The Nose on Opera Alley
A romantic dispute in Tacoma ends in a grisly, bizarre act of violence and a futile scavenger hunt through the snow.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Ed Hazelton (colored) attacked Joe Hagan (colored) with a club tonight to settle a dispute for the affections of a woman. Hagan is 26 years old and has a set of large teeth. He got hold of Hazelton's nose, bit it off and spit it out in the snow. Hagan then wrote a note to his girl, telling her of his trouble and saying he must leave town. While trying to deliver the note on Opera Alley he was arrested. Detective Flannigan, believing Barber Jim Eddison was shielding Hazelton, demanded admission to his shop. Eddison got abusive, and Flannigan says he reached for a razor to slash him. Eddison's friends bailed him out of the city jail, and then the officers and a dozen colored barbers joined in the search in the snow for Hazelton's nose, expecting, if found, to sew it on again. There was plenty of blood and gore, but the nose could not be found. Some of the barbers said a town cat had run away with Hazelton's nose; others volunteered to have pieces of flesh cut from them to graft a nose on Hazelton; and still others said both negroes were bad men and a nuisance to the colored community.
“There was plenty of blood and gore, but the nose could not be found.”
This violent encounter in Tacoma’s historically vibrant Black district—where businesses like Jim Eddison’s barbershop anchored community life—serves as a stark reminder of the social volatility and racialized policing of the 1890s. While modern Tacoma has replaced the 'Opera Alley' of the 19th century, the incident highlights the intersection of private grievances, communal solidarity, and the pervasive surveillance of marginalized neighborhoods.
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