Northwest Kids Celebrated with ‘Street Hydros’ During Summer

This story from MyNorthwest.com jogged some memories. (image via YouTube KING 5 TV Seattle).

Tri-City kids built street hydros, too

Long before we had cable TV or the internet, in the early to mid-1970s, kids in Tri-Cities and Seattle found ways to celebrate one of the summer's most fun weeks, Boat Race Week.

Whether SeaFair in Seattle, or the Columbia Cup on the Columbia River, many kids would build wooden replicas of the unlimited hydroplanes, and tow them up and down their street behind their bikes.

This story from MyNorthwest.com takes a look at this tradition. Some kids in my neighborhood in North Richland even tried to 'flood' the street so when they towed the hydro through the water, it might throw up a rooster tail.

We carved and sawed them into shape, and painted them like real boats. Most kids built an Atlas Van Lines, Bud, or Squire Shop.

As we grew older into our teens, the practice went away, now, it's unlikely anyone does it anymore. But it was fun; our parents loved it because it kept us busy and out of trouble.

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