Find of the Month

Each month the Archives highlights items of interest from its collections.

• Fan letter
• Bowling alleys
• Frog jumping
• Bubbleator
• 1920 rapid transit plan
• Black Panthers
• Seattle Pilots baseball
• Potlatch riot
• Anti-war demonstrations
• Quarantines, swill milk, and nuisance laundries
• Astronauts visit Seattle
• Seattle Rumor Center
• Women's Protective Division
• Elvis Presley
• Swimsuit regulations
• Prohibition
• 1960s miscellany
• Pete Seeger
• The embezzling comptroller
• Cows in Ballard
• The Beatles

Fan letter
The following letter was received by the Mayor's Office in 1971:

Note: Chamberlain appeared in Richard II at the Seattle Rep that year. It is not known whether the student (or the mayor) ever met him.

Bowling alleys
The loss of bowling alleys has recently created some gloom in Seattle, but in earlier years, the building of such facilities often caused alarm. A 1950 petition from Queen Anne residents protesting plans to build an alley in their neighborhood cited parking problems, "noise and racket," and depreciation of property values. It also claimed that "such a bowling center contributes nothing to the best interests of the community" and would be "certain to become a hang-out for juveniles." Additionally, the petition objected to the expected presence of pinball machines, concessions, "and other devices designed to extract money from the public."

One citizen had a more specific complaint. In a 1945 letter, he described how he "was subject to the demands of the bowling alley to rent their shoes… The result was Athlete's Foot." After describing his attempts to fight off the disease and keep it from spreading to his family, he went on, "You may wonder why I am writing such a detailed report on this… I am wondering if you can't in some way…stop this awful practice of renting out shoes." He said the alley manager claimed they sterilized the shoes three times a week.

The city's Chief Sanitation Inspector believed the writer's complaint to be "well founded" and suggested that bowling alleys, skating rinks, and costume shops be required to disinfect footwear between each rental. An ordinance to this effect was passed exactly a month after the citizen wrote his letter.

Frog jumping
In 1975, Seattle and Snohomish jointly sponsored a frog in the Calaveras County (Calif.) frog jumping contest. In a letter to the contest manager, Mayor Uhlman spun a tall tale about how frog jumping originated in Washington when lumberjacks would use high-jumping frogs attached to ropes to bring down tall trees. He claimed that Snohomish was currently required to alert the Canadian government before their town's frog-jumping contest "to assure the safe return of any who might inadvertently cross the international boundary."

The mayor further described the superiority of Washington's amphibians, asserting that frog jockeys "unfamiliar with the particular characteristics of our local breed have been known to suffer bruised or broken ribs from standing too close at the time of the jump." He finished the letter with a request: "If ABC's Wide World of Sports covers the event again this year, our frog is not to be requested to grant any interview to Howard Cosell. Our local Humane Society has very strict rules about such things."

Radio station KWYZ financed the frog's entry, and station employee Randy Thaut served as travel escort and frog jockey. A naming contest sponsored by the station resulted in the chosen frog being christened Lord Sno-Sea the 123rd. In a letter to Thaut, a mayoral assistant signed off with, "If you don't win, forget about coming back."

A mayoral assistant worked with the Woodland Park Zoo amphibian curator to prepare a box in which the frog would be flown to California. The curator also suggested a diet of crickets and earthworms "to insure maintenance of the frog's stamina and physical agility."

The file does not include the contest results, and a query to the current Calaveras County frog-jumping contest staff elicited no historical results. If Lord Sno-Sea the 123rd proved the superiority of Washington frogs over those from California, the proof is unfortunately lost to history.

Bubbleator
A file in Mayor Uhlman's records details a campaign to save the Bubbleator at Seattle Center. The Bubbleator was a distinctive glass elevator originally installed as part of the Coliseum's "World of Tomorrow" exhibit for the 1962 World's Fair. It was moved to the Food Circus (now the Center House) after the fair, but in 1973 was scheduled to be removed as part of a major renovation of the building.

Hundreds of citizens wrote letters and signed petitions in protest. One letter began, "For Heaven's sake what is this we hear about doing away with our 'one and only' much loved Bubbleator!" One writer described it as "one of those things which creates the unique charm of the Center." Another asked, "How many other cities have bubbleators? Let's keep Seattle on the map!" An Everett resident contended that "if San Francisco had it they would have post cards of it and really play it up." A postcard from a child read, "I'm only 5 years old and have only ridden in the bubbleator 2 times - please don't have it removed - I want to ride it some more." And a Seattle man directed his ire at the mayor, writing, "I've shaked [sic] your hand a lot of times and NOW I want to shake the rest of you!"

The outcry caused city leaders to rethink their plans. A rather unenthusiastic memo from the Seattle Center's director outlined possible options for changing the architectural plans. A mayoral staffer attached his own analysis, suggesting that a change order should be put in, as the Bubbleator "is unique in the city and… preserves some sense of continuity between the present facility and the remodeling." The mayor attached a note saying, "Agree! Implement!"

The Bubbleator's reprieve was only temporary. In the 1980s it was removed for good, and was sold to a man who used it as a greenhouse in his yard. The operator's chair was donated to MOHAI in 2005.

1920 rapid transit plan
A 1920 report lays out a plan for rapid transit in Seattle that includes subways, elevated trains, and "motor busses." Written jointly by the city engineer, superintendent of public utilities, and superintendent of railways, the document proposes a rapid transit system "suited to present needs, but planned for future enlargement."

The authors envisioned a subway running beneath Third Avenue from Virginia to Yesler, coming to the surface near the railroad stations - essentially the route followed by the present-day tunnel. Trains going up to Capitol Hill would follow a line up Pine Street that would be alternately underground and elevated, ending at 15th Avenue East. An elevated line would serve Pigeon Point in West Seattle, while surface rapid transit would connect with the existing streetcar service at stations in Fremont, lower Queen Anne, and the University District.

Additionally, the report proposed installing escalators between First and Fourth Avenues on selected streets. The authors believed that "the construction of such escalators in the business district of Seattle will tend very greatly to develop this district and to do away with the present handicap occasioned by the steep grades between our main north and south streets. We have no doubt that once in use they will find themselves immediately in favor."

The report estimates the savings of this system over the current streetcar system to be $1.2 million per year. An integral part of the plan was the removal of streetcar tracks downtown, thereby creating "an enormous benefit …The savings in time for trucks, delivery wagons and automobiles has a very real cash value." As for the expected expenditure to build the system, the authors claim that "the interest and depreciation charge on such cost will probably not exceed one-half of the total saving in the cost of maintenance and operation," but do not give an actual cost estimate.

Black Panthers
In early 1970, Mayor Uhlman turned down a federal request for cooperation in a raid on the local Black Panther headquarters (which ended up not taking place). He expressed concern over "Gestapo-type tactics" and argued that violent raids as had recently occurred in other cities only served to radicalize more people. His actions made national headlines, and he received letters from citizens from across the country.

Responding to one critic, the mayor wrote, "The Panthers, as any other group, will be held responsible for the legality of all of their activities in Seattle, but will not be harassed or treated prejudicially by the City… However, there exists already enough racial fear and mistrust on both sides without creating more through unwarranted investigations and other activities."

In 1971, a clerk for attorney Johnnie Cochran wrote to Uhlman to ask him to testify for the defense in a case against thirteen Panthers in Los Angeles. Uhlman declined to do so, saying that the incident "has strained relations between local and federal law enforcement agencies" and that he would prefer not to aggravate those tensions.

Seattle Pilots baseball
Seattle's first experience with Major League Baseball was brief and tumultuous. The Seattle Pilots played the 1969 season in Sick's Stadium, a minor league park that was built in 1938. The stadium needed extensive renovations, and construction continued right up until Opening Day. However, the American League still declared the stadium to be "inadequate" less than two months later. The facility's problems and the owners' shaky finances led to the purchase of the team by Bud Selig, who moved them to Wisconsin. The players went to spring training as the Seattle Pilots but were the Milwaukee Brewers by the time the season started - a move so sudden that their uniforms weren't ready for their first game.

In the mid-1960s, while the city was working to attract a team, the mayor received correspondence from citizens eager to make Seattle a "Big League Baseball city." One writer castigated Mayor Braman for not working harder to get a franchise, saying, "I cannot understand your apparent apathetic attitude in not AGGRESSIVELY getting behind this movement." Another argued that the economic benefits were too great to ignore, asking, "How can we afford NOT to have a major league stadium and team?" However, another writer expressed skepticism about what would happen after the initial enthusiasm died down, fearing that Seattle "could well have a white elephant on its hands."

When it became apparent that Seattle was in danger of losing the team, citizens began writing in with solutions. One suggested that the franchise issue stock, believing that local residents would buy in ("100,000 loyal baseball fans like myself at $35.00 equals 3½ million dollars"). Another recommended a special election be held to authorize King County to buy the team. Eddie Carlson, who was involved with the World's Fair, tried to put together a community ownership plan. None of these ideas worked out, but the city's lawsuit against the American League eventually resulted in the new Mariners franchise.

Potlatch riot
Clerk File 52924 illustrates the aftermath of an anti-Socialist riot during the Potlatch Festival in 1913. Spurred by an incendiary article in the Seattle Daily Times, a large group of soldiers, sailors, and civilians roamed the downtown area on a Friday night ransacking any property they identified as "red" (along with a mission that was the victim of mistaken identity).

Mayor Cotterill assumed emergency control over the police department and issued orders banning street meetings and closing saloons until the following Monday to protect against "a renewal of disturbance of public order." He also accused the Times of willfully inciting the riot through its "exaggerated, false, and perverted publications," and directed the police to stop all distribution of the paper for two days unless the proofs were first approved by the mayor.

Police did indeed attempt to stop an edition of the Times from being distributed, but publisher Alden Blethen went to court and got the order overturned. A huge headline in the next issue of the newspaper trumpeted, "Cotterill attempts to suppress Times; Tries to shift blame for last night's riots." The paper also recapped the events of the previous night in detail, clearly in sympathy with the actions of the mob. Toward the end of the article, the writer declared that "the sailors were entirely orderly last night with the exception of their attack on the reds."

Anti-war demonstrations
A day after the shootings at Kent State University in 1970, more than 7,000 demonstrators blocked Interstate 5 in a march from the UW campus, and protests continued in the city for days. These incidents prompted numerous letters to Mayor Uhlman, the majority of them critical of both the "rabble rousers" and the mayor himself.

A petition signed by almost 250 citizens stated, "We the undersigned feel that the tragedy at Kent State University was the FULL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEMONSTRATORS." One letter writer wrote with outrage about "allowing our Flag to be worn by these dirty people down our streets." Another wanted to know "just how long MOB RULE is going to override law and order… If you didn't stop the cars from driving on [the] Interstate during a demonstration, there would probably be only one such demonstration."

The mayor's decision to fly the flag at half mast to memorialize the Kent State students generated some critical letters as well. One writer suggested that the flag be lowered for all deaths resulting from traffic accidents, falls, and so on, saying that "all of these occasions for sorrow are fully as valid as the deaths of the students, and probably more so." The man also stated his belief that "much of the disturbance is instigated by behind-the-scenes maneuvering of enemies of our nation."

Not all the correspondence criticized the mayor's actions. One letter stated that "Seattle is fortunate to have had you as mayor during the past weeks of anti-war demonstrations." Seventeen employees of Bank & Office Interiors also signed a letter stating their appreciation for "the restraint, as well as the calmness, the Seattle Police Department has shown" during the protests.

Quarantines, swill milk, and nuisance laundries
The city's early General Files cover several topics relating to public health:

• In 1894, a hotel owner filed a claim for damages after his hotel was quarantined for 19 days during an epidemic. He listed the loss of pillows, blankets, and mattresses that were destroyed or taken to the "Pest House," and also claimed expenses for rent, licenses, and lost lodging income. The Claims Committee recommended he be reimbursed for the destroyed bedding but not for the last three items, as "all persons engaged in this business assume the risk of epidemics."


• Over 100 Seattleites signed a petition in 1891 asking that the sale of "swill milk" - milk from cows that were fed discarded malt from breweries - be prohibited in the city. The petitioners claimed that "it is a known fact that the milk produced from such feed is very injurious and conducive to diseases." Health Officer G.H. Sparling appended a note to the petition stating that swill milk was "the cause of a great number of deaths from cholera."


• An 1890 letter to the mayor and common council complained of a "disagreeable nuisance" on Yesler Avenue. A sanitary officer subsequently inspected the property and discovered that the issue was "slops flowing from a Chinese Wash House." He explained that the laundry, along with several others in the city, had no sewerage connections, causing its "slops and filth" to run out over the ground and under the sidewalk. He stated that all such laundries constituted "a Public Nuisance and a menace to the health of the neighbors," but offered no solution to their runoff problem.

Astronauts visit Seattle
A file in Mayor Uhlman's records documents the 1970 visit to Seattle of the three Apollo 12 astronauts, Charles Conrad, Alan Bean, and Richard Gordon. The Apollo 12 mission was the United States' second manned lunar landing, and occurred during a time of high national excitement about the space program. Gordon was from Seattle, which gave the visit additional meaning for local residents.

The visit brought out the musical talents of local residents, showing how the space program had captured the nation's imagination. A Seattle man rewrote the lyrics of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" with "new space age lyrics" that began:

      We've been riding on a moon ship, all the live long day
      We've been flying on a moon ship, along the Milky Way

The man suggested the song could be used as part of the ceremonies, and that perhaps the "moon men" would like copies of the lyrics.

Additionally, a Bothell woman had written and self-published sheet music for a "march song" entitled "You're the Pride of the Human Race." The lyrics read, in part: "We are proud of ev'ry one for a job well done/That has made our space dream come true." She sent a copy to the mayor and apparently was able to present one to the astronauts in person as well.

Seattle Rumor Center
Files in the archives describe the establishment and activities of the Seattle Rumor Center. Modeled on similar programs in cities like Chicago, the center provided "a central source of accurate and reliable information on subjects of concern to the citizens of Seattle and affecting the public peace, safety and welfare."

The Rumor Center opened on an experimental basis in 1968; by 1969, it was open from 10:00 am to midnight seven days a week. In addition to fielding calls and serving as a rumor clearinghouse (one "minor incident" at the Seafair Torchlight Parade led to over 200 calls to the center), the staff also produced a biweekly rumor report, documenting everything from fights at Meany Middle School to buzz about an upcoming "rumble" between motorcycle gangs.

In a 1969 letter to the mayor, the Rumor Central General Secretary sounded off on the kind of damage his center worked to prevent: "Recently, a group of drivers started what they considered a humorous rumor. It spread throughout a portion of the City until a fire station phoned asking us for verification. In this case, we were able to trace the course of the rumor to its source and to explain what harm this 'fun' had caused."

The center's annual report for 1971 described how local events affected the types of rumors that were circulating. School desegregation plans prompted a rumor that there would be mandatory busing of 4-year-olds, and the Boeing layoff led to a number of rumors related to the potential cancellation of unemployment benefits.

The work of the Rumor Center did not go unnoticed. The mayor praised them for their "fine work," and the Superintendent of Schools wrote, "We believe that on a number of occasions serious trouble has been avoided because of the splendid service rendered the community by the Center."

Women's Protective Division
In the early part of the 20th century, the Police Department had a Women's Protective Division that specifically looked after the welfare of women and children. Annual reports of the Division give a flavor of the kinds of issues officers dealt with.

The dedication of Division officers to their work is apparent in the reports. One 1916 case where a man was accused of taking advantage of a minor girl was successfully prosecuted based on shredded letters found in the girl's room. It took "hours of painstaking effort" to piece the missives together, but the reconstructed evidence led the man to plead guilty.

As part of their protective services, officers investigated "soft drink parlors," skating rinks ("frequented, to a large extent, by sailors and young girls"), and other places of amusement. The 1920 report contended that "moving picture shows" and their "false ethics" were increasing juvenile delinquency, and suggested banning the exhibition of any films that depicted a crime being committed.

Elvis Presley
Several Clerk Files from 1956 contain letters from teenagers (all girls) protesting the city's refusal to allow Elvis Presley the use of the Civic Auditorium, apparently over concern about potential unruly behavior by youth attending the concert.

The arguments took several tacks, with some following the fairness angle. One girl wrote, "What did we teen-agers ever do to deserve this? Nothing!…Why have we teen-agers of Seattle been refused when teen-agers all over the U.S. have not?"

Many contended that Seattle's youth were being condemned based on what those in other cities had done. An Elvis Fan Club member asked, "Are we the kids in the other towns? No we are not… Then why are you afraid we'll start something?" Another girl attempted to reassure the Council that "so many kids want a chance to see him, that they wouldn't let a riot start."

Others defended the music itself. A girl from Renton argued, "The reason some people don't like him is usually because he has a different way of singing, and people don't like anything that's different." A Seattle teen wrote, "Elvis has a good 'beat' to his music. It's different. It isn't this drawn out mushy slow music." Another argued, "Think of when the Charleston was the craze and the teen-agers were crazy over Sinatra!"

However, one girl conveyed a different message than she intended when she wrote, "I want Elvis Presley to come to Seattle because we have never had a Rock and Roll riot in Seattle before, and I think it would really be fun."

Swimsuit regulations
A 1934 folder in a Parks Department collection highlights the changing standards for proper beach attire. Seattle was apparently behind other parts of the country in terms of what styles of suits were allowed on city beaches. A Bon Marche vice president complained to the Park Board that "practically all the bathing suits in demand from a fashion standpoint would be barred." The sporting goods manager from the University Book Store contended that men wanted to wear trunks (rather than one-piece suits with tops), and since trunks were not permitted on city beaches, they would "avoid the beaches and risk their lives swimming in places that are dangerous or at least unprotected."

He also argued that scantier swimwear was good "from a hygienic standpoint…because we have so little sunshine." In a similar vein, the Bon Marche vice president claimed that "no one will deny that acquiring a good coat of tan…has much to do with one's well being."

These and other petitions persuaded the Park Board to look at their policy. A representative from Olympia Knitting Mills appeared at a May 1934 board meeting, along with several models, to show the new styles of suits. The board decided to allow men to wear topless trunks, while women were allowed for the first time to wear white suits (as long as they were wool). Two-piece suits were still barred, however; the P-I reported that the board decided "a strip of bare anatomy between trunks and tops…isn't quite decent." The paper quoted board president Samuel Martin as saying, "Ah, ha! Now we're modern at last!"

Prohibition
The archives holds almost twenty leather-bound volumes detailing search warrants and court cases related to the illegal possession of alcohol during Prohibition. Seized liquor varied from amounts as small as half a pint to thousands of bottles. Officers also confiscated stills, mash, funnels, and jugs.

1960s miscellany
Three items of note discovered in one day in the 1969 Mayor's Office records, proving that the sixties were alive and well in Seattle:

• A 45-rpm record of Johnny Nash singing "Love and Peace," sent by the record company as a way to help prevent race riots. The accompanying letter expressed concern about the "long, hot summers" and the "onslaught of hate and prejudice which leads to riots and breakdown of law and order." Copies of the record were apparently sent to mayors, governors, and members of Congress, with the suggestion that the song be made the theme of the summer.


• A newspaper photo of Mayor Braman with both legs in casts after a skiing accident. The clipping was sent to the mayor by an elderly citizen, accompanied by a Polaroid photo of the citizen in an upper-body cast. The man did not send a letter with the photos, but did type a list of his injuries on the back of the Polaroid. The mayor wrote a letter to the man wishing him a speedy recovery.


• Promotional materials from the Seattle Visitors Bureau displaying their groovy official logo: a colorful Yellow Submarine-style design incorporating the slogan "The Swinging Gateway." (London wasn't too worried about the competition.)

Pete Seeger
A 1965 file in Mayor Dorm Braman's records contains dozens of letters from citizens protesting a scheduled Opera House performance by Pete Seeger. Many of the writers asked the mayor to enforce Ordinance 91981, which prohibited "the rental or use of any city-owned buildings…to any subversive organization, or member thereof."

Letters cited Seeger as "an identified Communist" and noted that "he edits the magazine 'Sing Out' where Communist Party songs appear." One writer described his performances as "a large dosage of Red propaganda interspersed with bad music," while another warned that "communism uses the arts - including music perhaps most of all - to destroy us." Several writers were concerned that he would take profits from his Seattle concert and donate them to the Communist Party.

Many of the correspondents had apparently written first to the Superintendent of Buildings, Fred McCoy. McCoy replied with a form letter stating that he had reviewed the program and determined it was not subversive. One citizen took exception to his judgment, asking, "Have you been trained in the methods of Communist psychological warfare and brainwashing?"

A response letter from the mayor explains that the city did not have legal justification for canceling the performance, as no government agency would definitively label Seeger as being "dedicated to the destruction of our form of government by force." But Braman was proud that as a result of the city not making a public fuss, "the attendance at his show was very small compared to others."

The embezzling comptroller
The archives holds a set of audits and reports relating to the alleged embezzlement of city funds around the turn of the last century. A 1907 audit discovered that over $68,000 in city funds were missing. Also missing was the former Comptroller, John Riplinger, who served two terms from 1902 to 1906.

The city attempted to locate Riplinger using Pinkerton detectives. When he was eventually found in Honduras, the City Treasurer worked with the State Department to negotiate an extradition treaty. Within a month of the treaty's enactment, however, Riplinger "voluntarily" returned to Seattle, claiming the timing was coincidental. (Meanwhile, a "Lee Christmas" had offered to kidnap the fugitive for trial.)

Riplinger was charged with nine counts of larceny by embezzlement. The prosecutor decided to try the strongest charge first - a case where the state was able to prove both the delivery and the cashing of a check by Riplinger, and where a City Council member witnessed him carrying the cash out of the bank.

Riplinger's defense was based on the claim that the cashed check, while initially written to the city, was later offered as a personal loan. Riplinger could not account for why he had not come forth with this explanation two years before when he was first accused.

The jury deliberated for only 30 minutes before finding him not guilty. The prosecutor, stunned by the verdict, said he still planned to try the other eight counts, and threatened to prosecute Riplinger for perjury. However, he later dropped the charges, admitting "there would be little hope of securing a conviction." Riplinger, in the free and clear, immediately made plans to return to his banana business in Honduras.

Cows in Ballard
At the turn of the last century, the City of Ballard was starting to become more urbanized but still retained many aspects of rural life. In 1905, a law was passed restricting where cattle could graze, prompting citizens to write to the mayor and city council to comment on the new limitations. Dueling petitions found in the Ballard City Clerk's files show some of the conflict that resulted from the town's development.

One petition pleaded that the city government "give we people owning cows a chance to live, as well as those that do not own such." The signers claimed that by "pushing the boundary of herd law back so far, many will be obliged to sell their cows which in many cases is over half of their living."

However, another petition claimed that the law didn't go far enough and that the herding limits should be extended further. The petitioners state, "We consider it an imposition to have 25 or 30 cows herded right in our door yard and each cow with a bell on. They also herd on the Bay View school grounds where the children have to play, and annoy and make the Teachers nervous. Also those herd boys use all kinds of profane and obscene language in the presence of women who come near them."

The Beatles
A 1964 file in Mayor Dorm Braman's records contains a number of letters from teenage girls in a high state of excitement about the Beatles' impending Seattle concert. They ask the mayor for favors ranging from front row seats ("I promise you, I will not scream") to advice on what the band members might like as gifts (the mayor claimed ignorance about their preferences) to a declaration of an official Seattle Beatles Day ("I have talked to several of my friends about this and they think it's the greatest idea since cornflakes"). One girl asked that she and three of her friends be allowed to officially greet the Beatles when they arrived, while another was hoping to escort the band up to the top of the Space Needle after hours.

The lone letter from a citizen over the age of 18 was from a Mrs. Pinkham, who wanted to be sure taxpayer money wasn't paying for expenses associated with the visit, which she claimed "upset the whole city."