Scaling the Courthouse Spire
After multiple failed attempts by laborers, a young man scales the courthouse roof to restore the Stars and Stripes to its rightful place.
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 flag banner again floats to the breeze over the courthouse. On the Fourth of July, the halyards were all cut down from the building to aid in lifting water to pour over the roof of the building. On that day it was impossible to make the usual display on account of the absence of the halyards. Yesterday, Sheriff McGraw, upon noticing this, offered $10 to anyone who would climb the pole and put the halyards in place. A laborer tried, but did not succeed. A second man failed. Then a young janitor named Joseph Fleer mounted the roof of the courthouse and in a trice mounted the pole, which stands twenty-five feet above the roof, passed the halyards through the pulley and slid down again, while the crowd cheered him heartily. He received the $10 on the spot and the flag was at once hoisted to the top of the staff.
“A young janitor named Joseph Fleer mounted the roof of the courthouse and in a trice mounted the pole... while the crowd cheered him heartily.”
Public flags served as symbols of civic pride and operational status for government buildings in the 1880s. Today, such a patriotic displays are routine, but the act of a janitor rescuing a civic symbol highlights the improvisational spirit of early Seattle.
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