The Fremont Hymn

On Tax Day, 1987, the Aurora Fellowship closed (3414½ Fremont Avenue North is now yuppie environmentalists' offices, the Cascade Nature Conservancy), and for several months the Fremont AA groups were homeless, or at least decentralized. Some met in churches (Fremont Baptist, St. Paul's UCC, Ballard Nazarene), some in restaurants (Phinney Ridge Café, Pizza Ma Heart @ Green Lake), some in homes or parks or libraries, and some at least temporarily abstained from meeting. Eventually a new hall was procured, Fremont/Greenwood Fellowship on North 85th Street just west of Greenwood, in the Eleanor Roosevelt Building next door to the Roundup Tavern. (Where the hall was is now a Malaysian-Thai Restaurant.)

A great many of our core oldtimers took the opportunity to stop coming to Fremont (though thankfully most of them continued to attend meetings, mainly in Ballard) with the result that much of the lore and wisdom that had been ubiquitous at the Aurora Fellowship was rarely heard at FGF.

Concern over this loss of grounding for newcomers, and a desire to preserve at least anecdotal evidence of some of the ethos of "the real Fremont" as I had perceived it during its last three years on Earth, led me to write "The Fremont Hymn", and a dare from my then roommate Lisa B. got me started going to Fremont in drag, standing on chairs, and belting it out. Especially in September, my birthday month, I still sing it when begged to.

Marc W., also a September baby, has been known to accompany me on the bagpipes, and Rocker Kevin often unobtrusively supplies backup vocals. I usually only sing verses 1, 3, 4 and 7, and many people at Fremont have these memorized and sing along with me. I usually preface "The Fremont Hymn" with my "Salvation Army Song"; if it can be timed to coincide with the passing of the basket, it makes an effective offertory.