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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

5/22/2025

Memorial Day - Cemetery

News Then, History Now

Washington Bound

On May 22, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Chehalis, and the next day, before visiting Fort Lawton, he signed in as the inaugural guest at Seattle's Washington Hotel atop Denny Hill. Two days later he briefly visited North Yakima before heading off to Walla Walla, where he spoke at Whitman College.

Leveling Ground

On May 27, 1907, the Jackson Street regrade began in Seattle. Though less ambitious than the city's Denny Hill regrades, the Jackson Street project was the largest single hill ever cut down in the city, encompassing nearly six miles of streets and approximately 56 city blocks.

Running Around

On May 28, 1909, Queenie the elephant ran amok in White City, a short-lived amusement park located in Seattle’s Madison Park neighborhood. And on May 23, 1958, a trailer bearing four of the creatures overturned on its way from Woodland Park Zoo, sending the pachyderms on a romp through the Phinney neighborhood.

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Great White Fleet

The Great White Fleet visited Seattle on May 23, 1908.

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"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom."

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Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery -- Seattle
U.S. Civil War starts with shelling of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.
World War I in Washington
Memorial Day in Washington State
Washington State Roll of Honor, Part 1: Introduction
Washington State Roll of Honor, Part 8: University of Washington Interrupted Journey World War II Memorial
Washington State Roll of Honor, Part 16: Public Safety Officers
Albert H. Rooks receives the Medal of Honor on June 24, 1942.
Douglas Albert Munro receives the Medal of Honor posthumously on May 24, 1943.
Reinhardt J. Keppler receives the Medal of Honor posthumously on September 17, 1943.
Richard B. Anderson receives the Medal of Honor posthumously on August 17, 1944.
Jack J. Pendleton of Yakima receives the Medal of Honor posthumously on March 15, 1945.
Victor L. Kandle is awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously on May 11, 1945.
Joe E. Mann receives the Medal of Honor posthumously on August 30, 1945.
President Lyndon B. Johnson awards Marvin Glenn Shields the Medal of Honor posthumously on September 13, 1966.
Lewis (Luigi) Albanese receives the Medal of Honor posthumously on February 16, 1968.
Bruce Alan Grandstaff is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony on July 10, 1969.
Vice President Spiro Agnew awards the Medal of Honor to Robert R. Leisy posthumously on December 16, 1971.
Vice President Gerald Ford awards posthumous Medal of Honor to Larry Dahl on August 8, 1974.
William Kenzo Nakamura receives posthumous Medal of Honor for World War II heroism in ceremony on June 21, 2000.
President Theodore Roosevelt visits Chehalis on May 22, 1903.
President Theodore Roosevelt visits Seattle and Fort Lawton on May 23, 1903.
Fort Lawton is established on February 9, 1900.
Denny/Washington Hotel (Seattle)
Seattle Neighborhoods: Belltown-Denny Regrade -- Thumbnail History
President Theodore Roosevelt visits North Yakima on May 25, 1903.
President Theodore Roosevelt visits Whitman College and Walla Walla on May 25, 1903.
Whitman College
Jackson Street regrade begins in Seattle on May 27, 1907.
Jackson Street Regrade (Seattle)
Denny Regrade (Seattle)
Queenie the elephant causes pandemonium at Seattle
Seattle Neighborhoods: Madison Park -- Thumbnail History
Truck overturns, spilling elephants, in Seattle
Seattle Neighborhoods: Phinney -- Thumbnail History
Weyerhaeuser Company
George H. Weyerhaeuser is kidnapped in Tacoma and held for ransom on May 24, 1935.
Weyerhaeuser Kidnapping
Harmon and Margaret Waley, two kidnappers of George Weyerhaeuser, are captured in Salt Lake City on June 8, 1935.
FBI arrests William Dainard, mastermind of the Weyerhaeuser kidnapping, in San Francisco on May 7, 1936.
Forks -- Thumbnail History
Town of Forks shuts down to protest owl restrictions on May 23, 1991.
U.S. District Court Judge William Dwyer blocks timber sales to protect the northern spotted owl on May 23, 1991.
Dwyer, William L. (1929-2002)
Federal Judge William L. Dwyer upholds the federal spotted owl management plan in a key National Environmental Policy Act court decision on December 21, 1994.
NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act
Davenport -- Thumbnail History
Kent -- Thumbnail History
Davenport incorporates as a town of the fourth class on May 24, 1890.
Kent is incorporated on May 28, 1890.
Othello -- Thumbnail History
Othello incorporates on May 23, 1910.
Pomeroy residents vote to incorporate as a third-class city on May 28, 1917.
Pomeroy -- Thumbnail History
Great White Fleet Visits Seattle in 1908: A 12-year-old's Account
Great White Fleet visits Seattle on May 23, 1908.