Tuesday, March 8, 2011

1952 Seattle Street Fight



Ah yes; the good old-fashioned neighborhood street fight.
Back in the day when there were no lawsuits and few guns or knives, this is how grudges were handled.
I know, I had my share.

Stan Stapp, publisher of a small local paper shot this photo at North 42nd Street near Ashworth Avenue North. The back story appeared in Paul Dorpat's "Now & Then" column via the Pacific Northwest Magazine of The Seattle Times.

The fight took place two blocks from Lincoln High School in Wallingford, and Stapp published the photo and a summary of the incident in "The North Central Outlook".
Stapp wrote that Wallingford's juvenile officer Walter J. Hauan arrived and settled the dispute:
"Hauan's fatherly manner of approach has helped clear things up for thousands of local youth in the past."

4 comments:

Sean C. Ledig said...

I miss those days, too.

Charlie Reese, a syndicated columnist, once suggested that we should legalize dueling as a way of dealing with the loose talk, slander and lawsuits that plague modern society.

Sounds good to me.

Unknown said...

DR, isn't that you throwing the left hook in the background?

I agree - those were probably the days.

Dojo Rat said...

Hmm.
1952?
That must be my Dad...

Don't HIt Me! said...

That's not a streetfight, that's a scene from Footloose. Gay as the day is long.