Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

skier. A lot of them had skied before, in fact grew
up skiing. So I stumbled along, learning and
trying not to fall. Actually, I learned by trying
to keep up. Nobody was going to teach me, so
the only way to be seen the rest of the day was
to keep up with them. That’s sort of the way I
was. And I learned to ski. The group was mostly
boys and a couple of women. It was just all good
friends. We went skiing almost every weekend.
Then one summer one of the fellows, George
Skiing at Sun Valley in 1956. Evans family album
Corley, was crewing on an 8-meter wooden
sailboat with Dan. I can still remember George
telling me, “Nancy, I’ve met a young man I think you should meet.” Those were his exact
words. He has no memory of it, but I do. I was really just one of the guys. That was our
relationship. So they invited Dan to come skiing with us one time. Probably in January of
’58. We went to Stevens Pass. There was no Crystal Mountain ski area in those days. It was
all Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass. I remember I had the flu one weekend. I didn’t feel
well, but I didn’t want anybody to know it. Afterwards, coming home, we would always
stop at a bar in Startup or one of those places coming down from Stevens, and have a beer.
Sometimes we would stay and have dinner. One of them had a piano and I’d play the piano
and everybody would sit around the table singing. We’d sing this beer song and pass the
beer along. Sort of like musical chairs.
Hughes: Sort of like Beer Pong today.
Evans: Well, it wasn’t that bad! (laughing) But we had a very good time. However, on that
occasion I did not feel well. I was sitting all by myself at the counter and I just wanted to
be alone. Dan very sweetly came over and asked if he could help. And I said, “No, thank
you.” Actually, I don’t know what I said, but he felt sorry for me. He kept coming along on
our ski trips. Then one time I fell, and he pulled me out from under a tree. All the other
guys, they’d just go on. But Dan stopped to dig me out. And then he asked me out. And
we went out.
27