Jim Hinde, 1951-2008: Market busker sang his heart out

 Felt FabricFor 18 years, Jim Hinde's folk songs provided a musical backgroundfor Pike Place Market's cacophony of fishmongers and vegetablesellers. His anti-war and protest ballads carrying more meaning andpassion than ever as he watched sadly as a new generation went offto fight. Hinde, the Market's bushy-bearded busker, died in his sleep Monday.He was 56. A Vietnam veteran with post-traumatic stress, he turned to writingand performing music to ease his pain. "He loved the Market. It really helped him deal with a lot of hisdemons, playing music, writing the lyrics," said his daughter,Katie Hinde. "It gave him a feeling that he was doing somethingworthwhile and meaningful, and it supported his family. "He was so heartbroken when we went to war in Iraq . He felt hisgeneration was destroyed by the Vietnam War. He thought, if welearned that lesson, then it was worth it," she said. "The current activity broke his heart; he felt like the lessonhadn't been learned at all." Jim Hinde grew up in Sandusky, Ohio. He played football in highschool. After graduating, he joined the Navy during the Vietnam War,serving as a radio and electronic technician on the USS Thomaston. "When he got back from the war, he wasn't doing very well. He rodethe freight trains, hopping on and off, for a couple of years, thenended up in Seattle," said Katie Hinde, 28. He met his wife on a visit back to Ohio. Jim and Janet Hinde weremarried for 29 years. "He was an amazing father, he never turned to drugs or alcohol, hewas the rock of our family," she said. "He took being a father very, very seriously." The family was preparing to celebrate their daughter's graduationfrom UCLA, with a doctorate in anthropology. They also have a son,Nate, 24, an artist and poet. When the family was young, Jim Hinde worked as an advertisingexecutive in Bellevue and later sold cars. He wrote songs for fun and performed on weekends at neighborhoodpubs. In 1989, he started playing part time at Pike Place Market. A yearlater, he decided he could make it work full time. "He wrote a really good body of work; he quickly became a veryimpressive artist," said Jim Page, his friend of 20 years. "He would show up at the Market at 8 a.m. and start playing in themorning. He played three sets a day. He treated it like a job, andhe did it impeccably," Page said. Hinde recently produced a CD, "Shout Down the Wind," and won aNorthwest Regional Emmy Award for the PBS documentary "Pike PlaceMarket: Soul of a City," which he co-wrote and hosted. Hinde was a one of the founding members of the Pike Place MarketBuskers Guild. He was helping organize the Vietnam Veterans ofAmerica national convention in Seattle later this month. News of Hinde's death spread quickly through the Pike Place Marketcommunity. "We are devastated by the loss of Jim; he was truly a piece of thefabric that makes the Market magical. He will be missed, sorely,"said James Haydu, a spokesman for the Market. A memorial service will be held July 2 at the Market's DesimoneBridge from 7 to 9 p.m. Contributions can be made to the Jim Hinde Memorial Fund, P.O Box21804, Seattle, WA 98111.