A Holiday Call for a Broken Family
A mill worker’s leg injury at the dawn of 1887 leaves his eleven children in dire need, sparking a rare community effort in early Seattle.
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.
Mr. Henry Hoepe, residing at the Kidd cabin on Washington Street near Tenth, had the misfortune to break his leg while employed at Stassen Post's mill. Mr. Hoepe has a family of eleven children—six girls and five boys—all depending on his labor for their support. It can easily be seen what an unfortunate and helpless condition the family is placed in. It is only necessary for us to plain their misfortune in order to impress upon our charitably disposed citizens the necessity of extending the required aid. Anything in the way of clothing, groceries or money left at the Mechanic's Store, in the Occidental Block, will reach them, or such articles can be sent directly to their home. We trust that before the close of this last day of the old year, and before the dawn of the new, this poor family will be adequately supplied with the necessary food, clothing and money to meet their immediate requirements.
“It is only necessary for us to plain their misfortune in order to impress upon our charitably disposed citizens the necessity of extending the required aid.”
This 1886 plea captures the fragility of the working class in early Seattle, where a single workplace accident could lead to immediate destitution. It mirrors today's ongoing struggle for a robust social safety net in a city that remains economically volatile for laborers.
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