The Sudden Birth of Tacoma's Ice Industry
A chance encounter over a warm lemonade led to a major local business venture.
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.
W. B. Bushnell, who introduced patent ice-making machines on the Sound, settled in the Northwest almost by accident. The day he arrived here he met Charley Lamson, of the Hotel Tacoma cafe. Mr. Bushnell invited a friend to join him in lemonade refreshment. Lamson omitted the ice, and when questioned about it, said: 'There is no ice in this country except what little is shipped in.' Mr. Bushnell smothered his surprise, and in less than twenty-four hours had organized an ice manufacturing company, in which he was the principal stockholder.
“In less than twenty-four hours had organized an ice manufacturing company.”
Stories of accidental entrepreneurship often explain the sudden creation of vital city infrastructure. The rapid mobilization of capital to solve a simple convenience gap like ice production reflects how early industry boomed in Pacific Northwest frontier towns.
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