The Trinity Parish Tea Party at Yesler’s Hall
A multi-day social event brings the city’s ‘local talent’ together for performances and ice cream to fund a new church organ.
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 ladies of Trinity parish opened their Bazar and continental tea party at Yesler’s Hall last evening. The interior of the building was decorated with useful and highly ornamental articles, which were exhibited for sale. The farce of 'Taraxicum Twitters; or, My Turn Next' was rendered in a very creditable manner by some of our local talent. The male characters were taken by Messrs. Woodruff, Jennings, Naher and Snyder, and the ladies who took part in the play were Mrs. W. A. Jennings, Mrs. Oliver Anderson and Miss Carrie Lyon. At the close of the performance the ice cream tables were besieged and taken by storm. The onslaught continued for several hours, greatly to the destruction of the ice cream and cake. The ladies were handsomely dressed and presided over their respective departments with winning grace. The receipts of the evening were quite large. The ladies intend to fight it out on this line till next Friday, when they expect to be able to report a handsome turn raised toward the organ fund.
“At the close of the performance the ice cream tables were besieged and taken by storm. The onslaught continued for several hours, greatly to the destruction of the ice cream and cake.”
Long before Yesler Way became a modern tech hub, it was the site of the city’s civic life, where community gatherings like this bazaar were the lifeblood of fundraising for local institutions. Today, the spirit of mutual aid persists in Seattle’s neighborhood community groups, though the 'ice cream storming' has mostly been replaced by digital crowdfunding.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.