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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 7 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
26 stories matching caller
- The New Year’s Baby Snatcher
A Seattle caller attempts to kidnap a child during a New Year’s visit, marking a disturbing escalation in his annual crime spree.
- A Hard Day at the Coal Depot Ends in Paralysis for One of Olympia's Oldest Citizens
A prominent Olympian collapses after a day of heavy work in the rain; doctors prescribe quiet as visitors crowd St. Peter's Hospital.
- A Fatal Shot in Ellensburg: Adopted Son Killed, Mrs. Norris Takes Poison
Mrs. J. C. Norris shot 21-year-old Thomas Murray in the temple, then swallowed rat poison and told callers she was glad of it.
- The Ousting of Professor Willers
A prominent Tacoma linguist and ordained minister is kidnapped by a group of men following allegations of 'unnatural conduct' with his students.
- They Would Rather Grow Than Beg: Seattle’s Unemployed Turned Vacant Lots Into Potato Patches
In the depression year of 1893, nearly 200 Seattle men—most with families—were given free seed, tools and borrowed city lots through the Pingree plan and the Co-operative Industrial Society.
- The Only Witness to a Saloon Killing
James Murphy’s second murder trial hinged on the sole eyewitness to a quarrel that began over cocktails and ended with Philip Dawe shot under the eye behind his bar.
- Vancouver Smallpox: No New Cases, One Death, Quarantine Debate
Across the Pacific Northwest, health officials struggle to contain smallpox as performers and desperate travelers attempt to dodge mandatory quarantine.
- The Vanishing of Charles Gloystein and the Secret Society That Armed a County
In 1894, a Spokane County man disappeared. Rumor blamed a secret Populist order, and neighbors began answering their doors with shotguns.
- A $10,000 Railroad Check and a Whispering Campaign in Olympia
In 1895, Washington's legislature gathered to choose a U.S. senator, and the Seattle press heard that the Southern Pacific had put $10,000 behind one candidate.
- Eugene V. Debs Comes to Seattle to Ask: 'Who Are the Conspirators?'
Fresh from the collapsed Chicago conspiracy trial, the labor leader arrives by steamer to lecture, raise legal funds, and rally Puget Sound union men.
- A City Turned Out to Bury George Heilbron
In 1895, Seattle’s governor, mayor, judges, businessmen and laborers filled the First Unitarian Church for the funeral of a civic leader who had helped build the young city.
- The Seattle Editor Who Worked Himself to Death in a Bathroom
George H. Heilbron, editor-in-chief of the Post-Intelligencer, was only 38 when apoplexy killed him at his Cherry Street home. His doctor blamed years of nervous exhaustion from overwork.
- A Spokane Farmer Vanished, and His Bloodied Hat Was All They Found
Gloystein was the last Republican in his neighborhood, warned in an anonymous 'Populist' letter to change his tune. Then he walked out into the night with callers and never came back — and the governor put up money for a body and a conviction.
- The Governor’s Gamble: McBride Pledges War on Corporate Corruption
In the wake of Teddy Roosevelt’s fiery Spokane address, Washington Governor Albert E. McBride declares his intent to uphold the law against wealthy corporations, signaling a shift in state politics.
- Betrayed by the Pianist: A Night at the Dove Dance Hall
After a laborer was drugged and robbed in a dance hall, the perpetrators were undone not by the police, but by the vengeful testimony of a woman scorned.
- The Man Who Said He Spoke for the Czar
A smooth-talking stranger blew into Tacoma claiming to be the Russian government's agent in a Siberian railway steamship scheme — then turned out to be tangled up in the intrigue surrounding the state capitol commission.
- City Council Splits Over Telephone Franchise
A surprise move to indefinitely postpone the new independent telephone franchise failed in a narrow 9-7 vote, signaling a shift in local utility control.
- A Custody Dispute Turns Into a Near-Brawl
When two children disappear during a divorce proceeding, a hired detective and a father find themselves on the edge of violence.
- Street Improvement Row Erupts in Kennewick
Second Ward property owners clash with city officials over mandatory immediate payment plans for street work.
- The Highlands Fruit Heist
A Kennewick orchardist loses his entire crop to nighttime thieves, while a neighbor's attempt to stand guard ends in a bizarre vanishing act.
- The Bold Burglars of Front Street
A brazen daylight robbery at the home of Mr. Charles Hopkins leaves a family missing jewelry, cash, and a return ticket to Portland.
- The Night the Post Building Smoldered
A pre-dawn fire nearly claims the offices of the Post-Intelligencer, revealing the stark difference between fire safety in brick versus wooden structures.
- The Codlin Moth War: Hogs, Padded Poles, and a Walla Walla Grower's Doubts About Spraying
W. S. Offner reported a quarter-million-dollar fruit trade from the Walla Walla valley—and explained why the standard spray calendar failed against the orchard pest.
- Seattle's Jewish Community Votes Down a 'Jewish Independent Political Club'
An anonymously circulated call for a Jewish political club meets a packed and hostile meeting in Red Men's Hall, where community leaders insist religion has no place in city politics.
- The Unrelenting Doorbell: A Victorian Guide to Handling Salesmen
A satirical look at the day in the life of a beleaguered homemaker besieged by solicitors in 1870s Seattle.
Also about this, in other words
- The End of the Classroom Phone Call
Teachers, exhausted by dozens of daily interruptions from parents, ban non-emergency telephone calls to students during school hours.
- A Close Call with a Falling Telephone Pole
A local worker narrowly escapes injury after a heavy pole slips from control.
- The Deadly Call: A Streetcar Worker Electrocuted on Duty
A faulty telephone circuit, intended for transit operations, turned fatal when a Seattle conductor went to report off his shift.
- The Midnight Switchboard Dilemma
A local telephone company threatens to start charging for after-hours calls to deter 'trivial' late-night conversations.
- A Lifeline on the Empty Road
Facing a fourteen-mile stretch of road with no human habitation, Benton County installs a telephone booth to aid motorists stranded between Hanford and the Yakima River.
- The Bugle-Call Defense of a 'Jumped' Lot
When a town committee arrived to evict a couple from a disputed lot in Port Angeles, the wife met them with a bugle and two Winchester rifles.
- A Father’s Hardship and the Telegram That Changed Everything
An overworked, weary business man contemplates his supposed failures until a birthday message from his daughter provides a new perspective on success.
- A Close Call for a Young Girl
A man is held for trial after attempting to assault a girl at his cabin near the foot of Pike Street.