November 5 – November 11, 2009

Marching Home

In its origin Veteran's Day marks the end of World War I on November 11, 1918, although folks in Arlington got so excited, they jumped the gun. When America entered the three-year-old European conflict on April 6, 1917, some 50,000 Seattleites showed their support with an impromptu parade. One local veteran of the Civil War even tried to enlist. Local housewives knit clothing for the troops, and William Boeing scrambled to win his first defense contract.

Not everyone cheered the war. Most notably, members of the Industrial Workers of the World opposed it. One of them, Louise Olivereau, was sentenced to prison for advising potential draftees on their rights. Citizens of German and Austrian descent also found themselves under new scrutiny.

Ninety years ago this week, as the nation celebrated its first "Armistice Day" in 1919, World War I veterans in the new American Legion decided to evict the IWW from its office in Centralia. The Wobblies were ready, and four attackers were killed in the gun battle. An irate mob later hauled Wobbly Wesley Everest from the town jail and lynched him from a bridge over the Chehalis River. The "Centralia Massacre" is remembered today by a monument to the fallen rioters in a city park -- overlooked by a newer mural celebrating Everest and the IWW.

On the third Armistice Day, in 1921, the Seattle Garden Club planted the first 25 elm trees that line Des Moines Memorial Way. Throughout the state, monuments were erected, including a replica of Stonehenge at Maryhill that was completed in 1929. The Seattle and Burien Posts of the American Legion dedicated a monument in 1963 inscribed with some 460 names of Washingtonians numbered among the total of 37,000 U.S. combat fatalities during the "Great War." Many rest today at Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in North Seattle, beside comrades who would fall in the many conflicts that followed the war to end all war.

Never on Sunday

On November 5, 1912, Pomeroy voters outlawed the sale of liquor, making the Garfield County community one of the first towns in Washington to go dry ahead of Prohibition. It comes as no surprise that the town was also one of the first to be vexed by bootleggers, including one nefarious character known as "Diamond Dick."

After Prohibition ended in 1933, liquor flowed freely in Pomeroy and the rest of the state -- except on Sundays. This was not entirely due to the so-called Blue Law, enacted in 1909, which prohibited businesses from opening on Sundays. On November 8, 1966, voters opted to repeal the Blue Law and several months later the Liquor Control Board reversed its own ban on Sunday liquor sales.

Bloody Sunday

On November 5, 1916, five members of the Industrial Workers of the World and two deputies died in a hail of bullets as two boatloads of Wobblies attempted to dock in Everett for a free-speech demonstration. Often overlooked is the fact that the IWW had attempted to rally in support of striking workers in Everett one week earlier, only to be beaten bloody and run out of town by some 200 deputized thugs.

News Then, History Now

Bank on It: Ten years after Walla Walla got its name, the Baker Boyer Bank opened for business downtown on November 10, 1869. Today it is still family owned and operated, and at 130 years is Washington's oldest bank.

Sit on It: Dayton became the seat of Columbia County when it formed in November 11, 1875, and on November 5, 1878, Goldendale became the seat of Klickitat County, but over the years, other counties have wrestled with their choices on where to centralize county government. It took an armed posse to move the Clallam County seat from New Dungeness to Port Angeles in 1890, and on November 5, 1912, Benton County voters tried to unseat Prosser, following a bitter rivalry between Benton City and Kennewick.

Vote on It: It took 36 years for Washington to make the transition from territory to statehood when it was admitted to the Union on November 11, 1889. Territorial voters had originally requested entry in 1878, but Congress declined their request. Twenty-one years after statehood, male voters amended Washington's constitution to enfranchise women on November 8, 1910, a decade ahead of the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution.

On the Waterfront: On November 5, 1918, Pierce County voters created the Port of Tacoma, which welcomed its first cargo ship in 1921, expanded its grain transport in 1930, and oversaw a new era of shipbuilding beginning in 1940. Over the years, union workers and management have combined efforts to ensure the Port's success by working together with new technology, new shipping lines, and new delivery mechanisms.

On the Homefront: As World War I ended, Washingtonians fought a flu epidemic which eventually killed hundreds of thousands nationwide. On November 10, 1918, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer announced the death of Seattle native Therese (Tess) Preston McCarthy and her husband Roy McCarthy in Minneapolis. Many years later, their daughter Mary McCarthy described the horror of her parents' sudden demise in her 1957 memoir, Memories of a Catholic Girlhood.

Island Hop: On November 10, 1923, Mercer Island became a little less remote with the opening of the East Channel Bridge, which connected the small community to Bellevue and the Eastside. The opening of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge in 1940 completed the connection to Seattle, and led to major changes in the island's development.

Bridge Drop: On November 7, 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed after increasing oscillations -- first noticed during its construction -- twisted it to the breaking point. It took 10 years to rebuild and was recently joined by a sister span.

Short Stop: Revered today as a national icon, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was still regarded as a radical during his sole trip to Seattle on November 8, 1961. When King's original speaking venue was suddenly cancelled, local supporters led by Mt. Zion pastor Sam McKinney scrambled to find alternative platforms for King's message of social and racial justice. In 2005, King County was officially renamed in King's honor.

Quote of the Week

When the days of rejoicing are over,
When the flags are stowed safely away,
They will dream of another wild 'War to End Wars'
And another wild Armistice day.

                          --Robert Graves

Image of the Week

On November 7, 1991, Winslow changed its name to Bainbridge Island