Carolyn Dimmick Final PDF.indd - Washington Secretary of State

gone to sea and he was a master mariner. He had been in World War I.
Hughes: What did he do in World War I?
Dimmick: Well, I don’t know for sure. He ended up in Germany is all I know because he
has a German sword. He was in the Navy.
Hughes: How do you get to be a master mariner, which in essence is a ship’s captain?
Dimmick: That’s right. You go to sea, and you take the tests. In fact, when he died he was
one of two of the oldest master mariners Pilots’ Union members in the city.
Hughes: What kind of vessels did he captain?
Dimmick: Big ones. In fact after World War II, he took all the UNRA (United Nations Relief
Act) vessels over to Japan. The pilots took them over there and back. And then in later
years he fished and got ships. But my earliest recollection was when he had a boat called
the Dart and he got the mail contract from the federal government to go to Juneau, Alaska,
and take the mail around to the fox farms. So we lived in Juneau for four years doing that
contract.
Hughes: Did you say “fox,” like furry critters?
Dimmick: Foxes that run on the coast, yes. Fox farms. So we lived in Juneau for four
years. I remember when we were on the boat with my dad, he was afraid my brother and I
might fall overboard. I was about 4, and he had chicken wire around the back of the boat. I
was feeding the seagulls and pretty soon there was a big flock – maybe hundreds. Dad said
that was not a good thing to do!
Hughes: Did he need a college education or a maritime academy degree to get to be a
master mariner?
Dimmick: No. He had a couple years of college. Then he was in the Navy. Then he just
worked for the Alaska Steamship Company.
Hughes: So his job required him to be away from home quite a bit then.
Dimmick: Yes.
Hughes: What kind of a person was he?
Dimmick: Wonderful guy. He was just so easy going and Danish. I think he had a little
depression because they always called them “dour Danes,” you know. I think he had a little
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