PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Andulka
hello vonnie
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
roma★
𓃗
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
untitled
gracie abrams
No title available
Fai_Ryy
$LAYYYTER
Cosmic Funnies
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
KIROKAZE
🪼
#extradirty
RMH
ojovivo
Game of Thrones Daily
seen from Uzbekistan
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Iceland
seen from United States
seen from Norway
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Sweden
seen from Türkiye
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Egypt
seen from Brazil
seen from Iraq
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Brazil
seen from Brazil
@nwhistoryroomarchives
Today’s announcement that Alaska Airlines will soon provide commercial service Paine Field is… old news. According to a September 19, 1951, Everett Herald article, the airport was used by major airlines as an alternate field when weather didn’t permit landing at SeaTac. Take a look at our photos from the Everett Herald in our Northwest Room digital archives.
Working in a public library, you would think that the most entertaining thing on offer would be the countless works of fiction. Well, being an archivist in a public library means that it’s always the facts that I find the most fascinating. I’m fortunate enough to be able to handle, scan, and share images, documents, sounds, and film of things that happened generations ago so that I can make history seem more relevant to our daily lives. It’s like working inside a time machine.
The thing that always captivates me are the faces, and knowing the stories behind them. In most cases the faces I see are anonymous because we don’t have identifying information, but we know their stories via context. Just from the top of this string of images:
We know that there were vibrant cultures in the Pacific Northwest long before European settlers first explored these breathtaking shores, and that those cultures still endure to this day. This photo was taken on the Tulalip Reservation in 1914 by J.A. Juleen.
We know that men toiled in horrific conditions in local mills, and up in the forests in logging camps. They often died young of disease or catastrophic injuries sustained on the job. Many were left maimed and unable to work. We know that through organizing and unionizing, they eventually succeeded in making changes to ensure they would have workplace safety reforms and the payment of a living wage on which they could support their families, buy homes, and send their kids to school in order to find work outside of the factory. This photo was taken in the Seaside Shingle Mill in 1907 by J.A. Juleen.
We know that women were also in the labor force very early on, and that they marched alongside their male counterparts for change long before they could legally vote. This image of the Women’s Label League was taken at the Everett Labor Day parade in 1912 by J.A. Juleen.
We know that through backbreaking labor under risk of avalanches, immigrants from different parts of Asia lay track for the Cascade Tunnel, which helped move the Great Northern Railway off the hazardous slopes of the Cascade Range and out of avalanche danger. This photo of track workers was taken in 1928 somewhere near Scenic, WA by Lee Pickett.
We know that many men risked tunnel collapses, avalanches, and other hazards to blast the Cascade Tunnel 7.8 miles through solid rock so that the Railroad could more safely connect the West Coast to the East Coast. This photo of tunnel excavators was taken in 1928 somewhere near Scenic, WA by Lee Pickett.
We also know that those men and women enjoyed winter recreation in the mountains on their time off, just as much as we do now. We have countless images of people hiking, skiing, camping, mountaineering, boating, and otherwise glorying in all the Pacific Northwest has to offer, going back to our earliest photos. This photo of female skiiers was taken in 1928 somewhere near Scenic, WA by Lee Pickett.
We know that there was a big community of African American Freemasons in Washington State, and that they had their annual meeting in Everett. This is only a small fragment of a panoramic photo that is over 2 feet long. This panoramic photo of the M.W.U. Grand Lodge of Washington was taken in 1926 by J.A. Juleen .
We know that Snohomish County residents loved Indian Motorcycles so much that they formed a big club to go on rides together (this is also a small portion of a panoramic image that is about 3 feet long). This photo of the Indian Motorcycle Club is undated but most likely was taken in the mid-1920s by J.A. Juleen.
We know that basketball was school sport for girls on the Tulalip Reservation as early as 1910, and that they played in divided skirts. Other diaries and images from Everett High School show girls playing basketball, baseball, field hockey, and other sports in the early part of the 20th century. This photo was taken in 1910 by J.A. Juleen.
We know that as a promotion, the Everett Herald hosted a birdhouse making contest and received scores of adorable entries (again, this is a portion of a panoramic photo that is about 2 feet long). This photo was taken in 1916 by J.A. Juleen.
Lastly, since I keep mentioning them, we know that there are massive panoramic prints, and accompanying massive negatives, that were taken in single shots. These weren’t stitched, and the clarity of them is lovely. If you’re ever in the Northwest Room, I would love to show you them, and that’s a fact!
For more fun facts, beyond this #DayOfFacts, follow this hashtag to find fun libraries, archives, museums, cultural centers, historical societies, and more. We are all here to provide you with facts about the world you live in, and we all passionately love doing so!
What fabulous timing! While processing a collection of prints from photographer Lee Pickett, we came across a photo of a Valentine’s Day dance that was held in Scenic, WA in 1928. The rest of the collection is full of gritty photos of the building of the Cascade Tunnel for the Great Northern Railway, as well as track work, so it’s nice to see that the workers got to take a little break for romance.
Lots of #loveinthearchives in the Northwest Room. We love the happy couples and families that live in our collections.
We currently have on loan the diary of Doris Bell, a young woman who was attending college at the University of Washington during the fall of 1916. Ms. Bell was a resident of Everett, WA, and a relative of future Washington State Governor Roland H. Hartley. The format of the diary was a page for each date, with a section for each year (5 total). The second to the last section on each page was for 1916.
For the most part, Doris’s entries are a lively mix of social visits to the homes of friends, sporting events (she was quite active, playing tennis, golf, field hockey, and participating in other athletic endeavors), ice cream, classes, and family doings. There isn’t much discussion of worldly events outside of the things happening within her social sphere. One exception to this is the entry that Doris wrote on November 5th:
“In A.M. L + I went down to Edna Mis + Mrs. Fiskers. After dinner we had some great I.W.W. excitement. We talked about it all P.M. Walked over to grandma’s + over to Mrs. [?]. Wrote a paper on Colonial House.”
The I.W.W. excitement referred to in this entry was a violent encounter at the Everett waterfront that later became known as the Everett Massacre. During this confrontation, 5 I.W.W. ‘Wobblies’ were confirmed killed, and 27 were reported injured; it is believed that there were more bodies retrieved from the water surreptitiously, so the true count will probably never be known. On the docks, two deputies were shot dead, and several others were injured. Though it was never established who fired first, 74 Wobbly prisoners were later unsuccessfully tried for murder.
The interesting thing about this diary is the questions that it poses. From those who have read it, there have been conflicting reactions. Some see the terse description of the tragedy as evidence that Ms. Bell was so detached from the struggle of working people that their deaths were no more than an amusing footnote. Others feel that the format of the diary limited her ability to write more of a reaction, but the fact that the events caused her to deviate from her normal writing pattern and spend the day discussing with family it meant that it must have had some impact on her.
There is no further mention of the event in the diary, nor were there discussions of the events leading to the shootout mentioned prior to November 5th. One wonders how much access Ms. Bell had to information about the growing struggle between the I.W.W. and local mill owners (many of whom were her family and friends of the family) - some of the major events in the timeline of November’s tragedy went largely unreported in the local paper.
What remains is one of the scant few first-hand accounts written from the perspective of someone who was closely tied to the mill owners involved in the struggles of 1916, and it is admittedly sparse. Because the I.W.W. had no shortage of gifted artists, poets, and songwriters, there is no lack of coverage from the perspective of those fighting on the side of free speech and labor reform.
This Saturday marks the 100th anniversary of the Everett Massacre. For the past month, the library has made an effort to provide as many different views of the events leading up to, during, and after November 5th, so that the community could start discussing what it all means (videos of these lectures will be posted to YouTube). This discussion has prompted locals to create art, to write poetry, and to compose music and take to the stage. While there are still no easy answers, the overwhelming message that we have heard is that most feel that the event was a tragedy of miscommunication, bravado, and failed bluffing. There seems to be a desire for further discussion, and the hope to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. The library’s observances will close out on Sunday, but hopefully the conversation will continue far into the future.
This charming report of heavy fog in 1919 was left in the Northwest Room today by a library user. How appropriate for the grey morning Everett has been having. It makes us wish that today’s weather reportage was even half as poetic as this piece.
We had an interesting discovery today with a walk-in microfilm researcher. On October 3, 1925, the Philadelphia Bobbies women’s baseball club came to Everett. The team played exhibition games in the area before departing for another series in Japan (more about that harrowing journey in this blog post). Included here are other clippings found on the same page. You can learn more about more local baseball history in our podcast Baseball Among the Stumps.
We were thrilled to have a chance to sit down and chat with local artist Deb Fox about her forthcoming graphic novel on the Everett Massacre. The project was funded by Historic Everett, and is expected to be published later this summer. When we have more information about how to purchase a copy of this exciting new take on Everett’s history, we will let you know. The Northwest Room is currently in the process of putting together an exhibit of Deb’s original sketches for the graphic novel, with a projected opening in early September.
To all you other local artists and history buffs, the Everett Public Library is hosting a juried art exhibit in commemoration of the Everett Massacre Centennial. For more information about how you can submit your original work to be considered, and what the criteria is for participating, go to our website.
A great find by one of our researchers doing some work in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the Everett Massacre. This article appeared in the Everett Daily Tribune in the spring following the shootout at Everett’s waterfront. The details in the background are just wonderful. You can find a full PDF of this article here - it is a bit blurry due to the quality of the microfilm, but it can be downloaded and enlarged for easier reading when opened in a PDF reader. There’s a tiny bit about the artist, Ernest Hamlin Baker, here. More of his work can be found here.
The Dot Farm was a weekly drawing game that appeared in the Everett Herald in the early 1900s. These Dot Farm riddles were taken from the December 1916 microfilms in the Everett Public Library.
Some before and after views of Everett, WA. From top to bottom:
Looking east on California from bayside - May 31, 1892 and 2016 on Google Street View.
Looking north on Rockefeller from 32nd - May 31, 1892 and 2016 on Google Street View.
Looking north on Rucker from Pacific sometime in early 1892, and 2016 on Google Street View.
All historic photos are from the King and Baskerville collection at the Everett Public Library.
A touch of green for St. Paddy’s day from the Neil House collection.
We found some great outdoorsy illustrations in our copy of the 1955 Everett High School Nesika annual.
Combing through the 1916 Everett Daily Herald microfilms today for a researcher some interesting ads were spotted. In case you ever need to unclog a kidney or impart strength to your womanly organs, Dr. Pierce seems to be the person to turn to.
Okay then.
This is the 2nd time this week some obscure historical thing with a connection to my home town has come across my dash!
This barn stood for a very long time. It’s gone now (the guy who owned the property tore it down because it was structurally unsound; the historical society tried to raise money to have it restored but they couldn’t raise enough in time to save it), but it was a landmark for decades.
Ray Pierce was a politician from upstate New York & he sold all kinds of quack medicine. He was a snake oil peddler, basically, and I’m not sure why a barn advertising his stuff was on the Historic Register in a small logging community in rural southwestern Oregon, but there it was anyway.
Thanks for posting this!
Combing through the 1916 Everett Daily Herald microfilms today for a researcher some interesting ads were spotted. In case you ever need to unclog a kidney or impart strength to your womanly organs, Dr. Pierce seems to be the person to turn to.
The things you find when you clean out old library storage. It would be great to know the back story on these. A retirement gift for a departing librarian? A joke from a patron? They’re beautifully printed, with raised ink lettering and thick card stock - Patrick Bateman would be envious.
Sometimes you find the unexpected in collections you’ve worked with countless times. These images are from some of the law enforcement shots taken by photographer Neil House during his tenure as the City of Everett’s photographer in the 1970s. It is not clear if these photos were taken during a training exercise, or during the course of an actual criminal arrest, but they definitely bring an air of drama to today’s processing work.
