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30 stories matching olson
- The Blacksmith Who Wasn't: A Stranger’s Fatal Mistake in Walla Walla
S.F. Olson, a visitor from Touchet, died after being struck by a hack in downtown Walla Walla. His identity was only confirmed by a receipt from a local hardware store, leaving his family and origins unknown.
- An Honor Vindicated in Spokane
After being falsely accused of a highway robbery, a Walla Walla man clears his name by hiring his own investigator to prove a perfect alibi.
- The Mysterious Death of 'Pea Soup Chris'
A local longshoreman is found dead in a ditch, sparking initial fears of foul play.
- A Quarryman’s Fight for Justice
A stone quarry worker sues his employer for over $11,000 after a rockfall left him permanently crippled, citing negligence and ignored warnings.
- The City Council Takes on the Cable Company
Tacoma officials vow to hold transit operators accountable for 'dummy cars' and street congestion.
- The Hanged Corporal: A Seattle Guard Company Investigates Its Own Effigy Prank
Officers admitted the facts but called it a practical joke—then promised to punish the men who strung up Corporal J. E. Boyer in effigy.
- Thirty-Seven Miners Died 150 Feet From Safety
An 1894 coroner's jury in Franklin, Washington, heard how a small fire in the Oregon Improvement Company's coal mine became a wall of smoke — and why the men who could have escaped stayed to fight it.
- They Seized a Locomotive to Stop a Train—Then Faced Judge Hanford
After a mob of 3,000 surrounded a Northern Pacific train in Spokane, ten men were charged with contempt and riot; three pleaded guilty and two were sent to hard labor.
- The Price of Negligence
Minor Ernest A. Olson sued Gill Home Investment Co. after company-left dynamite exploded and took both his hands.
- Tragedy at the County Poor Farm
A patient suffering from typhoid fever leaps to his death from a third-story window.
- A Pinkerton Man’s Deception in Prosser
A high-stakes manhunt for a horse thief ends in North Yakima after a Pinkerton operative goes undercover to secure a suspect.
- The Blacksmith’s Last Ride: A Tragic Accident in Touchet
Coroner rules death 'pure accident' as community mourns S.F. Olsen, a stranger who found only brief friendship before his fatal encounter with a local hack line.
- Forty-Three Days of Gales, Then a Jury-Rigged Schooner Limps Into Port Townsend
Sails torn to ribbons and gear twisted, the three-masted schooner Buhne makes port after a voyage that should have taken three weeks and took six.
- Knockout Drops at the Standard Saloon
A Tacoma man swears he was drugged, fleeced of $210, and knocked toothless—then asks the city to revoke the saloon's license.
- The Franklin Mine Dead Were Buried. Then the Miners Went Back Down.
A relief fund swells with donations from Eddyville millmen and Seattle readers as surviving miners reopen the levels that did not burn.
- City Engineer Axes Staff Amidst Financial Crisis
A local corruption scandal involving a 'defalcation' leaves the city unable to pay for essential infrastructure, forcing layoffs in the engineer's office.
- The City Buried Its Own Mistake: Coroner’s Verdict Blames Seattle for Deadly Boiler Explosion
A coroner’s jury has issued a scathing indictment against the city of Seattle, its building inspectors, and a plumber for the negligence that led to a Tuesday night explosion. The verdict fixes blame on the municipality for allowing a dangerous steam heater beneath a public sidewalk without proper oversight.
- The Employer's Trap: Spokane Laborers Mock Plan to Union-Bust
As local merchants and manufacturers plot a new association to counter union power, Spokane’s labor leaders see through the scheme, citing stable wages and predicting failure.
- The Boss is Out: Tacoma Republicans Dump the Street Railway Henchman
In a rapid-fire city convention at the Lyceum Theater, Mayor Lewis D. Campbell secured his renomination while voters signaled a break from the city's powerful streetcar monopoly.
- Doctors Find Whisky, Not Insanity, in Chris Albertson Case
After a harrowing suicide attempt, a Tacoma man is sent to the county hospital for treatment rather than jail.
- The End of Coal: Tacoma’s Tugboats Eye Oil
Local steamboat captains and major industrial concerns move to replace coal with oil, signaling a shift in the region's energy dependence.
- New Juvenile Aid Society Targets Youth Crime
A dedicated group of Tacomans organizes to provide intervention and oversight for at-risk youth.
- The Great Fertilizer Fraud
State chemist warns farmers that nearly half of commercial fertilizers on the market violate state law.
- A Grim Ledger of May Accidents
A state-wide audit of violent deaths reveals the hazards of frontier life, from rail accidents to logging camp tragedies.
- Department Stores Evade New Minimum Wage
Employers in Washington state find a loophole in the new $10 weekly pay law by cutting hours to avoid mandated rates.