Topic: People's Histories
Lulu Mildred (Shircliff) Kombol was born on August 27, 1885, in Walla Walla.She wrote her autobiography at age 89 while living in Seattle with a daughter. Her original account has been slightly expand...
Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) was the lead singer of the Seattle grunge band Nirvana. He commited suicide in 1994. In this People's History Clark Humphrey reflects on his life and music.
The first documented game of lacrosse in Seattle was played in 1896, between two teams from British Columbia, Canada. The original Seattle Lacrosse Club was formed in 1900. Many of its players came fr...
This is the complete text of a promotional brochure written in 1912 by real estate developer Ole Hanson (1874-1940). The brochure extols the wondrous virtues of living in idyllic Lake Forest Park, loc...
Beloved for its convenience and breathtaking views but derided as an architectual eyesore, the Alaskan Way Viaduct ferried motorists through downtown Seattle for more than six decades before it was to...
This reminiscence of an old friendship was written by Dorothea (Pfister) Nordstrand (1916-2011). Both she and her friend, Margaret (Bavin) Medley (1915-2006), were graduates of Seattle's Roosevelt Hig...
Sixteen men, all foreign-born, were killed on November 6, 1910, in an explosion at the Lawson Coal Mine in Black Diamond in east King County. The following is excerpted from the "State Inspector of Co...
This is a harrowing account of a legal abortion which resulted in complications that received inadequate care. It is written by Janet Creighton and excerpted from the June 1974 issue of From the Groun...
Chris Legeros was a longtime reporter and anchor at KIRO 7 in Seattle, spending 31 years at the CBS affiliate. He started his 39-year journalism career at WTCN TV and WWTC radio in Minneapolis and in ...
This People's History relates the history of the Leonard Gayton family. The jazz drummer, jazz singer, and band leader Leonard Gayton (1908-1982) was the fourth child of the early African American res...
In this People's History Dorothea (Pfister) Nordstrand (1916-2011) reflects on the lessons learned while working at Seattle's Green Lake State Bank, where she worked for 10 years from the time she was...
Natalie Notkin (1900-1970) was the Foreign Books librarian at The Seattle Public Library's Central branch from 1927 to 1932. Born in Kherson, Russia, Notkin emigrated in 1921, earned an undergraduate ...
This is a quarterly branch report written by Green Lake Branch librarian Ruth A. Dennis. In the report reprinted here, Dennis explains that the circulation numbers at her branch are down, particularly...
This People's History is an interview with Margaret Reed conducted by Jyl Leininger on April 7, 1999, in Seattle, Washington. Margaret Reed describes herself as an every-day individual. "Believe me, I...
This is an excerpt from an article by novelist Tom Robbins on the lightshows of the 1960s. It appeared in Seattle magazine in 1967, and is reprinted with permission of Tom Robbins.
Harborview Park at 1631 W Mukilteo Boulevard in Everett is a popular place for picnics with an expansive northerly view of Possession Sound, the Tulalip Reservation, downtown Everett, Camano Island, G...
This story about Vern Nordstrand (1918-2009) and his job locating and returning stray logs to their log booms on Seattle's Lake Union and Lake Washington was contributed by Vern's widow, Dorothea Nord...
When Morey Skaret, resident of Fauntleroy (King County), now 95 years old, returned to Seattle after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, he brought with him a Japanese banzai flag he ...
Lou Guzzo (1919-2013), managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in the 1970s, sent this memo to Sally Raleigh, editor of the lifestyle section, on March 27, 1972. Guzzo was concerned about th...
The communal Love Israel Family was located in Seattle from 1968 to 1984 and in rural Snohomish County for 20 more years. Its founder and leader was Love Israel, who was born Paul Erdmann in 1940 and ...
The communal Love Israel Family was located in Seattle from 1968 to 1984 and in rural Snohomish County for 20 more years. Its founder and leader was Love Israel, who was born Paul Erdmann in 1940 and ...
The communal Love Israel Family was located in Seattle from 1968 to 1984 and in rural Snohomish County for 20 more years. Its founder and leader was Love Israel, who was born Paul Erdmann in 1940 and ...
The communal Love Israel Family was located in Seattle from 1968 to 1984 and in rural Snohomish County for 20 more years. Its founder and leader was Love Israel, who was born Paul Erdmann in 1940 and ...
The communal Love Israel Family was located in Seattle from 1968 to 1984 and in rural Snohomish County for 20 more years. Its founder and leader was Love Israel, who was born Paul Erdmann in 1940 and ...