The Fourth of July Ball at Black Diamond
A festive celebration in a coal mining camp captures the exuberant spirit of early industrial Washington.
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.
The Fourth of July was celebrated in real style at Black Diamond, the occasion being focused in the late hours of the evening by a ball under the auspices of the local band, which was an entire success. Among those present were: Hattie White, Lizzie Williams, Sallie Rolting, Emma Rolting, Hattie Vesta, Anna Hellebricht, Edna Rice, Agnes and Jennie Turner, Misses E. H. and K. E. H. Sornberg, Edith Hutt, Misses F. and M. Finn, and H. H. H. Finn. Guests included Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Hutchinson, Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Paine, Mr. Williams and Mills, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Jones, and Messrs. Knight, Chapple, Johnson, Jackson, John Waugh, W. S. Johnson, M. L. Alt, John Nelson, Mr. Paine, John Rinker, W. V. White, Mr. J. H. Watkins, and others.
“The Fourth of July was celebrated in real style at Black Diamond, the occasion being focused in the late hours of the evening by a ball under the auspices of the local band, which was an entire success.”
Black Diamond remains a touchstone of Washington’s labor history, but the bustling, social identity of the mining camp is often overshadowed by the later decline of the industry. This account highlights that these communities were not just labor hubs, but active, vibrant social centers that mirrored the leisure habits of the city.
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