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Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.

This Week Then

10/10/2024

Union Station, Seattle

News Then, History Now

Passing Through

On October 10, 1805, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their Corps of Discovery entered the future state of Washington after a long journey that began in St. Louis, Missouri.  Once here, the explorers pressed westward, following the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean.

Stopping By

This week marks the anniversaries of several visits to Washington from political figures. Rutherford B. Hayes dropped by on October 11, 1880, during his tour as the first U.S. president to travel west of the Rockies. On October 10, 1959, Vice President Richard Nixon dedicated the Dalles Lock and Dam. On October 12, 1968, George Wallace campaigned for the presidency in Seattle. And on October 13, 1972, Gloria Steinem arrived in Seattle to advocate for "Women's Lib" and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Messing Around

On October 10, 1910, "Higgy," a cute and cuddly Kodiak bear cub from Alaska who had been a popular pet at the Olga Inn on Orcas Island, slipped his collar and disappeared into the woods. For the next three years, the bear – once grown to full size – created all sorts of mayhem. And on October 12, 1957, a Bothell man climbed up a tree in a bear costume and was almost shot by anxious town residents before they noticed that the suburban ursine was wearing shoes.

Power Play

Six years after the Georgetown Steam Plant opened, engineers began straightening the nearby Duwamish River on October 14, 1913. Once completed, the dredged river brought firms like the Boeing Airplane Co. to the valley's burgeoning industrial center. The steam plant supplied electricity to the grid for the final time on October 15, 1952, and is now a National Historic Landmark.

On Their Way

On October 10, 1943, Shirley Belle Robbins married Burton Baskin at Glendale Golf and Country Club near Seattle – the first time the Baskin-Robbins name made headlines in a news story. A decade later, Shirley's older brother Irvine rebranded his Snowbird ice cream shop in Glendale, California, as the first Baskin-Robbins, which marked the beginning of an ice-cream empire.

Cheer Hooray

On October 13, 1967, the Seattle SuperSonics played their first regular season game. One year later, on October 12, 1968, the team acquired point guard Lenny Wilkens, who would later coach the Sonics to their first and only NBA championship. In other basketball history, this week also marks the anniversary of the Seattle Storm's first WNBA championship, which they won on October 12, 2004.

Today in
Washington History

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Image of the Week

October 12, 1962, the Columbus Day Storm wreaked havoc throughout Western Washington

On October 12, 1962, the Columbus Day Storm wreaked havoc throughout Western Washington.

Quote of the Week

"I'm sitting in the railway station, got a ticket for my destination."

--Paul Simon

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