The document discusses the 'what if' project inspired by a 1931 letter from Mrs. Hillyer to the Department of Justice, requesting a raid on her husband's Chinese bootlegger. It includes various creative non-fiction responses from students who imagined letters from different perspectives related to Mrs. Hillyer's plea, exploring themes of alcoholism, prohibition, and personal struggles. Additionally, it provides context about Chin Waugh, the bootlegger mentioned in the letter, and details research conducted to uncover more about Mrs. Hillyer's life.

1. Mrs. Hillyer
“What If”
Project
Student/Alumni Authors
Adrienne
Akossiwa
Amanda
Aminta
Andrew
Cathleen
Daniel
Dawn
Gloria
Harley
Jaimie
Jill
Kathryn
Maria
Maria
McKayfinn
Meghan
Nalini
Thresa
Tracy
Vanessa
Yvette
ADAPTATION OF
Spring 2023 Student Conference
April 2023
Presented by
Dr. Lisa D’Adamo-Weinstein

2. 2
“[W]omen's letters rarely just exchange
information. Instead, they tell stories; they tell
secrets; they shout and scold, bitch and soothe,
whisper and worry, console and advise, gossip
and argue, compete and compare. And along
the way, they - usually without meaning to -
write history"
(Grunwald and Adler, p.1).

3. In 1931, a Mrs. Hillyer wrote a letter to the Seattle Office of the Department of
Justice. In the letter, she asks that they raid the home of her husband's Chinese
bootlegger.
You can see the letter in the Department of the Treasury General Records
collection in the National Archives Catalog.
Students in my Stories We Think We Know course at Empire State University are
asked to create creative non-fiction responses to letters written by women from
the American Revolution to the present day. One of the letters is the letter written
by Mrs. Hillyer. Some of these responses inspired by her plea to the Seattle Bureau
of Prohibition are wonderful imaginings of the rest of the Mrs. Hillyer story, and
they inspired the “What If” project.
Over the course of the last 4 years, I have been working with several
students/alumni to create an online letter reading performance of letters inspired
by Mrs. Hillyer's. Some have written from the perspective of agents in the Bureau
of Prohibition, the bootlegger's lawyer, Mr. Hillyer, and even other letters "written"
by Mrs. Hillyer to friends or family. All of these letters come from the imagination

4. Transcription:
El 0109 Tom Norton [handwritten upper left corner]
Possibly Mrs. Jack Hillyer 1921-3rd Ave- Apt 406 [handwritten top of
page]
Received Sep 23 1931 Bureau of Prohibiton Special Agents Seattle,
Wash. [stamp]
Seattle, Wash.
Sept. 22, 1931
Dear Sir:
My husband is in the habit of buying a quart of wiskey [sic] every
other day from a Chinese bootlegger named Chin Waugh living at 317-
16th near Alder Street.
We need this money for household expenses. Will you please have
his place raided? He keeps a supply planted in the garden and a
smaller quantity under the back steps for quick delivery. If you make
the raid at 9:30 any morning you will be sure to get the goods and
Chin also as he leaves the house at 10 o'clock and may clean up before
he goes.
Thanking you in advance
I remain
yours truly,

5. Little is known about Mrs. Hillyer herself.
The clerk who logged in the letter noted that she
was
"Possibly Mrs. Jack Hillyer 1921-3rd Ave- Apt 406“
But my research and communications with some
of the relatives of Glenna Wilke Hillyer, Jack’s wife,
is most likely not the author of the letter written
as Mrs. Hillyer in 1931 as they did not wed until
1937 according to a great nephew who has been
working on the family history.

6. Chin Waugh (aka Chin Gum Wah) can be found in the
1930 census living at the same 317 16th Ave. address
Mrs. Hillyer noted in her letter. Before Mrs. Hillyer’s
complaint, he was already WELL known to police and
federal officials, being arrested multiple times
throughout the years for various drug charges which
culminated in his being sent to McNeil Prison in
Washington 1927 and finally in 1935 and fined a huge
$15,000 for his participation in an opium ring.

7. Click this link to the video and news story
about the history of Prohibition and rum
runners and bootleggers in Seattle,
Washington in the early 1900s.

8. Year Author Letter To Letter From Synopsis of Letter Letter Category
F2022 Andrew Mrs Smith Mrs Hillyer written to a neighbor whose husband also goes to the bootlegger. Community
S2022 Jill Mrs. Hillyer Matilde wright Supportive member of same church and talking about appreciation of the letter as a
call to action
Community
F2021 Kathryn to the Baker Mrs Hillyer letter to the baker bootlegger Community
S2021 Nalini Mrs. Sabin Mrs. Hillyer Letter to another wife regarding her husband's drunkeness - Seattle wives Community
S2021 Thresa Mrs. Waugh Mrs. Hillyer Trying to shame the bootlegger's wife into discouraging him from continuing his
illegal sales of alcohol.
Community
S2022 Amanda Mrs. Hillyer Mr. Hillyer
I wrote the letter from the viewpoint of Mr. Hillyer who was tipped off about his
wife's letter. I tried to create sympathy for people experiencing alcoholism . I tried to
develop a history for my male character . I could not find any information on their
first names so assigned them common names. As a former alcoholic , I often see
many pieces that blame the addict. I don't see much sympathy for those with
addiction or what drove them to addiction. Through-out this project, I thought of
how addicts coped with prohibition . Though the letter was brief, I empathized more
with her husband than her . I tried to add some backstory without giving so much
information that it would sound unnatural .
Husband and Wife
S2022 Aminta Mr. Hillyer Mrs. Hillyer Letter to her husband in prison Husband and Wife
S2021 Jaimie Mr. Hillyer Mrs. Hillyer I have left you because of your whiskey purchases Husband and Wife
S2022 Tracy 2nd letter Mr. Hillyer
2nd letter to Mrs.
Hillyer
2nd letter from Mr H to Mrs from prison Husband and Wife
S2022 Yvette Mrs. Hillyer Mr. Hillyer
Mr. Hillyer letting his wife know how her letter to the DoJ hurt his feelings - "You
would deny a poor man his vice?" Husband and Wife

9. Year Author Letter To Letter From Synopsis of Letter Letter Category
F2022 Adrienne Capt. Olmstead Mrs Hillyer telling her that he won't stop her husband and looks forward to him being the
mayor
Law Enforcement
F2022 Akossiwa Capt. Olmstead Mrs Hillyer
to help out "I have decided to personally take the matter into my hands and help
you solve this issue due to your husband's role in the city of Seattle. Your husband
has been a good city citizen and a great teacher for our children at the Public School
of Seattle. "
Law Enforcement
S2022 Daniel Mrs. Hillyer
Det. Tom Norton
Seattle Police
Department & the Noir
Prose piece
Supportive letter of her outreach because of family history of alcoholism. And
update on raid
Law Enforcement
F2021 Harley Mrs. Hillyer Mr Smith report of raid and supportive information Law Enforcement
F2021 Kathryn Spc Agent Donovan Mrs Hillyer Recent arrest Law Enforcement
S2021 McKayfinn Mrs. Hillyer Chief Wallace Thanking her for her letter and how it has been helpful to the departmenbt ofjustice Law Enforcement
S2022 Meghan Capt. James Outlier Mrs. Hillyer Written from the perspective of the prohibition officer who received and responded
to Mrs. Hillyer's letter, in the Department of Justice.
Law Enforcement
S2022 Tracy Agent Hanks John Smith, Esq From Mr. Waugh's attorney to DoJ agent Law Enforcement
S2021 Vanessa Mrs. Hillyer Anonymous S.
"What about a man'sright for release." = Admonishing her and saying that they
won't send her letter forward. Against prohibition Law Enforcement
F2020 Cathleen Dear Friend Mrs. Hillyer Letter asking for advice of what to do because of $ and drinking of husband. Mrs. Hillyer
S2022 Dawn Dear Friend Mrs. Hillyer
Writes to friend saying that she has made a great mistake. After the DoJ raided and
Jack was angry.
Mrs. Hillyer
F2022 Gloria Ann (sister) Mrs Hillyer Explains her situation and asks for help. Mrs. Hillyer
S2021 Maria D. Mrs. Hillyer Telling friend about her letter to the Dept of Justice Mrs. Hillyer
S2022 Maria Mrs. Darcy Mrs. Hillyer Letter to her friend asking for guidance after writing the letter and no response. Mrs. Hillyer
S2021 McKayfinn Friend Ann
2nd letter to Mrs.
Hillyer 2nd letter to her friend Ann - describes state of family with husband drinking. Mrs. Hillyer

10. August 20, 1931
Dear Friend,
I am beyond ideas and beyond desperation. Each month, each week, each day
it gets tougher and tougher to make ends meet. The bills have exceeded our
pockets. Our meals are scarcer than they have been before and I fear my body
will become too frail to fight to save us. I pace back and forth with worry until he
pulls up to the house, hoping he hasn’t been there again, but he always has. The
discussions, the fights, my begging hasn’t helped, I am not sure he can stop and
don’t know if anything I do will help. I don’t know what else to do, if you have
any ideas please speak up my old friend, time is waning and I am losing hope.
Your Dearest and Desperate Friend,
H.
1931
Sample
Other Letters
by Mrs. Hillyer

11. Mrs. Hillyer,
The Seattle Department of Justice appreciates your letter. I have taken it upon myself to protect
you and your husband from persecution for partaking in this activity. Your husband has made
quite an honorable reputation for himself and your family. What with running for mayor and all. It
would be a shame to turn in your letter to arrest not only Mr. Chin Waugh but also your husband
as we now have proof of his involvement. I’m sure you can understand Mrs. Hillyer. Besides once
he becomes Mayor, you’ll be well enough off and won’t have to worry about affording household
expenses.
I will make sure your husband never finds out about your letter. I advise you to watch this one
as it shrivels up and chars away in your fireplace as I have yours. I have had reports of you
lurking on Alder Street by Mr. Chin Waugh’s and must ask you to stop. I can only imagine the
unsufferable damage this would do to your marriage should your husband know you’re against
him and causing a suspicious scene in public. Especially during these horrendous times.
As for Mr. Chin Waugh, he is a very nice old man who was around far too long before this
prohibition nonsense. Anyone would be a fool not to make a profit off this. Especially without that
insufferable tax on it. I’d appreciate it if you could do us all a favor to turn your cheek to the
information you’ve discovered. A pretty head like that shouldn’t be involved in something like this.
I look forward to your husband becoming Mayor and working alongside the Department of
Justice. I am certain we can put this government back in its rightful place.
Good Day My Lady,
Captain Frank Olmstead
1931
Other Authors of
Law Enforcement
Letters

12. Dear Mrs. Smith,
I am writing to confess that I have finally done it. I wrote and mailed, just
yesterday a letter to the Seattle, Washington office of the United States Department of
Justice regarding our husbands' shared affliction, though I did not mention you or yours
by name, and named their supplier, Chin Waugh.
After we spoke last week I came to realize that no plea from my lips would
ever burrow deep enough into Mr. Hillyer’s good sense to do any good if so many I have
given before have not done so. Neither you, nor I, could confront Chin Waugh, and even
were we to do so together I trust our pleas would fall upon ears even deafer than those
of our husbands.
I hope that the fellows at the Department of Justice heed my advice and raid
that Chin’s place and catch him in the act. To think that that Chinaman has been making a
plum living taking our husbands hard earned dollars and feeding them poison for it is
beyond forgiveness! We have had to go without meat two evenings each the past two
weeks for lack of funds. I would not burden you with such affairs except that I know you
have suffered much the same. Why these Chinese must come here to steal a living from
afflicted men like our husbands is beyond me. Lock them up, or better, send them back
across the ocean to their own backward land if they cannot make an honest living of
themselves, I say.
If the Justice men act with haste, we may have our husbands back to us,
without that devil drink, within two weeks' time. I pray that it is so, whiskey makes a mean
shadow of the man my husband is when he is dry. I am sure it is much the same for you.
Yours in strife,
Mrs. Hillyer
1931
Sample
Community Focused
Letters

13. To My Dearest Husband,
Mr. Hillyer, I hope this letter finds you in good health and that it finds you before
your next whiskey purchase at the home of Mr. Chin. By the time you read this, I will have already
left. I know you think your evening drinks are harmless, but the money spent on liquor has put us in a
bind that I can no longer suffer the weight of. I am travelling to visit my mother in New York, with
sincere hopes that you will have turned your cheek to this habit by the time I return. Hopefully, with
a loan from my parents, we will be able to start fresh.
In the house, you will find close to nothing of sustenance. After the humiliation of
having to return items at the local drug store, I wasn’t able to purchase much. A carton of milk and
some eggs remain in the fridge and there is still a loaf of bread in the cupboard. There is some leftover
stew in the pot on the stove, I made as much as I could with the supplies left in the house.
If you have not yet been made aware, I have written to the Department of Justice with a
request to shut this location down. I pray that you are not angry with me. I recognize that you could
see this as an act of betrayal, but no more that I feel betrayed by your reliance on your whiskey as
opposed to your wife. I am hopeful that in good faith, they will not implicate you in this violation.
And hopefully this will be a lesson to you to change.
I shall return to you soon.
All of my love,
Your darling Wife
1931
Sample
Husband and Wife
Letters

14. I have begun ancestry
research in order to find
out more about the Mrs.
Hillyer story. Here is the
link to the potential
family tree I have
created.

15. I also created a FB group to help get the word out about the
project.
https://bit.ly/MrsHillyerFacebook

16. I found the names
from a 1932 document at the National Archives from the Portland and Seattle agents in char
ge
to each other detailing the Tacoma, WA police scandal. I imagined for this that Tom Norton,
who was an actual deputy sheriff, was asked to step in and act as interim Sheriff. Tom
Norton was cleared during an investigation that he wasn’t a bad cop and manhandled a
woman. She alleged he and another cop had treated her badly. Tom was cleared but the
other one wasn’t. So, I imagined that for this letter, Tom was the “good cop” in Seattle while
the rest of them seemed to have went bad as part of that whole investigation later. Those
articles were on Newspapers.com if you have the subscription.
Chin Waugh (aka Chin Gum Wah) was not a great guy by any means. He can be found in the
1930 census living at the same 317 16th Ave. address Mrs. Hillyer listed. Before Mrs.
Hillyer’s complaint, he was already WELL known to police and the feds, bring arrested
multiple times throughout the years for various drug charges which culminated in his being
sent to McNeil Prison in Washington 1927 and finally in 1935 and fined a huge $15,000 for
his participation in an opium ring. The McNeil prison records when he was received at the
prison can be found on Ancestry.com if you have the paid subscription. Chin’s passport with
a photo can also be found on Ancestry.com as well. Chin Wah’s multiple arrests can be
found on Newspapers.com (also, paid subscription) but is mentioned
here in this blog post involving another participant in the opium ring.
Tom Norton was a deputy living in Seattle in the 1932 city directories.