I learned from DUer Blue Jessamine that an old friend, Catherine Baker-Knoll, passed
away this month after battling cancer. Typically, Catherine never even told me she was
sick.
Catherine was involved in Pennsylvania Democratic politics for decades, making an unsuccessful
run for governor in the 1990s, and ending up as the first woman Lt. Governor of PA under the
current governor, Ed Rendell. An early supporter of Hillary, she was a dedicated Democrat
and friend of the working class. When the Hershey Chocolate factory decided to close and
move to Mexico, Catherine spent a half hour on the phone with me to mourn not the lost revenue,
but the lost jobs of her fellow Pennsylvanians. She never lost her distinctive Pittsburgh
accent.
Catherine was always a people person, and very loyal to her friends. When my wife and I
celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, she sent us a big plaque in honor, and at our New
Year's gathering, she herded my daughter and Wes Clark together with me for pictures, Sure
enough, a month later, they were in the mail to us here in Germany. She never forgot anyone.
I never took her up on her standing invitation to visit her in the Statehouse in Harrisburg,
but I know she had meant it, and now I feel like a jerk for never having found the time. No
matter HOW busy she was, Catherine always found the time. When the Freedom Toast had their
first Washington live show, she drove down from Harrisburg to see it with me, and drove back
up there the same night.
Pennsylvania lost their Lt. Governor. I lost a friend, and so did every Democrat in her state.
She was 78. I never thought of her as old--she always seemed to have more energy than I did.
RIP a great Democrat.