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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
48 stories matching roller
- The Roller-Skating Rink Disaster
A grocery man's customer describes the catastrophic attempt of his father, a self-proclaimed former skating expert, to navigate the local roller rink.
- The Street Roller Scandal
How a $3,550 machinery purchase for Walla Walla streets became a symbol of administrative failure and potential graft.
- Thrown Into a Saw at Colman's Mill — and the Law Looked the Other Way
When Peter Feeney attacked a Chinese coworker in a Seattle sawmill, the man's foot was mangled beyond repair. The justice of the peace declined to hold Feeney, the prosecutor dismissed the case, and the town's paper argued the injury was just an accident.
- Tragedy at Lake Washington
A roller coaster at the end of the Madison street line collapsed, injuring a local carpenter and five young boys.
- The Republican Factional War Declares a Truce
Walla Walla’s rival GOP camps—the 'Holy Rollers' and the 'Boxers'—met in a stormy midnight session at the sheriff's office to pause their bitter power struggle.
- The Strawberry War: Kennewick Growers Take Control of the Market
For the first time in regional history, Kennewick berry farmers are dictating their own prices, forcing Seattle commission merchants to pay cash or go without.
- The Republican Party’s Internal War
A bitter factional struggle between two rival Republican clubs in Walla Walla threatens to shatter the party ahead of the county convention.
- The Roller Rink's Strict Rules
An 1881 Seattle rink owner moves to sanitize the reputation of his roller skating establishment.
- The Roller Skating Scandal of 1882
A Seattle roller rink proprietor attempts to clean up his act by barring the 'improper,' as injuries mount among the city’s elite.
- The House on Rollers: Moving an Entire Hotel to Save a Town
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed Old Yakima, developers physically relocated the town's buildings—including the Holland House—to the new site, one mile at a time.
- The Philosophy of a Drunk-Roller
A notorious criminal known for robbing intoxicated men in the basement of the Albion block receives a harsh sentence after a blunt admission in court.
- The 'Holy Roller' Political Machine in Walla Walla
Accusations of election tampering and the cynical naturalization of nine Russian immigrants for machine gain rock the Walla Walla political scene.
- Safety Lawsuit After Cable Coaster Mishap
A father files to represent his son in a personal injury lawsuit against the city after an accident on a roller coaster at the end of the Madison Street cable line.
- The Forgetful Pioneer: A Seattle Character Remembered
Before he became a fixture of the city's early business history, Isaiah Waddell was known for his generous spirit, his roller-boy antics at the local press, and a legendary inability to find his own place of business.
- 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.
- The Newspaper Built from Scraps
After relocating to Vancouver, a resourceful publisher faced a printing dilemma and solved it by engineering their own custom press from repurposed timber and discarded iron.
- The Roller Rink Craze of 1872
Before the city's modern obsession with wellness, local promoters banked on a new indoor exercise to save Seattle’s youth from 'pernicious influences and vile haunts.'
- Inferno at the Spokane Falls
Four mills destroyed and workers missing after a massive industrial fire consumes the riverfront.
- A Midnight Knock, a Hidden Fortune, and a Brutal Beating on Vashon Island
Two men demand an old rancher's money, bind and club him, then ransack his cabin for a cache of cash. Seattle police arrest a suspect—and then the victim's wife.
- The Town That Moved Four Miles for the Railroad
When the Northern Pacific bypassed old Yakima in 1884, it didn't just build a new town—it moved the old one, buildings and all.
- The $37,500 Handshake: How Benton County's Tax Crusaders Blessed a Courthouse Deal
Prosser's anti-tax league swore it would guard the public purse to the last janitor's salary. Then its own man changed his mind on Monday, and the Kennewick editor noticed where the $37,500 went.
- The Land Office Rules for Lowe
A landmark land dispute, long considered impossible to resolve, has finally been decided by the federal government.
- The Card Sharps Who Picked the Wrong Captain—and Sailed to Peru
Two Seattle gamblers went to Port Townsend to fleece the master of the British ship Dimsdale. He found out, shanghaied them both, and set sail for Callao.
- Seattle Plots a Sports Carnival for the World
With the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition set to open, promoters arrange A.A.U. games, a Lake Washington regatta, balloon races, and a marathon meant to draw champions from across the country.
- Horrific Sawmill Accident Leaves Worker Fighting for His Life
A logger is maimed in a catastrophic carriage accident at the Stetson Manufacturing Company mill in Montesano.
Also about this, in other words
- The Roller Rink That Saved Seattle’s Winter Evenings
Before the city lights were bright, the local Pavilion offered a refuge from the damp, offering lessons and laughter to the residents of 1872 Seattle.
- The Six-Day Skate-Off
Two local professional skaters prepare for a grueling week-long endurance test on the Glide Rink floor.
- The Rag, the Belt and the Flywheel: A Laundry Hand's Bad Monday
Ray Strong was wiping an engine belt he had no business touching when the cloth whipped him into a spinning flywheel. He was alive, unconscious at times, and the whole town was counting on his 'strong vitality.'
- The Rolling Pin’s Final Word
A widower who couldn't stop praising his late wife’s domestic skills quickly learns to stop complaining about his current spouse.
- A Skating Rink Disaster
A romantic rivalry at the local roller rink ends in a humiliating and public wardrobe malfunction.
- The Black Diamond Wrestling Grudge
A boastful challenge leads to a bizarre wrestling match in the Black Diamond mining camp, resolved in mere seconds.
- The Colfax Sack Elevator
A local inventor creates a machine designed to eliminate the back-breaking labor of stacking grain in regional warehouses.
- Narrow Escape at the Ballard Mill
A machinist miraculously survives a terrifying entanglement with a revolving shaft at the Seattle Lumber Company mill.