Crabshell Alliance was a VERY different kind of political action group for me. Up until 1975, my political experience had involved bouncing around the antiwar movement in Madison, Wisconsin, most of which was DIY, male-dominated, and raucous. But in Crabshell Alliance, I found myself part of a well-organized effort with clear strategies, effective tactics, and women in leadership. Vastly different.
This was not a small project. The wall was over 15 feet tall by 15 feet wide. “I sketched out the image to create an outline,” said Joe, “and then I created a color chart showing where the various blues, grays and whites would go.” This made it easier to paint, and easier to get other folks to help him. “I would recruit passersby to come pick up a brush and help me paint,” said Joe. “The entire mural took about a week and a half to finish.”
LLyn De Danaan, Anna Schlecht and I got together for an interview at LLyn’s house, but it quickly morphed into a boisterous reminiscence of the time that Nozama Construction, the newly minted construction collective, came to build an addition on her house to accommodate her growing family. Forty-five years later, this two-and-a-half-story addition, affectionately referred to as a tower by LLyn, still stands.
They said, “Hey Laura May, there’s a grocery store for sale across the street.” I said, “What do I want a grocery store for?” Still, [I] went to look at the store. We looked in the windows, and boy was it a dive. It was a cigarette and beer stop. The drunks would stumble between Ben Moore’s and the Angelus Hotel. But still, it was a functional grocery store. Andrew had the background of being raised in [the grocery] business. His mother had a place in Hurley, Wisconsin, close to the shore of Lake Superior since 1940. And I had the experience of being the manager of a Food Co-op. So this vacant grocery store presented a great opportunity . . . I thought this was a really privileged position to be in, maintaining this old corner grocery store in the heart of town.
That day I was walking through a trashed-out industrial part of the old downtown . . . I saw a rusty fire escape going up the side of one of the rough concrete buildings. I climbed the stairs, noticing how one tread was hanging loose, up to the landing where I could sit and have a look around. I immediately saw that this was a bitchin’ spot. You could see a long way in all directions. Across the street there was a row of sheds or warehouses hanging over the water. Much of the corrugated metal siding had been ripped off, and it was obvious that most of those buildings had not been used in a long time.
LLyn, former dean, and Don, Gay Center representative, share perspectives on their early days at Evergreen and the how they came to sit across the table from each other mediating a gay rights debacle.
So Jim dug out the per-customer debt projections for each PUD and electrical co-op. We got a list of all the newspapers in the state. We created a “letter to the editor” form letter, inserted the PUD/co-op name and the per-customer debt figure, and sent it off to the newspaper nearest to each utility. An early crack in the WPPSS nuclear power edifice came at a WPPSS meeting. Someone from a rural electrical co-op stood up, waving around a letter to the editor that showed the massive debt load for each of their members, and expressed grave concerns about the WPPSS nuclear power plan.
I remember the initial 1978 meeting of the group that became FERN (Fair Electric Rates Now). We had reserved a meeting room at the old Olympia Community Center for a gathering of folks concerned about Puget Power’s investments in nuclear power, and the potential Puget Power rate impacts. The rhythm of kids playing basketball on the nearby courts accompanied our discussion.
This list of historic highlights and walking tour map was conceived and produced by LLyn De Danaan and Carol McKinley. Many others contributed. It is offered in fond memory of and with thanks to some iconic folks who walked to the edge for us: Pat Shively, Kay Engel, Jocelyn Dohm, Ed Stanley, Cal Anderson, Mike Cook, Tom Howdeshell, and Marge Brown.
Michael Moore was in the center of the flourishing music scene in the 1960s and beyond. He was a founding member of the jazz/Latin/funk band called Obrador. Michael passed away shortly after this interview in 2023. He was 76.