Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

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Hughes: I’ve never met Sally Gorton, Slade’s wife. Is she a good friend of yours? Evans: A very good friend, but not a close friend. We saw each other all the time during the governor’s years. When Dan and I were engaged, Chuck Moriarty, Slade Gorton, Dan Evans and Joel Pritchard stayed in a house together during legislative sessions. Sally and Slade were married, so Sally stayed down there as well. She called herself the house mother. So we’ve always seen a lot of each other. And then when Dan, Slade and Lud Kramer were elected governor, attorney general and secretary of state, those three young Republican state officials were, obviously, very close. We used to do things together, things of that nature. I remember when I christened a ship one time — a Washington State ferry called the Hyak. … What’s very hard to comprehend is the fact that the Hyak is now in mothballs! (laughing) Hughes: Surely no metaphor for the former first lady of our state! Evans: I certainly hope not. I was asked to have a “lady in waiting.” I think that’s the term they used, and I asked Pat Kramer, Lud’s wife, to be my “lady in waiting.” So the two of us went down to San Diego and cracked the champagne over the ship’s bow. Hughes: I’ve seen some of those, and sometimes it’s really hard for the chosen lady to break the champagne bottle. Nancy Evans christens the ferry Hyak in San Diego, December 17, 1966. HistoryLink, Courtesy National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. Evans: Mine did not break the first time. It’s wired, it’s scored and all of that, but you have to hit it just right on the right thing. I’m strong, and I swung very hard, but I just didn’t hit the right thing. Then it did break and champagne got all over me. Hughes: But back in 1958, you were a grade-school music teacher. You hadn’t been real political. Was that something that you thought was really interesting? Evans: Sure. Well, remember I grew up listening about politics. My parents loved to talk politics. In fact, later when she came to live with us, my mother would say, “Now Dan I think … you ought to think about this.” And he’d say, “Yes, yes ‘Gom.’ ” That’s our nickname for her – “ Gom.” Everybody called her “Gom” because that was what her first grandchild called her. 34
Hughes: Is that because the kid couldn’t say “Grandma” when he was a toddler? Evans: Yes – and that kid is now a professor, and he’s 65 years old; my nephew, John Ludders. He is my sister’s son. My oldest nephew. But politics was interesting for me. And when I went down to Olympia the first time, they were all married. They were more Dan’s age, and in that period of your life a few years make a huge difference. I was younger than they were. So they all sort of took me under their wing. And when I was dating him and then when we were engaged, I would go down to Olympia for the day and then come back home. Hughes: Even in the beginning, Dan was more of a Teddy Roosevelt Bull-Moose kind of progressive than a lockstep Eisenhower-Nixon Republican. Is that a fair characterization? Evans: I would never have put him in those terms (at the time) because those names were not even popping into my mind. I mean we were thinking Olympia, King County, the 43 rd District. Hughes: “All politics is local,” in other words. Evans: Yes, I think that was the dimension. But he tried to bring people together. Like somebody from Eastern Washington who might have a totally different approach to an issue. They would work on each other and take the best of each view. Of course that depended upon the issue. It’s hard to generalize about this sort of thing. Dan just tried to get things done, and he was good at it. Hughes: Did you have any idea then, on June 6, 1959, your wedding day, of what you might be getting into politically? – That in nothing flat one thing would lead to another; that he would emerge as a leader in the House and then running for governor? Evans: Absolutely not. I wasn’t really thinking beyond June 6 th . Hughes: Where did you go on your honeymoon? Evans: We were married in Spokane. I’ve often said over the years that I married about five or six things. And one of the things I married was a big car. It was the first new car he’d ever bought – a big-finned, gold Plymouth. You know, the days of those terrible fins. Hughes: Absolutely, the swept-back “look of the future.” Evans: And I married this sofa. (She pats a cushion) It has been recovered and restyled a 35
Page 2 and 3: Nancy Evans Research by John C. Hug
Page 4 and 5: certificate says Nancy Ann Bell, wh
Page 6 and 7: England family. There were a lot of
Page 8 and 9: Evans: Yes. My father’s mother wa
Page 10 and 11: Evans: Well, I was a spoiled brat.
Page 12 and 13: wartime. So that was a severe blow
Page 14 and 15: Madrigal Singers. I played the pian
Page 16 and 17: ecause she could say no. So I think
Page 18 and 19: had two grand pianos as well as the
Page 20 and 21: ecause he wasn’t waiting for me.
Page 22 and 23: and then I came. When I competed fo
Page 24 and 25: out of college, living with all the
Page 26 and 27: Christmas program. That was just a
Page 28 and 29: Hughes: What was your first impress
Page 30 and 31: in Vancouver. They were very Britis
Page 32 and 33: Evans: Dan tells this story wonderf
Page 36 and 37: number of times but it’s still so
Page 38 and 39: SAS nonstop. You could have 40 poun
Page 40 and 41: Evans: No. I can’t. I think he wo
Page 42 and 43: Evans: Uh-huh. Hughes: Is that the
Page 44 and 45: Evans: That’s right. And lost. Bu
Page 46 and 47: Hughes: As things went along, were
Page 48 and 49: Hughes: Barry Goldwater may have be
Page 50 and 51: Hughes: Did you really find that pe
Page 52 and 53: Hughes: That’s funny. And then th
Page 54 and 55: Evans: Well, I used to always say t
Page 56 and 57: Evans: Yes, pronounced “Poe-gi.
Page 58 and 59: we’re sitting in the drawing room
Page 60 and 61: 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
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The Governor’s Foundation wanted
Page 88 and 89:
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
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the library, which used to be a lit
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told this story that Jean Gardner c
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Evans: A bit out of the norm. So I
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then sort of a Van Dyke, and finall
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Hughes: Tell me about that. Evans:
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Hughes: Tell us about any other tri
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aquavit, which was terrible. And th
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I remember I was standing in the fr
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early. Well, when Dan was a freshma
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time.” Finally he decided to do i
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and put him on the plane for his ju
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president of the college. He just d
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Evans: Yes. I know he likes and res
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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,
Page 208:
Wallgren, Monrad 2 Washington, D.C.
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