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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 6 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1897 | 4 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 4 |
| 1917 | 1 |
45 stories matching ripen
- The Skagit Valley's Endless Harvest
While the rest of the country faced the winter chill of 1891, gardeners in Skagit County were picking fresh blackberries and watching peas bloom in the open air.
- The Mosquito Netting Orchardist
A clever gardener in Lynden manages to defy the seasons and local birds, producing fresh cherries long after the neighbors' trees were picked clean.
- The Tumbleweed That Threatened Washington's Wheat
In 1898, a state agricultural professor traced an invasive Russian thistle to railway yards and warned that Yakima County was already infested.
- The Mysterious Grass That Killed Hundreds of Klickitat Cattle
A Bickleton stockman blamed a rarely ripened wire grass for a deadly outbreak among cattle in Klickitat County.
- Harvest Hands Are Scarce, and the Bunch Grass Is Turning to Hay
Kittitas farmers face a labor shortage, prematurely ripened grain and a dry-weather hay crop as barley and fall wheat come in.
- Seattle Cut Water Rates—Then Claimed the Lake
In one night at City Hall, the council trimmed water bills for every ratepayer and got legal cover to take Lake Washington water, even if it meant digging its own canal past a private company.
- 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.
- Cheaper to Ship Wheat to Liverpool Than to Seattle: An Inland Empire Farmer's Case Against the Railroads
A Whitman County grower tells the Post-Intelligencer that Palouse wheat can be raised for about 30 cents a bushel — and sent 16,000 miles to England for less than the railroad charges to haul it 400 miles to the Sound.
- The County Agent, the Sugar Beet, and the Strawberry Harvest That Finally Went Right
In his 1916 annual report, county agriculturalist Lee M. Lampson chronicled a quiet revolution in Benton County — homegrown seed, revived sugar beets, cooperative buying, and the federal employment office that finally matched a thousand strawberry pickers to the ripening crop.
- The Father Who Stopped a Play to Steal His Daughter
A wealthy Indianapolis patriarch tracks his romantic daughter to Seattle in 1876, only to find she has eloped with a lawyer and vanished into the West.
- 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.
- 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 Apple Trees That Sailed From England in a Sea Captain's Cabin
Seeds saved from a farewell dinner in 1833 were planted at Fort Nisqually and grew into the finest apple trees north of the Columbia. Now an editor wants Tacoma to move them to a park before the squirrels of Rosston are their only company.
- The Sheriff's Deadline: 'I Will Be Compelled to Hang Him'
C. W. Nordstrom has until August 31 to appeal his murder conviction, but with no money for lawyers, the King County sheriff is already building a portable gallows outside the jail.
- The Rural Rebellion Against the Eight-Hour Day
Farmers argue that an initiative measure pushed by labor unions would spell ruin for the agricultural industry.
- Strawberry Growers Face Pressure to Unite
A sharp-tongued editorial from the Kennewick Courier-Reporter calls out local fruit growers who refuse to join the cooperative marketing union.
- A Scandalous Clandestine Marriage Ends in Court
After defying her father's warnings about her husband's bad habits, Kate Stephenson secures a divorce and custody of her children.
- The Great Walla Walla Prune Crisis
A labor strike on the Puget Sound puts Walla Walla’s entire fruit harvest at risk as packaging supplies vanish.
- Turning Salt Flats into Wheat Fields
A Yakima sheepman discovers how to reclaim abandoned alkali-ridden soil through careful irrigation.
- The Governor Vetoes Debtor Relief—and Warns It Would Speed Foreclosures
Gov. McGraw kills a bill meant to shield struggling debtors, arguing it cannot apply to existing contracts and may trigger the mortgage sales it was supposed to prevent.
- The Claret Rebellion in 1870s Seattle
At a meeting of the King County Farmers Club, a local leader tried to replace the frontier staple of 'bald-face' whiskey with homegrown wine, igniting a fiery debate about culture and grit.
- The Failed Promise of the Kennewick Strawberry Co-op
An editorial critique on why local farmers were unable to organize for better market prices.
- The Strawberry Crisis in Kennewick
Local growers are producing a premium crop, but falling behind Spokane’s organized marketing machine.
- Rotting Melons and Broken Markets
Kennewick strawberry farmers find themselves squeezed by commission men and failing cooperative distribution chains.
- Volcano of Flame Threatens Columbia Slope Wheat Fields
A three-day prairie fire near Jump-Off Joe tested the mettle of local farmers, forcing them to plow firebreaks to save their harvest.
Also about this, in other words
- Richland’s Golden Berry Season
Local growers ship the first crate of the season to a luxury hotel, marking a record-breaking early harvest.
- A Peach Grower Comes Home Thanking His Lucky Stars
After a winter among California's smudge pots, Kennewick orchardist D. E. Stull decides a frozen navel orange crop is a worse fate than anything Horse Heaven can throw at him.
- A Fatal Feast
A lonely wood chopper, accustomed to 'baching' on meager meals, succumbs to convulsions after being invited to a generous home-cooked dinner.
- The Mysterious Grapefruit’s Debut in Seattle
Before the grapefruit was a breakfast staple, local merchants were mystified by the 'shaddock,' a strange, fickle fruit that could leave an unsuspecting eater with a sour face.
- The Bitter Taste of Fruit Returns
White Bluffs growers are reeling after receiving final payouts from the Spokane Fruit Growers Company that fell far short of promised profits.
- 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.
- The Fruit Is Rotting on the Vines While Seattle Buys California Canned Goods
A Vashon grower and the Post-Intelligencer make the case for a Puget Sound cannery before another harvest spoils on the ground.
- Kennewick’s Strawberry Gold Rush
Local growers prepare for a high-stakes market as early berries hit the streets, out-pacing competitors and promising windfall profits.