Walt Crowley | |
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.jpg) Walt Crowley, 1968 | |
| Born | Walter Charles Crowley (1947-06-20)June 20, 1947 Ferndale, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | September 21, 2007(2007-09-21) (aged 60) Seattle,Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Historian, journalist, community activist |
| Spouse | Marie McCaffrey (m. 1982) |
Walter Charles Crowley (June 20, 1947 – September 21, 2007) was an American historian and activist fromWashington state. He first entered the public sphere inSeattle through his involvement with the social and political movements of the 1960s, especially theunderground press. He later became more widely known as a local television personality and for his pioneering work as a local historian, including co-creating the websiteHistoryLink.org,[1] which he considered to be his crowning achievement.[2]
Born inFerndale, Michigan, the only child of engineer and inventor Walter A. Crowley and Violet King (now Kilvinger), Walt lived inRoyal Oak, Michigan,Flint, Michigan, theWashington, D.C. area andConnecticut until 1961, when his father was hired byBoeing and moved toSeattle.[1]
Crowley graduated from Seattle'sNathan Hale High School, winning state honors as an artist, and briefly worked at Boeing as an illustrator. Entering theUniversity of Washington, he became active in local socialist, antiwar, and civil rights campaigns. In 1967, he joinedPaul Dorpat'sunderground newspaperHelix as a cartoonist, writer, and editor. The following year he ran for theWashington State House of Representatives on thePeace & Freedom Party ticket.[1]
Facing possible conscription in 1967, the 20-year-old Crowley described his politics first as "Marxist-Leninist withTrotskyist overtones, flavored with a pinch ofChe Guevara, a dash ofCarmichael and a tablespoon ofHo Chi Minh," before qualifying that his "political disposition [was] far more eclectic" than a description like that could account for, and ending a somewhat lengthy statement with, "you do not understand my philosophy because when you find out where it's at, it will already have moved."[3]
Crowley's service as mediator between the Seattle officials, local leaders, and the community'sstreet people led to the founding of a youth hostel and social service agency called theU District Center, which Crowley directed from 1970 to 1972. He later worked for the SeattleModel Cities Program and then for the city itself in various planning and outreach roles.
He returned to private industry in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for theSeattle City Council.[1] He had a variety of civic involvements afterwards, including serving as president of the venerable civic organizationAllied Arts.
In 1980, Crowley formed Crowley Associates, which publishes guides to Seattle and provides services for many local political campaigns. He was a columnist and commentator in many local forums, most notably having a seven-year run in a "Point-Counterpoint" format with conservativeJohn Carlson onKIRO television.[1]
Crowley wrote several histories of local civic institutions, from the eliteRainier Club to the blue-collarBlue Moon Tavern. He led the campaign to save the Blue Moon from demolition, ran the task force that drafted new laws to restore historicDowntown theaters, and served on numerous other civic projects.[1]
In 1997, Crowley discussed preparing a Seattle/King County historical encyclopedia for the 2001 sesquicentennial of theDenny Party. His wife Marie suggested publishing the encyclopedia on the Internet.[1] Alongside Paul Dorpat they incorporatedHistory Ink on November 10, 1997, with seed money from Priscilla "Patsy" Collins, by birth a member of Seattle's wealthy and prominent Bullitt family.[4]
The prototype of HistoryLink.org debuted on May 1, 1998, and attracted additional funding for a formal launch in 1999. In 2003 HistoryLink.org expanded its content to coverWashington state history. Meanwhile, History Ink continues, focusing on the production of history books.[1]
Crowley and HistoryLink.org have won many awards, including
Walt Crowley married graphic designer and business associate Marie McCaffrey in 1982.[1]
In 2005, Crowley was diagnosed withlaryngeal cancer and fought it with characteristic stubbornness; the night before hislarynx was removed, he held a "Famous Last (Natural) Words" party.[5] He died atVirginia Mason Hospital in Seattle on September 21, 2007, at the age of 60, after suffering a stroke following an operation for the cancer.[6]
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