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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 9 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 10 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 6 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1909 | 8 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
89 stories matching livelihood
- Abandoned with an infant, a woman sues for her livelihood
A Seattle dentist’s wife seeks legal support after he leaves her and their child destitute, exposing the stark financial vulnerability of women in the 1887 frontier.
- The Great Log Boom Break at Ebey Slough
A river disaster threatens the livelihoods of local loggers as timber worth thousands breaks free from the Snohomish County river system.
- A Community Rallies After a Railway Tragedy
When a young brakeman loses his foot in a rail accident near the Cedar River, local citizens organize to secure his future.
- The Bossburg Inferno: A Sawmill and Its Fortune Turned to Ash
In the early hours of April 28, a fire consumed H. S. Huffman’s sawmill and planer in Bossburg, Washington, destroying not just timber but the livelihoods of the community that depended on it.
- The Great Fire of Seattle: A City in Ashes
As the dust settles on the inferno that consumed the heart of the young settlement, residents face the daunting task of rebuilding from nothing.
- Total Loss at Black Diamond
A hotel fire in the mining town of Black Diamond leaves residents homeless and penniless.
- Fishing Industry Braces for Border Dispute
Tensions rise as the Canadian government claims authority over Hecate Strait and Dixon Entrance, threatening the livelihood of local halibut fleets.
- The Price of Proving Up
A Ritzville homesteader defends his livelihood against malicious neighbors in a grueling legal battle over the integrity of his claim.
- Crushed on the Dry Dock
A pioneer ship carpenter sues the Union Transit Company after a workplace accident leaves him permanently injured while building the steamer Utopia.
- The Price of Refusing the Knights of Labor
A Seattle tavern keeper finds his livelihood evaporating after he crosses a powerful labor union, proving the reach of social and economic pressure in 1886.
- The Women's Industrial Army Rises in Seattle
While the men of the Industrial Army prepared to march on Washington, Seattle women formed their own auxiliary to advocate for the unemployed and support working women.
- Abandoned and Searching
A young German immigrant mother, abandoned by her husband, struggles to survive in Seattle with her two small children.
- Who Gets to Work the Docks?
A court ruling on the labor of foreign sailors in local ports highlights the fierce competition for maritime jobs in 1890s Tacoma.
- Miners Stand Firm Against Wage Cuts
Coal miners at Gilman organize against a sudden pay reduction mandated by the company, sparking a potential strike.
- Hanford Growers Rally to Save Water Rights
Facing a critical re-argument in federal court, Hanford farmers assess themselves to fund a legal battle that threatens their livelihood.
- The Neighbors Who Saved the Harvest
When an ill farmer and his preacher could not tend their fields, the community of Semiahmoo mobilized as one to save their livelihood.
- The Great Rain of 1903
A record-breaking two-week downpour across Eastern Washington threatens to destroy the wheat harvest and the livelihood of local farmers.
- The War Over Fruit Marketing
Kennewick growers face a high-stakes choice: gamble on independent shipping or join the pool-based Big Y system.
- The Fatal Price of a Hidden Life
A Spokane man shoots his wife for running a lodging house, a tragic climax to their long-standing conflict over her livelihood.
- The Great Sound Mill Slowdown of 1879
A secret price-fixing agreement in San Francisco forces local mills to cut production, threatening the livelihoods of workers across the region.
- The Landlord's Coup: A Woman’s Restaurant Seized by Force
In a bold display of property rights and gender dynamics in 1888 Seattle, Mrs. Mary Ostedberg took to the justice court after William Brown forcibly evicted her from the St. Elmo restaurant she had leased.
- The Shingle War at South Bellingham
A local manufacturer enforces a 'yellow-dog' style ultimatum, forcing union weavers to tear up their cards or lose their livelihoods.
- The Struggle for Walla Walla's Main Street
A local newspaper editor warns that the town's fragmented, 'cut-throat' merchant culture is paving the way for corporate monopolies to destroy local livelihoods.
- Will the War Break the Apple Market?
As the Great War erupts in Europe, a leading fruit distributor warns Kennewick growers that panic is their greatest threat.
- End of the Salmon Ban
Local fishermen win a victory as the state repeals restrictions on salmon fishing in Puget Sound.
Also about this, in other words
- The Brutal Truth of the 'Workaday' Struggle
An 1879 editorial reflects on the universal, grinding necessity of securing a livelihood, observing that even in a 'republic' built on individualistic grit, most people are only one misstep away from ruin.
- The Brutal Statistics of Poverty in 1880
A report in the Seattle Daily Intelligence uses cold, hard data to argue that the 'reproduction of capital'—human life—is threatened by the crushing weight of poverty and labor conditions.