The Girls Who Couldn't Be Moved
When two sisters refused to budge for a fishing trip, a bizarre and prolonged standoff ensued involving a heavy door and a very frustrated brother.
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.
In the town of Snohomish, reside two young girls, each of whom has a sister. The sisters are enthusiastic to fishing, and their temperaments are full of gaiety and good humor. Though this gaiety has occasionally been viewed with mild disfavor by the elderly, the truth is that the two young ladies are excellent girls. However, a 'tragedy' recently befell the other of them—who may be called Julia—casting a shadow over the household. Last Saturday, the two young men were to go on a fishing excursion, and were to set out from the house of Julia's sister. One young man brought his elder brother's things to the room of Julia's sister on Friday night. The brothers and sisters were prepared to go fishing in company with a party. The younger brother decided that the sisters should be pulled down to the party whether they consented or not. In the meantime, the sisters had locked themselves into a bedroom to avoid the intrusion. The younger brother, with great determination, sought to 'yank the door off' before any the party could clearly discern the nature of the vague and appalling incident. However, he found that he had understated his strength and underestimated the tenacity of the girls. He was a reckless and careless boy, and in spite of his sister’s remonstrances to refrain, he dragged her around the room with the fierceness of a wild Indian. When she accidentally tangled with the legs of the partition, he found that she only slightly yielded, but remained locked. Before very long he became exhausted, his shirt wringing wet with several pounds of sweat. He went and tried to heavy objects of furniture, and finally admitted his inability to remove the hinges. He offered to go clear to the Post Office and bring one of Julia's brothers back to help him, after which proposal he was driven out of the room with a poker, and the girls sat down and cried. When the family returned that evening, they found that Julia had gone to bed with a sick headache and could not be seen. As has been said, this painful event happened last Saturday. From that day to this, Julia has remained with the door locked, and no amount of persuasion has been able to soften the sister's resolve.
“The younger brother, with great determination, sought to 'yank the door off' before the party could clearly discern the nature of the vague and appalling incident.”
While framed as a 'tragedy' in this 19th-century report, the story serves as an early, humorous account of domestic boundary-setting. Today, Snohomish remains a town where personal space and the sanctity of the home are held in high regard, though modern disputes are rarely resolved with furniture-tossing or room-locking.
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