Local Boy Runs Away to Live Like a Hero in a Book
An 11-year-old Tacoma boy has disappeared with $11, seemingly inspired by 'yellow-covered' adventure novels.
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.
Clarence Hansen, an 11-year-old boy who resided with his parents at 23rd and G Street, has disappeared from his home, and with him has gone $11 which Mrs. Hansen had in the house. It is believed that he has gone with the intention of seeing some of the things depicted in the yellow-covered books he has been reading. While the parents are somewhat alarmed over his continued absence, they feel that he will return home as soon as the money is gone and he finds that actual experience does not tally with the happenings set forth by the authors of the yellow books.
“It is believed that he has gone with the intention of seeing some of the things depicted in the yellow-covered books he has been reading.”
Running away to live out literary fantasies is a timeless childhood impulse, though today it would likely be fueled by social media influencers rather than dime novels. The intersection of 23rd and G remains in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood, a reminder that the city's street layout has remarkably deep roots despite the century of change that has passed.
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