Carolyn Dimmick Final PDF.indd - Washington Secretary of State
Carolyn Dimmick Final PDF.indd - Washington Secretary of State
Carolyn Dimmick Final PDF.indd - Washington Secretary of State
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Hughes: And your expectations? Did you think, “What am I going to be when I grow up?”<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: I was taking sociology, and economics and business. And I thought I would<br />
probably be a social worker.<br />
Hughes: Most memorable pr<strong>of</strong>essors?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: One named Michael Hogan, which had been our background name, you see.<br />
Michael Hogan was our big Irish ancestor. I think he taught English in Parrington Hall. The<br />
classes were huge – 200 or more people. And we had the legendary Giovanni Costigan. You<br />
must have heard <strong>of</strong> him.<br />
Hughes: A great history teacher and social activist. (Editor’s note: His debate with William F.<br />
Buckley at the height <strong>of</strong> the Vietnam War in 1971 packed Hec Edmundson Pavilion.)<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: Giovanni would know everybody’s name in the class by the first week. And I was<br />
walking down The Ave one time. He rode a bike, and he came around the corner on his bike<br />
and he says, “Oh, excuse me, Miss Reaber.” You know. Just like that. He knew everybody’s<br />
name.<br />
Hughes: What classes did Giovanni Costigan teach?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: He taught the History <strong>of</strong> England, which was a prerequisite for Law School.<br />
Hughes: About that time on campus and in the Northwest there was a lot <strong>of</strong> controversy<br />
over leftist activity. Were you conscious <strong>of</strong> that?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: I was later on because <strong>of</strong> the Canwell Hearings (on Un-American Activities) and<br />
that kind <strong>of</strong> thing. And (Sen. Joseph) McCarthy <strong>of</strong> course, nationally.<br />
Hughes: Did that make an impression on you?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: Not too much. That wasn’t foremost in my brain at the time.<br />
Hughes: What was foremost in your brain?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: I don’t know. Just surviving day by day.<br />
Hughes: Were politics actively discussed in the Reaber household? Did your folks talk about<br />
FDR or about Willkie, Truman and Ike?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: Yes, my folks were very Republican because it was kind <strong>of</strong> laissez-faire. My dad<br />
was always a small business man and wanted to be left alone. So they were Republican. I<br />
remember my grandfather, Christian Reaber, also a Republican, and they would be arguing<br />
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