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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 57 |
| 1892 | 32 |
89 stories matching ask
- Twenty-Four Officers Wanted the Adjutant General Gone
A petition against Adjutant General O’Brien reached the governor, who refused to demand a resignation—prompting a theatrical outburst from Tacoma’s “Little Corporal.”
- A Parent Asks What Olympia Is Paying to Police Its New Variety Theater
A letter to the editor complains that a new theater below the “dead line” is drawing drunken loggers, running a bar, and selling private boxes—and asks what the city gets for its license and police protection.
- Separated at Three, Reunited at Sixty on a Centralia Train Platform
A famous Boston preacher changing trains in Centralia asks a stranger his name — and finds the brother his family had not heard from in more than fifty years.
- She Asked the Court for Her Maiden Name Back
Alma C. Van Epps filed for divorce and alimony in Olympia, alleging assault and cruelty and asking the court to restore her name and divide the property.
- Olympia’s Streetcar Franchise Fight Heads for the Courthouse
A requested extension for the Westside railway sparks a council move to forfeit the Savage Main Street franchise, with a two-year court threat hanging over the city.
- The Street Commissioner's Bribe
A local man faces a libel charge after accusing a city official of soliciting a bribe in exchange for a municipal job.
- The Blind Doctor and the $24,000 Cure
William and Matilda Linton sued Dr. W. T. Campbell, a blind Olympia physician, claiming his Thompsonian remedies killed their daughter Clara—and asking for $24,200 in damages.
- Olympia’s Mayor Resigns to Save a Disputed Election
After a contested municipal election, Mayor Horr says he will step down on January 5 so successors can be appointed—and asks the outgoing councilmen to do the same.
- The Hotel Fire That Nearly Stayed Out of the Paper
When a blaze at the Olympia Hotel drew a sensational headline, the lessee asked the Tribune to spike the story. The paper refused—and used the fight to demand fire escapes and safer ash storage.
- A Boy, a Boarding House, and Two Stolen Diamond Rings
A missing quilt unravels into a ring theft, a confession behind jail bars, and a man bound over for the January court term.
- The Streetcar Builder Who Refused to Buy His Own Right of Way
J. R. Chaplin tells Olympia's council that asking his Westside Railway to purchase Block 48 would insult the enterprise promising the city its first mile of track.
- 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.
- He Was Not Going to the Asylum: How an Olympia Guardianship Case Was Settled
Peterfield Turpin’s family asked the court for a guardian. Rumors flew that he would be committed and his estate seized. In open court, the parties explained—and settled.
- The Streetcar Company That Asked Olympia for Land—and Promised the Moon by July 4
In 1892, the Olympia Light & Power Company pitched an electric railway to Tumwater as a bargain for landowners: donate a strip or an acre, and watch city-limit land double in value. The trust deed gave them until Independence Day to make it real.
- A Taxpayer Tries to Stop the City From Writing Checks It Can’t Cover
Francis Hoffman and the Olympia Hardware Company ask a judge to block further city warrants, arguing Olympia has blown past its debt limit.
- A Sunday-Night Letter Asks Why Olympia Lets Main Street Saloons Run Loud
A reader complains of drinking, dancing and noise in the saloons below Third and demands that police keep young boys out of the crowds.
- The Women Who Packed Washington Into a World's Fair
At the Olympia Hotel, local women joined two state commissioners to plan wood carvings, wildflowers, art and industry for Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition.
- Thurston County Farmers Petition for a Chehalis River Bridge
Residents south of the Chehalis ask county commissioners for a crossing near Rochester and Gate City, saying they are cut off from Olympia markets for half the year.
- The Feather-Pillow Pregnancy That Fooled Centralia
A couple's plea for train fare ends with the town out the money and both travelers gone.
- Where Is D. P. Ballard? The Lawyer Who Vanished With the G.A.R. Fund
A well-known Olympia attorney disappears leaving debts, a destitute family, and a fraternal post asking what happened to its money.
- Olympia's Streetcar Franchise Shell Game
A franchise extension granted on a promise of negotiations turns out to be empty—and the editor wants electric cars for the capital.
- A Streetcar Cathedral Rises at Chestnut and Fifth
Olympia Light and Power plans a three-story headquarters with repair pits, a supply store and dormitory rooms for single employees — if City Council approves the route it wants.
- Four Years, Then a Federal Appeal: Lybarger Ordered to Walla Walla
Convicted in Thurston County of a sexual offense against 13-year-old Elsie Patnude, John G. Lybarger loses his state appeal; his wife and father-in-law had posted $3,500 bail while the case dragged on.
- The Late-Night Fight That Killed Washington's First University Building
A governor's-office showdown between the state auditor and the university building commission halted construction, left laborers unpaid, and pushed Olympia toward a special legislative session.
- The County Courthouse Construction Scandal
A superintendent is forced out after refusing to accept substandard materials for the new county building.