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61 stories matching merri
- The Last Word from the Dispatch: A Veteran Editor’s Farewell and a New Era Begins
In October 1876, the *Puget Sound Dispatch* underwent a significant leadership change. The outgoing editor, Bebia Brown, penned a reflective valedictory on his five-year tenure, while incoming editor Thomas B. Merry outlined his vision for Seattle’s future, pledging support for statehood and local industry.
- The Great Political Tickling: How Daniel Bugley Outwitted Seattle’s Beriah Brown
A fiery editorial in the *Snohomish Sun* exposes a political alliance between two rival editors, accusing them of using religious fervor as a cover for partisan maneuvering.
- The Professor’s Last Trick: Clara Baldwin’s Final Spiritualist Spectacle
In a packed hall in Seattle, the renowned medium Clara Baldwin performed her final show before departing for Portland, captivating the audience with 'wonderful bat' illusions and binding herself in chains to prove her powers were real.
- Seattle Newsboys Take Tacoma by Storm
A pack of Seattle newsboys descends on the Interstate Fair, jeers a non-union print shop, climbs the roofs, and eats Chilberg’s restaurant out of house and home.
- Tacoma’s Merry Municipal Mayhem
While Seattle navigates its own growing pains, its 'younger sister' Tacoma finds itself in a state of total civic disorder, from impeached marshals to liquor license wars.
- The Old Town Merry-Go-Round Uproar
A carnival attraction at North 29th and Carr streets is driving neighbors to distraction, leading to a swarm of police calls.
- Holiday Revelry in Early Renton
A historic gathering of pioneer families at the new schoolhouse marked a high-water mark for the young coal mining settlement.
- A Musical Benefit for the African M. E. Church
The Merry Eight Club hosted a successful spring musical at Turner Hall to support the local Jones Street African Methodist Episcopal Church.
- A Steam-Powered Saturday at the Ballgame
In 1877, a merry crew boarded the steamer 'Nellie' for a day of baseball and feasting at Port Gamble, capturing a rare moment of community harmony on the Sound.
- The Great Ellensburg Fire
While Yakima celebrated the Fourth of July, a neighbor city fell to a devastating, likely incendiary blaze.
- 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 Tragedy at the Railway Crossing
A conductor and engineer face manslaughter charges following a fatal train accident in Prosser.
- The Mayor Moves to Shut the Dives and Gambling Rooms
A sweeping message from the mayor demands that the council revoke the licenses of saloons and music halls where girls sell liquor and gamblers run their games—passed in full by the aldermen even as auditors report a $27,000 hole in the street-improvement funds.
- The Railroad King's Secret: Kahn Reveals the 'Scoop' Behind Seattle's Next Big Line
In a rare interview on his birthday, Democratic committee member Joe Kahn spills the beans on the Northern Pacific’s expansion plans and hints at a massive political scandal involving President Harrison.
- The Ball That Shook Seattle: A Night of Masks, Money, and 'Transposed Sexes'
In the damp cold of February 1877, Seattle’s elite gathered for a masquerade ball that defied social norms, featuring cross-dressing performers and a prize for the 'best sustained character'—a rare glimpse into the territory's vibrant, chaotic social life.
- A Deadly Commute: The Perilous Rails of Tacoma
A group of railway laborers, hoping for a joyride around the city, encountered a tragic and fatal end when an engine struck their buggy near the wharf.
- The Carousel Tragedy: A Seattle Heartbreak
When two inseparable shop girls fell for the same carousel operator, a romantic misunderstanding led to a devastating, silent exit.
- The Man Everyone Called ‘Mickie’ Had a Secret Family 2,000 Miles Away
A letter from Scranton revealed that a familiar White Bluffs resident had a wife, a son and two daughters—and that they had long assumed he was dead.
- The Great Seattle Printing Conspiracy
When the Dispatch editor exposed a 'plunder' scheme by rival newspapers to inflate public printing costs, he revealed the messy, graft-filled reality of 1878 municipal administration.
- The Shadowy Policing of Sumner's Iron Works
Everett labor organizers discover that local police badges were secretly handed out to strikebreakers, sparking a call for commission government.
- The Ticket Taker's Midnight Mugging
A L'Allegro Club treasurer was lured from the dance floor into a trap, ending in a gagging and a $55 robbery.
- The Petty Feuds of Walla Walla's Elite
A satirical chronicle of the local political war between 'Ankeny' and 'Boxer' factions.
- The Shingle Mill Girls of Cosmopolis
A local lumber mill defies labor union expectations by hiring a crew of women, sparking both ridicule and admiration on the Pacific Coast.
- The Strawberry War: Kennewick Growers Take Control of the Market
For the first time in regional history, Kennewick berry farmers are dictating their own prices, forcing Seattle commission merchants to pay cash or go without.
- Olympia Celebrates the Turning Point of the Civil War
Upon receiving news of Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the capital of Washington Territory erupted in days of wild, illuminated celebration.
Also about this, in other words
- The Tragic End of a Restaurant Proprietor
Louis Marri, owner of the struggling Maison Riche, was found dead of a morphine overdose, leaving behind a legacy of business failure and despair.
- A Night Scuffle at the Fremont Milling Company
A machinist was caught red-handed by a vigilant watchman while attempting to loot the mill of its industrial steel.