November 2005

50 Years and Counting — Honoring Washington State Bar Association's 50-Year Members

At a celebratory luncheon held September 29 at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel and Towers, the WSBA honored its 43 members who are celebrating 50 years of membership in the WSBA this year. Nineteen were present at the celebration. In appreciation of their service to the WSBA and the public, WSBA President S. Brooke Taylor and members of the WSBA Board of Governors presented 50-year certificates and lapel pins to the members — who had joined the WSBA the year Disneyland opened, Rebel Without a Cause immortalized James Dean, "Rock Around the Clock" hit number one, and The Honeymooners debuted on television. The honorees — some of whom had not seen each other since law school and were eager to reunite — and their families enjoyed good food and a delightful afternoon.

Fifty-year members present at the luncheon included former Supreme Court Justice Charles Z. Smith and past WSBA President Patrick C. Comfort. Other dignitaries in attendance included Richard Mitchell, counsel to Gov. Christine Gregoire; former Supreme Court Chief Justices Keith M. Callow, Richard P. Guy, and Vernon R. Pearson; and several former WSBA presidents and state and federal judges. 

The luncheon began with President Taylor welcoming and introducing the guests of honor, then delivering a speech entitled "1955: A Moment in Time."

In 1955, he told the 100-plus honorees and guests present, the average income was $4,100, the average cost of a house was $22,000, and a new Ford would set you back $2,300. In Seattle, you could get a hamburger at the newly opened Dick's Drive-in on Capitol Hill for 19 cents. Not everything was cheaper back then: a microwave oven cost $1,300. President Taylor continued with a litany of events that occurred in 1955, many of which changed the course of history.

The presentation of certificates and lapel pins was followed by a message from the WSBA Senior Lawyers Section, represented by past chair Peter Francis.  

The 2005 WSBA 50-year members

Robert Berst, Seattle
Lucius Biglow, Medina
Jack Burtch, Aberdeen
Gordon Byrholdt, Anacortes
William Cavanagh, Tacoma
Patrick Comfort, Tacoma
Byron Coney, Seattle
Roderick Dimoff, Seattle
David Dorsey, Wenatchee
The Honorable Maurice Epstein,
 Mercer Island
Vincent Gadbow, Tacoma
Leo Gese, Tacoma
Daniel Goodwin, Mercer Island
John Gose, Seattle
Eugene Greenway, Edmonds
Walter Hageman, Seattle
The Honorable Robert Hamack, Edmonds
James Henriot, Tacoma
John Henry, Edmonds
A'Lan Hutchinson, Edgewood
John Keough, Seattle
Milburn Kight, Wenatchee
Richard Krutch, Seattle
Charles Magnuson, Los Angeles, California
James McNally, Ione
Laurence Moore, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Wesley Nuxoll, Colfax
Lester Thomas Parker Jr., Aberdeen
John Piper, Seattle
Richard Quinn, Eugene, Oregon
The Honorable Joel Rindal, Bellevue
Theodore Rosenblume, Seattle
Anthony Savage, Seattle
Robert Schaefer, Vancouver
Gordon Scraggin, Tacoma
Emmett Shearer, Spokane
Hollis Small, Gig Harbor
The Honorable Charles Z. Smith, Olympia
Daniel Sullivan, Seattle
The Honorable Jack Tanner, Tacoma
John Tomlinson, Seattle
Leon Uziel, Seattle
Benjamin Westmoreland, Everett