It's off and running nicely now, due to the good offices of Stewart Hendrickson and Bob Nelson (with me always ready to kibbitz from over here in the corner), but the Pacific Northwest Folklore Society was first organized by a bunch of folk music enthusiasts back in 1953-54. Not one of them was a Communist, although I know there were a couple of Democrats and two Quakers involved.

We held several local events at the time, including a street fair (blocked off a street in Seattle's University District—with local businesses cooperating and with all the necessary city permits), complete with people selling their homemade jewelry and weaving and such (folk art) in a sidewalk bazaar, with a folk concert in the evening with Walt Robertson singing, the Scandia Folk Dance Group dancing up a storm, and Bill and Marty Holm (Bill was an anthropologist, and his wife, Marty, was Native American) performing authentic Pacific Northwest Native American dances.

Auspicious beginning!

Then we had an opportunity to sponsor a concert by Pete Seeger. And we pounced on it! He sang a great concert in the auditorium of Wesley House (Methodist Student Organization), with a legendary party after the concert, swapping songs with Pete (he wanted to hear some of the local singers), that went until 4:00 a.m. Fantastic!

And although during his concert, he did sing a song about Jay Gould's daughter and hoboes riding the rails, I can't recall Pete singing anything controversial in the whole two and a half hour concert. The Goofing Off Suite? An exploding frog? Nothing subversive that I could detect.

Subsequently, several of the organizers of the PNWFS—me included—were visited by FBI agents (men in grey suits). Full of questions about the PNWFS and the people I knew who were involved, none of which had anything to do with what the PNWFS was really all about. The most "Leftist" person I knew was a Democratic precinct committeeman….

It frightened off people, such as those who worked for Boeing and needed a security clearance, and essentially killed the fledgling organization. It had the stench of the Inquisition about it, with people looking furtively over their shoulders and crossing theselves.

But—thank you, Stewart!! We're back on track.

Don Firth

P. S. Aaron Copeland, the quintessential American composer who wrote "A Lincoln Portrait" was suspected of being a Communist? And Larry Adler? Who knows the amount of damage he could have done to Truth, Justice, and the American Way with his harmonica…?

P. P. S. To the tune of The Volga Boatman:   
             "Par-a-NOI-a (grunt), par-a-NOI-a (GRUNT)…."