Whiskey and Wiretaps: A Letter to the Editor

In its December 2025 issue, UW Magazine published an article titled Whiskey and Wiretaps, discussing my recent book, Elise Olmstead, the Myth and Mystery of Seattle’s “Queen of the Bootleggers” and my journey in researching and writing it. The genesis for the article was a Letter to the Editor that I wrote last July, telling the UW Husky faithful that one of their own, alum Patricia McFarlane, ’47, ’68, had just turned 100 years old. I assumed that most of the Magazine’s readers would not recognize her as the only daughter of Roy and Elise Olmstead, Seattle’s “Bootlegging Royalty” of the 1920s, so I told her story in the context of her bootlegging family history. 

Patricia was born just months before the landmark “Whispering Wires” bootlegging trial against her mother and father began. Her early years of separation from her parents while the trial progressed certainly took its toll on her, but she did not let being the child of two notorious figures define her. That’s what I wanted the UW alumni to know – Patricia McFarlane was a resilient, independent woman and she continues to live a wonderful life and even reads the UW Magazine. My Letter to the Editor turned out to be far too long to publish, but the Magazine’s Editor thought it would make a good feature article for the December issue. 

While I’m grateful for the Magazine’s generous coverage of my book and my journey in writing it, I still wanted to share my original Letter to the Editor about Patricia, a truly remarkable woman and UW alum. I am especially grateful for my friendship with her and the McFarlane family:

To the Editor:

On July 8th, [2025] University of Washington alum Patricia Olmstead McFarlane (UW ‘47, ‘68) celebrated her 100th birthday. She is the only daughter of Roy and Elise Olmstead, Seattle’s “Bootlegging Royalty.”  Patricia was born in the tumult of the prosecution of both her father and her mother for violating Prohibition laws. Her mother was the only woman charged and she was tried along with almost 90 of Roy’s male co-conspirators. Elise was acquitted. However, largely on the basis of the first wiretap evidence ever used in a criminal trial, Roy and most of the others were convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to prison.  

For most of the trial, Patricia was in care of a nurse, and when Roy’s appeals were finally exhausted and he commenced serving his prison sentence on McNeil Island, Patricia was placed in the care of an older couple so that Elise could go to work. Needs must. This was the Depression, and Elise had no choice but to work while Roy was in jail. Once he served his four year term, they were reunited, living in a small apartment in Seattle, a far cry from their Mount Baker mansion and high lifestyle. Elise worked tirelessly to secure a pardon from President Roosevelt for Roy so he could regain his footing. It came through on Christmas Eve 1934.  

Once Roy was released and the family reunited, Elise threw herself into the Seattle Opera, her music, and the local school board and parent-teacher’s association for Seattle’s Summit School where Patricia attended. Roy became a member of the Christian Science church and devoted his life to helping former prisoners and alcoholics. The Depression ended, World War II started, and Roy and Elise were living two different lives, nothing like in those halcyon days. Their marriage ended and they divorced in 1943. 

While the first 18 years of Patricia’s life were anything but stable, she entered the University of Washington in 1943 excited for her future. She earned her Bachelor of Art degree in 1947. She later went back to school, enrolling in the UW School of Social Work, and earned her second degree in 1968. Along the way, she married and had three wonderful sons who, together with their families, helped Patricia blow out the candles on her cake at her 100th birthday party in California where she now lives.

Patricia is sharp as ever and talks about her famous parents candidly, if a little bemused by all the interest and attention. She appeared in Part 2 of Ken Burn’s Prohibition documentary in 2011 to tell tales of her father and his role as Seattle’s “Gentleman Bootlegger.” And she corresponded for over a year with author Philip Metcalfe, graciously sharing her memories of her father for his 2007 book “Whispering Wires: The Tragic Tale of an American Bootlegger.”  

But her relationship with her mother was more fraught. Elise was an enigmatic woman to say the least with much of her past shrouded in secrecy. My 2024 book, Elise Olmstead, the Myth and Mystery of Seattle’s “Queen of the Bootleggers,” provided Patricia answers to many of the questions about Elise’s past. She told me it explained a lot and brought some closure for her.

UW Magazine published a series of stories in its September 1992 edition about hope and recovery after life in prison. Patricia could relate to the story, both through her own social work and her personal family experience, so she wrote a letter to the editor praising the work. As Patricia noted in her letter, she knew first hand, as those articles showed, that the road to recovery is hard for everyone, not just the released prisoner. She’s a proud Husky with 100 years of wisdom. UW can be proud of its distinguished alum! Happy 100th Birthday, Patricia!