It was a Western-showdown scene – two men faced each other on a dusty street, nasty exchanges were made, followed by a deadly game of quick draw – only the confrontation happened at the intersection of Park Lane and Lake Street, right here in Kirkland.
Todd’s Feed Store owner, Louis “Louie” Todd, left his store on the morning of July 28, 1931 carrying a package to the nearby bank. He ran into Harry H. Loy in front of Loy’s jewelry store, where Loy accused the other man of showing “unwelcome attentions” to his wife.
Loy suddenly drew an automatic pistol and shot two bullets, killing Todd before his gun jammed.
“If my gun hadn’t jammed I’d be shooting yet!” Loy told Kirkland Police.
In his new book, “A Look to the Past: Kirkland,” author Matt McCauley details the subsequent murder trial and one of the strangest shootings in Kirkland’s history.
“It was a huge scandal,” McCauley told the Reporter. “If they had TMZ Web sites in those days, it would have been like that, like the OJ Simpson scandal.”
A jury later acquitted Loy of the murder charges, which caused a community uproar. A committee, headed by East Side Journal publisher, the late H.P. “Dick” Everest, formed to persuade Loy to leave town.
The murder case is just one of several unique glimpses of Kirkland’s history McCauley offers readers in his book, which is a compilation of 50 historical columns called “A Look to the Past” he wrote for the Kirkland Courier in the early ‘90s. (Sound Publishing purchased the Courier in May 2007 and it became the Kirkland Reporter.)
A third-generation Kirklander, McCauley, 46, says his book does not provide a comprehensive history of Kirkland. Rather, it “gives people a survey of Kirkland’s past.”
While his book includes Kirkland’s fundamental history, such as founder Peter Kirk and the Great Western Iron & Steel Company, it also underscores the city’s idiosyncrasies and residents that made Kirkland what it is today.
“I interviewed run-of-the-mill type folks, not super important because they owned million dollar businesses,” said McCauley. “That to me is what people are interested in, the everyday experiences.”
“A Look to the Past: Kirkland” is a joint effort by the Kirkland Heritage Society (KHS) and McCauley, a KHS board member. The author used many of the images in the book from the organization’s prized collection.
McCauley has been fascinated with Kirkland’s history since he was a boy. He recalls chasing down the principal and other elders at A.G. Bell Elementary to find out more about their work in the shipyards and Marine Corps.
The stories he heard inspired searches in old barns, pastures and even Lake Washington for “treasures.” In high school, McCauley and a friend even salvaged a World War II naval dive bomber from the lake, which received considerable media attention.
The founding editor of KHS’ award-winning newsletter, “Blackberry Preserves,” McCauley recently decided to compile his columns into a book after some KHS members prompted him.
“Some members at KHS would clip and save the columns, which is utterly flattering,” said McCauley, who recently moved back to Kirkland after 15 years in Maryland, where he started a coffee business. He lives in Juanita with his sons Cam, 12 and Jake, 14. “A couple members said they still have my columns and asked if I was going to write again.”
McCauley said the best part of putting the book together was the people he interviewed for his columns.
“I feel very lucky to have talked to pioneers of Kirkland,” he said, adding several people joined KHS after reading his columns. “A lot of folks came forward who hadn’t considered their families that noteworthy, but reading stories of people who were no more noteworthy than them started the dialogue.”
Those people include pioneer settlers, land speculators, loggers, stump ranchers, land developers, steam boatmen, WWII Rosie-the-riveters and more.
McCauley will sign his book from 7-9 p.m. tonight at Parkplace Books during the store’s Eighth Annual Holiday Celebration. The store is located at 348 Parkplace Center. The book will be available for purchase, for $24.95. A portion of the proceeds will benefit KHS.
