Portrait of Schlumpf from The Cartoon : a Reference Book of Seattle’s Successful Men (1911)

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Somewhere long ago I read a quote from the late great Larry Fine, the “Stooge in the Middle” of the always underestimated Three Stooges. He said something to the effect that real comedy always works in threes. Either in timing, or in personalities. Library cataloger’s note: I wonder if this where the AACR2 “rule of three” came from– a Stooges fan in the rulemaking woodwork?

Anyway.

The following story is certainly a candidate for Larry Fine’s Rule of Three. In fact, one figure in this story is even called an “amateur comedian.” The microfilm reel grabbed at random this week unearthed this story from The Seattle Daily Times, Feb. 2, 1907:

JOHN ANDREW NINK ARRESTED

Well-Known Character’s Attempt to Whip Joe Schlumpf Ends Disastrously for Himself and Ally, Matt Dee.

Latter Offered $20 to Pummel the Cigar Merchant and Lands on His Head in the Middle of the Sidewalk.

“John Andrew Nink, for many years a familiar figure on the streets of Seattle, faultlessly dressed in silk hat and fashionable black clothing, a striking contrast to his snow white hair and mustache, spent the greater part of last night in the receiving cell of the city jail, all because he wanted to whip Joe Schlumpf, the cigar merchant.”

“John Andrew Nink, a good judge of beer, a gentleman of leisure and a man with a notoriety that many persons would not be fond of, was shocked when Jailer John Corbett began to search him, just as he would any other prisoner.”

“‘Why, it’s an outrage,’ declared the gentlemanly John Andrew Nink. ‘I’ll not stand for it. I’ve got enough money to buy you all and sell you again. Lock me up in jail? Well, I guess not.'”

“‘If you’ve got $20 bail money to insure your appearance in court to answer a charge of being drunk and disorderly, I’ll let you go,’ replied Capt. Laubscher.”

“John Andrew Nink couldn’t raise the $20, although he dug deep into his broad trousers. Against his protestations and weak resistance, Jailer Corbett led him off to the receiving cell. All night long he paced up and down the cell while the hoboes guyed him about his tall hat which he refused to remove. At 8 o’clock this morning he was allowed to telephone to a well known woman who said she would send up the money for his bail.”

Hires Man to Whip Schlumpf.

“The gentleman prisoner had a grievance against Joe Schlumpf. He wanted to whip Joe but the big German cigar merchant looked too stately for Nink. He believed in nerving himself and therefore took on a few glasses of tonic. Then he met Matt Dee, a West Seattle man, who has figured in more rows in the last few years than he has fingers and toes. Nink told Dee his troubles. Dee sympathized with him and offered to help him.”

“‘I’ll give you $20 if you’ll whip Schlumpf for me,’ said Nink.”

“Matt Dee used to have plenty of money and there was a time when $20 wouldn’t tempt him, but when he saw $20 coming so easily he took up the proposition. Nink and Dee had a few more drinks and Dee started for Joe Sclumpf’s cigar store in the Butler Block.”

“‘What you been a doin’ to Nink?’ angrily demanded Matt Dee of Joe Schlumpf.”

“There was no answer. Dee looked at Joe and Joe looked at Dee.”

“‘Well, I’ve come over here to give you a lickin’,’ said Dee as he started for the show case.”

“Joe stepped from behind his cigar case and with a stiff right-hander he landed on Dee’s jaw and sent him sprawling to the floor. A kick or so landed Dee in the middle of the sidewalk and Joe Schlumpf went back to the case where he finished telling a friend one of his German stories, just as if nothing had happened.”

“Dee hunted up Nink and told him what he had got.”

“‘You’re not game,’ said Nink to Dee. ‘I’ll go over there and wallop that Dutchman myself.'”

“Nink started across the street, followed closely by Dee. The latter, however, decided to wait on the outside. Nink entered the cigar store and big Joe Schlumpf saw him coming.”

“‘Back for trouble, are you?’ yelled Joe, who by that time had decided that he was tired of Nink and his trouble.”

“‘Yes, I’m back and we’ll settle it right here.'”

“Nink started for Joe, but the amateur comedian was too quick for the angry man, and slapping him not ungently on the side of the cheek he sent Nink to the mat, then pushed him out of the door with his No. 12 foot.”

“Nink and Dee had another consultation but they agreed that no more attacks would be made. Nink said goodbye to Dee and the latter wandered up the street. Nink’s humor was not improved and he went deeper into the cups in a nearby saloon, saying he had a gun and was going to get somebody.”

“Not desiring any bloodshed in the thirst emporium, a bartender was sent out for an officer. Patrolman Charles Dolphin responded. He asked Nink if he had a gun. The latter replied that he had not but if he had one he would use it right there.”

“Unawed by the tall silk hat and the fine clothes of Nink, Officer Dolphin put a firm hand on his shoulder and told him he was under arrest.”

Gay With a Policeman.

“‘Are you a policeman?’ asked Nink, who was probably unable to see Dolphin’s uniform and his star.”

“‘Well, I make a noise like one,’ responded Dolphin.”

“There was no more parleying. A wagon call was sent in and Nink went to jail in the private conveyance furnished at the expense of the city.”

“About four years ago Nink was shot in the back while walking along Second Avenue near Union Street. For weeks he was in the hospital and for a time it was thought he would die. It was ascertained beyond all question that a young man had shot Nink because the latter had interfered in family affairs. Nink refused to prosecute and no arrest was made.”

“Nink says he is an insurance agent, but so far as the police know he has not increased business perceptibly in Seattle.”

“Joe Schlumpf’s ‘Webster’s’ Amateur Champions of the State of Washington. Season of 1908.” Schlumpf himself is possibly the man standing on the far right. Photo courtesy of Northwest sports historian David Eskenazi.

Nink had a knack for getting into trouble. A few years before the above incident, on an evening in November 1903 indowntown Seattle, he was shot in the back apparently by someone who objected to the romantic overtures Nink was bestowing upon a wealthy widow. A Morning Olympian (Nov. 13, 1903) account of the shooting described Nink as “a well known character in the city [Seattle]. He always dresses well and for years has worn a silk hat, which made him quite a prominent figure on the street.”

Nink died in Seattle Jan. 22, 1917 at the age of 65.

Mark “Matt” Dee, born in New York, raised in Boston, and sent to Ireland for his schooling always said he came home to the U.S. not with an education but “returned with a brogue only.” At age 12 he went to sea, and claimed that at some vague date he married the actress and early film star Blanche Walsh (1873-1915), an assertion that cannot be verified by any source except Dee himself.

Dee also included being the manager of boxer John L. Sullivan (1858-1918) for a three-year stint in his resume, as well as having a part in the early career of “Gentleman Jim” Corbett (1866-1933). Again, outside sources to verify these claims don’t come easy.

After a brief time in the mining camps of Montana, Matt moved to Seattle around the turn of the century. He settled in West Seattle where he became known as “Daddy Dee of Alki.” Dee became a very active member of the Republican Party and was known for the practice of taking a dip in Puget Sound on a daily basis. He died in Seattle July 1, 1931 at the age of 73.

Although called a German and Dutchman in the article, Joseph Schlumpf was born in Wisconsin. He arrived in Seattle ca. 1890 and was well known as a cigar merchant. Apparently he was politically ambitious, but had difficulty getting elected to office, although he did serve one term on the Seattle City Council, 1910-1911, representing the East Capitol Hill district.

Perhaps Joe Schlumpf’s real legacy in Seattle was his role as an organizer for one of the early baseball clubs. In this regard he could be considered a visionary.

Schlumpf moved to Hollywood, California in 1919. He died there July 16, 1941 at the age 73. I wonder if he ever had a chance to meet Larry Fine?

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

A bounty for flies? The very thought brings a smile. It makes my Boomer brain recall the Monty Python skit of big game hunters hauling out the heavy ammo in order to capture an insect. Or that immortal line uttered in the movie Return of the Fly (1959) with Vincent Price: “What if Philippe does not have the mind of a human, but the MURDEROUS BRAIN OF A FLY?!?”

But as we saw in an earlier Random News blogpost set in Washtucna in 1915 concerning typhoid, the link between flies and the spread of disease was fully recognized by the start of the 20th century. And it was no joke.

The state publication The Common House Fly : a Dangerous Pest by A.L. Melander (1905) doesn’t mince words: “From what we have just observed concerning the food of the maggot it will be seen that the BODIES OF HOUSE FLIES ARE MERELY TRANSFORMED EXCREMENT.” Obviously there is something about flies that makes people want to use all uppercase letters to make a point.

Civic groups across the country began offering bounties for flies starting around 1912 from what I can ascertain. In Centralia in 1916, a two ounce bottle of slain flies garnered a nickel. In Olympia in 1917 a pint of dead flies earned 10 cents. By the time the following randomly found article appeared in The Pasco Herald for May 12, 1921, the era of fly bounties was about over– in the United States. As recently as 2007 a city in China was offering such a bounty, and Manila in 1996.

“SWAT THE FLY– CASH FOR FLIES”

“A campaign with the above slogan as a battle cry, has been launched by the Pasco Woman’s Club to make this a fly-less community.”

“A bounty, dead or alive has been placed upon the trespassing-obnoxious fly, and this bounty will be paid in cash upon the delivery of the said fugitives at the club rooms on Saturday, May 28, between the hours of 2 and 5 p.m. Five cents a pint is the price set upon their heads or rather upon any and all parts of their anatomy. No questions will be asked only bring the flies. Not satisfied with offering a reward for their destruction, the club members have arranged for the making of fly traps in the manual training department of the public schools and their being given out at actual cost of construction to all who wish to have them.”

“For the next twenty days the word of greetings that will be expected will be the cry to ‘Get busy and Swat the Fly.'”

“To show the immediate need of action, some mathematically inclined members of the club have figured it out that one female fly wintered over to April 15, if not exterminated but is allowed to multiply until Sept. 10, will have a family of children, grand children and great grandchildren, ad infinitum, to the number of 5,598,720,000,000. If you doubt their figures catch one and feed it and find out.”

“The ladies have also gathered a few simple precautions that are here being passed on, with the request that they be observed.”

“1. Screen porches, doors and windows.

2. Trap the flies– Swat the flies.

3. Clean up back yards and alleys.

4. Haul out the manure.

5. Keep garbage covered.

6. Kill the winter flies.

7. Make all privvies fly-proof.

8. Join with your neighbor to get rid of flies in your community.”

The Pasco Herald became the Tri-City Herald in 1947. The Pasco Woman’s Club is included in the WSL manuscript collection: Washington State Library’s Collection of Washington State Women’s Clubs Yearbooks, 1902-1973, 1916-1940.

Washington State Library Institutional Libraries celebrate National Library Week. The Institutional Library Service (ILS) is a program of the Washington State Library, It consists of nine adult correctional facility libraries and two adult psychiatric hospital libraries. Our dedicated libraries embrace their mission:

“With spirit and fortitude, ILS branch staff enhances the quality of life for unique populations by providing a welcoming, neutral and secure place where informational, educational, and recreational needs are met.”

 Did you know?

 Libraries make prisons & psychiatric hospitals safer places to work and live

12,000 are incarcerated and hospitalized in Washington—8,520 are registered ILS patrons

ILS has more registered patrons per capita than the public library sector

ILS branch libraries employ prisoners and patients as clerks

ILS branch libraries maintain up-to-date re-entry resources

ILS branch libraries support and enhance basic adult education

Here’s what our Patrons have to say about ILS

“I’m just a regular guy and I actually don’t even read much…I’ve been getting some books on how to be a better father and that info is priceless…so it not only makes a difference in my life but it will make a difference in my child’s life too”. Airway Heights Corrections Center, Airway Heights, WA

 “Library is more important than gym, yard or any other recreational activity.  Reading is quiet, peaceful—a reading convict is not a problem source.  Reading causes new thought patterns to replace old negative patterns.”  Clallam Bay Corrections Center, Clallam Bay, WA

 “…Years ago when I knew nothing about schizophrenia, the library was the first place to go for information.  I am very greatfull to them for my knowledge that I share in groups, to my family, and to my support team. I am a better person for that.” Eastern State Hospital, Medical Lake, WA

To read more about our DOC and DSHS branches visit us at http://www.sos.wa.gov/library/InstitutionalLibraryServices.aspx. There are some great resources there, too.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

What do these people have in common?

John Anderson – the Swedish immigrant who served as a consulting engineer in the construction of the USS Monitor and after the Civil War settled in King County, where he continued to tinker and invent.

Grover Andrews – “The Destroying Angel” who was a leader the Morrisite Colony in the Waitsburg region in the 1880s.

Donald Archer – The daredevil student from The Evergreen State College who in 1980 donned a costume with wings and big bug eyes, then climbed the side of the Federal Building in Seattle.

Dr. Nettie Asberry – The first African American woman in the United States to receive a doctorate degree, Nettie was an early civil rights activist in Tacoma who lived to the age of 103 in 1968.

Yes, all of them have surnames starting with the letter “A.” And, they are a part of Washington State history as indexed in the Northwest Card File.

This searching tool is comprised of 180 card catalog drawers divided into two groups: personal names, and, topical subjects. The file serves as a finding aid for Washington State newspaper articles, obituaries, book chapters, pamphlets– indexing the collection in much more detail than a traditional card catalog.

It appears the Northwest Card File was started in the early 1950s, although it indexes material much older than that. In the early 1990s the File was basically retired, and the indexing was performed on computer. Stored on Bernoulli drives, the indexes were printed into hardcopy form. By the mid-1990s a more updated online index was introduced and continues to this day.

Throughout 2012 WSL staff from Central Library Services (Glenn Parsons, Marlys Rudeen, Sean Lanksbury, Shirley Lewis) working with Evelyn Lindberg of Library Development, designed a database to provide online access to the Northwest Card File. We are hoping to provide public access to the index in increments as we go. Inputting started on a trial basis in late October, but really began at the start of 2013 when WSL volunteer David Lane joined the project.

Two and half drawers later David has completed the “A” surname file! As he dives into the letter “B” I can either figure out how to clone him, or, make a pitch to our faithful readers out there with strong data entry experience to join the project as a volunteer. If you are interested in helping us build this unique finding aid please contact Steven Willis, Program Manager for Central Library Services, ph: (360) 704-5276, email: [email protected] for details.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

You would think that the inauguration of a local area figure to the office of Washington State Governor would be the commanding top of the fold headline. But not in the January 11, 1905 issue of The Bellingham Herald. Albert Mead’s swearing in ceremony does garner a nice spot, but above the gubernatorial news in bold caps across the top of the paper is the seven word declaration, followed by many smaller exciting sub-titles:

LYNDEN IS IN A STATE OF TURMOIL

 MARSHAL IS JAILED

 Lynden’s New Mayor Pro Tem Placed Under Arrest by Old Officers.

 RULE OF FORCE PREVAILS

 Door of City Hall Is Battered Down.

 UNCERTAINTY NOW EXISTS

 Old Administration Refuses to Concede that its Time Has Expired and Ousts New Council by Force of Numbers.

 “The political turmoil in Lynden during the last few weeks came near resulting in a riot last night. The old administration, backed up by a mob of over one hundred citizens, battered in the doors of the city hall, placed the new town marshal and the new mayor pro tem under arrest and took possession of the city’s property. The new council, which had been organized and elected its officers and assumed that it was in control, was put to rout and is now seeking advise as to what should be done in the premises.”

“The three anti-saloon councilmen recently elected assumed that the old administration ceased to exist at midnight Monday. Accordingly they met at 12:30 o’clock yesterday, and proceeded to elect Councilman M. Dame [i.e. N. Bame] as mayor pro tem, the election having resulted in a tie vote for mayor. T.H. Day [i.e. F.B. Day] was elected town marshal.”

“Since the old council had called a meeting to be held at the city hall at 8 o’clock in the evening, trouble was anticipated. The new council adjourned its midday session with the understanding that another meeting was to be held at the hall at 8 o’clock in the evening. Marshal Day was left in charge with instructions to hold the fort at all hazards. At 7:15 o’clock the rival forces arrived on the scene and proceeded to take possession by force. Day was placed in jail for two hours and the mayor pro tem, who was in the hall at the time and who found himself helpless, was informed that he was under arrest. The old council proceeded to hold a session and then took the city books away from the hall, having placed them in charge of a man who is said to live outside of city limits.”

 Looked Like Fierce Battle.

 “For a time it seemed that a battle royal would ensue, and all because of the fact that as yet no one knows who constitutes the city government. Lynden has been in a state of ferment ever since the city election held December 6, 1904. It was a memorable election and will go down in the history of that former quiet little city as one of the fiercest contests ever waged at a municipal election. The clash which occurred last night causes the election episode to pale into insignificance.”

“At the time of the general election held in December it was found that there was a tie vote for the office of mayor and that is the beginning of the present chaotic condition of affairs. At a subsequent meeting of the council it was held that there was no election for the office of mayor. It appears from the testimony of Charles E. Cline, a resident of Lynden, that the old officials found a statute which they interpreted as giving them the authority to appoint a mayor for the entire year and who would serve up to the time of the next election. The other persons in the general vernacular known as the ‘antis’ denied that the law which they cited would give them such authority. Mr. Cline says the town charter provides that the new council shall hold office from and after the second Tuesday in January of each year, but the charter does not designate any hour of that date when they shall begin to hold office. The ordinance of Lynden fixing the time for holding the meetings of the council is silent in regard to the time for any meeting on that day.”

 New Council Meets

 “On Tuesday, January 10, the second Tuesday of the new year, there being no established law for the time of meeting a majority of the incoming council called a meeting by giving, as Mr. Cline says, legal notice to each member of the new council-elect that a meeting would be held at 12:30 o’clock yesterday afternoon. Mr. Cline says that the clerk, whose term of office expired with the old council, upon request gave to Mr. Dame [i.e. Bame], a member of the new council, the key to the city hall and access to all of the records and ordinances. A meeting of the incoming council was held, and a recess was taken until 8 o’clock p.m. At the meeting N. Dame [i.e. Bame] was elected mayor pro tem, W.H. Towner, clerk; F.B. Day, town marshal. Meantime the hall was left in charge of the new marshal, F.B. Day, with instructions to hold possession and allow no one to secure possession without due authority. At about 7:30 o’clock Hugh Breckenridge, who alleges that he is the legal mayor of the city by reason that he was elected by the old council, rapped at the door and was admitted by Mr. Day.”

“Later there was a rap at the door of the city hall and Mr. Day says he asked who was there and what was wanted.”

“The reply was, ‘I am the city marshal; let me in.'”

“Mr. Day says he replied as follows:”

“‘I am the new city marshal and cannot let you in this room, which is the instruction of the city council.'”

“To this Mr. Day says that the person outside replied: ‘Open this door or I will batter it down.’ The door was not opened as commanded and backed by a surging mob outside the door was broken down. Mr. Day says that the old town marshal, George Erz, at once said to him, ‘You can consider yourself under arrest,’ and, continued Mr. Day, ‘he forced me to go into the city jail at the rear of the city hall where I was held for about two hours. Mr. Dame [i.e. Bame], mayor pro tem, who was in the room at the time of the mob, was also told by Mr. Erz that he, too, was under arrest.'”

“After the crowd rushed into the council room Mr. Cline states that the alleged mayor, Hugh Breckenridge and the old council, proceeded to the transaction of business for the city. Several warrants were ordered paid and other business transacted.”

 In Peculiar Position.

 “The condition in which Lynden is now placed is a peculiar one and one in which the aid of the court will be invoked in order to determine which set of officers are in control. There are now two sets of officers each of which claims to be clothed with legal power to transact the business of the city.”

“Attorneys are now in consultation over the affair and quo warranto proceedings will probably be instituted against each of the alleged officers who composed the meeting that gained entrance to the city hall last night by the breaking of the doors of the hall.”

“A delegation of Lynden citizens is in the city today consulting attorneys relative to the affair. The representatives are: Charles E. Cline, Marshal F.B. Day, Councilmen Carr Bailey and D.J. Steffe.”

This article is a window into a political battle between the pro-liquor and anti-saloon factions in Lynden during the first decade of the 20th century. A very Calvinistic community (Lynden was once known for having the most churches per square mile in Washington State), the town didn’t have a saloon at all until 1903. Since the mob that broke into City Hall represented the pro-liquor faction, one has to wonder if alcohol was a factor in more than just political philosophy.

For awhile Lynden actually had two different city councils meeting during the same period of time, until the court sided with the anti-saloon crowd. Ultimately by 1910 the “antis” emerged victorious and liquor would not be served again in Lynden until the 1930s.

A very entertaining and detailed account of this episode can be found in Ed Nelson’s A History of Lynden (1995).

The same two gentlemen who tied for mayor also tied in the next election. This also happened in the town of McCleary in the late 1960s-early 1970s where the same candidates tied twice. In the McCleary case, the issue was settled both times by drawing a name out of the Sheriff’s hat– a much more peaceful solution.

[Thanks to Kim Smeenk for providing a nice copy of the Jan. 11, 1905 front page]

Courtesy of the Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association Library Related Legislation. The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted to the WLA web site and we will also post it weekly on this blog.

For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced above.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Although the word “snarky” wasn’t really used in 1889, the concept was there– as we shall see.

In this case study we should start with the 1889 Constitutional Convention held in Olympia, where delegates from across Washington Territory met in order to hammer out a guiding document. When I read through the WSL copy of The Journal of the Washington State Constitutional Convention, 1889, I find an entry for July 17 describing a proposition submitted by a generally quiet gentleman from Lincoln County with the literary name of Handford Wentworth Fairweather:

“Relating to Bribery of Officers. By Mr. Fairweather. Referred to Committee on Legislative Department.”

H.W. Fairweather, 37 years old, was a former railroad executive turned banker from Sprague. You might recall his name as a narrator in our blogpost about Amore de Cosmos.

Apparently Mr. Fairweather’s action at the Convention amused the folks back home. The random reel this week is from The Wilbur Register for July 26, 1889. They just don’t write political commentary like this these days. I have tried to keep the original spelling and punctuation as true as possible while still keeping it readable:

“At last Delegate Fairweather has been heard from. Lincoln county, through her delegate, has become famous, and the delegate won renown, which handed down to posterity, in generations to come, will shine with such brilliance as to illume a world with its glory, until the bones of all the honored dead now in peaceful repose at Westminister shall grow restless and turn green with envy.”

“Delegates from other counties might devote their entire attention to such unimportant, common place matters as schemes for state, county, and municipal government, legislative and executive powers, the bill of rights, revenue and taxation, or the judiciary to the exclusion of others of such vital importance that a state government formed without them would surely prove uninduring. No such neglect is to be charged to this renown member from Lincoln. To his fertile brain is to be ascribed the keystone plank of the constitution without which it never could have proven durable.”

“Mr. Fairweather has figured considerably in legislative and public affairs. In such matters his is the wisdom of experience. He has necessarily stood by, a disinterested spectator of course, and witnessed the corruption, bribery and dishonesty that creeps into legislative bodies, prostitutes public servants, pervades our elections and even contaminates railroad employees. Of course there are men who have taken to this state of things like ducks to water or swine to a swill barrel. But not so with Mr. Fairweather. Oh no! not he. He has revalted at the sight. His pure and lofty character became horrified at these spectacle and turned from them with loathing and disgust. That a nature such as Mr. Fairweather’s should grow restless while his country was polluted with such enormities is not to be wondered at. Indeed to his sensitive nature it was extremely cruel. Perhaps those acquainted with Mr. Fairweather have observed an anxious troubled expression lurking on his saintly countenance, but now, the cause of its existence having disappeared serenity and peace once more there reigns supreme.”

“There is a day distinguished from all others in the life of every man. Mr. Fairweather had his day in the territorial constitutional convention last week.”

“‘Mr. President,’ rang out in a clear tone, and the richness that sounded in that voice was conclusive to those who listened there was nothing of the spurious about it. The convention was at once hushed in rapt attention and the gaze of every member was directed toward the member from Lincoln county, who stood in his place, his towering symetrical form the impregnable fortress of the keenest sense of honor, while the frank, open countenance, for which he is noted, was directed at the presiding officer. The occasion will long remain fresh in the recollection of those who witnessed it as a momentus event. There stood Mr. Fairweather, The delicate flush on his pale cheeks proclaimed the humility, bashfullness and retiring reserve that had sought and found seclusion there. His large, black eyes, the realms of sincerity, whose borders of pearl like purity the ideal madonna has yet to equal, that appear as the entrance to caverns stored to overflowing with the gems of honesty and saintly integrity, that shown forth in a hallow of glory compared to the low, calculating, cunning discernable in the small, keen opticts of several surrounding colleagues.”

“Then when Mr. Fairweather sent to the clerk’s desk and had read a provision to be embodied in the constitution prohibiting bribery and bribe taking by public servants the blow of the mighty avenger of political corruption fell. Think of this great blessing, Mr. Fairweather secures to your future state, fellow citizens. The state of Washington is not to be contaminated by this form of public corruption because it will be prohibited by the constitution and to this member from Lincoln county is to be ascribed all honor and glory.”

“Every member present recognized the great importance of this provision. As Mr. Fairweather took his seat numerous were the glances of admiration directed toward him. For so far-reaching a stroke a statescraft he would have, without doubt, been the unanimous choice of the convention had a vote then and there been taken, for U.S. Senator. Still here and there were noticeable members not at all pleased. The good and righteous Judge Turner winced a little as his recollection was carried back to former campaigns and future necessities in Spokane county politics. President Hoyt closely scrutinized Mr. Fairweather to ascertain if anything of a personal nature was intended. Delegate Moore remembering the ‘personal explaination’ a heartless reporter had compelled him to make, by casting base reflections on his recently received consignment of Kentucky’s choicest brands, could not suppress a preceptable quivering of the lips, while Tom Griffiths, constantly on the look out, was not a little chagrined to think so favorable an opportunity to cover himself with glory and bask in the rays of public attention had escaped him.”

“Had the dome of the capitol been otherwise than secure and durable without doubt a dove would have descended, with a similar message to that conveyed to John the Baptist as he stood in the midst of the Jordan over eighteen hundred years ago. Had Mr. Fairweather at that moment murmured ‘it is finished’ and expired, as did that good man from Calvery’s Cross, all the hosts of the earth, even unto the present day, would have proven unequal to the task of preventing his assent to the realms of eternal bliss.”

“After so worthy an occurrence and historical event undoubtedly the convention immediately adjourned for the day in commemoration thereof, but upon this point our information saith not.”

H.W. Fairweather went on to be elected to the very first Washington State Senate and served one term. A essay he wrote about the history of the Northern Pacific Railroad can be found in the Washington Historical Quarterly v. 10, no. 2 (Apr. 1919).

by Rand Simmons and Kristy L. Coomes

Dorothy R. Cutler was one of the power-houses of the Washington State Library during the 1950s through the 1970s. Dorothy died on March 20, 2013.  She was 95.

Dorothy’s career began in the 1940s with her first job at Salem (Oregon) Public Library. She also served in the Special Services Branch, U.S. Army, in Hawaii and Guam, during World War II (1943-1946), and following at the Contra Costa County (California) Library (1946-1951). She earned a B.A. from Willamette University in 1940, a B.A. in Librarianship from the University of Washington in 1941, and an M.S. in Library Science in 1952 from the University of Illinois. While attending the University of Illinois she worked in the University Library (1951-1952) and joined the Washington State Library in 1952.

In Dynamics of Change, former State Librarian Maryan Reynolds consistently refers to two library consultants by only last names, an indication of their prominence in moving the Washington library community forward, Dorothy Cutler and Dorothy Doyle.

Cutler is remembered not only for managing the first Library Services Act funded Columbia River Regional Library Demonstration but also for her leadership with the Governor’s Conference on Libraries (which predated the White House Conference on Libraries) and her leadership role with the Washington State Advisory Council on Libraries.

Kristy Coomes, long-time employee of the Washington State Library noted, “Dorothy was one of the pioneers that made the dream of statewide library service come true.” Enormous growth in library services occurred in Washington’s libraries during Dorothy’s tenure as Chief of Library Development.  For example, it was during this time that the State Library created the first digitally produced printed catalog of the newly established Timberland Regional Library and the State Library. This project grew rapidly to include many libraries and eventually resulted in the Washington Library Network.  As staff to the Washington State Advisory Council on Libraries she was key to both the creativity and the planning necessary to move forward on many fronts.

When Dorothy Cutler left the Washington State Library she later told the Olympian newspaper (November 18, 1979): “… I said I was quitting, not retiring. Because retiring seems to mean sitting on the shelf, and that’s not for me!”

Today there are thirty library districts, junior taxing districts created by a vote of the people, across the state. Dorothy Cutler was one of the key players in Washington’s history of establishing library districts statewide and improving services that libraries offered to their constituents.

Our thanks to you, Dorothy, for your creativity, your planning abilities, and your ability to bring people together to accomplish commonly held goals.

Courtesy of the Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association Library Related Legislation. The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted to the WLA web site and we will also post it weekly on this blog.

For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced above.

 From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Sea serpent stories are developing into a subgenre in this column. Although the creature described here resembles the “DungeNessie” serpent sighted in 1892 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, this particular sighting took place very near to the 1899 episode of The Sea Serpent That Got Away.

 This article was found in the Dec. 7, 1855 issue of the Puget Sound Courier, published out of Steilacoom. The serpent was seen off of Devil’s Head, on the tip of the Key Peninsula. Then it took off and vanished between McNeil and Anderson islands. It is interesting that all of the geographic names mentioned in this article have remained essentially unchanged since 1855:

 THE SEA SERPENT.

 Mr. Editor:

 “I hasten to communicate to you the important and interesting fact that the world-renowned sea serpent, has at last condescended to pay a visit to the waters of our beautiful inland sea; and from the great delight he was evidently enjoying, that it is but fair to presume he will visit us annually.”

 “For the gratification of the hundreds of thousands of anxious people in the world who have seen in the papers so many unsatisfactory accounts of his mighty snakeship, I will endeavor to give a correct and truthful description of him, praying all who may read it, to give the relation their full, firm, and entire belief. Early in the morning of yesterday, December 2nd, a party of us left Johnson’s Point, so called, where we had camped the night before, on our way from Olympia to pass ‘down the Sound.’ We had just fairly got started, some two hundred yards, perhaps, from the shore, when I, who was steering the boat, noticed a sudden and unusual commotion in the water in the direction of the Devil’s head– a high Bluff bank so called, and directly in our track. Pretty soon the flurry was over and the waters subsided into a calm. For a moment I supposed that there was a shoal of ‘Killers’– gamboling, which, being a common occurrence, I took no further notice of.”

 “Looking again in the same direction, however I saw intervals of some ten feet apparently four round, dark looking spots, somewhat resembling Buoys, upon the water. This awakened some curiosity in my mind, and I gazed upon the phenomenon intensely; but when I saw as I did a moment after, an object of startling appearance rise gradually from the water to a height of fifteen feet, seeming to connect with the dark spots on the surface. My amazement was complete, and I immediately directed the attention of those who were with me in the boat, Messrs Ramsay, Turnbull, Clough and Shanutt, to the singular looking object and asked them their opinion of it.”

 “They immediately ceased rowing and looked in the direction indicated by me anxiously and earnestly for someminutes, when the truth as to its real nature seemed to break upon our minds simultaneously, and we all exclaimed at once ‘its the Sea serpent its the Sea Serpent!’ Ah, then it would have done you good and made the ‘cockles of your heart beat with joy’ to see how four white ash oars were made to bend and spring under the vigorous strokes of as many athletic young, men creating a miniature water fall under the bow of our sweet little craft. ‘Give way strong my lads, Give way strong’ was the cheering word frequently given; and they did ‘give way’ strong, for, in fifteen minutes we had accomplished a distance that ordinarily takes forty five, and had reached the spot as near as we could judge, where we had seen his royal Snakeship. We then lay upon our oars and looked about us in all directions for a nearer and better view of the distinguished stranger– not long was we doomed to look in vain, for within five minutes from the time we ceased pulling, the monster again rose to the surface on our Starboard Bow and within thirty yds. of us.”

  “If we were surprised before, when seeing him from a distance we now were perfectly amazed, and so badly frightened withal, that there was not one in the party, who did not send up an involuntary and sincere prayer to Heaven for a safe delivery from the neighborhood of so hideous and dangerous looking a Customer. Curiosity however, was stronger within our breasts than fear and consequently we took no measures to get an offing but determined, on the contrary, to hold out where we were, and if possible get a good view of the animal from head to tail and thereby determine his length, size, color, and general appearance, that we might contrast him, as a whole, with the descriptions we had from time to time seen in the journals of the day, for the last twenty years.”

 “Our laudable curiosity was destined to be completely gratified, for the monster, after coming to the surface, straitened himself out at full length, gradually raised his flattened serpent looking head some fifteen feet in the air, and opened his mouth, which was sufficiently large to take in a yearling heifer, took a cool look all around, and at last fixed his small piercing eyes, full upon us, in a manner that seemed to say, who and what are you, that you dare approach so near, or disturb the element which owns me, and me alone, as its monarch.”

 “For the space of ten minutes we were thrilled on the marrow in our bones by the indescribable and strangely fascinating look, and I verily believe that if our soul’s salvation had depended upon this action, so trivial as that as a single sweep with our oars, that we could not have given it– for we were so utterly amazed at the huge proportions of this monster of the ‘Deep’ and so nearly petrified with fear at finding ourselves in such close proximity to him, as to be completely incapable of the least effort,– not for a thousand worlds would I again experience the agonizing sensatives that my mind was tortured by in those ten minutes, or be again so entirely at the mercy of this hideous and frightful looking Serpent.”

 “I am aware that there thousands of incredulous persons in the world who utterly disbelieve the tales that are told of this mighty Ocean Snake, and will dare even to deny the truth of this relation, and accuse the writer of having a distempered imagination or disposition to practice upon the credulity of the silly, and the inexperience of the young. To such I would say, that my imagination is neither distempered nor ardent and that I have no disposition whatever to impose a falsehood upon the simple and credulous. The length of this monster was about 90 feet, and his average size nearly that of our firs. His color was a dirty green, and his whole body, apparently, covered with scales.”

 “At the expiration of ten minutes he turned his head in a northerly direction, and the last we saw of him he was making a ‘strait wake’ through ‘Balches passage’ at the rate of 20 miles an hour.”

 “Yours Respectfully, Robt. Littlejohn.”

 The Puget Sound Courier is one of many historic newspapers that has been digitized by the Washington State Library and is available online.