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| Year | Stories |
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| 1863 | 2 |
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| 1916 | 14 |
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| 1918 | 2 |
200 stories matching drill
- Kennewick's Oil Boom That Keeps Waiting for the Drill
A local editor watches speculators sell stock from Seattle to Walla Walla while the Rattlesnake district's gas well remains a mystery — and urges the town to back the one company actually drilling.
- The Town Takes Up the Drill
Thirty local men gather at the Knights of Pythias hall to master military maneuvers, driven by a newfound surge of community patriotism.
- The University Student Who Refused the Drill
A Seattle college student takes the faculty to court, arguing that mandatory military training interferes with his ability to work and pay his way through school.
- The University Mutiny: A Student Protest Over Compulsory Drill
When the University of Washington faculty mandated weekly military training for all students, a group of undergraduates went on strike, claiming the time—and their dignity—was their own.
- The University Revolt of 1892
A campus protest against mandatory military drills ends in a courtroom, where students face suspension and a professor takes to the chalkboard to mock them in verse.
- University Students Revolt Against Military Drill
A campus protest turns into a public spectacle after a sergeant’s strict disciplinary measures spark outrage at the state university.
- The 1895 Student Petition Against Mandatory Military Drill
Two-thirds of the male students at the University of Washington signed a petition asking the legislature to abolish compulsory military drill in state schools.
- Tambourine Drill Packs the Opera House, but the Boys Nearly Spoil the Night
A standing-room crowd cheered the young ladies' drill and a packed program—until local boys' 'hoodlumism' threatened to derail the evening.
- The University Gets a Law School — and a Drill Hall With a Running Track
The regents, meeting at Tacoma, voted to create a law department and to advertise for bids on a gymnasium and drill hall costing no more than $6,650, complete with company rooms and shower baths for the cadets.
- High School Stars Take the Stage
Seattle High School students dazzle with a massive production of 'The Mikado,' featuring elaborate hoop and fan drills.
- The Bloomer Rebellion: Seattle Girls Defy Censors to Save Their Drill
When anonymous posters labeled the University of Washington’s women’s physical culture class as 'obscene,' a committee of students and faculty mobilized the entire city to remove them—proving that the fight for women's bodily autonomy was already a local sport.
- The Cold Creek Oil Rush
After an artesian well drilling project in Cold Creek reveals a strange, oil-like substance, prospectors are scrambling to secure land leases in anticipation of a massive boom.
- A Gas Boom in Benton County, Complete With a Camp Lit by Its Own Well
Backers of the Benton County gas field planned a December 7 excursion to show off a well that powered engines, lit the driller’s houses, and they hoped would soon fuel a pipeline to Walla Walla.
- The City's Ladder Was Too Short
When the volunteer fire company staged a demonstration at Frye's Opera House, the Mayor found the equipment wanting—and the resulting public spat was published in full.
- The Mine That Wasn’t? A Captain Denies a Half-Million-Dollar Gold Swindle
An English capitalist’s suit against Alaska millionaires turned a Port Townsend sailing into a Pacific Coast sensation, with charges of swapped ore, gold-soaked drill cores, and a forceful denial from Capt. James Carroll.
- The Sheep Herders Who Burned a Half-Million Dollars to Scare Coyotes
For eighteen months a Rattlesnake Hills gas well blazed away at a herders' camp — until experts did the math and a three-cornered oil race began.
- Showdown at the Armory
A National Guard competitive drill in Seattle devolves into chaos as judges change the rules mid-contest, sparking heated protests.
- The Great Smokestack Hoax: Seattle’s Mountain Top Mystery
In 1873, local entrepreneur S. W. Peck convinced the city that a legendary 'living rod' lay buried atop American Flat. His desperate drilling operation reveals more about the era's speculative fever than geological truth.
- A Night at Brown's Hall: Seattle's Military Gala
In 1886, the city's militia hosted a lavish, high-society dance at Brown's Hall, complete with visiting dignitaries and a display of precision drills.
- The Midnight Drills of Seattle’s Citizen Militia
Complaints of noisy midnight military exercises spark tension in the city, pitting neighborhood quiet against the pride of the National Guard.
- The Quest for Water at Temperance and Mercer
Developer D. T. Denny is drilling deep into the ground of North Seattle, hoping to tap an artesian aquifer to secure water for his property.
- Drilling in the Rattlesnakes
Speculators on the Knudson ranch pause drilling as they hunt for a gas strike deep beneath the Benton County soil.
- The Oil Fever Hits Grant County
Local boosters are placing their bets on a new drilling operation, hoping to strike it rich just outside of town.
- Roslyn’s Miners Stood Together—and the Company Looked to Strikebreakers
When 650 Northern Pacific Coal Company workers refused a contract cut in July 1894, the company prepared to bring in Black miners under guard. In Roslyn, a home guard was already drilling.
- A Gasser, a Picnic, and a Promise: Kennewick Bets on Oil and Gas
Drillers pause to case off 400 feet of water, 85 people picnic at the well, and a Yakima promoter promises a franchise — and maybe oil — by summer.
Also about this, in other words
- The Desert Drill: A Quest for Water in North Yakima
A bold territorial experiment to strike water in the arid landscape of North Yakima hit a snag as machinery languished on the wrong side of the mountains.
- Firefighter Injured in High-Angle Practice Drill
A dangerous training exercise on Sixth Street leaves a fireman with severe hand injuries after equipment fails.
- The Breathing Well of Yakima
An artesian well on the P. R. Wood property displays strange, inexplicable atmospheric fluctuations.
- The School Fire Drill Revolution
Seattle’s fire chief praises the rapid evacuation of public schools, where students now clear buildings in under two minutes.
- A Mock Dress Parade at the Armory
Seattle militiamen trade drill precision for satire and pipe-mounted 'artillery' to the amusement of a capacity crowd.
- Seattle's Fire Drill Revealed a City Almost Defenseless Against Flames
A routine test of the fire department exposed feeble water pressure and sent two firemen to bed with serious injuries.
- Blasting Beneath 14th and A
Contractor C.D. Elmore is drilling into cement gravel to carve out a new foundation for a downtown landmark.
- White Bluffs Drills for War
Local men organize a volunteer 'Home Guard' to prepare for potential service in the Great War.