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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 18 |
| 1893 | 13 |
| 1894 | 17 |
| 1895 | 17 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 11 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 12 |
| 1910 | 5 |
| 1911 | 5 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
165 stories matching membership
- A Midnight Knock, a Bloody Hat, and the Farmer Who Vanished
Charles Gloystein joined an oath-bound farmers’ society near Mica, tried to leave, and disappeared. A bloody hat was all searchers found.
- Fraternal Orders Thrive Despite Economic Gloom
While the Panic of 1893 batters the economy, Seattle's secret societies are recording explosive membership growth.
- Four Towns, 1,790 Red Cross Members, and $26.52 in Expenses
Kennewick, Richland, White Bluffs and Hanford bury their Christmas membership quota for the cost of a few posters and receipt books.
- The Saloon Was Their Paycheck: Everett Labor’s Fight Against Prohibition
In November 1910, Everett’s union locals — cigar makers, brewery workers, bartenders, cooks and waiters — urged a vote for license, warning that Prohibition would throw hundreds out of work and scatter their families.
- The Y.M.C.A.’s Urgent Plea for Modern Facilities
General Secretary T.M. Pattullo departs after four years of growth, leaving behind a vision for a modern facility that could double the organization's membership.
- Benton County Organizes a Road Lobby
Farmers, businessmen and all three commissioners met in Kennewick to create a county-wide good roads association—one dollar to join, a seat at the levy table.
- A Seattle Utopia Sold in One-Cent Shares
A society of unemployed men pools its wages and plots a Bellamy-style commonwealth of railroads, coal mines and common tables — starting from $5 of capital and 500 one-cent shares.
- Seattle’s 1895 Co-op Where 150 Unemployed Men Ate for 7 Cents a Day
At a Belltown barracks, unemployed single men pooled their wages, submitted to military-style rules and fed an average of 150 people daily for about 7 cents each.
- The House Turns on Its Insurance Commissioner
The Washington House votes unanimously to impeach Insurance Commissioner James H. Schively, opening a Senate trial that could remove him—and prolong the special session.
- The Uninvited Guest at the Elks Lodge
A Ballard woman claims she has mastered the secret rituals of the Elks after spying on their meetings from a rooftop, and now she's demanding membership.
- The Saloon Men Had a Precinct Map
A liquor-dealers' lodge in Stevens County picked its candidates and funded paid workers at every precinct—openly—in 1908.
- The Power of the 'Union Store' Card
Walla Walla labor leaders move to bring women into the fold, turning the tide for local retail staff.
- The Vice President's Cousin and the $1,000 Port Townsend Swindle
A smooth-tongued 'loan agent' traded on Adlai Stevenson's name to collect membership fees from Port Townsend's most respectable Democrats — then hid behind unreturned abstracts and 'free stock' worth $100 a share.
- The Rising Tide of Walla Walla Labor
A weekly dispatch on the growth of new trade unions in Walla Walla, from teamsters to horseshoers.
- Two Iowa Veterans Find Each Other After Thirty Years in an Olympia G.A.R. Hall
At the first meeting of Geo. H. Thomas Post in its new rooms, a visiting commander discovered a fellow Iowa soldier in the audience—and the speechmaking dissolved into a handshake.
- The Shingle Men Try to Tame the Market
Manufacturers meet in Seattle to cap production, set 1894 prices, and bind every mill to the plan—with forfeits for anyone who breaks ranks.
- The Fight for a Spot in the Puget Sound Amateur Baseball League
When West Seattle and Snohomish vied for a final place in a growing baseball circuit, civic pride and backroom politicking turned a quiet Tacoma meeting into a hotbed of baseball fever.
- A $50-a-Month Gamble on Seattle’s Working Women
In 1895, the city’s young YWCA promised cheap lunches, job leads, evening classes and a trained secretary—if supporters could cover four months of her salary.
- Aberdeen’s First Library Begins as a 'Nest Egg'
A modest collection of books and a donated office space mark the first steps toward a civic institution.
- A $10,000 Co-op With No Fruit in the Store
A Seattle farm reporter walks into the Tacoma offices of the Washington Fruit Produce Union to find both its manager and secretary conveniently 'out of town,' an empty warehouse, a treasurer who ran off with the funds — and hundreds of farmers who had just paid $5 apiece to join.
- Newport Residents Band Together to Establish Public Library
A group of civic-minded citizens incorporates a library association, elects trustees, and seeks city hall space for a free public library.
- Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army Visits Seattle
General Paul Vandervoort receives a hero's welcome at Yesler's Hall as the G.A.R. sees a massive surge in membership.
- The Finley Grange Turns a New Leaf
A surge of new membership and a renewed interest in national agricultural policy marks a turning point for the local Grange chapter.
- The Poultry and Pig Scam
Fly-by-night promoters are preying on Washington farmers with fraudulent 'poultry association' memberships and deceptive hog-buyback schemes.
- Democratic Young Men Organize
With over 150 members, the H. J. Snively Young Men's Democratic Club marks the largest political organization in the county's history.
Also about this, in other words
- Kennewick’s New 'Red-Blooded' Athletic Club
Local sports enthusiasts gather to launch a new athletic organization, securing a clubhouse and hosting a kickoff with live music.
- British Co-operative Building and the Goal of Homeownership
Before the age of the modern mortgage, Seattle’s early pioneers looked toward international cooperative building societies to help working citizens plant roots in the city.
- Fraternity Stiffed by City and Chamber
Local Odd Fellows lodges footed the entire bill for entertaining the visiting Sovereign Grand Lodge after the city and Chamber of Commerce reneged on their promises to split the costs.
- The 1878 Dream of Building Societies
A look at the early mutual loan movement, promising that the average working man could escape the cycle of high rent and finally own his home.
- From Two Rooms to a Building Fund: The YMCA’s Early Expansion in Seattle
Three years after arriving in Seattle, Secretary George Carter reflects on the YMCA’s transformation from a struggling group in a pair of rented rooms to a city institution with grand building ambitions.
- Registered Women Join Vote on $63,729.69 School Debt
With a high-stakes school bond measure on the ballot, the city reminds residents—including women—to register before the books close.
- The Founding Charter of the Seattle Public Library
A look back at the 1888 constitution of the city's first library association, which operated on membership dues, fine-print regulations, and a dream of civic enrichment.
- A Mutual Aid Lifeline for Seattle’s Unemployed
In the midst of economic hardship, a local cooperative provides food and shelter to hundreds, sustained by community donations and church support.