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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1928 | 1 |
27 stories matching donor
- The Wharfinger's Reward: A Real Estate Gift from Henry Yesler
In an era of rising industrial ambition, Seattle's pioneer mogul Henry Yesler gifted four prime city lots to his longtime wharf manager as a gesture of gratitude.
- The Great Seattle Canal Subscription Scandal
Prominent business leaders expose the local newspaper's fabricated list of wealthy donors to the Lake Washington ship canal project.
- After a Fire, Neighbors Replenish the Stanlake Pantry
A community rallies for a family who lost their home and their entire supply of canned goods.
- A New Park Emerges from the Logging Woods
The Schater Brothers Logging Company gifts land to the state for a new park in Mason County, complete with a dance pavilion.
- Taxpayers Oppose 'Charity' Wages for Street Cleaners
A reform group challenges the city's plan to pay men $1.25 a day for street cleaning, arguing the city is exploiting laborers under the guise of charity.
- The Price of Public Space
North Yakima officials consider abandoning a gift of 20 acres to the city, sparking a clash between land donors and the council.
- A Gold Umbrella for the Starter
Before the Walla Walla derby, local horsemen honored track judge Robert Leighton with a surprise tribute for his fair and steady hand on the racing circuit.
- The City Mourns a Beloved Teacher
A crowded Plymouth Congregational Church honors Amanda Hildebrandt, a teacher remembered for her selfless life.
- The Gospel-Ship Scam on Puget Sound
How a pious Olympia minister raised international funds to build a missionary vessel, only to pivot it into a lucrative towboat business.
- Ballard's Grandest School Gala
Over 1,000 residents packed the opera house for a military-themed school production, showcasing local pride and a new generation of talent.
- The First Wedding in Franklin
A historic ceremony marks the beginning of a local tradition for the growing industrial settlement.
- A Frontier Community’s Mercy
After their young daughter suffered a catastrophic burn in 1881, a family in Whatcom County found support from total strangers across the Pacific Northwest.
- Seattle’s Half-Million-Dollar Canal Fund Was $16,000 Short
A subscription drive for the South Canal neared its half-million-dollar goal in 1896, with bricklayers pledging $1,000 apiece and boosters pressing tardy donors to pay up.
- A Centennial Benefactor
A local church society, struggling under the weight of debt, receives a surprise donation from a 101-year-old woman in Massachusetts.
- When a Railroad Pass Was a Bribe in a Pocket
A Tacoma editor demands Washington's lawmakers enforce the constitutional ban on free train passes, arguing the 'courtesy' bought influence one legislator at a time.
- The Great Nude Debate: When Seattle’s Church Ladies Tried to Save Their Living Pictures
A fundraising gala at Christ Episcopal Church descended into moral panic when vestrymen declared 'living pictures' (nude art) too scandalous for the pulpit, forcing a cancellation that left donors furious and ladies defiant.
- The Battle for Ravenna Park: When Seattle’s Elite Tried to Buy Out the Public
In May 1899, a private park association posted trespassing warnings and threatened legal action against streetcar passengers, sparking a fierce public debate over whether Seattle’s green spaces belonged to the people or their wealthy owners.
- Ballard's Tide Flats Belong to the Uplanders, State Board Rules
In a decision touching Shilshole Avenue and the Ballard waterfront, the state land commissioners gave upland owners the preferred right to buy tide lands—and warned cities not to become land speculators.
- Seven-Cent Meals: Seattle's City Mission Fed Thousands in 1893
In November 1893, the Seattle City Mission served 3,049 free meals, provided 1,071 lodgings, and begged the city for underclothing as the depression deepened.
- The Jailhouse Serenade: Seattle’s Most Popular Prisoner Refuses Bail
Val Wildman, proprietor of the 'Vanity Fair' lottery, sits in King County Jail refusing to pay his fine. When friends and influential citizens gather outside to raise the money for his release, he turns them away—insisting his imprisonment is a matter of principle.
- Seattle Rallies for the Families of the Franklin Mine Dead
As donations begin arriving at the Post-Intelligencer, Seattle’s Black community organizes its own relief committee for the families of miners killed in the Franklin disaster.
- The First White Woman of the Skykomish
In the rugged valley north of Snohomish, pioneer settler Mrs. Furtun stands as a solitary female figure in a male-dominated frontier, marking the slow, steady growth of a region destined to become a timber and mining hub.
- The Chinese Girl Barred From the Y.W.C.A. Pool
In a 1926 essay, a Chinese writer catalogues American prejudice—segregated Y.M.C.A.s, a church donor’s daughter turned away from a swimming pool, and lecturers who twist China to fit their biases.
- The Ghost of the Seattle Enterprise: Stockholders Escape a Dead Newspaper's Debts
A receiver's long-running suit against 85 subscribers to the failed Seattle Enterprise collapses in court, but not before the paper's brief, fiery life is recalled — complete with a building-bulging press and a strike by its own printers.
- The People’s Franchise: Seattle Votes Down Municipal Ownership of Streetcars
In a pivotal moment for the city's infrastructure, voters reject the Navin resolution to take control of street railways, cementing private corporate dominance over public transit.