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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1895 | 6 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1909 | 1 |
42 stories matching harmless
- A Social Break at Black Diamond
A local church breaks with 'sepulchral' tradition by hosting a social gathering that crosses racial and social lines.
- A Near-Fatal Robbery Attempt in Tacoma
Dr. F. C. Miller narrowly escapes a highwayman's bullet while riding near the slaughterhouse.
- The Wealthy Beggar of Chestnut Street
A local charity worker uncovers a surprising case of a woman posing as destitute while living in relative comfort.
- Tragedy in a Tin of Pills
When a toddler in a historic Washington town mistook medicinal pills for candy, a medical error turned into a heartbreak that echoed across the community.
- The Price of Reckless Fire in the Forest
A searing editorial from 1886 lambasts the 'gross and inexcusable carelessness' of campers and railroads that leave Washington’s timberlands in ashes.
- A Blacksmith's Desperate Act of Heartbreak
After his sweetheart jilted him for flirting with her sister, a Tacoma man attempted to end his life.
- Camp Kelpie: A Seattle Hunting Party in the Last Great Bear Country
In 1895, Seattle sportsmen pitched camp on Hood Canal between the Duckabush and Hamma Hamma rivers and found a wilderness thick with black bear, salmon, and one very unlucky tenderfoot.
- The Tumbleweed That Threatened Washington's Wheat
In 1898, a state agricultural professor traced an invasive Russian thistle to railway yards and warned that Yakima County was already infested.
- The Mental Health Crisis of 1876
A local man is taken away to Steilacoom after his monomania turns threatening.
- The Germ War on Washington’s Wheat-Field Squirrels
A state bacteriologist in Seattle tested whether a contagious germ could turn Eastern Washington’s crop-destroying ground squirrels into agents of their own destruction.
- The Lawmaker Who Killed His Own Railroad Bill
Rather than let opponents gut it, Representative Hoole sends his railroad and steamboat measure to an indefinite grave after a day of parliamentary jabs.
- A Swedish Immigrant Built Seattle's Clean-Milk Dairy One Gallon of Cream at a Time
Alfred Kristoferson arrived to find a booming city where cream came watery and milk carried disease. His answer — pasteurization, doorstep delivery, and a health officer's endorsement — became a one-man public-health campaign.
- Who Owns the Water? Marcus Grants 25-Year Private Franchise
Stevens County commissioners hand a sweeping water system monopoly to a group of investors, with a two-year deadline to build or lose the right.
- The Featherweight 'Blood' Match at South Prairie
A much-hyped prizefight between two heavyweights in a dance hall turned out to be less about violence and more about a bizarre, non-contact stalemate.
- Local Outrage Over Animal Cruelty
A journalist’s beloved greyhound is maliciously shot, sparking a fierce editorial denunciation of the unknown perpetrator.
- A Local Political Feud
A scathing editorial attack on a local rival editor, accusing him of paranoia and claiming he sees imaginary plots to destroy his newspaper.
- The Lonely Plight of Neil McEachron
A constable brought 73-year-old Neil McEachron from Buckley for an insanity hearing after he bought 28 loaves of bread.