A Surprise Party in South Seattle
Neighbors and friends gathered for an evening of music and refreshments in South Seattle, a moment of local community building in 1889.
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.
Mrs. Frank W. Bird was tendered a surprise party last Saturday evening at her residence, corner of Ninth and Dearborn streets, South Seattle, by her lady friends. The evening was enjoyably spent, several of the guests entertaining the company with vocal and instrumental selections. At 10:30 o'clock lunch was served, and the party dispersed. Among those present were: Mr. and Mrs. George W. Poor, Mr. and Mrs. Ivy, Mr. and Mrs. Marko, Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Poor, Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Rogers, Mr. and Mrs. P. McDonald, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Quilter, Mr. and Mrs. James Bogart, Mr. and Mrs. H. Spencer, Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Tanny, Mr. and Mrs. A. Cutter, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Prink, Mr. and Mrs. P. D. Hamlin, Mr. and Mrs. Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Cowie, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, Mr. and Mrs. England, Mr. and Mrs. Clage, Mr. and Mrs. Begley, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, Mr. and Mrs. Fuller, Mr. and Mrs. Dick Young, Mr. and Mrs. Lew West, Miss Tina Campbell, Miss Sefaina Bird, Miss Emma Palmer, Miss Vellie Bird, Mr. and Mrs. Egan and Mr. John Bird.
“The evening was enjoyably spent, several of the guests entertaining the company with vocal and instrumental selections.”
Surprise parties at private residences were the social bedrock of Seattle’s burgeoning neighborhoods in the late 19th century. Today, the corner of Ninth and Dearborn is at the heart of the Yesler Terrace and First Hill area, a district that has transformed from quiet residential streets into a high-density urban landscape, highlighting how the city's social geography has shifted as much as its architecture.
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