History Of Captain Kidds

Seafair 1960 had an Italian flavor. Frank Daverso, owner of a string of Italian restaurants replaced Irish sea captain Joe Reardon as Davy Jones and Louie Antonelli followed another Irish sailor Bill Durfee in the role of Captain Kidd. — Among Captain Antonelli’s more notable achievements was admitting Bing Crosby to the order as an honorary Seafair Pirate.

Art was well known to the pirates long before he joined up. He started out by getting the pirate’s Christmas party for children hosted by the naval reserve station on Lake Union and never looked back. “The Chief” came to the pirates later than most, after retiring from the navy. But he was also more durable than most. The Logbook records; “As the college boys fall by the wayside, the Chief runs the parades with the best of them,” Active almost to the last, at 83 with two hearing aids and a walker Art was still to be found riding the Duck waving the pirate flag through the parades.

Weaver Dial was a one and only, a unique character. A pirate for over forty years Weaver was the uncrowned king of the Seafair Pirates. For years he was recording secretary of the Ale & Quail Society and no pirate meeting was complete without it’s Weaver Dial speech. Whenever the media needed a feature on the Seafair Pirates it was to Weaver they went. His ready wit and personal knowledge of the pirate’s history made him a natural— To sum up Weaver Dial in a few words is a task to be avoided by any editor. Weaver’s influence on the Seafair Pirates cannot be overstated, From the club emblem right down to the hand painted pants still worn by a few lucky pirates. Weaver’s hand is still seen in every aspect of the club.

“Burbon” Jack, everyone asks how I came to be known by that nickname. Well, the Seafair Pirates were coming home from the Spokane Lilac Festival in 1960 or ‘61, we were on the train and at about one o’clock they closed the bar. Now some of the boys were still wanting to drink, and I had a big coat on and in my coat I had about a case of pints of bourbon. So, as they would run out of something to drink, I would pull out another pint. The next week at the meeting Weaver was reading the minutes and he called me “Burbon” Jack in recounting the story to the members. Weaver pinned it on me. Weaver gave a lot of the pirates their nicknames. That’s how the name started.

All Seafairs have little stories. — Back in the 60's the Seafair Pirates were making a lot of appearances at various kick-offs.

One of the big local contests was the "KING'S CROWN.” KING TV did this promotion for a number of years. The year 1964 the Seafair pirates led by yours truly "Captain Bloody Barney" were invited to KING TV for the Kick off of the KING'S CROWN. After seeing the crown on TV it was then buried some place in the greater Seattle area with only one person knowing the exact location.

Clues were put out each day and the person finding the buried treasure won $1550.00.

After about 10 days the pirates were invited to Stan Boreson's show. We had a rehearsal and they gave me, "Bloody Barney," this big chest. On TV they would ask me what was in the chest and I was to say 1550 peas, one for each dollar the lucky person would win that found the crown. But old Bloody Barney being in a funny mood when they asked him what was in the big chest he was holding said what else, it was the CROWN. Well KING TV didn't have that 60 second cutoff as they do today and that remark went out on live TV and caused considerable havoc. In a matter of minutes the lobby of KING TV was mobbed with people that wanted to rip that big chest open and retrieve the crown. At the same time in the studio Mark Wayne and Stan Boreson were trying to put a spin on what I had said. I had to go back on live TV and tell Greater Seattle audience that I only had 1550 peas in the chest and for bonus there would be two clues as to where the KING'S CROWN was buried. Needless to say that was our last live appearance on KING TV. The crown was later found on upper Queen Anne Hill I believe.

What could have been very disastrous for KING TV turned out to be just another story, an "almost". So many stories and so much fun.

More than anything I’ve come to value the friendships I’ve made in the pirates. A few years back I was in the hospital, my back was broken and my future was quite uncertain. The pirates came in and visited me all the time. They entertained the nurses and gave me hope that I was going to get out of the hospital. Now I find myself ill again and once more the friends I’ve made in the pirates are there for me. I can’t explain the camaraderie in the pirates. We are so diverse by age and occupation. Being a Seafair Pirate is just something either have or you don’t. Many are called but few are chosen.

Seafair 1966 went so smoothly, I can’t remember any outstanding moments. We were on time everywhere we went and there were no screw-ups. I believe this was mainly because Jack Langeloh had done such a good job of lining up a doable schedule, and an outstanding group of candidates who worked their butts off.

However, it all hit the fan, later in Portland when, at the beginning of the Rose Parade when the Portland parade marshal told me to start the Pirates ahead of the Seattle float and King Neptune yelled at me to have the Pirates follow the float. I decided that because it was Portland’s parade, we would lead the float as they had asked. A few blocks later I moved the troops behind the float for the remainder of the parade, as King 'Nutsy' was turning purple with rage. As you probably know, after we returned to Seattle. the newspapers read "Seafair Pirates Dissolved". This resulted in our membership directing me to write the letter (which appears in the log) to Greater Seattle. A copy of the letter was hand delivered to each member of G.S. at their regularly scheduled monthly breakfast, and the Pirates went on to bigger and better things. and soon were requested to return to Greater Seattle. - ALOHA, Jim Sawyer

" I'll bet you guys have a lot of fun. " If I heard it once I've heard it 10,000 times. and my answer was always the same.." You bet! "

1962... Seattle was having a Worlds Fair, Viet Nam was practically unheard of, and Curly Haviland was sponsoring me into the Seattle Seafair Pirates. That was the beginning of a wonderful relationship, for Curly was my sponsor and my friend. And it was the beginning of a wonderful odyssey for I was entering the extraordinary world of the Seattle Seafair Pirates. Six years later, after a tough campaign, the members elected me their Captain Kidd for 1968. An honor I hold in high regard.

Could 30 years have gone by this fast? Too fast. There are to many of my comrades that I haven't talked to lately, to many of my close friends that I have not seen for to long of a time... to many of my friends that I will never again have an opportunity to see or talk to. For you find in the final analysis it's the Pirates, those wonderful guys you share these experiences with that are what it's all about.


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