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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 1 |
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| 1915 | 1 |
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| 1917 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
49 stories matching pan
- The Tacoma Gold Rush That Was Salted With Quicksilver
A mining journal exposes how placer claims on Tacoma school land turned a public trust into a speculative jackpot—complete with imported gold, alleged bribery, and a land office that kept saying yes.
- The Hard Pan Tax Dispute
A small-town legal battle in Anacortes reveals how railroad companies and local governments clashed over the definition of 'rock' to dodge municipal assessments.
- The Pan Tans: Spokane's Secret Order of Judges, Cops and Councilmen
A police commissioner's confession exposes a sworn club that counted three superior court judges, four councilmen, a deputy prosecutor and a police judge among its members — and the recall petitions start the same week.
- The Human Cargo in the Ash Pan
A steamship captain reveals the desperate lengths to which his crew went to smuggle Chinese laborers past authorities in the Puget Sound.
- Gold Fever Hits the Sound
As residents of Tacoma and Port Townsend scramble to stake claims in city streets, the sudden discovery of gold in urban gravel pits sparks a brief, chaotic rush.
- The Gold Fever Strikes Steilacoom
A local citizen hits a pocket of gold, sparking a frantic rush among town residents.
- The Ghostly Burglar of Main and 12th
A Seattle household tried everything to stop a persistent intruder—from chair barricades to tin-pan alarms—but the culprit bypassed every obstacle, leaving the family baffled.
- Sauerkraut vs. the Burglar
A serial burglar is finally caught, but his most memorable encounter was a failed heist at a boarding house.
- The Tribune Pans a Play—and a Rival Paper Pans Back
A traveling dramatic company bombed in Olympia, and the fight over who said so turned into a newspaper war over puffery, honest criticism, and who was cheating amusement-seekers.
- The School Land That Was Salted With Gold
Washington's attorney general told the Interior Department that a claimant had planted jeweler's gold in gravel from a Pierce County school section to turn public land into a mine.
- Seattle Miners Rush to Sultan River Gold Claims
When a chance discovery in the dry bed of the Sultan River sparked a desperate dash for fortune, the town of Snohomish was left nearly deserted as laborers abandoned their jobs to try their luck in the mud.
- The Unstoppable March Toward Women’s Suffrage
A labor newspaper reflects on the sophisticated campaign for the women's vote, arguing that if the home is a woman's sphere, then her voice in government is essential.
- The Butcher Who Walked to Kill the President
John Bushey, a displaced laborer from Pendleton, was arrested in Walla Walla after claiming he carried a rifle and cartridges for both Theodore Roosevelt and the German Emperor.
- Arson Attack at Snohomish Mercantile
An incendiary device was discovered burning in the floorboards of a Chinese-owned store, nearly igniting the heart of the business district.
- The Geopolitics of Women’s Clubs
A Seattle speaker breaks down the 'monopoly' of land and power in Latin America, framing the region's instability as a failure of democratic inheritance.
- The Salvation Army's Mission of Mercy
Facing mounting poverty in 1893, the local Salvation Army opens a dining room for the city’s destitute, planning a woodyard to trade labor for meals.
- The Struggle Over the Lake Washington Canal
A labor dispute stalls construction on the critical waterway between Lake Washington and Lake Union.
- Gold Fever Empties the Army Posts—and Leaves Steilacoom’s Mail in a Canoe
A steamer from the north brings word of rich surface diggings on the Fraser and Thompson rivers, soldiers deserting lower Puget Sound posts, and Steilacoom cut off from its mail.
- The Similkameen Gold Rush
A government expressman brings word of a new, lucrative gold strike in the Similkameen region, sparking excitement and fear of a dangerous, ill-prepared rush.
- The Scandal of the 'Ragged One': How Pendleton's Victory Sparked a Riot in Walla Walla
When the local team lost to Colfax and Pendleton took first place, the crowd’s frustration boiled over into violence against a theater patron.
- The Skykomish Gold Rush
A reported discovery of river-bed gold near Snohomish sparks a local frenzy, leading prominent citizens to abandon their businesses to stake a claim.
- The Terrors of Belltown: Youth Gangs and Civic Chaos in 1870
Before it was a bustling neighborhood, Belltown was a site of 'villainous' youth pranks and neighborhood disturbances that left residents clamoring for order.
- The Great Maple Valley Bear Panic
When a black bear wandered into their backyard, a frontier couple abandoned their home and fled on horseback to escape the 'ferocious' beast.
- The Pugilist Who Panned the Performance
When legendary heavyweight John L. Sullivan took a turn on the Seattle stage, his performance was less 'histrionic' than 'fighting drunk.'
- The Silent Battle of the Salmon Spawning Grounds
An early eyewitness account of the Columbia River’s delicate ecosystem and the struggle to protect a vanishing resource from industrial overfishing.
Also about this, in other words
- Kennewick’s War on Tin Cans
Mayor and council mandate April 1st as annual city-wide cleanup to combat malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
- The Great Nooksack Potlatch
Hundreds gather near Lynden for a traditional gift-giving feast and solemn reburial of ancestors.
- Industrial Accident on the Tide Flats
A laborer survives a collapse on a pile driver working on the Seattle tide flats.
- A Mill Worker's Maiming at Cosmopolis
A new employee at a shingle mill is left permanently disabled after a horrific industrial accident on his first day.
- A Breakfast Tragedy at Pacific Avenue
A local woman’s accidental encounter with a cable car turns the intersection into an omelette station.
- The Flat-Iron, the Umbrella, and the Inkstand: A Port Townsend Divorce Suit
J. K. Meyer's divorce petition turns a respectable Port Townsend marriage into a catalogue of thrown household goods, alleged affairs, and very public embarrassment.
- A Close Call at the Cleaning Shop
Static electricity turns a routine cleaning job into a dangerous fire, destroying a local shop's equipment and wardrobe.
- Disaster Strikes at the Lime Kilns
A dangerous industrial accident in the San Juan Islands leaves an engineer clinging to a pile for his life as safety measures fail.