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Category: Random News from the Newspapers on Microfilm Collection

Secret Societies and Vigilantes in Dayton

Secret Societies and Vigilantes in Dayton

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: If there is any doubt that Washington Territory was part of the Old West, the following information regarding vigilante groups in Columbia County in the 1870s-1880s should put that to rest. This week’s reel grabbed at random turns out to be from Dayton, in Columbia County, in 1878. But before we dive in, let’s let Robert E. Ficken set the scene from his excellent work,…

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Bremerton Wants Charleston to Annex, (Like the Wolf and Lamb)

Bremerton Wants Charleston to Annex, (Like the Wolf and Lamb)

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: Charleston was a city that used to exist just to the southwest of Bremerton. The settlement was still young when talk of the two cities merging first came up, given their mutual interest in the Naval shipping area. The book Kitsap County History (1977) presents a detailed chronology of Charleston, ending in December 1927, when voters decided in favor of consolidation. One person who almost…

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The Goliah and a Fata Morgana on Juan de Fuca

The Goliah and a Fata Morgana on Juan de Fuca

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: Even when this randomly found article in the July 29, 1911 issue of The Irondale News was published, the Jefferson County town was already declining. In the 1880s-1890s Irondale seemed destined to become the steel center for the Pacific Northwest, but it was not to be. In between all the columns of news coverage about the metal industry, I found this odd little piece. It…

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Face to Face with a Ghost in Centralia

Face to Face with a Ghost in Centralia

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: This week’s newspaper on microfilm picked at random is the Centralia Daily Chronicle for Feb. 9, 1909. The reporter who covered this ghost story must have been something of a Wise Guy. Dealy McCracken, the main subject of this piece, was born De Laparis McCracken in North Carolina in 1838. He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and at some point was…

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Anna Agnes Maley, First Woman to Run for Washington Governor, 1912

Anna Agnes Maley, First Woman to Run for Washington Governor, 1912

Random News from the Newspapers on Microfilm Collection: Anna Agnes Maley, First Woman to Run for Washington Governor, 1912 From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:  The microfilm reel found at random this week contained The Clayton News-Letter, a publication that served the Stevens County community of Clayton for a little over a year, 1912-1913. The town was so named in recognition of the rich clay deposits in the area, a source…

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Klepto Cows

Klepto Cows

Random News from the Newspapers on Microfilm Collection: Kleptomaniac Cows in Everett From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: Ah, the growing pains of urbanization as found in the Feb. 20, 1901 issue of the Everett Daily Herald: SHALL COWS RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS OF EVERETT?  A Long-Suffering Merchant Gives Expression to His Sentiments Thereon.  “The business men of the city have under serious advisement the matter of protection against…

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A Newspaper Lost to History?

A Newspaper Lost to History?

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: The editor of the Clarkston Republic appears to be able to barely contain his gloating while reporting on the demise on a rival newspaper. I found this on page one, top of the fold, July 10, 1913:    CLARKSTON DAILY HERALD SUCCUMBS  Daily Paper Short Lived — Published Only Six Weeks. Cause Unexplained  “Last Saturday evening the Herald Publishing company suspended publication of the Clarkston…

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Creston Celebrates the Capture of Harry Tracy, “The Last Desperado”

Creston Celebrates the Capture of Harry Tracy, “The Last Desperado”

Random News from the Newspapers on Microfilm Collection: Creston Celebrates the Capture of Harry Tracy, “The Last Desperado” From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: So this week when I grabbed a reel at random from the Newspapers on Microfilm Collection, I found myself viewing the Creston News, a paper covering the happenings in the area of Creston, Washington from 1901-1941. As fate would have it, within a minute or two I…

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A Much Wanted Tooth Carpenter

A Much Wanted Tooth Carpenter

  From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: (An alternative title for pun-lovers could be: A Quack Dentist in Blaine Ducks From the Web of the Law Without Paying the Bill. Patients and Creditors are Down in the Mouth) Con artists always make good news stories, no matter what the era. There seem to be no shortage of articles about swindlers in these old newspapers. This particular tale is more amusing than…

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Washtucna Stopping Typhoid at the Outhouse

Washtucna Stopping Typhoid at the Outhouse

  From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: Typhoid was a very real killer in the United States a century ago. Although tremendous gains had been made in understanding and fighting the disease by the early 20th century, typhoid killed over 1400 Washingtonians between 1909-1915, including former Governor McGraw in 1910. WSL has some interesting state publications from this time period addressing the problem. The primary source of typhoid, according to these…

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