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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1883 | 12 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 8 |
| 1886 | 13 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 7 |
| 1889 | 10 |
| 1890 | 5 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 29 |
| 1893 | 39 |
| 1894 | 34 |
| 1895 | 25 |
| 1898 | 4 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1903 | 21 |
| 1904 | 18 |
| 1905 | 3 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 12 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 4 |
324 stories matching persist
- The Judge Who Gambled Away His Office: Soderberg’s Dramatic Resignation
After the grand jury returned five indictments for extortion and malfeasance in office, District Attorney Joseph Soderberg walked into court, tendered his resignation, and declared he would repay every illegal fee to the county treasury.
- The Fruit-Seller's Wife Who Kept a Loaded Winchester by the Cradle
Left alone half the night with a two-month-old baby, a quiet Seattle housewife twice warned off an intruder — then fired a warning shot past his ear with the cool of a marksman.
- The Iron Giant Lands: Moss Bay Steel Chooses Seattle Without Asking for a Penny
In a stunning victory for civic pride over corporate bribery, the massive Moss Bay Iron and Steel Company has selected Lake Washington as its site, rejecting lucrative bonuses from rival cities and the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Great Seattle Manhole Swindle
A persistent insurance claim agent uncovers a ring of traveling grifters who fooled the city council into paying thousands for imaginary injuries.
- From Mosquito Swamp to Golden Grain: The Taming of the Swinomish Flats
How a desolate, flood-prone wilderness was transformed by sheer human persistence into one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Washington Territory.
- The Persistent Barber Who Conned the City
A petty swindler known as 'Clark' or 'Rieff' spent weeks running up tabs at local drugstores and shops by impersonating city employees and prominent businessmen.
- The Mining Promoter Who Told Would-Be Miners to Stay Home
Col. W. Thomas Hart has bonded claims and cut a trail in the new Slate Creek district, but he begs the press not to inflate the strike: there is no work, no mill, and too much snow for prospecting.
- The Contract Wife Who Would Not Be Shaken Off
Florence Bucklin Byers followed a wealthy Chilean consul to California, then returned to Port Townsend vowing to enforce their handwritten marriage contract—or sue him for divorce.
- The Mother Who Hunted a 'Scandalous' Actor Across the West
A persistent woman travels from Oregon to San Jose, mistakenly harassing a local journalist whom she believes is the man who ruined her daughter's life.
- The Battle for the City Pound
Newly elected poundmaster E. R. Harding faces a standoff as the incumbent refuses to surrender the keys, sparking a brewing council crisis.
- The Alleyway 'Doctor'
A persistent young street peddler attempts to sell a sickly, down-and-out man an apple and some 'remedies' for his poor health, leading to a strange and chaotic confrontation.
- The Rent Strike Scheme Next Door
A clever tenant proposes a noise-based sabotage plan to force a landlord into a lower rent agreement.
- The Unlucky Stuntman of Richland
A local rancher’s persistent attempts to perform high-speed automobile somersaults leave both him and his Ford in need of repair.
- The Persistent Ambition of Judge Turner
A critical look at a Spokane judge’s relentless campaign for the U.S. Senate.
- Seattle's Sewers Were Cracking All Over Town — and the City Engineer Blamed the Dirt
A furious letter writer insists the pipes broke not from 'percussion' but from the very worst kind of trench work — and points the finger straight at the man in charge.
- The Persistent Peddler of Front Street
A persistent brush salesman tries to make a sale in 1876 Seattle, leading to an amusing exchange about baldness and local vanity.
- Rejected by the Navy, Local Youth Persists in Pursuit of Service
After two medical rejections, a persistent young man finally clears his physical exam for military enlistment.
- The Politics of Exclusion: A Night at the Bijou
In 1886, a raucous meeting at Seattle’s Bijou theater formalized the 'Committee of Fifteen,' marking a volatile era of organized expulsion and nativist labor politics.
- Seattle Rallies Against Chinese Labor at the Standard Theater
An overflow crowd packs the Standard Theater to demand the total exclusion of Chinese laborers and the termination of the Burlingame Treaty, revealing the deep economic anxieties of the era.
- The Tragic End of Etta Harris
A daughter is murdered by her own father in Tacoma, exposing a twisted history of obsession, jealousy, and fatal control.
- The Effigy in the Pine Tree
Charles Gloystein crossed Spokane County's Populists and woke to find himself hanged in straw. Then he vanished.
- The Tragedy at the Roslyn Slope
A devastating gas explosion in the Roslyn mines claims forty-three lives, leaving a town in mourning and a company under scrutiny.
- Vigilante Mob Targets Interracial Couple in Walla Walla
A masked group forcibly removed a man and his wife from their home, subjecting them to a brutal public assault.
- The Mugwump’s Ledger: How Seattle’s Territorial Secretary Gamed the Law Printing Contract
A fierce editorial exposes Secretary Owings for delaying the publication of territorial laws to favor a cronies’ printing bid, while padding the bill with 40 pages of his own party platform.
- The Rifle War: Knights of Labor vs. Mine Owners in Newcastle
A bitter feud between rival labor unions in King County erupts into armed conflict, with rifles smuggled from Seattle to support striking miners.
Also about this, in other words
- The Never-Ending Court House Legal War
A legal stalemate in Benton County leaves lawyers, litigants, and commissioners in a dizzying spiral of injunctions and contempt charges.
- The Persistent Suitor and the Runaway Heiress
A wealthy San Francisco socialite chases a teenager to Port Townsend, sparking a frantic legal and social drama.
- The Persistent Business of Superstition
An editorial from 1877 examines why, despite the march of progress and the printing press, humanity remained obsessed with palmistry, spiritualism, and bad omens.
- The Persistent Jailbreaker of Seattle
Bob Matthews, imprisoned for stealing lard, proves to be a one-man wrecking crew for the local jail’s security.
- The Persistent Gamble of Fritz Dietrich
Despite a Supreme Court ruling against him, a man convicted under new anti-gambling laws attempts to delay his sentence through legal maneuvering.
- The City Council’s Perpetual Muddle
A failed attempt to sort out the city's chaotic tax records leaves property owners carrying the burden for their delinquent neighbors.
- A Long-Term Resident Wins Back His Right to Remain
After twenty-four years of life in Walla Walla, a man named Louie successfully petitions a federal judge to replace a lost residency document.
- The Repeat Offender and the Judge
A habitual offender known as 'Patsy' is back in court shortly after being ordered to leave Seattle, sparking a curious exchange with Judge Glasgow.