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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 6 |
| 1909 | 12 |
| 1910 | 6 |
26 stories matching workmen
- Gold Under the Lawns: A Sewer Dig Strikes It Rich in Spokane
City workmen excavating a sewer in a fashionable Spokane neighborhood turn up ore assaying over $2,000 a ton — and neighbors start talking about sinking shafts in their front yards.
- A Forty-Foot Iron Rod Bursts Through the Jurgens Mill Wall
A broken carriage rod sends a piston head and forty feet of heavy iron flying through the mill; workers and a lady visitor escape unhurt.
- Japanese Cabinetmakers Arrive in Seattle for A.-Y.-P. Exposition Despite Labor Exclusion Laws
Ten skilled Japanese workmen are granted special entry to build the Japanese exhibit, highlighting the complex intersection of immigration policy and international spectacle.
- A Clearing Fire Jumps the Line and Exposes Newport's Thin Fire Defenses
A brush fire on the Blackwell tract escapes the workmen, races behind the new Catholic church to Charles Craig's woodpile, and leaves the town counting hose and hydrants instead of houses.
- A Crowbar Through the Skull: The Mill Hand Nobody Heard in Time
John Krips, a 30-year-old laborer tearing down the old Spirit Valley mill, was killed instantly when a falling timber drove his own crowbar through his head. His body was shipped home to Minnesota.
- New Lodging House Opens to Meet Housing Demand
As Newport grows, a new lodging house named after the town's namesake opens to accommodate the influx of workers.
- A Pick, a Stick of Dynamite, and a Supper Break That Killed a Man
A landslide buried the Great Northern's Spokane Falls Northern track near Marcus. The crew sent to clear it was never told the dynamite was already loaded — and grief over the dead man turned into gunfire before the sheriff arrived.
- The Deadly Avalanche at Cascade Tunnel
A massive snowslide buries a Great Northern cook house, claiming the life of a camp cook.
- Potatoes or Nothing: Newport Rail Crew Walks Off the Job
A track-laying gang in the Newport yards quit en masse when breakfast arrived without potatoes—then took the next train to Spokane.
- A Warning Ignored, a Blast That Broke Four Ribs
A Great Northern worker was badly injured near Newport when a heavy blast threw a rock into his chest, despite warnings to move.
- A Mine, a Mystery Blast, and $20,000 to Find Out What's Down There
The Conquest mine pumps out its flooded lower workings and bets big on a new season of development — but a strange underground explosion nearly knocks the crew off its feet.
- A Revolver at the Fair: Oregon's Superintendent Holds Off the A.-Y.-P. Guards
When exposition officials tried to put a refreshment booth on Oregon's lawn, the Oregon building superintendent met them with a revolver and 35 men in reserve.
- The Smelter Fires Up Again, and a Town Exhales
A second furnace roars to life at Northport's smelter on Thanksgiving week, the payroll swells — and a manager's quiet trip to the Orient mines hints that more stacks may follow.
- The Power Company Buys Up Washington Avenue
The Northern Idaho Montana Power Co. assembles frontage at Pine, First and Washington, plans a fireproof substation, and pulls its lines off the main street.
- Rails, Mail and a New Depot: Newport's Railroad Week
Crews start the Idaho & Washington Northern depot while a new mail contract promises daily service and earlier Spokane mail.
- A 150-Man Spur for the New Fidelity Mill
Caughren & Woldson took the contract for three miles of Great Northern spur track to Fidelity Lumber’s new mill, with heavy rock cuts and a payroll paid through a Newport bank.
- A Fortune Arrives Too Late for Tunnel Foreman
N. Wickstrom, a careful and sober tunnel foreman, was crushed by falling rock at Blueslide — on the same day a letter told him a long-awaited court judgment had come through.
- The River's Secret: Eli Anderson's Last Celebration
Eli Anderson, a shift boss on the tunnel, disappeared after a night of celebration. Months later, his body surfaced near Blueslide—and the mystery only deepened.
- Two Men Crushed in a Railroad Cut — and Fifteen Walked Off the Job
A 35-foot construction cut collapsed at Gilbert Brandt's camp opposite LeClerc Creek, killing Otto Blad and Gus Nelson and injuring two others.
- Fired Railroad Workers Were Paid in Paper—So Their Lawyer Sued
After the Idaho Washington Northern let go 26 men, it handed them orders for time certificates instead of cash. Newport's courts became the battleground.
- Newport Gets a Railroad Office—and a Deadline for Freight
The Idaho & Washington Northern set freight dates, opened a local office, and promised mail and passenger service—while a right-of-way suit headed to court.
- Blueslide Breakthrough: The Tunnel That Pushed the Idaho & Washington Northern Through
After months of hand drilling, a crew of more than 500 blows a heading through the Blueslide tunnel — while the railroad’s general manager limps on crutches after a freak construction accident.
- A Fire Alarm in the Middle of Commencement
Newport's first accredited high-school graduation nearly ends in a stampede when a candle sets the neighboring Koch building alight.
- 1,500 Men and a Steam Shovel: Newport Builds the Metaline Line
The Idaho & Washington Northern extension turns Newport into a construction boomtown, with subcontractor camps, mule trains, dynamite barges and a temporary hospital.
- Newport Votes Itself Dry by Sixteen Votes
A local-option election on Sept. 7, 1909, ended licensed liquor sales in Newport, 110 to 94, after challenged voters, an illegal-registration arrest and a hard-fought badge campaign. The saloons were set to close Dec. 6, with a countywide vote still to come.
Also about this, in other words
- Eight Hundred Men, a Tunnel, and a Bridge
The I.W.N. extension put hundreds of laborers to work on grades, bridges and the Blueslide tunnel—while a bridge contractor was hurt by a falling timber.