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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 8 |
| 1895 | 13 |
40 stories matching bless
- The Preacher's Daughter Eloped, and Her Father Met the Groom With a Shotgun
Emery Bickafoose and Rose Holgate slipped out of Oakesdale, married in Idaho, then drove home for a parental blessing. They got a loaded reception instead.
- A Parish Divided in Colton
A local priest denounces a young couple for their choice of marriage officiant, sparking a revolt among his congregation.
- The Case of the Stolen Stick of Wood
An overzealous police officer makes an arrest for the theft of a single stick of wood, only for the municipal court to dismiss the case with a blessing.
- A Night at the Chinese Theater in Tacoma
Despite warnings of anti-Chinese agitation, a traveling troupe’s performance at the Tacoma Theater draws a packed and appreciative crowd.
- Laying the Groundwork for the University
Seattle celebrated Independence Day with the formal, ceremonial laying of the corner-stone for the new University of Washington.
- Fairhaven's Booster Gospel: A Correspondent Says Come With Money, Not Without
A Chicago Record writer tours the Sound and pronounces the coast counties blessed—while conceding the sawmills have gone dark and the camps emptied.
- A Floral Welcome for the Papal Delegate
Thousands of roses decorated the Tacoma Hotel for the visiting representative of Pope Leo XIII, sparking a debate over Seattle’s 'modest' standing.
- The Sarah B. Yesler Hotel Opens its Doors
A new institution for working women, championed by the city's society women and funded by Henry L. Yesler, officially opens to a crowd of one thousand.
- A Compassionate Life Cut Short by Smallpox
A dedicated social worker dies after contracting the disease while visiting a local house of charity.
- The YMCA’s Annual Pitch to Seattle’s Congregations
As the YMCA faced a new fiscal year, local pastors turned their Sunday sermons into fundraising drives to keep the association’s doors open.
- The Phoenix of the Pacific: Seattle Three Years After the Great Fire
Reflecting on the 1889 conflagration, the city celebrates its rapid transformation from a pile of smoldering ruins into a booming commercial metropolis.
- The Elopement That Tore a Family Apart
A South Prairie father assisted his 14-year-old daughter in her secret elopement, only to find his own marriage dissolved by his wife's outrage.
- From a Blacksmith Shop to a Million Members: Seattle's AME Centenary
Rev. Allen W. Whaley traced 100 years of African Methodism from a Philadelphia blacksmith shop to a global church—and named the race prejudice that forced its founders out.
- Election Night at the P-I Office
A rainy evening finds the crowd gathered in front of the Post-Intelligencer, where the mood shifts from Republican jubilation to Populist silence.
- The Sudden End of a Pioneer Printing Treasurer
A quiet visit to an old friend at the Arlington Hotel turned tragic when a beloved local businessman collapsed mid-story.
- The Dikes Gave Way: Skagit Farmland Under Water
High winds and tides broke dikes from Samish to Stanwood, covering thousands of acres and setting off a demand for a stronger state dike law.
- The Roll Showed No Absences: Seattle Mourns Vernie Backus, 12, Drowned
The Boys' Brigade of the First Presbyterian Church enters a formal minute on the drowning of a twelve-year-old brother — remembered first for perfect attendance, and his parents commended to heaven.
- The Domestic Help Crisis of 1891
As the Pacific Northwest boomed, the P-I warned that a 'growing distaste' for housework among the working class threatened to turn the domestic service shortage into a bigger issue than currency reform.
- The Runaway Romance of Spokane’s High Society
A teenage bride and her bookkeeper groom flee to Idaho to escape her wealthy father’s disapproval, settling into a Seattle hotel for their honeymoon.
- The Secret in the Express Office
A rough, sullen express worker's life is transformed when he uncovers a personal relic inside a lost package.
- The Struggle for the Curb: Seattle's 1892 Market Fight
A local letter to the editor highlights the class divide between city planners and the peddlers struggling to feed the city's residents.
- Three and a Half Years in a Cell, Then a Date With the Rope
Charles Nordstrom crept up to William Mason's cabin at Cedar Mountain and shot him dead at supper over an old grudge. This week a Seattle judge named August 31 as the day the state will hang him — unless the U.S. Supreme Court steps in.
- The Wild West of Snohomish City Hall
A small town descends into administrative chaos as rival marshals, contested elections, and judicial flip-flops leave residents wondering who is in charge.
- Washington's House Votes to Ban Cigarettes — and the Tobacco Trust Moves In
In 1893 the state House passed a prohibition on cigarette sales after a debate that mixed moral reform, monopoly fears and anti-Chinese prejudice. Lobbyists were already working the Senate.
- The Day the Cardinal Rode Through the Mud: A Historic Union of Northern and Southern Presbyterians
In a rare moment of post-Civil War reconciliation, thousands gathered in Seattle to witness the historic meeting of two Presbyterian Assemblies that had been divided by the Mason-Dixon line for decades.