My husband was co-chairman of Booth Gardner’s finance committee when he was running for Governor. They called it the kitchen cabinet. And those close to Booth would meet almost on a weekly basis to discuss how the campaign was going.
Booth Gardner and my husband grew up together and were fast friends. So the two couples, as we had our children and raised them and interacted, had been longstanding friends. When he became Governor Gardner, I was appointed to the Washington State Arts Commission and was president of that organization for two years. This was all before I was president of the Governor’s Mansion Foundation which was from 1996 to 1998.
Originally, it was Nancy Evans who asked me to be a part of the Governor’s Mansion Foundation but not in the early years. I was busy raising a large family. I can’t remember which one of Nancy and Dan’s children were at Charles Wright when our boys were there. But they did go to school together. And actually, our boys also went to school with Doug Gardner, who was Governor Gardner’s son, and his daughter, Gail.
I served as president for a year with the Lowry’s and the first year the Lockes came to the Mansion. Governor Lowry was very generous to the foundation in one instance that I recall. And keep in mind, this is a number of years ago. He was able to include money in his budget to restore the chandelier in the ballroom, which was a major expense, and was not in the foundation’s budget at that time.
Mrs. Locke was more visible than Mrs. Lowry. And having a young couple in there with children was a whole different, a whole different environment for the foundation. I think she is only one of two wives of governors who have had children at the mansion since the foundation began. Well, besides the Evans boys and dogs. And there are some wonderful stories. The family room that’s on the tour is decorated or enhanced by the governor and the governor’s family. And obviously there was a big change from the Lowrys to the Lockes, where there were stuffed animals and playpens and a very warm atmosphere.
Mary Charles was introduced to the Executive Board at our April meeting in 1997 as the personal assistant to Mona Lee Locke. She was wonderful to work with. She was very cooperative. She was very generous of her time. We became friends during that period because she would be the person that I would interact with at the mansion, obviously. She was there to screen people and requests and what have you from the Lockes. She was a delight.
While vacationing in Mexico, I got a call from one of our board members saying the Lockes were requesting screens on the windows because there had been bats discovered in the mansion. And there was a case of a bat biting a child someplace, I think in Thurston County. I really can’t recall. And they said, “What should we do?”
I responded, “Put the screens up. We don’t care what they look like now. Obviously if there’s a baby in a crib, we need screens on the windows. And we’ll figure out about the paint and what have you later.” And for me to get a call all the way to Mexico when they should have just tacked up the screens. But, you know the foundation really operates on process and procedure. And it was probably the proper thing to do.
I remember when Mona Lee introduced us to baby Emily. The Lockes were very generous about sharing their family. And it must have been a real balance to keep their privacy. But maybe because the foundation was supporting their home and their lifestyle, it made it easier for the First Lady. But she was very generous about sharing.
The Foundation’s Executive Board really worked well as a cohesive group. I was not having to do any personnel management, if you will. Everybody seemed to be focused on what our job was to do for the mansion, which was really to maintain, and to purchase if necessary, and to refurbish. And one of the things we did during my tenure was the restoration of the murals in the dining room. They were very badly damaged-- water damaged. We brought a in a consultant paid out of the foundation’s funds. We completely restored those murals in the dining room. There was a leak someplace in the ceiling, and it really did some fairly major damage to the murals. But as you know now, they’re in beautiful condition now.
I can’t remember the name of the person that we brought in. He was an expert from Seattle. It’s probably someplace in the archives. That’s another thing that we focused on during my tenure. All of our correspondence and information we had archived. It was all over the place. In the basement at the governor’s mansion, in past presidents’ homes and what have you. And it was a very big job to gather all of that together. And Betty Jo Neal, who has since passed away, was the one that really spearheaded that. And it’s all now in the State Archives.
Before I served as president, I was Area Chair for Region Seven. I was also on the art committee at one point. I personally believe that it’s a good idea to have two or three or four people on a committee, because you get more ideas and more input that way. But we had people who were very knowledgeable about local artists, Beverly Graham being one of them. We also had an advisor from the British Art Center. And Diana Neely. There were a number of people who really contributed to that committee.
I was never a docent, because living in Lakewood, it’s a little bit of a drive. Although the art and the beauty and everything about the mansion that is important to me, I could enjoy just as being president.
It was during this time we had the scarf designed. 1998. The artist, the designer, was Margaret Claussen. And we went through a number of iterations about the design. But it was mainly taken from the mansion carpet. And the bird, the goldfinch is in it. We voted as a board to budget the cost of the scarf. We then assumed that we would not only be able to recover that investment but hopefully make some money.
We continued the chamber concerts. The concerts were wonderful, and very well attended. In fact, people were turned away. It was a wonderful and generous thing for the governor and his wife to open the mansion for those concerts. And then various regions, permitting schedule of the governor and his spouse, would have dinners. They would be fundraisers for the various regions. And from our region (Pierce County), I think we had two or three of those. They were very successful and well attended. And Kyle, the chef, was extremely cooperative. We’d have these wonderful dinners, and then money would go into the coffers of the Foundation. So those were very successful. And I think other regions had wine tasting at the mansion. I mentioned Kyle Fulwiler as the chef of the mansion. All of her meals were memorable. And I’d sneak in and snatch a cookie at the end of a meeting before I drove back to Lakewood. Kyle was a real interesting, creative, artistic chef. And she was fun to work with and very agreeable and calm. I can’t imagine having a meeting and preparing dinners night after night for various commissioners or what have you. And she seemed to do it with not only grace but ease.
The Governor’s Mansion is such a beautiful place. From what I understand, even today it’s unique in having such a treasure that is open to the public that is maintained by a foundation.
I can remember Mrs. Locke coming home from one of the national meetings of governors and saying, “We are the star as far as having a mansion that’s maintained, the public rooms are maintained by a foundation, and so beautifully maintained.” And I guess we’re unique as a state in that.
I do know that I lobbied, not just when I was president, but even before, for monies in the budget to upgrade the living quarters of the governor and his wife and family. Because they were nothing like the downstairs, believe me. And I saw a lot of it when Governor and Mrs. Gardner were there.
We did a lot of fundraising in our area. At one tea at a person’s home, we gained fifty-four new members. Joanne Bamford was involved with the Governor’s Mansion at the time, and is a close friend of mine. It was a membership drive for our region, and very successful.
As a state organization, it’s always a challenge to involve people in Eastern and Central Washington. I would have to assume that Nancy Evans, with her connections, is the one who originally was able to encourage people from other parts of the state. And you know it’s like anything, or any project. Once you enlist someone that is committed or has a passion for something, you’re there. But to maintain that kind of enthusiasm and interest takes cultivation. I’m not sure what the status of Eastern Washington as far as the participation in the mansion foundation. It probably is less than it once was. But I believe that if that’s important to the board now, then you need to take your show on the road and go to Eastern Washington.