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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 7 |
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32 stories matching needi
- The Sewer Dispute on Front Street
A citizen protests the city's plan to shut down the Front Street cable line for sewer construction, fearing it will kill business for retail shops in the north end.
- A Widow’s Winter Security
After the drowning of John Brant, Seattle neighbors and the local Scotch society rally to provide food for his grieving family.
- The Women of Olympia Organize for the Poor
A local group of women forms a relief society to provide food and clothing to the city's needy during the winter months.
- City and County Spar Over Smallpox Care Costs
A simmering dispute between the Seattle City Council and King County over who should pay to treat the city's sick and indigent.
- Clearing the Ground for the University of Washington
Regents approve site clearing and launch a work-relief program to aid the city’s unemployed during the winter.
- The Tragedy of George E. Harrison
George E. Harrison, who deserted his wife and children, shot himself in Leeds, voiding his life insurance.
- The Scientific Charity Movement Comes to Seattle
A report on the new organizational efforts to manage poverty in Seattle, modeled on European systems of 'friendly visitors'.
- A Populist Call to Build the Ship Canal
A citizen offers a radical proposal to jump-start the construction of the Seattle Ship Canal through volunteer labor and public subscription.
- The Struggle to Centralize Seattle's Poor Relief
A rector’s sermon critiques the chaotic overlap of city and county welfare, proposing a centralized bureau to replace piecemeal charity.
- The City Auctions Everything for Charity
Seattle residents gather at a South Second Street storefront to auction off household goods to aid the city's needy.
- The Homesteaders Who Couldn’t Own Their Land
A delayed federal survey left settlers near Sedro unable to prove title, borrow money or improve their farms—red tape with real human cost.
- The Battle for Education Funding
Seattle school officials rally against state legislature 'land-booming' schemes that prioritize local property interests over the needs of students.
- A Baron's Multimillion-Dollar Gift Challenges Prejudice
Baron Hirsch authorizes a massive donation to support Jewish immigration, prompting a rare editorial rebuke of anti-Semitic stereotypes in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Relief Scandal: Secretary Accused of Profiteering from the Needy
A Seattle relief committee secretary faces investigation after allegations that he cashed a relief check and kept the majority of the funds.
- A Stone Yard Instead of a Soup Kitchen: Seattle's 1895 Plan to Put the Jobless to Work
With winter unemployment biting, four Seattle citizens ask the city council to open its own quarry and stone yard — paying men to repair the streets rather than handing them charity.
- Blacklisted for Striking, a Railroad Man Vanished—and His Family Was Left to Chop Wood
A Seattle charity worker found a mother and three children destitute on the Grant Street line after her husband, blacklisted by every railroad, sailed for South Africa and stopped writing.
- Seattle’s Salvation Army Shelter Fed 6,000 in a Single Month—and Needed Firewood Customers
In February 1893, the food and shelter department at Weller and South Second streets reported thousands of meals and lodgings, found work for 34 people, and appealed for stove-wood orders to keep its doors open.
- The City Mission’s Public Plea: Feeding the Unemployed of 1892
Facing heavy winter demand and political scrutiny, Seattle’s City Mission defended its non-sectarian charity work, detailing how it provided thousands of meals and lodgings to laboring men during a harsh economic downturn.
- A Mother, a Child, and a Cold Shack Off Albert Street
A police officer's dollar leads Superintendent Gilmer to a family with no food, no furniture and no shoes—and to a quiet rescue before the county takes over.
- When Seattle's Mayor Took on Poverty: The 1895 Charity Bureau Meeting
At the Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Byron Phelps and local leaders discussed unemployment, aid to families, and the growing demand for relief during a depression year.
- A Hospital for the Poor, Not the Pauper House: Seattle General Prepares to Open
The Seattle General Hospital will open June 15 in the leased Avon house on Front Street, offering free treatment to the needy and a training school for nurses—backed by a women's auxiliary that has already raised funds through lunchrooms.
- A Cold Night at City Hall
Seattle's council confirms a fire commissioner, stalls a plumbing nominee accused of theft, and warns unemployed workers to stay away.
- Work for a Meal: The Salvation Army’s ‘Elevator’ Opens in Seattle
The Salvation Army opened a combined shelter, soup kitchen and workshop near Third and South Second, offering hundreds of meals and 130 beds—provided able-bodied men earned their keep.
- Seven-Cent Meals: Seattle's City Mission Fed Thousands in 1893
In November 1893, the Seattle City Mission served 3,049 free meals, provided 1,071 lodgings, and begged the city for underclothing as the depression deepened.
- The Magnet in the Pocket: How a Civil War Veteran Lost a Beltful of Gold to a Grass Widow
Aged soldier, starving widow in a tent, a helpful 'mutual friend' named Hansen, a silk dress, a diamond ring — and a tale about thieves carrying magnets that drew gold straight out of a man's clothes.