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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
6 stories matching washer
- The Washer Invention at the Snohomish Fair
A local demonstration of a new, lightweight washing machine promises to revolutionize labor for households across the Puget Sound country.
- The Great Port Angeles Gold Scam
How a clever land boomer used fake gold coins to manufacture excitement and swindle investors in the late 1880s.
- The Laundress's Life Savings Stolen
A young immigrant woman working in a Centralia laundry was robbed of three years' worth of wages by two men who threatened her at gunpoint.
- The Steam Laundry That Would Save Your Clothes (And Your Wallet)
In May 1877, Seattle businessman L.D. Frank announced a bold new venture: a steam-powered laundry on Commercial Street that promised to clean clothes faster and cheaper than the traditional Chinese method—while explicitly excluding Chinese workers.
- The Hidden Daily Labor of 1891
A quiet, classified advertisement reveals the invisible service economy of late 19th-century Seattle.
- The Grange Hall Radio Dance
A dozen families in White Bluffs successfully tune in old-time music for an evening of square dances and waltzes, marking a technological milestone for the remote valley.
Also about this, in other words
- The Anti-Chinese Laundry Campaign
Local newspaper editors in 1888 openly called for the displacement of Chinese laundry workers, framing their exclusion as a 'great need' for the town.
- A Laundryman's Return to a Hostile City
A Chinese resident attempts to collect back pay after being expelled from Seattle.
- The Great Laundry War: Why Seattle Needs a 'White Labor' Steam Plant
In 1876, local entrepreneurs argued that Chinese washermen were stealing clothes and that white-owned steam laundries were the only way to save delicate women from catching cold.
- The Patent Steam Dryer at Yesler’s Wharf
A new industrial appliance for families arrives in late 19th-century Seattle, promising to modernize the household chore of food preservation.
- 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 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.
- Laundry Worker Falls into the Dark Mud of the Bay
A late-night misstep behind a waterfront laundry lands an employee in the treacherous, tide-stripped mudflats.
- A Dispute Over Laundry and Etiquette
A laundryman and a theatrical man clash in a courtroom, highlighting cultural prejudices of the 1890s.