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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

3/23/2023

News Then, History Now

Waterway

Three years after Walter Granger organized the Yakima Land and Canal Company, water gushed into the Sunnyside Canal for the first time on March 26, 1892. Farmers and orchardists soon established themselves along the canal, and although the Panic of 1893 slowed work on expanding the irrigation system, it eventually led to bountiful harvests in the Yakima Valley.

Wedding Day

A century ago, marriages between men and women of different races were banned by many states, including California, where Gunjiro Aoki and Gladys Emery fell in love. The press tracked their elopement to Seattle, where they tied the knot on March 27, 1909, at Trinity Parish Church.

Sail Away

On March 25, 1921 – less than three years after Pierce County voters created the Port of Tacoma – the port's Pier 1 welcomed its first ship, which docked ready to take on cargo. Members of the International Longshoremen's Association worked around the clock to load 600,000 board feet of lumber in record-setting time. Within 24 hours of its arrival, the fully loaded Edmore set sail for Yokohama, Japan.

Murder Investigation

On March 28, 1934, six people were massacred on Erland's Point, six miles northwest of Bremerton. Noted criminologist Luke May was brought in to investigate, but it took 18 months to find and arrest the culprit, who was hanged in 1936.

First Day of Publication

Seattle's first underground newspaper, Helix, hit the streets on March 23, 1967. It was founded by Paul Dorpat and published over the next three years by a band of co-conspirators (in)famous for also dropping pianos from helicopters and staging outdoor rock festivals.

Travelers' Aggravation

On March 23, 2020, the West Seattle bridge had to be closed after rapidly expanding cracks are found in its support structure. Once fixed, it reopened last year, much to the relief of West Seattle commuters. Thankfully, the wait wasn't as long as it was two decades earlier when the previous span was knocked out of commission by an errant freighter.

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Image of the Week

Quincy incorporated on March 27, 1907.

Quote of the Week

"You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy."

— Arthur Ashe

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