On May 4, 1938, roughly 100 of the 324 students at Federal Way School — serving grades kindergarten through eighth grade and then Federal Way’s only educational institution — staged a strike to protest the firing of their principal Charles Springer.

A day earlier, the three-member Federal Way school board decided to immediately terminate Springer from his position rather than, as had been their previous policy, allow him to finish the school year as principal. On April 30, the school board — alleging that he was incompetent — decided not to renew Springer’s contract for the following school year.

Springer left his post at the school building on May 2 for what he claimed was the necessity of seeking medical treatment for inflammation in one of his eyes. That same day students at the school made an initial attempt at a strike, which teachers quickly squelched. Springer’s decision to leave the school on May 2 in the midst of serious student unrest was declared a serious dereliction of duty by the school board, which ordered his immediate termination.

On the morning of May 4, roughly a third of Federal Way School’s student body gathered in front of the school with protest signs. They were joined, according to the Seattle Daily Times, by “about a dozen parents, some of whom said they are ‘pals of Springer.’”

Also making an appearance were 15 Auburn High School students who skipped class to attend the strike. These high school students were former students at Federal Way School who travelled to Auburn to receive a high school education. Before the opening of Federal Way High School in September 1938, Federal Way offered no educational classes past the eighth grade.

Seeing this gathering in the school’s front yard, the school’s 11 teachers, according to the Seattle Daily Times, went out to round up the striking pupils, chasing them around the yard, play field and street like “cowboys trying to round up wild cattle.”

The teachers finally gave up and tried to conduct classes but there was too much confusion.

Roughly 200 of the school’s students chose to attend class rather than join the strike but were too distracted by the spectacle in the school’s front yard to pay attention to their lessons. As the students inside peered out classroom windows, the strikers made faces at them and taunted them with cries of “scairdy-cats!”

HJ Winter, interim principal of Federal Way School, soon summoned law enforcement to the scene. A delegation of four King County deputy sheriffs, headed by Chief Criminal Deputy Sheriff O.K. Bodia, arrived at the school. Bodia gathered some of the strikers before him and exhorted them to return to class.

After discussion with the strikers, Bodia obtained their agreement to return to class in return for the promise that they would be allowed to draw up a petition in support of Springer’s reinstatement as principal. They also were enthused about an offer by the father of one of the strike’s leaders (eighth grader Royal Brazier) that he would circulate petitions throughout the community calling for a recall election against Springer’s opponents, the three school board members.

The students returned to class and set to work on their petition calling for Springer’s reinstatement. They attributed some of the following positive qualities to Springer: “He cooperates with the boys’ and girls’ clubs … He provides recreational education … He understands the pupils and works with them.”

The petition also called for the resignation of school board clerk CV Lemmon, whom Springer supporters believed to be the lead mover in Springer’s removal.

Despite efforts among community members, no recall election against Lemmon or the two other school board members was ever launched. Springer charged that the board members terminated him, not because of what they alleged was inadequate service at his job, but because he was an activist in a teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers.

Springer also alleged that the board members were upset that he had urged them to raise teacher salaries. The board members replied against the anti-union charge by pointing to the fact that all three of them were employees (in Tacoma) of a unionized company, the Northern Pacific Railroad. There is no evidence to support the charge that the board members were anti-union; however, it is not improbable that they supported unionization in the case of their own employment as railroad workers but opposed it in their capacity as school board members.

Springer was never reinstated as Federal Way School’s principal. He was succeeded briefly by HJ Winter, who then became superintendent of what by late 1938 had become an expanded Federal Way school district, with the Federal Way School building now housing Federal Way High School.

Winter provided his own share of turmoil for the district; facing various charges of financial impropriety, he resigned in December 1940. He fled the community and was never heard from again.

Winter was succeeded as superintendent by Federal Way High School principal Kenneth Jones who reigned over the district until his retirement in 1966.

Chris Green is a member of the Historical Society of Federal Way. For information, call 253-945-7842. “Federal Way Flashback” is the Mirror’s new monthly feature.