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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
26 stories matching impromptu
- The Midnight Raid at the Butler Cafe
Police break up an impromptu faro game, but the dealer’s quick bail payment ensures the 'flyer' will soon resume.
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Visits Tacoma
Leslie M. Shaw delivers an impromptu address at First Presbyterian Church, urging young men to embrace a 'strenuous existence.'
- An Indecent Display at the Coal Bunkers
Seattle residents take offense as sailors from the barkentine Modoc turn the public waterfront into an impromptu swimming hole.
- The City Police Station Turns Into an Impromptu Barbershop
Twenty-six aspiring barbers descended upon police headquarters for a rigorous examination and practical test of their skills.
- The Blind Maestro and his Pullman Kid Band
A touching story of a blind conductor leading a boys' band in Pullman, destined for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
- Seattle Orders Streets Cleared Following Great Fire
City officials demand the immediate removal of impromptu sidewalk stalls that sprouted after the destruction of the downtown business district.
- A Secret Prize Fight in the Southern Woods
A small group of spectators gathered in a secluded nook to watch a 'scientific contest' between two local pugilists.
- The Thespians' Farmhouse Feast
When a special train breaks down, a famous traveling theater troupe abandons the stage to cook an impromptu dinner at a nearby farmhouse.
- The Klondike Gold Rush Rumor That Sent Seattle Into a Frenzy
A false tip regarding a 'treasure boat' arriving from the Yukon triggered a frantic, early-morning scramble among the Seattle Press Club—all for a story that never arrived.
- The Farmer and the One-Dollar Fee
A Stanwood farmer’s struggle to sell his own harvest in Seattle triggers an impromptu protest against city bureaucracy.
- The Struggle to Build a County Fair
Citizens push to establish the Snohomish County Agricultural Society despite massive logistical hurdles and limited resources.
- The College Men Who Rode the Rails to Spokane
Two Washington State College students recount their harrowing, freezing, and impromptu journey atop a freight train to Spokane in search of adventure.
- Boomtown Hype Meets a National Hero
General Russell A. Alger visits the booming city of Fairhaven, promising to lobby for a port of entry as speculators dream of rising land values.
- A Farewell to the Queen City
Former pastor reflects on his departure from Seattle and his new post in Salem.
- Republican Rally at the Raymond Hotel
Campaign rhetoric heats up in the Fourth Ward as politicians debate the mayor's administration and the meaning of 'mergers.'
- The First Banquet of Organized Labor
When Walla Walla’s carpenters and painters gathered for a night of speeches and camaraderie, they set the stage for a new era of labor solidarity in the city.
- A Union Send-off for the Ranch-Bound
Everett linemen gather at the Labor Temple to toast two of their own before they trade climbing poles for farm life.
- The City Hall Gambling Den
When police raided the local underworld, the city’s courtroom was transformed into an impromptu warehouse for illicit gaming gear.
- The Concordia Beer Hall Heist
A cool-headed band of thieves broke into a Seattle saloon, cracked the safe, and held an impromptu dinner party with stolen beer and cigars before vanishing.
- The Silver Rally That Couldn't Afford to Rent the Hall
A hundred Seattle free-silver men met on the Armory steps after the rent fell through, then passed the hat to send one delegate to Salt Lake City.
- The Great Sunday Exodus: Seattle’s Mass Migration to East Lake
In a display of weather defiance and civic pride, thousands of residents abandoned the city center for the shores of Lake Washington, turning Stern & Miller’s new development into an impromptu amusement park.
- The Centennial That Saved Seattle: How 8,000 Souls Turned a Territorial Mist into a City
On July 4, 1876, despite being late to statehood and lacking federal funding, Seattle’s pioneers pulled off a spectacle of flags, steamers, and speeches that proved the town was here to stay.
- The Haunted Cabin That Killed Twice
A Texas rancher’s murder mystery travels north to Washington, where a cowboy finds himself accused of killing his partner in the exact spot—and with the same knife—that vanished from a prosecutor's safe.
- The Navy Secretary Goes Down Into the Big Hole
Secretary of the Navy Herbert rides the lighthouse tender Manzanita across the Sound to inspect the giant new dry dock at Port Orchard, settles a bitter dispute over how deep to drive the pilings, and dances the night away at the Rainier.
- The Wholesaler Tells the Growers the Truth: 'We Don't Love You'
Sixteen years in the Seattle commission trade and no patience left, R. Merchant tells a room of fruit growers that no middleman has ever cared about them — and that neat, uniform packing, not grievance, is the only thing that ever got a farmer paid.