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Norman DeValois "Norm" Dicks in his favorite UW windbreaker, 2015. Rick Dahms photo[/caption]
A profile of former congressman Norm Dicks is the latest chapter in Legacy Washington’s new project, “1968: The Year that Rocked Washington.” The profile — part of an exhibit that will open Sept. 13 at the State Capitol — is now online at the project homepage.
Dicks came of age at the University of Washington. And when he departed with a law degree in 1968, he landed a job as an aide to Warren G. Magnuson, the powerful U.S. Senator. “Maggie,” a UW alum, tended to surround himself with young Huskies.
Dicks was always a fast learner. He was a standout on the UW football team and an all-conference scholar. Football taught him teamwork; campaigning taught him that all politics is local. Elected to the ASUW Board of Control, he witnessed a sea change in student expectations and rights.
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Norm Dicks as a standout linebacker for UW in the early '60s. From UW Archives[/caption]
“The UW in 1968 was a microcosm of everything that was happening around the world in a year almost without parallel in modern history,” he remembers.
Dicks went on to serve 36 years in Congress, only once winning re-election with less than 58 percent of the vote. Pundits called him “Washington’s third senator.”
Thank you to the sponsors of Legacy Washington’s 1968 Exhibit: Capitol City Press, The McGregor Company, the University of Washington, and the Association of Washington Businesses.
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