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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 9 |
| 1893 | 9 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 6 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
80 stories matching blessed
- The Orphan’s Plea: A Poem That Moved Seattle to Tears on Decoration Day
As the city honored Civil War dead with solemn processions and speeches, a young girl’s grief over her father’s unmarked grave brought the Grand Marshal to tears.
- The Unintended Comedy of a Seattle Home-Grown Play
A young Seattle playwright attempts a 'powerful' American drama, only to accidentally create a farcical scene involving nightshirts, chin-wiping, and a very confused father-in-law.
- The Newspaper Owner Who Disavowed His Own Editorial
Francis Murphy reads L.S.J. Hunt’s letter to a Seattle crowd, disowning the Post-Intelligencer’s anti-temperance editorial and sending $200 for the cause.
- The Snohomish Afterlife: A Spiritualist Joke
In an 1878 newspaper, a medium's séance takes a darkly humorous turn when a grieving widow asks her late husband if he is in heaven.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Hypocrites of Commercial Street
A biting piece of social commentary from 1878 Seattle poetry attacks the town's pious moneylenders who exploit their neighbors while maintaining a veneer of religious devotion.
- The Governor’s Unacknowledged Son
A condemned prisoner in the city jail delivers a final, shattering letter to the Governor, revealing a secret connection that exposes the cruel indifference of the ruling class.
- 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 Man Who Shook Hands with History
President Roosevelt’s visit to Walla Walla sparked a political firestorm and a rare moment of cross-cultural connection.
- The Bonfire of the Vanities on Occidental Square
Months after a jubilant, torch-lit victory party in Seattle, the city’s new power-brokers were left holding the bag as lawlessness and economic despair gripped the town.
- The Treasurer Who Vanished, Then Wrote Home From Puget Sound
An Iowa county official disappeared in the 1870s. After his death, his family gathered at the Olympia Hotel to settle an estate—and letters revealed a hidden life, a bank failure, and a real-estate boom he hoped would make restitution possible.
- The Unsung Pioneers Clearing the Skagit River
While the territory hailed the opening of the Skagit Valley to navigation, the men bankrolling the arduous labor of clearing the massive log jam were left bankrupt.
- 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 Chaos of Washington's Pre-Civil War Legislature
As the nation teetered on the brink of war, Olympia's Eighth Legislative Session descended into partisan bickering, salary disputes, and frantic attempts to define Washington Territory's loyalty to the Union.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Beating of Henry Brown: A Runaway Elevator Boy and a Family's Violent Secret
A 14-year-old black elevator operator flees his home after a savage whipping by his father, revealing a tangled story of poverty, pride, and punishment in 1894 Seattle.
- The Fight Against the Rail Barons
A fiery interview with a Washington Territory delegate exposes the 'gentlemanly footpad' tactics used by the Northern Pacific Railroad to seize public land from settlers.
- 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.
- 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.
- City Bids Farewell to Fireman Killed in Line of Duty
Police and fire departments honor Dan Noonan, who died after a collision between a hose wagon and a streetcar in South Tacoma.
- A Sharp Critique of Christian Patriarchy
A biting anonymous editorial lampoons the hypocrisy of Seattle’s clergy regarding women’s rights.
- A Compassionate Life Cut Short by Smallpox
A dedicated social worker dies after contracting the disease while visiting a local house of charity.
- 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.
Also about this, in other words
- The Pulpit vs. The Ring
Dr. S. Alonzo Bright uses a sermon on the 'Demoniac' to launch a stinging public rebuke against corrupt city politicians.
- Healing Through Faith: Judge Hanna at the Opera House
A prominent Christian Science lecturer visits the Walla Walla Opera House to explain the doctrine's stance on sickness and the 'mental cause'.
- Evangelist Brown Preaches Purity in Seattle
Evangelist H.W. Brown concludes a nine-week residency in Seattle with a sermon on moral purity at the Seattle Theater.
- Seattle Pastor Warns of Anarchy and Labor Unrest in 1893 Sermon
Rev. Dr. D. C. Garrett told St. Mark's Episcopal congregation that labor troubles stem from a failure to render unto God and Caesar.
- The Evangelist Who Stood Like a Statue
Mrs. Maria B. Woodworth, a traveling evangelist, brings her 'spiritual anointing' to Seattle despite a historic snowstorm.
- The Divine Healer Who Buried Himself Alive: A Seattle Cult Leader’s Resurrection Claim
Rev. O. M. Schlatte, known as 'Schlatte the Divine Healer,' claims to have risen from a 40-day burial in the desert after fasting and praying for God's guidance. Now back in town, he asserts his authority over the famous 'Healer' of Kansas and prepares to resume his ministry.
- A Sculptor's Gift to the Presbyterian Church
A newly installed white marble baptismal font at the First Presbyterian Church celebrates local craftsmanship and memorializes a Philadelphia parishioner.
- The Holy Legal Battle on Front Street
A Seattle church congregation takes their pastor to court, accusing him of locking them out of their own place of worship.