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Emperor of the Bottom of the Sea

BY DC SMITH

"By the grace of the great god Poseidon, his majesty, Davy Jones, sovereign emperor of the bottom of the sea, rightful monarch of all the lands between the tides, patron of pirates and guardian of all lost mariners, herewith creates thee; Lord Sir Foul-Weather. " So spoke the heralds of the terrible Davy Jones on that fateful afternoon in August 1950.

The new-made lord was up until then simply weatherman Harry Downs of KING TV. Now with indignity heaped upon honor, Davy Jones' faithful servants, the invincible Seafair Pirates arrayed Sir Foul-Weather in his lordly regalia; a newspaper pirate hat and a 20 pound salmon. Then the scurvy knaves went on to force the hapless weather guesser to predict rain for the following summery day.

Strange to say, the sky opened and it poured the next day.

That was how most Seattleites first learned of the awesome power of Davy Jones, voice of the great god Poseidon on Earth, who in his righteous fury called forth his lieutenant Captain Kidd with all the sea-going villains at his command and dispatched them from their watery graves to punish that upstart mortal the so called "King" Neptune, who dared to hold a festival of the sea without his divine blessings. So it was that in short order the mighty Seafair Pirates conquered the Emerald City by the Sea and set up their master Davy Jones as its rightful ruler.

Of course once the heat of battle had passed, the rum and plunder were passed around, tempers cooled. Then, beneath the grim jolly roger, in the company of Neptune's tempting daughters, the Seafair Princesses, differences were forgot and the celebrations continued as before. 

Originally Davy Jones was the leader of the Seafair Pirates. The first Davy, Don Clark Sr., was one of the founding Members of the order and with his pirate partner Ralph Ryder, as the evil Kidd, he led his crew to glory during that first Seafair.

Eventually though, it was decided that his imperial majesty's onetime lieutenant, Captain Kidd, should command the Pirates while the office of Davy Jones should be used to honor Seattle's community leaders. These non-Members still share with Captain Kidd the duties of master of ceremonies during the Pirate's public appearances, as well as being invited to participate in the Seafair Pirate's various activities during their year in office.

Davy Jones, now slightly demoted in temporal power, was none the less elevated to his present exulted post of; "all knowing, all seeing divine oracle of the great god Poseidon, master of everything that sinks or floats. "

Now concerned primarily with matters supernatural, the Davy's chief duty, since that fateful summer's day in 1950, has been to intercede with the god of the sea to prevent Seattle's famous rain from spoiling the nefarious adventures of the Seafair Pirates. 

In the recent past test pilots, radio personalities, businessmen, and honored Senior Members have in their turn donned the divine mantle.

Now in 1994, Bill Wallace is about to pick up Poseidon's trident. Bill is a local business man and associate of Bob Odman this year's Captain. Since early May Bill has worked hard to prepare himself for his office. So, give him a big Seafair wave as the Pirates go by, that's him, high up, there next to the Captain, in Moby Duck's second best seat.

HONORED ROLL of the DAVY JONES

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