PRAG, Seattle’s Enduring Commune, 1972-Present
We were called the “rich hippies” after we moved into the house. Noah and Eve were the only kids. Noah was two and a half, Eve was one year old.
Davis, David, and John knew me at the UW Sociology Department. We had bonded at an unexpectedly violent anti-war demonstration in Renton, where we chained the gate at a gated community. The Boeing corp President lived there along with other executives. Incensed that they would be late to work that morning, the executives watched in their cars as their servants confronted us. Davis was stabbed in the foot by a pitchfork wielding gardener. I later learned that we were calling ourselves the Provisional Revolutionary Action Group or PRAG.
PRAG Founders (incomplete), 1972: Susan holding Eve (face hidden), Bill, upper right holding Noah (face hidden). Leslie Gerth, David Baylon, John Hall, Davis Straub, John Honeywell, Penny Mauldin, and others whose last names I am longer sure of: Deborah, Jeff, Jill, Kelly
Some years after Susan and I were back in NY, I heard from one of the founders, David Baylon, that PRAG now stood for the Public Research Applications Group.
PRAGART OF THE DEAL: This is the origin story of PRAG and Pragtree Farm
Mr. Anson Brooks made it happen. See his story below:
Anson Brooks; Newsprint Industry Legend Befriended Many In Travels | The Seattle Times
Evergreen Land Trust History
The Evergreen Land Trust Association is the oldest community land trust in the Pacific Northwest. The organization began as a grassroots effort to promote affordable housing, cooperatives, recycling, and other progressive initiatives related to land reform. In 1976, the first properties were donated into ELT—Prag House in Seattle and Pragtree Farm, near Arlington.For each of these properties, a Trust Agreement was established to convey specific stewardship and educational purposes that would be held in perpetuity. A corresponding Use Agreement was written to define the responsibilities of residents in caring for the property. Over the years, ELT incorporated other properties using the same model. Each property’s unique stewardship and educational objectives align with ELT’s core purpose
Prag 50th anniversary 2022– don’t recognize any of those in photo, among more recent communards.
I also don't know any of the people who dig and garden at Pragtree Farm in Arlington, WA. But I sure am proud of their work.
Davis Straub
Davis Straub (in blue)– former intellectual hippie, and sociology graduate student, he wrote an early Microsoft manual,soon after “retired” to a life of serious hang gliding and adventure.
John R Hall – Founder and Deepest Thinker
The Ways Out: Utopian Communal Groups in an Age of Babylon, by John R. Hall. London: International Library of Sociology, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978
Nick Licata. Our Mover and Shaker
Nick was in on the founding of PRAG and moved in a year or so after it was created. He became its informal leader in the community. We met at the U.W.
Nick Licata, Seattle City Council: Political maverick emerges as mover Sep 12, 2004
After more than 17 years on the Seattle City Council, Nick Licata steps down, January 21, 2015
