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Helix, Seattle's first underground newspaper, debuts on March 23, 1967.

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On March 23, 1967, Paul Dorpat (b. 1938) and associates publish the first edition of Helix, Seattle's first underground newspaper. Readers snap up the first 1,500 copies of the 12-page, multi-colored "counter culture" tabloid.

Creation of Helix grew out of discussions at the Free University of Seattle, an alternative college in the University District, and reflected the rapid rise of "underground newspapers" such as The Berkeley Barb, San Francisco's Oracle, and New York's East Village Other.

In addition to Dorpat, Tom Robbins, Gene Johnston, Ray Collins, Scott White, and Gary Finholt contributed to the first issue of Helix.

Helix published a total of 125 biweekly and weekly editions before folding on June 11, 1970.

Sources:
Walt Crowley, Rites of Passage: A Memoir of the Sixties in Seattle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995).

By Walt Crowley, January 01, 2000

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