1955 ❖ YACHT CLUB STOLEN CANNON IS FOUND

 

CHAOS members 
(Cannon Hunters Association of Seattle)
and a "posse" from the Seattle Yacht Club
pulled the club's old Chinese pirate cannon 
from a wooded spot on Mercer Island, WA.
Photo dated 29 April 1955
L-R: Donald H. Clark, Head Hunter of CHAOS,
John Harvey, Vice Admiral of the Day; 
Dean Parker, Admiral of the Day, and 
John Soderberg, yacht club commodore.
Click image to enlarge.
Original photo from the archives of 
the Saltwater People Historical Society©

"During the night of 22 September 1954, the Seattle Yacht Club's old Chinese pirate cannon was uprooted from concrete and spirited away. Until this week, nobody saw brass nor carriage of it.
        At 11:00 o'clock on Tuesday forenoon, I received a hot-barrel tip delivered by telephone with enough vagueness to make the business properly mysterious. A cannon had been discovered in the wilds of Mercer Island.        
        This was an exclusive tip, shared by no more than 20 or 30 other persons.
        Everyone in on the secret was so excited that it was decided to put off recovery of the weapon until Thursday. Cannons are heavy, and it was better to gain strength first, with lunch at the Yacht Club.
        At noon yesterday, the club dining room was jammed with members who waited patiently to be surprised by the glad news.
        John Soderberg, club commodore, had taken steps to recover the gun officially. Around Seattle that means CHAOS.
        CHAOS stands for "Cannon Hunters Association of Seattle," a club devoted to finding old cannons.
        Donald H. Clark, director of forest research at the U of WA, is the Head Hunter. He was present, along with a member of his administrative counsel, Stuart Whitehouse. In CHAOS, the councilmen are known as Great Guns.
        Following the announcement about the cannon, Dr. Dean Parker, as Admiral of the Day, and John Harvey, as Vice Admiral, took charge. Both were dressed in full regalia, with plumes, swords, and medals.
        The admirals called for a posse of volunteers and rapidly named off who they were to be.
        Head Hunter Clark made it clear that CHAOS acted merely in an advisory capacity due to its experience in recovering 400-pound cannons. It wasn't expected to lift.
        CHAOS, Clark pointed out was especially experienced in recovering this particular cannon, which also was stolen in 1942 and returned in 1952 after an anonymous tip to the Cannon Hunters.
        Last time the cannon was found in Schmitz Park. This time a surveyor, Lincoln Hales had found it while running a line through the woods near the south end of Mercer Island.
        Hales was not available for comment. We were told he had left town, and in his absence had furnished the Yacht Club with a map.
        The map was drawn in the best Treasure Island tradition, so many paces east, etc. It definitely hadn't been lettered by an engineer.
        Engineers and surveyors can't disguise their writing. If they were penning a love letter, they'd block-print it.
        Anyway, whoever made the map, it led out the East Mercer Road, up onto the hill and south on 88th Avenue Southeast.
        The cavalcade stopped on the wooded road and the Admirals of the Day began to pace off the route according to instructions.
        Unfortunately, the build-up was rather spoiled by somebody who charged right into the woods and shouted; "Here it is."
        Head Hunter Clark intended to do some detective work but some 20 assistant detectives stomped down all the evidence.
        The recovery of the cannon couldn't have been more timely. It will be back at the Seattle Yacht Club just in time for the ceremonies a week from tomorrow, opening the yachting season."

Words by Byron Fish
Published by The Seattle Times
29 April 1955.