I have a sharp tongue and a hat pin,
and know how to put any man down and out
who gets foolish.
-Agnes Thecla Fair
Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday February 13, 1917
Portland, Oregon – Agnes Thecla Fair Journeys On
We are saddened to hear of the death of Sister Agnes Thecla Fair who took her own life on January 11th in Portland, Oregon. The Oregon Daily Journal of January 12th reported:
Convinced that failing health made it impossible for her to continue her work in behalf of the downtrodden in the ranks of labor, Agnes Thesla [Thecla] Fair, noted street lecturer and writer on sociological subjects, yesterday afternoon ended it all by throwing herself in front of an Oregon City electric car on Spokane avenue in Sellwood [a neighborhood of Portland]. She was 37 years of age…
A Tribute from the Appeal to Reason of February 10, 1917:
Agnes Thecla Fair
[“Sister Agnes”-as she was called by thousands-is dead. All through the west, Agnes Thecla Fair’s name is known to the workers in almost every mining and lumber camp. Wherever union men needed help-Agnes was there. Wherever the Socialist had a particular difficult job-Agnes was there. Wherever the victims of the system endured especially trying hardships-Agnes was there with a helping hand. She was a rare character-a real woman hobo. She never hesitated to ride the rods. She went to hundreds of cities via the boxcar route. On such trips she wore overalls. The following appreciation of “The Good Angel of Labor” appeared in the Oregon Journal of Portland, on January 14. Agnes was killed under a train:]
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BY ALFRED D. CRIDGE.
Agnes Fair has gone again, this time never to return. She was a frail and earnest little woman, whose experiences had been many and varied for her thirty-seven years of life. She never spoke of her early life or parentage to me, but in a way we were friends.
Agnes was the friend of every man who was down and out. That we were not better friends is because I never was in a position to need her help.
Agnes was first heard of by me as being active in the free speech fight in Spokane some years ago.
She was known before that in Seattle and in the Yukon territory and Alaska as the advocate, nurse and provider for the under dog.
Agnes never sought help for herself. She always sought help for others. She would sell the clothes she had on to help the down and outs. I have known her literally to do so.
