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61 stories matching foolish
- The Race War in Roslyn: How Seattle’s Coal Mines Became a Battleground for Labor and Lynching
As strikers hold the line, the company imports Black miners from Illinois to break them. The result is not just a labor dispute, but a violent racial confrontation that exposes the dark underbelly of Washington's industrial boom.
- A Mother's Desperation in Spokane
After a family quarrel and a daughter's night away, Mrs. Jacob Schoder swallowed carbolic acid; her 18-year-old daughter Hattie found her and told the story from St. Luke's Hospital.
- Councilors and the Cost of Progress
A standoff between property owners and council members over street grading reveals the deep entanglement of private business and city government.
- The Seattle Baseball Management Moves to Evict Hecklers
After players were subjected to racist slurs and verbal abuse from the stands, the Seattle club announces a new 'no-tolerance' policy for fans.
- The Oil Men’s Last Stand: Seattle’s Battle Over Fire Safety and Corporate Power
In March 1889, a proposed ordinance to ban oil storage within city limits sparked a fierce standoff between the Board of Trade and powerful petroleum interests. While the city pushed for safety, the oil dealers argued the rules were discriminatory and economically impossible, setting the stage for a legal battle that would define Seattle’s industrial future.
- The Martial Law Debate that Rocked the Territory
When the Democratic Party of Washington Territory tried to denounce Governor Squire for imposing martial law, they ended up in an awkward tangle of political hypocrisy.
- The Mystery of Mayor Wright’s Citizenship
A local businessman claims to hold the key to a political scandal regarding the mayor's legitimacy to hold office.
- The Grant Street Crash: Who Killed the Passenger?
A deadly collision between a streetcar and a Northern Pacific train at Grant Street has sparked outrage. The Seattle Star argues that 'homebody' passengers are to blame for ignoring safety, while demanding accountability from the railway companies.
- The City vs. The Depot: Seattle's 1889 Eminent Domain Fight
When the Oregon Improvement Company tried to blockade South Third Street to protect their rail interests, the city council responded that the public interest was not for sale.
- The Great Western Rate War
A former railroad commissioner warns that a price-cutting war between transcontinental rail lines is hemorrhaging millions in revenue and paralyzing local shipping.
- The Relocation of the Customs House
Citizens of Port Townsend are reeling after reports that the Custom-House is being moved to satisfy political land speculators.
- The Primary Teacher’s Plea: Why Seattle’s Schools Are Failing Our Children
Miss C.I.T. Parsons delivers a scathing indictment of the King County Teachers' Institute, arguing that cheap buildings and unqualified instructors are robbing Seattle’s youth of their potential.
- Rain Turns Early Seattle's Front Street to Mud
When heavy rains turned downtown thoroughfares into impassable quagmires, residents demanded better engineering than the temporary, 'penny-wise' patch jobs of the 1870s.
- The Sad Mystery of Alfred Peterson
A lonely traveler dies in a Seattle hotel room, leaving behind only tax receipts, a scrap of land, and a collection of melancholy poetry.
- The Man Who Was Hanged Twice
A condemned murderer facing execution in Colfax reveals his harrowing, accidental survival of a previous lynching by an angry mob.
- An Editorial on Local Interracial Marriage
A 1909 Labor Journal editorial comments on a marriage between a white woman and a Japanese man in Seattle, reflecting the racial tensions of the era.
- The ‘Loving’ Letter That Ended a Marriage
Clara B. Heaton wins a default divorce after testifying that James Heaton threatened to blow her up with dynamite—then submits his own angry letter as proof.
- The Hidden Killer in Seattle’s Business District
The tragic, preventable death of a young businessman in 1889 exposes the lethal lack of sewage infrastructure in the heart of downtown Seattle.
- The Tillicums' Trick: How a Political Machine Fooled Tacoma's Democrats
A secretive faction called the Tillicums manipulates primaries, places decoy tickets, and doles out patronage jobs to tighten its grip on Pierce County politics.
- The Battle for the Assessor’s Office
A Seattle taxpayer challenges the hiring of a deputy, sparking a tense public exchange in the press over bureaucratic authority and civic competence.
- The Flyer Who Flew: How a Railway Agent’s Wine-Fueled Embezzlement Left Him Hiding in Victoria
J.R. Policy, former agent for the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, vanished from Seattle after embezzling $1,300 to fund a life of luxury and a romance with a woman of ill repute.
- The Fight for Washington’s Capital City
A Seattle writer argues that moving the seat of government east of the Cascades would cripple maritime commerce.
- The Strike at Gilman: A Powder Keg in the Coal Fields
As a bitter labor struggle winds down in the town of Gilman, a local resident denies rumors of an armed siege, painting a chaotic picture of saloon brawls and Winchester rifles.
- A Confederate or a Dupe: The Fight Over Lake Washington
A Seattle property owner denies he is part of a Tacoma-backed plot to defeat Senator John B. Allen over the Lake Washington Canal. The editor calls him a confederate or a dupe.
- The Contract Wife Who Would Not Be Shaken Off
Florence Bucklin Byers followed a wealthy Chilean consul to California, then returned to Port Townsend vowing to enforce their handwritten marriage contract—or sue him for divorce.
Also about this, in other words
- A Foolish Wager on Main Street
An overconfident local man loses money after betting his horse could outrun a human in a downtown race.
- The 'Smart' Grift: A Frontier Romance Scammer
A Chinese laborer attempts to use the legal system to recover money lost to a romantic swindler who promised marriage but disappeared with his cash.
- A Foreman’s Reckless Gamble with Dynamite
A Fairhaven clearing crew foreman ignores safety warnings and suffers catastrophic injuries during a stump-blasting operation.
- Vigilantism in Wiser
A deputy sheriff takes three men into custody for the targeting of Chinese laborers.
- A Fool’s Errand at Leschi Park
A traveler, sick and seeking vacation, was 'taken' by a group of gamblers at the waterfront pavilion, leading to a trial that exposed the city's predatory underworld.
- Daring Escape from the County Jail
Two prisoners blinded the jailer with a chemical powder before stealing his weapon and vanishing into the woods.
- A Treacherous Winter Morning on Main Street
An elderly local man is hospitalized with a concussion after slipping on the icy downtown pavement.
- The Misunderstood Drunk
A Seattle man is arrested as a 'desperate criminal,' only for the court to find he is suffering from delirium tremens.