Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
19 stories matching talker
- The Home-Front War Over Patriotism
A fiery editorial from 1917 defends a local lieutenant against armchair critics and challenges the town to support those enlisting for World War I.
- The Bogus Missionary Who Tried to Work Seattle's Christian Endeavorers
A smooth-talking stranger claimed Moody Institute credentials and offered to split the take from a revival. Seattle's Christian Endeavor officers checked the hotels—and caught him in a web of contradictions.
- The Skagit Stand-off: A Survey Interrupted
When federal surveyors moved onto Skagit lands without a treaty, they were met by 150 armed warriors ready to defend their sovereignty.
- The 'Kid Mayor' of Michigan Found in Port Townsend
A brilliant young con artist once known as the 'Kid Mayor' has fled the Washington Territory after his real identity—and a trail of fraudulent bonds—finally caught up with him.
- Insurance Agent Vanishes After Passing Spurious Checks
A smooth-talking insurance agent charms his way through Seattle's business community before disappearing with premiums and bad checks.
- The Smooth Talker of Tacoma
A persuasive con man leaves a trail of bamboozled businessmen and empty wallets.
- The Pioneer Who Never Gave Another Speech After Mt. Baker Erupted
N. V. Sheffer, Whatcom County’s oldest living pioneer, brought his donkey cart to Ferndale’s old-settlers’ reunion—and told why he stopped speaking in public in 1854.
- Spokane Prepares to Welcome the Northern Pacific’s Last-Spike Excursion
In September 1883, Spokane Falls planned arches, speeches and a day of civic pageantry to greet President Henry Villard and the railroad party opening the transcontinental line.
- Spokane Dressed for a Railroad King—and Waited Until Midnight
Spokane Falls spent a week building arches and hanging evergreens for Henry Villard's Northern Pacific excursion, but delayed trains turned the grand reception into a series of after-dark whistle-stops—and Ulysses S. Grant drew the crowd that the railroad had promised.
- The Woman Who Bet $20,000 She Could Walk Around the World
Champion pedestrian Zoe Gayton stops in Seattle before a globe-circling wager—armed with walking shoes, two revolvers, and a cocker spaniel.
- The Burglar Who Wanted a Razor Before Walla Walla
Richard H. Ford, a self-styled 'famous burglar' with a morphine habit, was shipped off to the state penitentiary—after begging for a shave and trying to dig through the jail floor.
- The Con Artist of the Y.M.C.A.
A smooth-talking grifter exploited the goodwill of Seattle churchgoers by playing on his 'sick wife's' needs, until an umbrella heist landed him in the city jail.
- The Tragedy at the Bryant Place: A Life Cut Short in Whitman County
In November 1888, William McCloud’s death by suicide near Pullman shocked neighbors and sparked a somber inquest, revealing the quiet despair behind the frontier's bustling growth.
- Green Lake Builds a Temperance Hall Out of Cordwood and Muscle
In less than two months, the brothers of Good Templars Lodge No. 200 raise a two-story hall at Green Lake with donated lots and lumber bought with 'legal tender' issued from the mint of muscle.
- A Parade, a Brass Band, and Dancing Until Four
North Yakima's Odd Fellows mark the order's 72nd anniversary with a march down the business streets, an address at the opera house, and a ball that outlasted the refreshments at the Hotel Yakima.
- Farmers Take On the Commission Men—and Demand Weekly Checks
Yakima growers propose a $5,000 bond for produce brokers, while Sumner farmer W. H. Paulhamus recalls how organized producers stopped getting 'did' by middlemen.
- Debs in Seattle: The Case for Union, and the Cost of the Wrong Leaders
As Eugene Debs lectures in the city, the Post-Intelligencer argues that organized labor is essential — but warns that strikes and reckless leaders can bankrupt the very workers they claim to serve.
- The Railroad Baron Who Refused to Compete With Shadows
Northern Pacific president Tom Oakes tells Seattle that Jim Hill’s Great Northern is more phantom than threat—and explains why cutting timber rates could backfire on Puget Sound’s lumbermen.
- Col. Patrick Henry Winston Bolts the Populists — and the P-I Pounces
The Post-Intelligencer gleefully dissects Patrick Henry Winston's letter renouncing the People's Party, calling it less a conversion than the squirm of a politician who has run out of options.