I first met Dennis when he was a Skagit County Board of Adjustment member, and I was its legal advisor. My interaction with Dennis was limited during those months of evening land use hearings. My next meeting with Dennis was our first visit to Bethany Covenant Church in Mount Vernon. Sometime later, Dennis and I started a one-on-one Bible Study at my office in the Courthouse. He was a God-sent friend who patiently opened a path to faith.
Mark E. Wilson changed my life and view of what it means to be a lawyer. He was co-founder of the Clinical Law Program at Gonzaga University Law School in 1974, my second year. I signed up to join the program, was accepted and spent much of my third year in Granger, Washington. Mark retired as Professor Emeritus in 2015 and was awarded the Gonzage Law Medal for his bold vision and leadership.
Mike Redman was my predecessor as San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney, having resigned to become Executive Director of the Washinton Association of Prosecuting Attorneys with offices in Olympia. This photo, taken during Mike’s unsuccessful campaign for Attorney General, Mike is in the center, Pat McMullen on the left, and I’m on the right.
Mike graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle and Yale University in 1963, followed by the University of Washington Law School. He then volunteered for the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. He was featured in the nationally televised special “Halftime,” which traces the lives of five members of his Yale class. It was said correctly about Mike, “He was definitely the guy you wanted in your foxhole when the action started.”
Just weeks after taking the Bar Exam, I met Patrick R. McMullen (1945 – 1999) when he was Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney at the home of Mount Vernon attorney Kenny St.Clair. Pat hired me as a Deputy PA starting in October 1976. Pat later went on to become a member of the Washington State House of Representatives and later the Washington State Senate. Had he lived a few years longer most observers believe he would have been appointed U.S. Attorney for Western Washington. Pat was an excellent trial lawyer with a humble approach to jurors that was confounding to opposing lawyers. Click here for more photos.
The six Moser brothers are the sons of Henry Alexander Moser and Sarah Lydia Pyle. In the top row are Walt and Fred, and in the bottom row are Bert, Harry, John, and George. They were all born between 1882 and 1895. In addition, they had several sisters and other brothers. My grandfather was Harry Thomas Moser, born in 1886.
Harry Thomas Moser and Hertha Hulda Steinke Moser had five children, all sons. The bottom photo was taken post-WWII, probably in Snohomish, Washington. They lined up in birth order, with the youngest on the left: Edwin, Larry, Donald, Carl, and Theodor. Ed is wearing a military-issue jacket with awards and badges. Most of of brothers served in WWII. Ed and Carl met in Europe during the war. Larry was a gunner on a B-52 bomber.
The top photo was taken on August 22, 1982, at a Moser Family Reunion. From left they are Ed, Carl, Larry, Ted, and Don.
The author is the son of Carl Moser
Congressman Mike McCormack (D) was a Member of Congress from the 4th Congressional District of Washington. After graduation from CWU, I received a scholarship to The George Washington University to study for a Master of Public Administration. GWU is a few blocks west of the White House. I went to the Capitol and applied to be a volunteer intern in Mike’s congressional office and was accepted. I worked part-time in his office at the Capitol while taking classes at GWU. It was an experience for which I am grateful. Mike was instrumental in pointing me to Gonzaga Law School after graduation from GWU.
Sid Morrison (R) was a member of the Washington State House of Representatives for many years, representing the 15th District in the Yakima Valley. In 1971, I was a student at Central Washington University and learned that the Legislature was, for the first time, allowing college students to become volunteer interns and receive college credits. I applied and was selected by Sid to be his first intern. I stayed in contact with Sid over the years and later became a campaign volunteer when he ran for Governor of Washington.
