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52 stories matching firework
- Fireworks Committee Blamed for Panic at Wright Park
Careless handling of explosives during Tacoma's Fourth of July celebration left spectators injured and fleeing for their lives.
- A Spark on the Roof: Fire at Rothschild & Co. Spurs a Petition Against Fireworks
Quick action saved a downtown Port Townsend store from burning, and the close call prompted residents to demand a ban on fireworks within town limits.
- Fireworks Panic at Wright Park
A lack of basic safety measures at Tacoma's Fourth of July celebration nearly leads to a deadly stampede.
- Seattle’s Fourth of July Gets a Cash Injection: $5,000 for Fireworks, $300 for the Parade
As crowds from across Puget Sound descend on the city, the Fourth of July Committee has slashed its budget estimates to fund a 'big' celebration, appealing to residents for immediate donations to cover the shortfall.
- The Rockets Turned Around: Tacoma's Fourth of July Went Up in a Sheet of Flame
A spark touched off the entire $500 pyrotechnic stock at Wright Park, driving rockets and bombs into a crowd of thousands and leaving women and children burned, trampled and briefly lost in the smoke.
- Independence Day Fireworks Tragedy
While Tacoma celebrated with a quiet holiday, a local boy faced a life-altering injury when a cannon exploded.
- A Fourth of July Tragedy at Spanaway Lake
A widowed mother’s holiday outing ends in horror when her two young sons are severely burned by accidental fireworks explosions.
- The Campaign for a 'Sane Fourth' of July
A growing national movement pushes to replace dangerous fireworks with organized pageants and parades to curb Independence Day carnage.
- The Royal Society of Good Fellows Throws a Party
Athletic contests, fireworks, and a topical song about 'Ta-ra-boom-de-ay' mark a lively celebration in the mining town of Gilman.
- City Hall Bans the Big Firecrackers
A heated debate over fireworks and public safety ends in a compromise measured by the inch.
- The City’s Welcome Wagon: Seattle Prepares a Grand Ovation for the 'Washington Boys' Returning from Manila
As the Philippine-American War drags on, local officials, school superintendents, and citizens rally to raise funds for a massive parade and fireworks display to honor the First Washington Volunteer Regiment.
- Seattle's Chinese New Year: Fireworks, Debt Settling, and a Tartar Emperor
Local Chinese merchants celebrate the new year with fireworks and a week of festivities, while manager Woo Gen voices his opposition to the ruling Tartar dynasty.
- Tragedy on Pioneer Square: A Young Woman’s Brush with Death
While visitors from Victoria watched the fireworks display on Pioneer Square, a stray firecracker ignited a young woman's clothing, leading to a harrowing struggle for survival.
- Safety Crackdown at Wright Park
A dangerous accident sparks a push to ban explosives from Tacoma's public greenspaces.
- The Republican Machine Sweeps Seattle
Byron Phelps wins the mayoral race in a landslide as the city undergoes a political shift.
- The Price of a July Fourth Celebration
A Seattle printer and a child suffer grave injuries from an errant Chinese bomb during the 1872 Independence Day festivities.
- The Filipino Community That Organized Like Fireworks and Vanished Like Smoke
Seattle's Filipino editor calls out a pattern of flashy associations that burn bright, elect officers before the election, and leave nothing behind but speeches.
- The Town Council's Musical Chairs
After the incoming mayor resigns immediately upon taking the oath of office, the city council descends into a scramble to fill the vacancy.
- A Quiet Fourth in Yakima
City authorities ban fireworks, sending residents elsewhere to celebrate while census enumerators scramble to count the town.
- Homemade Cannon Blast on Yesler Avenue
Two young boys narrowly escape death while attempting to build an improvised firework cannon on the Fourth of July.
- Glowing Wonders at the Federal Courthouse
Professor Frederick A. Osborn captivates a Tacoma audience with a demonstration of the newly discovered element, radium.
- Seattle Invites the Territory to a Centennial Fourth
As the United States turned 100 in 1876, Seattle's civic leaders mobilized an ambitious, city-wide organizing committee to prove the frontier outpost was a proper American town.
- The Great Peace Jubilee: Seattle’s Plan to Outshine Washington City
As the capital prepares for a national celebration of peace, Seattle residents are rallying with unprecedented unanimity to host their own magnificent reception for the First Washington Regiment, promising fireworks on Puget Sound and a naval battle reenactment.
- Seattle’s First Independence Day Mega-Festival
As the United States approached its 1876 Centennial, Seattle organizers launched an ambitious, city-wide effort to host a monumental July 4th celebration that would signal the town's arrival on the map.
- The Battle for the County Seat
Judge Ballinger grants an injunction preventing the removal of the Snohomish County seat to Everett, sparking celebrations in the streets.
Also about this, in other words
- The Great Telephone Switchboard Fire
A tangled mess of high-voltage arc light wires sends fireworks cascading through the central telephone exchange, nearly incinerating the entire plant.