"Uncle" Charley Cox, Chief William Nabors and Mayor H.E. Peck; personalities in the struggle for and against annexation.

Charley Cox was a vocal member of the Ballard City Council during the annexation debate.

By reports in the local paper of the time, Councilman Cox (sometimes referred to as "Uncle" in the local press) was incensed by what he saw as corruption in the local administration, and collusion between the saloon owners, the police department and the mayor.

The saloon owners, he charged, were thumbing their noses at the efforts of the defenders of the public good who wanted to control the evils of liquor and crime along Ballard Avenue. He and his fellow councilmen spent much of their energy in late 1906 and early 1907 passing new ordinances, such as those that shortened the hours that saloons could be opened and raised the liquor license fee from $600 to $1000.

Newly appointed Ballard Police Chief William Nabors gave every indication that he would seize the reins of his department with a firm hand. In the Seattle Star of Jan. 5, 1907, it was reported that Chief Nabors gave notice that no gambling would be allowed in the city, and that the sale of liquor to minors would cease. He further gave orders that "...the women who have been making their living around the saloons will have to pack their goods, and if they are not out of town by Monday night, the police will arrest and prosecute them to the full extent of the law."

As the new City Council passed stricter ordinances regarding saloon business, such as earlier closing hours, Chief Nabors ordered his men to enforce these restrictions. But when Sheriff Smith from Seattle came out to Ballard and instructed for its own good that Ballard should enforce the Seattle rules, Chief Nabors refused. This resulted in a nose-to-nose confrontation with Councilman Cox, who ordered him to comply and accused him and his department of being in the pocket of the saloon owners. Chief Nabors again refused, stating that he would enforce the laws that were on the books of the City of Ballard, but for instructions beyond that he could look only to the Mayor.

Mayor H.E. Peck, Ballard attorney, was elected as the 17th mayor of the City of Ballard in 1906. Certainly he knew even as he took the oath of office that it was unlikely his office would last to the end of the next year. He was not particularly popular through his short term in office. When the City Council passed the ordinance nearly doubling the liquor license fees, he vetoed it-and the City Council overrode his veto. When Chief Nabors was attacked verbally for refusing to comply with City Council requests, and accused of running a corrupt department, he defended the Chief on the basis of separation of authority between the Council and the Mayor's office. Perhaps more than anyone, H.E. Peck was holding a position between the powerful levers that were poised to pry the structure of the community apart.

Rev. Elmer E. Thompson was the pastor of the Ballard Presbyterian Church during the annexation debates. This church was one of the earliest founded in Ballard, starting back in 1889 with Sunday school classes held at one of the sawmill boarding houses. Rev. Thompson was outspoken on issues of morality and public welfare. After the city council and mayoral election in October 1906 he was quoted as saying, "...two saloons dictated the last election...our city is wide open. Women throng to our saloons and boys are but little restrained."

Even after annexation was approved the following spring, Rev. Thompson spoke out cautioning the community not to expect any easy answers. In a sermon, which was reprinted in the Ballard News of May 17, 1907, he stated, "The change will only be in name, and we will have our own problems, only they will be more complicated. It is not a case of jumping out of the frying pan into the pasture or creek, but out of the frying pan into the fire. We will have, as part of Greater Seattle, our peculiar problems. Being a residence section, and becoming more so, yet we will have a saloon element in our midst and in our politics; and, true to its nature, it will be the disturbing and destroying force, ever strong to do evil, never doing right..."

Bill McLaughlin and Officer Steen on the day AFTER annexation. We all know that on May 29, 1907, the City of Seattle officially took possession of what had been the City of Ballard. But according to reports in the local press, there was a shortage of policemen to cover the Ballard community now that it was part of Seattle. None of the Ballard officers had yet completed the civil service exams to joint the Seattle PD, and arrangements had not yet been made to provide officers from other precincts. So it happened that on the first day that Ballard officially belonged to the City of Seattle, it fell to one Officer Steen to patrol the entire area, focusing-of course-on Ballard Avenue.

Now, Officer Steen was well versed in the Seattle City ordinances governing the saloon trade, as well as those regarding keeping sidewalks clear for foot traffic. So when he happened upon the Log Cabin Saloon, whose front entrance was decorated to attract potential customers with the portions of hewn cedar logs extending out onto the public walkway in front of the entrance, he went inside to have a word with the proprietor.

William McLaughlin, who had a reputation as a rough and tough saloon owner of the most notorious Ballard tradition, objected to Officer Steen's observation that he was in violation of Seattle City Ordinance. As it was reported, the discussion became heated, and led to blows being exchanged between the two gentlemen. Officer Steen placed McLaughlin under arrest and hauled him in to the nearest precinct house. But after he was booked, McLaughlin turned around and filed charges against Officer Steen accusing that it was the officer who had landed the first blow.

Officer Steen found himself in the unusual predicament of having to arrest himself, be allowed off on his own recognizance, and continue on his beat.