The Bachelors of Teanaway
A desperate group of Kittitas valley bachelors place a bizarre ad in a local paper, hoping to lure women to their remote ranches.
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.
One of the earliest enterprises in Kittitas county that partook of the character of a newspaper was a little two-column folio which bore the title of the Teanaway Bugle. Just about the time the Bugle was at the zenith of its prosperity there was a great dearth of petticoats in the upper Kittitas country. An advertisement appeared in several issues: 'Partners Wanted! Must be Females!! Beauty No Object!!! After roaming around this cold, cheerless world, we, the undersigned, old bachelors, have at last settled down on lovely ranches in the charming valley of the peerless Teanaway. All that is wanting to complete happiness are partners of female persuasion. No capital required, and but few questions asked.' The proposition courted investigation, and the postmaster at Teanaway was given for reference. It is not known to the Tribune whether the announcement was made at the request of the men whose names are affixed, but some inquiry developed the information that two or three of the above-named gentlemen are now enjoying the complete happiness sought.
“Partners Wanted! Must be Females!! Beauty No Object!!!”
This early personal ad highlights the gender imbalance and isolation of frontier life in Washington. It serves as a reminder of the often lonely, utilitarian nature of homesteading, where social survival was as critical as financial survival.
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