
Page 198 and 199: Evans: So they didn’t have to wor
Page 200 and 201: Hughes: You have always been pretty
Page 202 and 203: that he’s always easy, but he is
Page 204 and 205: “Crosscut” 100 Crystal Mountain
Page 206 and 207: Minnesota 12 Minow, Newt 187 Minto,
Page 208: Wallgren, Monrad 2 Washington, D.C.
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Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

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