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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 53 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 6 |
| 1860 | 12 |
| 1861 | 60 |
| 1862 | 65 |
| 1863 | 44 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 14 |
| 1876 | 10 |
| 1877 | 12 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 39 |
| 1884 | 12 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 11 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 58 |
| 1890 | 8 |
| 1891 | 218 |
| 1892 | 194 |
| 1893 | 111 |
| 1894 | 19 |
| 1895 | 112 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 24 |
| 1904 | 6 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 95 |
| 1910 | 7 |
| 1911 | 11 |
| 1912 | 4 |
| 1914 | 11 |
| 1915 | 8 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 13 |
| 1924 | 4 |
| 1925 | 10 |
1,327 stories
- One Can of Prunes, Five Carloads of Orders
A journalist-turned-farmer with ten acres of unsellable strawberries builds a canning business in Olympia — and discovers that a pretty label sells middle America on Puget Sound fruit.
- A Probe Into Washington's Land Deals—With More Beneath the Surface
A senate resolution opens an investigation into how the state manages its school and tide lands, with hints that the real target is the land commission itself.
- The Only Job Worth Having in a Bankrupt Little City
Nobody wants a seat on the council, but five men are scrambling for the treasurer's office and its commissions on $200,000 of debt.
- The Priest Writes Back: A Territorial Feud Over 'Romanism'
A Methodist minister's warning in Olympia draws a sharp reply from the Catholic missionary he accused.
- When the Steamer Left, Thirty Jobs Went With It
The withdrawal of the Bailey Gatzert cost Olympia money and idled three dozen woodchoppers and teamsters — and left a wood dealer holding 2,000 cords.
- Who Should Keep Olympia's Money?
On the eve of the 1891 municipal election, a dozen anonymous Olympians argued over the city treasurer's race, a regular nominee, a new brick block, and a saloonkeeper's ten-dollar joke.
- A Rainy Election, and a Runaway Horse
Olympia’s municipal election unfolds in rain and quiet, with saloons shut, candidates’ teams hauling voters, and one horse making a break down Main Street.
- The Railroad Comes for the Church's Back Lot
Northern Pacific asks a superior court jury to set a price on the west 64 feet of block 79, behind St. Michael's — ground held by the Catholic Bishop of Nesqually and the State Bank of Olympia.
- Olympia’s Firefighters Needed Rubber Suits, Beds—and a Paycheck
An editorial urges the city to equip, house and compensate its firemen, noting that volunteers had spent their own money and lost clothing fighting the steamer Eastern Oregon fire.
- The Territory’s Muskets Were ‘About as Dangerous at One End as the Other’
A Pierce County taxpayer audits the 1859 Legislature: condemned arms, a new enrolling clerk, and the old habit of hoping Congress will pay.
- The Capital's Election Was Run by the Old Rules
A Walla Walla editor notes the irony: Olympia used the old ballot form after the legislature changed the law, and now the election's legality is in doubt.
- The 15-Cent Street Signs That Became a Graft Scandal
A councilman nicknamed 'Boss' hands out a street-sign contract on his own authority, and the town asks why it is buying throwaway tin markers instead of signs that last — at the people's expense.
- The House Would Rather Not Buy the Railroads
Olympia lawmakers mock a memorial urging Congress to foreclose on the Pacific railroads, then vote 67-55 to let the matter drop.
- A Saloon Debt, a Partnership, and a Judge’s Ruling on Fraud
A Tacoma liquor wholesaler tried to attach Olympia and Tenino saloons over $700; the court said the property shuffle wasn’t enough to prove fraudulent intent.
- The Liquor Licenses Will Pay the Police to Grow Old
A bill passed in Olympia lets first-class cities fund police pensions out of saloon fees — twenty years on the beat and half pay for life.
- The Courthouse That Couldn’t: Contractors Fall Months Behind as Penalties Mount
Thurston County’s new courthouse is five months late, triggering a $20-a-day penalty and a standoff over withheld payments.
- The Olympia Undertaker’s Strange Discovery
A man’s beard reportedly continued to grow for twenty years inside his coffin, eventually filling the space.
- Coon v. Hay: When a Newspaper Ad Became an Election Law Fight
Former Lt. Gov. Charles E. Coon asked the state Supreme Court to rehear his suit against M. E. Hay, hoping to settle whether candidates who buy newspaper ads are barred from office.
- The Attorney General Says Near-Beer Is Still Beer
Ruling on a Lewis County saloon closes the loophole that let 'temperance' drinks flow in dry towns: if it has any alcohol in it and you drink it, Olympia says it's liquor.
- A Farmer Denies a Backroom Deal — and Pitches His County's Wheat
W. C. Bush of Bush's Prairie says he may run for the senate to help Thurston County's World's Fair exhibit, but flatly denies the rumor that Judge Robinson ever promised him the seat.
- The Courthouse Architect, the Commissioners, and a $458 Bill Nobody Wants to Pay
The man who designed Thurston County's new courthouse demands the rest of his fee; the commissioners say he broke his contract and has been paid enough.
- Olympia’s Street Railway Is Mortgaged—Horses and All
A $222 chattel mortgage on the track and a lien on the company’s horses expose the shaky finances behind Olympia’s experiment with a naphtha motor car.
- A Faculty Feud Shakes Olympia Collegiate Institute
Students and faculty were assembled to hear Rev. Dr. Ford explain a dispute between two instructors; Professor Jones resigned and two students were dismissed for “unbecoming conduct.”
- Olympia’s Fight Over Who Should Judge the Cities
A bill to abolish municipal courts set Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane against one another—and exposed a dispute over whether justice could be run more cheaply by justices of the peace.
- The Senate Kills the Railroad Rate Bill, and the Party Loses Face
An editorial lashes the state senate for 'slaughtering' the Helm bill regulating railroad freights and fares, despite the Republican platform and Governor McGraw's own demand for fairness to the public.