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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 12 |
| 1877 | 16 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 15 |
| 1885 | 10 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 19 |
| 1891 | 15 |
| 1892 | 31 |
| 1893 | 15 |
| 1894 | 15 |
| 1895 | 15 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 2 |
227 stories matching scarc
- A Discharged Laborer Speaks Out
Patrick Lavan, a laborer dismissed from city water works, writes to the press to dispel rumors of violent threats and describe the hardship of supporting seven children.
- The Great Sailor Shortage: Why Seattle’s Labor Market Was Starving for Hands
In December 1876, the city faced a paradoxical crisis: despite the suspension of summer logging work, sailors were vanishing from the docks. Commissioner Ballou reported that a single crewman was worth more than a pair of jacks in poker, as wages had to be inflated just to secure basic maritime labor.
- 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.
- The Guilland House Advertises 'No Chinamen'
A local hotel uses xenophobic hiring practices as a primary marketing hook to attract guests.
- The Puyallup Valley's Hop Boom
Pioneer farmers in the Puyallup Valley expect a massive harvest as hop cultivation surges.
- A Wrestler’s Reckoning in Chinatown
A visiting strongman who bullied locals found himself severely overpowered after attacking the Chinese quarter.
- The Hop Pickers' Smallpox Scare
As the hop harvest approaches, local labor agent Joseph Tebeau worries that fear of a smallpox outbreak will leave fields empty.
- The Harvest Rush at Puyallup
Warm weather forces a premature start to the raspberry season, leaving growers in urgent need of labor.
- Tacoma Tigers Dominate Local Rivalry on the Diamond
The local baseball club easily dismantled a visiting squad in a lopsided contest at the Eleventh street grounds.
- Fatal Brawl at Wenatchee Wine House
A local rancher is killed after a confrontation at a commercial establishment leads to a tragic fall.
- The Tenement Trap: Why Seattle’s Working Men Should Be Grateful
A local editorial contrasts the comfortable cottages of early Seattle with the squalid overcrowding of New York City's tenements, urging citizens to value their land and labor.
- Tragedy at the Carbonado Coal Mines
A young miner is killed in a horrific industrial accident while performing routine maintenance.
- A Moment of Grace on Rockefeller Avenue
An anonymous act of kindness between strangers serves as a quiet reminder of shared humanity amidst the city's busy street life.
- Runaway Horses Leap into the Bay
A dramatic accident near the waterfront leaves one horse drowned and a wagon destroyed.
- The Bee-Sting Justice of Kiona
A group of young vandals terrorizing the countryside found themselves outgunned and forced to pay a heavy price after targeting a local man's beehives.
- The High Price of Lawmaking in Olympia
Members of the Territorial Council scramble for housing as local hotels burn down.
- Isolation and Hardship Drive Skokomish Rancher to Asylum
A woman living in a remote log cabin on the Skokomish river suffers a mental breakdown caused by profound isolation.
- Riot and Revelry at the Capitol
As the legislative session in Olympia concluded, members engaged in a chaotic scramble to loot furniture and equipment from the chambers.
- The Bering Sea Bounty of 1889
A schooner arrives in Seattle with 50,000 pounds of fresh halibut, marking a rare high point in a market otherwise starved for salmon and halibut.
- The Iron Road Approaches the Sound
Boosterism and optimism as the Northern Pacific Railroad nears completion for through travel to the Pacific.
- A School Board’s Paper Trail of Negligence
Aberdeen’s School District No. 5 accepts a contractor's bond that admits to being filled out by 'inexperienced persons' with no legal sureties.
- Abandoned Children Seek Help in Seattle
Three children from Everett, deserted by their father, are picked up by the police matron while begging for food in the city.
- 12,000 Cattle Roundup—Only 100 Good Enough to Sell
A Yakima rancher returned from the Columbia roundup with a hard tally: a long winter and scarce feed left almost the entire herd unfit for market.
- A City Under Siege by Caterpillars
Citizens are struggling to find a way to exterminate millions of caterpillars that are stripping local trees bare.
- The Oyster Famine of 1889
A labor shortage in the hopfields leads to a seasonal scarcity of oysters in Seattle, leaving local markets bare.