Anonymous : 01 - Freshman / Sophomore Wars (ff/m)
Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2020 10:27 pm
Anonymous' stories
01 - Freshman / Sophomore Wars
Story index at the bottom
By Anonymous
Sunday, December 7th 2003 - 01:53:10 PM
Freshman / Sophomore Wars
There was great excitement on the day of registration of Freshmen. Students who were freshmen were required to wear a little beanie cap. A great many were complete strangers to Seattle having come from all parts of the state.
There was an old tradition that the Freshmen and Sophomores were to have a "tie-up" on the last night before school started. I don't know where or when the deal originated. After dark on a big field a large fire was lit. All Sophomores and all Freshmen gathered in two armies facing each other about 50 feet apart. A great crowd of spectators surrounded the 2 armies.
All soldiers were supplied with pieces of light rope. The object was for the freshmen and sophomores to attempt to tie each other up. A period of 30 minutes was allowed. The side which tied up the most men won. The sophomores were handicapped in that they had considerably less men. They tried to overcome this handicap as follows:
During the entire day groups of sophomores with cars drove about, kidnapping freshmen, identified by their beanies. These were hauled to an old deserted factory building, whose windows were boarded over. The doors were securely locked. As the prisoners were hauled in they were securely tied and laid in rows on the floor. Guards watched so that none could escape. The whole matter was kept as secret as possible.
Word was passed among all the freshmen that in order to concentrate them together, all should meet at the King St. RR station at a given hour in the evening. From there streetcars were provided without charge. They were packed full and the roofs covered as well. The plan was to get everyone to the U at the correct time for the fight.
In the meantime in some way word had gotten out that about 100 freshmen were tied up in the old building. Plans were changed and the street cars directed to the building. The streetcar drivers were told to wait while a great mob got out and proceeded to the prison. I remember excitement as we marched quietly toward the building. It was quite dark and not a sound was heard. I doubted that there was anyone there. We found the doors locked, but a great gang of us, seeing a long street car rail, picked it up and using it as a battering ram, soon smashed the door down.
Then all hell broke loose. As we crowded into the building we were attacked by a gang of sophomores. We outnumbered them, stormed upstairs and found all the prisoners securely tied. It did not take long to release them. All worked well except that one boy fell over a banister and broke his leg.
We now all rushed back, boarded the street cars and proceeded to the U. In the meantime every freshman had been given a bachelor's button which he clipped to the back of his pants. This was to identify the freshmen to each other.
The two armies were lined up facing each other and when all was ready, a shot was fired. I will never forget the sight of the 2 walls of men approaching each other faster and faster. In a few seconds there was the collision, and the ground was covered with rolling, squirming, kicking bodies, struggling to tie each other up. I called on some boys to charge with me and we all leaped on a big football player. He fought like mad but we overpowered him. I took a hammerlock on his arm, and he yelled and cursed me, an threatened to get me sometime. I told him to quit struggling or I would break his arm. We got him well tied, dragged him aside and attacked again. There was a little trouble when we found some sophomores crawling about the tied ones and cutting them loose. At the end of ½ hour the freshmen were declared the winners and everyone went home.
There was some criticism about breaking the boy's leg, and it was decided that there would be no more tieups.
__________________________________________________________________________
Anonymous' stories
__________________________________________________________________________
Index of all stories in the "Archive for Everyone" section
01 - Freshman / Sophomore Wars
Story index at the bottom
By Anonymous
Sunday, December 7th 2003 - 01:53:10 PM
Freshman / Sophomore Wars
There was great excitement on the day of registration of Freshmen. Students who were freshmen were required to wear a little beanie cap. A great many were complete strangers to Seattle having come from all parts of the state.
There was an old tradition that the Freshmen and Sophomores were to have a "tie-up" on the last night before school started. I don't know where or when the deal originated. After dark on a big field a large fire was lit. All Sophomores and all Freshmen gathered in two armies facing each other about 50 feet apart. A great crowd of spectators surrounded the 2 armies.
All soldiers were supplied with pieces of light rope. The object was for the freshmen and sophomores to attempt to tie each other up. A period of 30 minutes was allowed. The side which tied up the most men won. The sophomores were handicapped in that they had considerably less men. They tried to overcome this handicap as follows:
During the entire day groups of sophomores with cars drove about, kidnapping freshmen, identified by their beanies. These were hauled to an old deserted factory building, whose windows were boarded over. The doors were securely locked. As the prisoners were hauled in they were securely tied and laid in rows on the floor. Guards watched so that none could escape. The whole matter was kept as secret as possible.
Word was passed among all the freshmen that in order to concentrate them together, all should meet at the King St. RR station at a given hour in the evening. From there streetcars were provided without charge. They were packed full and the roofs covered as well. The plan was to get everyone to the U at the correct time for the fight.
In the meantime in some way word had gotten out that about 100 freshmen were tied up in the old building. Plans were changed and the street cars directed to the building. The streetcar drivers were told to wait while a great mob got out and proceeded to the prison. I remember excitement as we marched quietly toward the building. It was quite dark and not a sound was heard. I doubted that there was anyone there. We found the doors locked, but a great gang of us, seeing a long street car rail, picked it up and using it as a battering ram, soon smashed the door down.
Then all hell broke loose. As we crowded into the building we were attacked by a gang of sophomores. We outnumbered them, stormed upstairs and found all the prisoners securely tied. It did not take long to release them. All worked well except that one boy fell over a banister and broke his leg.
We now all rushed back, boarded the street cars and proceeded to the U. In the meantime every freshman had been given a bachelor's button which he clipped to the back of his pants. This was to identify the freshmen to each other.
The two armies were lined up facing each other and when all was ready, a shot was fired. I will never forget the sight of the 2 walls of men approaching each other faster and faster. In a few seconds there was the collision, and the ground was covered with rolling, squirming, kicking bodies, struggling to tie each other up. I called on some boys to charge with me and we all leaped on a big football player. He fought like mad but we overpowered him. I took a hammerlock on his arm, and he yelled and cursed me, an threatened to get me sometime. I told him to quit struggling or I would break his arm. We got him well tied, dragged him aside and attacked again. There was a little trouble when we found some sophomores crawling about the tied ones and cutting them loose. At the end of ½ hour the freshmen were declared the winners and everyone went home.
There was some criticism about breaking the boy's leg, and it was decided that there would be no more tieups.
__________________________________________________________________________
Anonymous' stories
__________________________________________________________________________
Index of all stories in the "Archive for Everyone" section