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Washington Women’s Heritage Project records, 1900-2000 
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections 
Diana Burgess 
January 16, 1998 
Cassette 2, Side 2 
 
 
Allison Card  00:04 
Okay. 
 
Diana Burgess  00:04 
But that-- 
 
Allison Card  00:06 
--the article-- 
 
Diana Burgess  00:07 
--yeah. That year, the article was talking about James finally on a winning team, and he was 
saying he's-- last winning team he was on was when he was 12 years old. But see, they didn't 
elaborate, because James used to be a quarterback for what they call, I guess they call it the Pee-
Wee or Peanut League, the, you know, the young people Pop Warner League, and he led his 
team to city championship, so they were undefeated, but see, they didn't-- of course, they're not 
going to talk about that because he's coaching. So now, what can I say? He wants to coach 
somewhere, some college, some school, some PAC 10, who knows? I don't know, but I think the 
sky's the limit. He could really go as far as he wants. It's good. I'm happy for him.  
 
Allison Card  01:09 
Now, what about your other son? 
 
Diana Burgess  01:12 
Mark. Mark-- God, I wish I could get him out of Washington. I think if I could get Mark out of 
Washington, he would blossom. I really do. It's a depressing place. It really is. Unless, of course, 
you know, you were born with that silver spoon in your mouth. He has a good job. It's manual 
labor. Mark's a very bright young man. So I know if he-- and he gets into those computers that-- 
excuse me. I know if he came out here, he could go to school and, you know, get-- well, hey, the 
sky would be the limit. 
 
Allison Card  01:56 
How far in school did he go?  
 
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Diana Burgess  01:57 
He graduated.  
 
Allison Card  01:57 
He graduated high school. 
 
Diana Burgess  01:57 
Yeah. Mm-hmm. I always said, Do you want to go? [imitating Mark] No, I don't wanna go to 
college, you know. But James, ever since James was in grade school, he said, Yeah, I'm going to 
go to college. He just claimed that. Well, he's-- he did it. He has definitely did it. But Mark, I 
was thankful that he graduated from high school. But, um, I don't know. I think if I could get him 
out to visit, you know, like in the summer?  
 
Allison Card  01:57 
Yeah. 
 
Diana Burgess  01:57 
He-- I think he would be impressed with it.  
 
Allison Card  01:57 
Has he ever come out here to visit?  
 
Diana Burgess  02:06 
He's never been here. And James said, You know if we got-- James always said, Mom, we got to 
get Mark out of Washington, Pennsylvania. He said, You know, if he came out here, you know, 
he would love it, because Mark loves to fish. I mean, he get saltwater fish, freshwater fish, you 
know. I mean, we got it all right here. 
 
Allison Card  02:59 
How much contact do you have with him? 
 
Diana Burgess  03:03 
Not a lot. I talk more to my daughter-in-law and my granddaughters, because he's so-- he's so 
grumpy. That's just how he always was. If he's on the computer, it's like six words: Yeah, okay. 
Nice talking to you. I love you, and pass the phone on, you know. That's just how he is. 
 
Allison Card  03:27 
Does he have much contact with the rest of your family that's in Washington, Pennsylvania?  
 
Diana Burgess  03:54 
No. 
 
Allison Card  03:54 
No? 
 
Diana Burgess  03:27 
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He always says, when, like, I'm on [inaudible], [imitating Mark] Gee, I never see none of your 
sisters, only in the grocery stores. Mighty fine-- and he's sarcastic, Mighty funny that day, I see 
more of them now, since you're here, you know. They never been to my house until you came 
home, you know, things like that. And I just let it die. I don't make waves. So, it's sad.  
 
Allison Card  03:55 
Yeah, that was really sad.  
 
Diana Burgess  03:57 
It's a weird-- it's a strange family [laughs] that I've come from, as you probably see. But, I don't 
know what else. Gosh, Allison-- 
 
Allison Card  04:14 
--is there anything else do you want to talk about tonight? Or should we just resume this? 
 
Diana Burgess  04:19 
Yeah, let's see what we've got. And so, when are we going to meet again? 