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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1908 | 26 |
| 1909 | 35 |
| 1910 | 20 |
81 stories matching practic
- A Town Strikes Oil—or a Prankster Strikes First
A well inside Chewelah's city limits began oozing oil, setting off excitement—though one report blamed practical jokers who may have doped the well overnight.
- Clayton Burned: A Brick-Plant Town Loses Its Whole Business Block
A Tuesday afternoon blaze took Clayton's entire business section on the Spokane Falls & Northern, including the Washington Brick & Lime Co. plant — a $100,000 loss, and another Inland Empire town left to rebuild.
- The Great Northern's Mail-Tossing Problem
Mail clerks on the Great Northern train are repeatedly tossing sacks of mail into the wilderness near Scotia, leaving local postmasters to recover shredded, unidentifiable correspondence.
- The Palouse State Bank Fails, Leaving a $30,000 Hole
A receiver is appointed after the bank reports $170,000 in liabilities against $140,000 in assets, with many notes described as practically worthless.
- One Lawsuit Over Jackson Street Stops Every Big Street Project in Washington
The state supreme court voids the 1893 eminent domain law, and Seattle's half-million-dollar regrade — along with the ambitious improvements of every city over 1,500 people — is suddenly unfundable.
- A $200,000 Inferno Devours Olympia's Wood Pipe Plant
A Saturday evening blaze destroys the National Wood Pipe Company plant, storage yards, four residences, and a grocery store, with losses estimated at $200,000.
- Newport Wants the Firemen's Tournament — and the Crowds That Come With It
Fresh off joining the Inland Empire Firemen's Association, Newport's department and business men weigh an $800 prize purse to host the 1911 tournament and put the town on the map.
- The Governor Wants Every State Office in His Own Hands
Governor Hay will ask the legislature to make every statewide office but his and the lieutenant governor's appointive — a cabinet government for Washington — while a commission tries to untangle a legal code nobody can read.
- The Railroad Wants the County Road — and Newport's Businessmen Sign On
Panhandle Lumber's proposed logging railroad would require the county to vacate a public road up a gulch west of town; practically every businessman in Newport petitions to hand it over.
- A Stovepipe, an Open Safe, and $1,000 Gone
Fire takes the home and office of W. D. Starbird's sawmill south of Springdale — with the safe standing open and the ledgers inside it.
- Plundering the Friendless Dead: King County Doctors Under Investigation
The medical society opens a probe into members accused of padding bills against the estates of patients who died with no heirs.
- A Farmhouse West of Newport Burns to the Ground
A defective flue is blamed after A. E. Tiss's Grandview Acres home and nearly all its contents were lost. Insurance covered the contents but not the building.
- The River Took the Whole Calispel Crop. Now the Farmers Want a Dike.
After backwater from the Pend Oreille drowned nearly every acre in the Calispel valley — a loss of $50,000 to $75,000 — landowners meet, hire a Spokane lawyer and move to organize a diking district under state law.
- A Lumber Company Builds the Ferry
Fidelity Lumber Co. will take charge of the Pend Oreille crossing after Newport residents pledge $1,000 toward a $2,300 ferry.
- A Wall of Flame Closes In on Spirit Lake
A long dry spell turns Pend Oreille County's logged-over hills into a tinderbox, and a fire that starts almost inside Spirit Lake's town limits sends mill crews, surveyors and railroad engines scrambling to hold the line.
- A Sunday Train Ride Saved the Family, but Not Their House
The Sammons home in north Newport burned to the ground while the family was already aboard a train for a day trip; insurance covered barely half the loss.
- While Newport Stalled, Colville Planned a Stage Line to Capture the Metaline Trade
A proposed telephone franchise had been sitting before Newport’s council for five months. In Colville, businessmen were already organizing a tri-weekly stage route to the Metaline mines and post offices.
- Saloon Keepers Challenge Dry Vote, Test Case Heads to Higher Court
After Spokane County townships vote dry, John W. Kritzer of Elk opens his saloon, gets fined $25, and appeals—setting up a legal fight over local option.
- Newport Left in the Dark as Town Council and Electric Company Deadlock
A standoff between the town council and Northern Electric leaves Newport without streetlights, prompting fears of crime and a possible new franchise.
- Thirty Thousand Volts Killed Him. The Wall Brought Him Back.
A Seattle power-plant hand was dead for fifteen seconds in 1909 — until the shock hurled him into a cement wall and the impact restarted his heart.
- A Mining Company's Stormy Reckoning
Stockholders of the Spokane Lead Mines Co. trade accusations of mismanagement over a Metaline-country concentrator, then elect new trustees.
- Kaniksu Forest Lands Opened to Homesteaders
Federal land near Box Canyon and Sullivan Creek is restored to entry, fueling settlement and speculation.
- A Judgeship Fight and the Spirit of the Primary Law
A Democratic editor accuses two local politicians of scheming to defeat the nonpartisan primary and warns that voters are onto their "underground methods."
- The Valley Wants Out: East Stevens County Pushes to Split From Colville
Fed up with distant county government, Newport and Ione business leaders organize to carve a new county out of eastern Stevens County — and they're willing to let Newport hold the temporary courthouse, for now.
- The Grange Movement Sweeps Stevens County
State organizers are rapidly establishing local chapters to advocate for rural interests, good roads, and political reform.