History as told by Art Karelsen

I got acquainted with them because I was stationed at the Naval Reserve training center on Lake Union. I used to go up to old Odman's at Denny's and Dexter. Most of the original Pirates were in the habit of going there on Thursday and Friday afternoons. And that is how I became acquainted. This was on Christmas of 1953 and they were looking for a place to throw a party for their kids. It just so happened that we had our big party at the Reserve Training Center already, but the big tree was still up, the village, and all the decorations. So they asked me, as I was on pretty friendly terms at the time. I said, 'Well, I'll talk with the skipper and see if I can get you in down there. ' I talked to my commanding officer and he said 'Sure.' The next day I informed them. Gee, they were delighted and showed up with kids, ice cream, goodies. And the kids had a ball.

I had the job of outfitting the reserve recruits so I had a lot of used hats and provided each child with a sailor hat.

After that I was welcome with them and whenever they had a part. But I didn't go on any operations because I didn't have a costume and I wasn't invited. Eventually they asked me to come to their meetings.

At that point they met at a member's home. They had a keg of beer and then the host's wife would cook up some beans or chili, So one night when I was there I said, 'Heck, I want to be a dues paying member'-I had been an honorary one. And in those days it was only 10 bucks per annum. So I came up with the 10 bucks and was in. I had no probation-I was an immediate member. So then I got a costume and went on operations with them, Tom Chase was my sponsor.

I'm a retired chief petty officer. My first name and I'm proud of it, but it is a hard one-is Adolphus. It is my grandfather's family name, and then there is Gustavus Adolphus, the fighting king of the Norwegians. I picked up the nickname of Art in 1919, but I prefer Chief. In fact, I prefer it to Mr, Karelsen. I was Captain Kidd in 1961. We attended the opening ceremonies of the World's Fair. We mostly just added color. We had the Duck there, but our participation was mostly just being there-pinning some of the gals, and so on. The clowns were there too. But we didn't have the usual hamming it up. In the early years we were pretty rowdy. One of our first Captain Kidds went into the bar and started hacking up the mahogany bar. Then we got word from Greater Seattle to kind of cool it.

They used to pick up the gals, see. Throw them over their shoulder. Well, Greater Seattle got threatened with a court summons because some of the ladies claimed to have had a miscarriage because of the handling, so we were cautioned not to pick up the gals. But these were the early years, I'm talking about 30 years ago.

Of course, every Pirate is supposed to have a gimmick. Some had a buzzer in their hands, but that was soon frowned on, too. The criticism was not so much by the public but by the brass in Greater Seattle. One year King Neptune thought our 'I've been had' pin was too suggestive, even though they are asked for by nuns.

In many cases a person can make an' obscene image out of something that wasn't intended. It's in their mind, not in the image. See, you pin the gal, then you give her a smooch, usually on the cheek. We have a rule; no hugs, no ardent play.

We work the crowd. And in the early days they played too rough. Some Pirates had pistols with blanks in them but that got too dangerous so that was knocked off. Only the captain can carry a gun now.

But finally the brass had us expelled for a few years. We used to sit up there in our hotel rooms at the Hungerford with tear' in our eyes as the parade went by because we weren't in it. We had great support in the letters to the editor about it. And Greater Seattle couldn't stop us in the community parades because they wanted us. But their two parades wouldn't allow us in. Eventually our rapport with the public was so good that they wanted to know why the Pirates weren't there, and eventually Greater Seattle invited us to return to the fold, and naturally we accepted.

We have more requests than we can accommodate. We get invited to grand openings, community events, den mothers ask us. We've even been asked to weddings to kidnap the bride and hold her for ransom.

We were over in Bellevue. At a certain time we grabbed the bride and took her into the next room. She was dancing the first dance with her groom when we did it. He had been pre-warned about it, but the rest of the guests were surprised - though they did like our antics and songs. I forget now what the ransom was - it wasn't money. I think he had something to perform. Another time, I remember this movie actress who was known for her busty measurements. Anyhow, she was in town, I forget her name but she was another Dolly Parton. The ceremonies were held at the old Italia House out on Lake Union, on Eastlake. It was in the evening and we were invited there just as a publicity stunt, see. They had a camera crew there and the Pirates and she had to get down on her knees and plead for her life, see. That was just for publicity. But we don't go unless we get invited-and the invitation confirmed in writing. Because sometimes if you accept, you really can't do it. So it has to go through channels as we called it in the Navy. It is brought up at the meeting.

The current captain heads the operations. But if he can't make it because of his job, then a past captain takes over. Well, I made it to every operation because I was retired, and I believe I was the only one who did.

My Davy Jones was Bob Murray, and I'm very proud of that fact. He was an Irishman and he loved to party, and drink, and kiss the girls. So Bob Murray fit right in. He was also very generous. He always treated at his establishment or would take us out somewhere. But he fell off the Duck on our way somewhere and I think sprained an ankle or something.

Before Class H licenses, they had private clubs where you would drink liquor. You couldn't get drinks in restaurants then. The members of the 4th estate -that's the newspaper guys- they used to have a group that rented a room in the old Town and Country Club on 8th Avenue before they put the freeway through. And they were incorporated so they could get their license to drink there. They were called the Ale and Quail Society. But when the Class H law went through, they closed shop. But the Pirates were around, and they were invited to their drinking place. And when they folded, we took over their name in Olympia. So that is how the Seafair Pirates came to own the name Seafair.


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