![]() ![]() In Portland, it was for trying to convince a young woman to disrobe. ![]() In Chicago, they threw him in jail for wearing only shorts. Willey was not met with open arms in many of the cities he visited. His plan was to sell photographs of himself along the way and at the fair. In 1933 Willey decided to get out of Spokane for a time and travel across the country to the World’s Fair in Chicago. The new owner took issue with this and continually contacted the police in an effort to remove Willey from the land. Willey refused to leave the land he believed was rightfully his. Once, after serving some jail time, he returned home to find his property had been sold to another owner. ![]() Spokane area newspapers had began paying special attention to Willey because of his appearances in court wearing only khaki shorts and a long beard. “Anything that grew out of the ground, he could make food out of it,” said Adding a green sun visor in the summer and rubber boots in the winter. Whatever the reason, at a certain point he decided he only wanted to wear shorts. ![]() Some say it was a dispute with his church. There are many stories about why Willie stopped dressing conventionally. Short on clothes but long on beards and intrigue, Willie Willey and his 'shorts only' style made an impression on twentieth century Spokane. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |