An Officer's Surprising Thanksgiving Gift
A Seattle patrolman expecting a crime scene instead finds himself showered with gratitude and a silk umbrella.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Officer M. F. Powers was the victim of a joke Thanksgiving evening, yet there is not another member of the force but who would like to be joked in the same manner. As he stepped to the patrol box, at the corner of Marion and West streets, at 8 o'clock, two hotel runners came up to him, apparently out of breath, and told him an officer was wanted immediately at the Northern hotel. They could not find the man on the beat and had come for Powers. Then they started back on the run, followed by Powers. At the hotel door a window pane was broken and on the inside was a crowd. Powers thought sure he had a case and rushed in. The crowd surrounded him and worked him to the center of the group, where he was presented with a silver-headed silk umbrella, inscribed 'Drivers and Runners to Michael Powers.' The spokesman said the gift was a token of respect and in appreciation of Powers' services in making one and all toe the plank when trains came in. Powers tried to reply, but was so embarrassed that he spoke only by actions.
“The spokesman said the gift was a token of respect and in appreciation of Powers' services in making one and all toe the plank when trains came in.”
The intersection of Marion and First (formerly West) is now a central part of Seattle's Pioneer Square. While the public's relationship with police has shifted dramatically since 1893, this moment captures a rare, intimate community interaction in a neighborhood that would soon be transformed by gold rush commerce.
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