Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

Hughes: Nancy didn’t go along?
Evans: Oh, no, no, no. Just the two of them. I didn’t have the expertise at all. And when
they came home they had things they had acquired and pictures of things they wanted to
acquire. So we could show people, “We need X number of dollars to buy this. Would you
be interested in making a donation?” That sort of thing. On the trip, they purchased some
light fixtures with crystals on them to go on the mantel and on some tables, and one of
them arrived missing some crystals. So we called back to see if they found the crystals.
They had, but they also said, “We just got this call from a customer of ours in Connecticut.”
She had a lovely demilune (crescent moon-shaped) server, and she told the appraiser, “I’d
like to give it to some worthy organization that is poor” We certainly qualified as a poor
foundation at that time. And he said, “Well, we just had two women in here from the State
of Washington,” which to her was probably—
Hughes: The Wild West!
Evans: Exactly. And he said, “They might be interested in it.” So they contacted Jean or
Marie and sent this picture of a gorgeous piece that was by far the loveliest thing that we
had seen. We said, “We’ll take it!” It now sits just off the entry hall in the Mansion. John
Seymour was the builder – a very prestigious cabinetmaker. It’s all inlaid. It’s lovely.
Hughes: I wonder what that’s worth.
Evans: Oh, quite a lot, I’m sure. But they really were very successful in what they found
back there on that trip. Those are the pieces that are in the Mansion now. And their value
has increased tremendously.
Hughes: Don’t you love watching “Antiques Road Show” with those obligatory moments
when the appraiser says, “Do you have any idea what this is worth?”
Evans: Yes, exactly. “I paid $300.” … “Well it’s $30,000 now!”
Hughes: Back to architecture and engineering: Tell me about the celebrated “Dan Evans &
Sons” tree house at the Mansion. Where was that located?
Evans: Well, as you approach the Mansion, up the right side of the drive, right at the top of
the drive there was a big, old wonderful maple tree. I think the residue is still there. Mark
was about 5 when they built it, so they were about 2, 5, and 8 — something like that. And
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