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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 7 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 8 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 2 |
28 stories matching skill
- The Narrow Escape of the Ship Spartan
A historic vessel remains in Port Townsend Bay, a survivor of a devastating waterfront fire that nearly cost its captain his life.
- Carpenters Plan Strike for Shorter Hours
Local woodworkers demand a nine-hour workday without a reduction in pay.
- The Seattle Mill Revolt
When mill workers walked off the job in 1886 to protest the hiring of Chinese labor, the resulting confrontation revealed the era's deep-seated exclusionary labor politics.
- The Iron Road Reaches the Pacific
Seattle prepares to welcome Henry Villard, the man behind the Northern Pacific Railroad's completion.
- Seattle Laid Out Its Streets for 7,000 People. It Was Already Too Small.
In 1883, Seattle citizens worried that the young city's twenty-foot business streets could not carry the growth already under way, and a movement began to widen them to eighty feet.
- The Rolling Pin’s Final Word
A widower who couldn't stop praising his late wife’s domestic skills quickly learns to stop complaining about his current spouse.
- The Wreck of the SS Umatilla
Local inspectors clear a ship captain of wrongdoing, citing deceptive coastal currents and a blinding snowstorm.
- New Bridge Across Sullivan Slough
A Seattle bridge-builder secures the contract for a key infrastructure project in the local wetlands.
- Old Soldiers Fight Politically Motivated Firing
A local group of veterans protests the sudden, unexplained removal of a fellow Union soldier from the Board of Examining Surgeons.
- Seattle Labor Unions Boycott Local Papers
The Knights of Labor organize against the 'importation of reading matter' intended to displace local printers.
- The 'Seedy' Runner Who Was More Than He Seemed
A stranger arriving in Seattle claimed ignorance of foot-racing rules, only to reveal himself as a skilled athlete in disguise.
- The Coal Mine Standoff: A Strike and a Struggle for Control
As tensions mount at the Newcastle mines near Seattle, the company and the Knights of Labor clash over worker autonomy and the future of coal wages in the Washington Territory.
- The River Giant: A Record-Breaking Log Boom
The steamer Beaver successfully navigated a massive log raft into the harbor, a logistical feat that left the waterfront stunned.
- The Mayor's Split Personality
Seattle's local newspaper prints conflicting editorials on the same day, alternating between praising Mayor Henry Yesler and condemning his lack of courage.
- The Pugilist Who Refused to Fight
John L. Sullivan's exhibition match in Seattle ends in humiliation for his opponent, who repeatedly hits the floor to avoid taking a single blow.
- A Skating Rink Disaster
A romantic rivalry at the local roller rink ends in a humiliating and public wardrobe malfunction.
- The Northwest Cracker Factory
How two entrepreneurs brought the latest steam-powered manufacturing to the Seattle waterfront in 1885.
- The Martyrdom of the Needle
A fiery plea from the pulpit for women's right to work and fair wages.
- The Tragedy of the Columbia River Cannery Boat
A diligent cannery worker, Otto Land, vanishes into the cold waters of Elliott Bay during a treacherous solo trip, leaving a community searching for answers.
- The High Stakes of Tobacco Farming in Snohomish County
A rural columnist weighs in on the local obsession with hop-growing and the high-risk, high-reward prospect of cultivating tobacco in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest.
- The Political Brawl of 1885
As Seattle prepared for a high-stakes municipal election, a chaotic 'Business Men’s' rally struggled to gain traction against the reformist 'Law and Order' movement, exposing deep class and moral divides in the young city.
- The Pirate Queens of Seattle
How an amateur opera company in 1886 Seattle silenced critics with a masterful performance of Gilbert and Sullivan.
- The Boom on White River
Railroad expansion and hop farming are bringing sudden, unprecedented prosperity to the valley.
- The Tragic End of a Hotelier
A well-known Seattle ship captain and hotel proprietor dies after a fatal overdose of morphine intended to ease his suffering.
- The Perils of the Columbia Gorge Rail Route
A critical 1885 editorial argues that the treacherous, storm-battered rail line along the Columbia River is failing, urging the Union Pacific to build a direct, reliable connection to Puget Sound.