The infamous 'Smelt Riot' of 1978

I enjoyed last week’s article by Lee Carlson concerning the annual Smelt Derby Festival.

I have a feeling that most people today have no idea how big a deal the Smelt Derby used to be.

By the time I arrived in La Conner in 1974, the derby had become the winter event in Northwest Washington.

It regularly attracted more than 1,000 participants.

These were the days before Tulip Festival, so the Smelt Derby was responsible for the biggest, most crowded day of the year in La Conner.

In order to provide efficient crowd control, the town police always arranged for assistance from the Skagit County Sheriff — the crowds were too big for the local police to handle.

And because the smelt were plentiful along the waterfront in those days, virtually everyone who tried caught smelt.

Carlson is correct that the lack of smelt today was caused by a number of factors — the completion of the sewer system, the closing of the pea cannery, the closing of Moore Clark and the closing of the fish cannery and plant — that crippled the Derby.

However, there are a few things in the recent article that need clarification.

The Smelt Derby began in 1965. It really is 50 years old.

The event referred to in Carlson’s article became known as “The Smelt Derby Riot,” and it occurred in 1978.

The police chief had resigned a month before the Smelt Derby, and because of this, the annual request to the Skagit County Sheriff for assistance did not occur.

In the meantime, a second member of the police force resigned, leaving only its most junior officer.

So Smelt Derby 1978 began with exactly one police officer on hand. As stated previously, the derby had become more and more popular, not just as a fishing derby, but as a really fun must-see event.

This came to a head in 1978. It was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky and the temperature reached 60 degrees.

The crowds began pouring into town early — more than ever before. The estimate was over 2,000!

It was soon evident that many people had come to party, not to fish.

And with virtually no crowd control, the party was on. People would wander into the Lighthouse Inn, the La Conner Tavern, the 1890s, etc., find them jammed and so would emerge with a drink in their hand.

People wandered up and down First Street enjoying the unusually warm and sunny day and their favorite beverage. And during the fishing derby, which runs from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., it was a very mellow and pleasant scene.

However, after the derby had wrapped up, all the prizes had been awarded and the families with kids had gone home, at around 4 p.m. things began to turn ugly.

The lone police officer was completely overwhelmed by increasingly aggressive partiers, who had definitely overindulged.

An actual riot never happened, but it was very close.

Finally, the Washington State Patrol was called in, and they literally shut down the town.

All the drinking establishments shut their doors, and the party moved on.

Legend has it there was 5-cent beer, but that’s not true. No one needed to cut prices to sell liquor that day!

By the next year, the new police chief had everything tightly under control, where it has remained ever since.

So the Smelt Derby, which to be accurate was called the “World’s Only Smelt Derby,” is without qualification 50 years old.

The so-called “riot” did not actually happen until the derby was officially over. The town was shut down, but the derby was not.