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666 stories matching pick
- Tragedy on the Ahtanum
A drunken altercation during hop-picking leads to a fatal stabbing and a local manhunt.
- The Midnight Robbery at the I.X.L. Saloon
A rancher falls victim to a pocket-picking scheme that spiraled into a violent street holdup.
- The End of the Hop-Picking Migration
A federal decision in 1892 abruptly cuts off the long-standing seasonal labor of British Columbia indigenous harvesters in Washington.
- The Tragedy of a Midnight Gale
A young sailor's life is cut short in a brutal storm, his small boat found shattered and abandoned near Vashon Island.
- Hop Growers Pivot to Families as Labor Crisis Looms
With smallpox concerns keeping Indigenous pickers away, farmers in White River and Puyallup valleys appeal to white families to harvest the crop.
- Will They Harvest the Hops?
Facing a glut of inventory and low market prices, Seattle-area hop growers debate whether to pick the season's yield or let it wither on the vine.
- A Hop-Pickers' Row Turns Fatal
A summer labor dispute in the Ahtanum Valley ends in a death and a day-long court hearing for an accused man.
- The Hop Fields of the Kent Valley
A report on the hop harvest around Kent and Auburn, highlighting the labor conditions and the influx of pickers.
- Hop Growers Pledge Their 'Word and Honor' to Pay Pickers Less
With the hop market collapsing in the summer of 1894, growers from ten Puget Sound counties met at Puyallup and fixed a single price for picking — 65 to 75 cents a box, down from the dollar they had promised. Ezra Meeker, the valley's biggest grower, said out loud what the resolution implied: the pickers had no seat at the table.
- The Annual Migration to the Hop Fields
With harvest season underway in the Puyallup and Yakima valleys, 10,000 workers descend on the fields for a grueling, seasonal labor rush.
- The Tailor’s Basket: A Drunkard’s Violent Encounter with a Chinese Laundryman
In the tense racial climate of late-19th century Port Townsend, an intoxicated tailor attempted to pick a fight with a Chinese immigrant, only to be knocked unconscious by his own laundry basket.
- The Coal-Picking Child: A Mother’s Plea for Freedom from Cruelty
Martha Hansen sues to annul her marriage, alleging Gabriel Hansen forced their young daughter to scavenge coal along railroad tracks while keeping the child in squalor.
- The Eagle Escapes the Hotel Yakima
A captive eagle, purchased from a local youth, picks its own lock and escapes back into the wilderness.
- The Instructor Who Knocked His Man Down Three Times — Then Refused the Win
A Saturday-night bout at Ballard's Twin City Athletic Club turned into a lesson in prizefight ethics: James W. Barbour put Seattle's George Linz on the floor, picked him back up, and turned down the decision because the house had paid to see a fight.
- The Hop Pickers' Bargain: Growers Cut Wages as Harvest Opens
In the Puyallup Valley, growers try to hold the line at two cents a pound. Crews register, balk and bargain — while Native pickers from British Columbia are turned away in favor of white workers.
- The Harvest Rush at Puyallup
Warm weather forces a premature start to the raspberry season, leaving growers in urgent need of labor.
- Late-Night Plumbing Shop Burglar Slips Through Police Net
An alert patrolman interrupted a lock-picking duo near South 17th and D, marking the fourth business targeted in the neighborhood this week.
- The Yakima Hop Fields Seek White Labor
A recruitment circular reveals a clear effort to displace Indigenous pickers in favor of white families for the 1893 harvest.
- The Struggle for Yakima’s First-Class Reputation
Local hop grower R. J. Mackison outlines the necessary industrial upgrades to compete in the global market.
- The Mystery of Old Doctor’s Death
A letter from a Neah Bay reservation challenges the official verdict of natural causes in the death of a tribal elder, fueling rumors of a blood feud.
- Kennewick Prepares for Strawberry Day
After local supply issues caused price spikes last year, the Commercial Club sets a new date to ensure the Northwest stays well-stocked.
- The Battle for the First Strawberry Crate
When J. E. Hampton picked the first strawberries of the season in Hover, the Kennewick-Richland Marketing Union intervened to ensure the credit went to Kennewick.
- Pitchfork Violence in the Harvest Field
A simple argument over a whiskey bottle near Pullman escalated into a violent assault with a pitchfork and a heavy roller.
- Locksmiths Needed for Failed Jailbreak
Six inmates in Whatcom were so eager to escape they jammed their own cell locks shut, requiring a blacksmith to cut them loose for breakfast.
- The Annual Migration to the Puyallup Valley
A historic snapshot of the diverse, bustling encampments that formed every autumn when the hop harvest drew thousands to the riverbanks.
Also about this, in other words
- The Failed Toothpick Empire of Merrihew
A classic tale of a get-rich-quick scheme gone wrong, where a man's attempt to corner the national market on thorns turned his farmland into an impassable fortress.