From Real Change:
We learned today of the death of Robert Hansen, a longtime vendor of the newspaper downtown and in the Rainier Valley.
…
Born in Seattle and raised in the Rainier Valley, after high school at Rainier Beach Robert spent 15 years hawking food and beverages in the stands at the Kingdome. Years later, he could still reel off the barks he’d use to attract business: “Ice cold beer! Freeze your teeth, give your tongue a sleigh ride,” he’d say as he strode through the stands with a tray of cups. He worked as a baker, a laborer, a meat processor and a cook. He sold newspapers throughout much of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Within six months of Real Change’s first edition in August 1994, he began selling the paper. He was a frequent presence at the Seward Park PCC, downtown near the seats of local government, and at the weekly Columbia City Farmers Market.
