Many
know Pullman’s Pat Caraher, but don’t know details of his life. Pat started at WSC as a student in 1957. He earned degrees from WSU in 1962 and 1966. For 31 years Pat was the
exceptional editor of an amazing publication, HillTopics of the WSU Alumni Association.
Dave
Nordquist’s wonderfully-written story about Pat appears in the Spring 2018 WSU
Retirees Association Newsletter. Thanks Pat and Dave for jobs well done!
Read
the story below:
:::Pat-Topics:
Story about Pat Caraher:::
By Dave Nordquist
Spring 2019 WSU Retirees
Association Newsletter
I
asked some of Pat Caraher’s friends and family to describe him in two words or
less.
The
responses were interesting, yet not surprising to someone who knows Pat.
His
coffee klatch buddies said: “Kind Hearted,” “Mr. Sincere,” “Unassuming,” “True
Gentleman.”
Given
the regard in which he is held by others, as evidenced by the two word
descriptors, his work ethic and personality, it isn’t surprising that he was
able to get his dream job at WSU. In a bit of a twist on the old cliché, “It
isn’t what you know, but who you know”, it’s fair to say that Pat got his dream
job at WSU both because of “what he knew” and “who he knew.”
What
he knew was journalism. Degree from WSU in Communications with journalism
emphasis, chosen outstanding graduate in journalism upon his graduation, three
semesters working on the Daily Evergreen
staff while at WSU, stringer for the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer newspaper while still a student and intern in the Sports
Information Office while at WSU. And then, after graduation, three and one half
years working for the Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard.
Oh, “Humble Pat” (my 2 word descriptor) would be the first to say he had much
more to learn about his profession but he was well on his way.
So
he’s 3 ½ years in Eugene and he said that he began pondering what’s more
important in life: Location or Job. He likes where he lives – easy access to
the ocean, about the right distance from Portland, all the amenities of a large
university near at hand and he likes the job pretty well but there are some
drawbacks. Working schedule for one. Working in the office during the day and
then having to cover nighttime sporting events. He wonders how all that might
shake out if and when he gets married and has a family. As he ponders this, he
gets a phone call from another Pat, the “Who you know” part of the equation.
But
before you learn about this other Pat who called, you need to know more about
the Pat who got the call, Pat Caraher. He was born and grew up in Seattle. His
Dad, Joe Caraher, was a Cougar, having graduated from then WSC in 1935 and then served
as the WSC Alumni Director prior to WWII.
After the war Joe was twice President
of the WSU Alumni Association so Pat had Cougar influence in his life from the
git-go. Pat had a normal growing-up time in Seattle. One thing he really
enjoyed from a young age was baseball. He played in some of the very first
Little League games in the Seattle area and later first base and outfield for
his high school team. He graduated from Seattle Prep in 1957 and then had to
decide where to attend college. Two things swayed him towards Pullman and WSU.
One, he wanted to go somewhere away from Seattle and two, his father influenced
him to a great extent.
So
he enrolled at WSU in the fall of 1957 not knowing anyone there and not knowing
what he wanted to study. He solved the “not knowing anyone bit” by going
through rush and joining the Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity. As to the “what to
study” he took general courses and got a degree in Social Science in 1962. He
noted that famous WSU Alum Edward R. Murrow was the commencement speaker that
year.
Upon his graduation, Uncle Sam was waiting for him and he was drafted
into the army and spent his next two years at Fort Richardson in Alaska. Pat
relates that two notable events occurred while he was at Fort Richardson. First
was the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and the second was the massive
9.2 Good Friday Alaska earthquake in 1964. The buildings shook and the ground
trembled for several minutes, “seemingly an eternity,” Pat said. “In a flash my
life passed before my eyes.”
After
discharge from the army he went back to Seattle and looked for work. He said
the job market was tough. He worked a couple of months in construction and then
three months as a railroad switchman. These five months of manual labor plus
some thinking about his future, convinced him he needed to go back to school and
get more of a specialty degree and he settled on journalism. His father was a
journalist and Pat saw that his father liked what he was doing so Pat
re-enrolled at WSU in January 1965 majoring in Communications. He graduated in
1966 and armed with that degree and the work experiences noted earlier, got the
job with the Eugene
Register-Guard.
We’re
now back to 3 ½ years in Eugene and his pondering about “Job vs Location” when
he gets that call from the other Pat. That “other Pat” is Pat Patterson, WSU’s Alumni
Director. The Alumni Office had been one of Pat Caraher’s beats while working
on the Evergreen Staff as a student, so he knew Pat Patterson and more
importantly, Pat Patterson remembered him and thus the call.
Pat
Patterson said the Alumni Office was going to start a new alumni publication and wondered if Pat was interested in interviewing
for the editor’s job. The words “Job vs Location” flashed through his mind and
he quickly said, “Yes.” He interviewed, got the job and became the Founding,
and as it turned out, the only Editor of the new publication, which was given
the name HillTopics, for its 31 year
run at WSU.
He
moved to Pullman in 1969 and began his 35 year career at WSU, for 31 years as Hilltopics editor and four more as
Co-Editor of the Washington State
University magazine, which was the successor magazine to Hilltopics. Pat said his 31 years as Hilltopics editor were very interesting
and satisfying because he got to know people from all aspects of WSU life. His
list of friends, acquaintances, and interviewees reads like a Who’s-Who of all
the movers and shakers at WSU during those years. The job was also a bit
taxing. Ten issues a year (later cut back to 8) with 24 pages each issue.
That’s a lot if interviewing.
Pat’s
working companions in University Relations had nothing but good to say about
him. A few quotes: “I never saw him angry,” “Wow, could that man write,” “He
was totally dedicated,” “All Around,” “Always Inquisitive,” “Trusted Friend.”
It
was during those early years back at WSU that he met Laurie (Busch) Caraher, his wife also a
Cougar (’75 Music Education). They met in church. Laurie was from a Pullman
family which was also a golfing family. Pat said their first date was playing
golf on the old WSU nine hole golf course. They got married in 1976. Pat and Laurie have three daughters, Maureen,
Kelly and Theresa all of whom graduated from WSU and who have produced four
grandchildren for Grandpa Pat to spoil.
Family members, including a couple of
grandkids, described Pat as follows: “People Person,” “Selfless,” “Loyal,” “Consistent,” “Faithful,” “Lifetime Volunteer,”
“Pullman’s Mayor,” “Lots of Friends,” “Likes to Read.” One elaborated on her
choices by saying, “Selfless because he always puts others before himself and
Loyal because he is loyal to his family, friends, community, faith/church and
his beloved Cougs.”
Because
of his work on HillTopics and other
WSU and community activities, Pat received the WSU Alumni Achievement Award in
1995.
Pat’s
hobbies and activities apart from work were and are quite varied: International
and domestic travel, reading books, newspapers and obituaries. Obituaries
because each one is a vignette of a person’s life, birth to death. He also
likes golfing and exercising, particularly walking with Laurie and friends, and
all Cougar sports, especially baseball which he calls his “love and vice.”
He
was a Rotary Club member for 42 years. Rotary’s motto of “Service above Self”
certainly epitomizes who Pat is. Also, for the last 14 years Pat has served as
a Volunteer Chaplain at Pullman Regional Hospital. And he can’t stop writing.
In 2016 he started writing random stories of his memories and reflections. The
titles of two so far are: “Three Broken Teeth and Two Broken Legs,” and “Flying
Kites and Building Sand Castles.” I told Pat he should combine these stories in
book form and title it “Pat-Topics.”
So,
back in Pullman at WSU, Pat got both “Location” and “Job satisfaction”, a wife
and family and many friends. Pat said he loved his job and his wife, “Best
thing that ever happened to me,” he said, meaning his wife not the job. But
maybe the job was second best.
The story is posted at these blogs:
-News
for CougGroup
http://newsforcouggroup.blogspot.com/2018/05/manyknow-pullmans-pat-caraher-but-dont.html
http://newsforcouggroup.blogspot.com/2018/05/manyknow-pullmans-pat-caraher-but-dont.html
-Pullman
:: Cup of the Palouse
https://pullman-cupofpalouse.blogspot.com/2018/05/pat-topics-story-about-pullmans-pat.html
https://pullman-cupofpalouse.blogspot.com/2018/05/pat-topics-story-about-pullmans-pat.html
Also, see WSU news release 9/7/2004, 'Long-time Cougar Writer, Editor Patrick Caraher to Retire'
