September 2, 2010 – September 8, 2010

Labor on Parade

This week, HistoryLink.org honors Labor Day with a look back at Washington's early history of union organizing and economic reform, which predates statehood itself, beginning with the Knights of Labor. Unfortunately, early worker anger targeted Chinese immigrants, African Americans, and other ethnic groups, sometimes as often as it focused on exploitive managers and owners.

Washington served as a fertile recruiting ground for the Industrial Workers of the World, particularly after 1908 when the General of the Overalls Brigade arrived in Spokane at a time when near-destitute migrant laborers were being hired, fired, and replaced on virtually a daily basis, which prevented any union organizing amongst the workers. The Wobblies were democratic, vocal, rowdy, and tended to burst into song. Spokane soon banned street meetings and the famed Spokane free speech fight was on.

In Seattle, women workers spent years seeking recognition, which they achieved when the American Federation of Labor held its 33rd annual convention in Seattle in 1913. In 1914 labor activist Mother Jones came to town to roast capitalists and rouse proletarians with a fiery speech. But the strongest voice possibly belonged to Anna Louise Strong, whose 1919 editorial in the Seattle Union Record -- at the time, America's only daily newspaper published by organized labor -- helped launch the nation's first general strike.

The history of the labor movement in Washington is long and diverse. This Labor Day, we invite you to check out some of the 285 essays currently posted on unions and workers' issues.

History is Made

Ninety-nine years ago this week in Seattle, two notable institutions got their start, both of which are subjects of upcoming HistoryLink books. On September 5, 1911, King County voters approved the creation of the Port of Seattle, after decades of mounting frustration with the railroad and shipping monopolies that dominated the city's central waterfront. HistoryLink Staff Historians Kit Oldham and Peter Blecha are currently writing a history of the Port, which is due out next year.

On September 8, 1911, Children's Orthopedic Hospital opened on Seattle's Queen Anne Hill, thanks to the efforts of Anna Clise and her friends. This October, Hope on the Hill: The First Century of Seattle Children's Hospital will be available in bookstores and on Amazon.com. Written by Walt Crowley and David Wilma, the book will make its debut at HistoryLunch on September 17.

Past Works, At Your Leisure

Gather and Pray: On September 3, 1838, the wives of six pioneer missionaries met at the Whitman mission at Waiilatpu (near present-day Walla Walla) to organize the Columbia Maternal Association, the first women's club in the Northwest. The association lasted until 1847, when an Indian attack on the Whitman mission led to the closure of all Protestant missions in the Northwest.

Art Dossier: On September 5, 1858, during the Battle of Spokane Plains, artist Gustavus Sohon sketched a panoramic view of the engagement between the U.S. Army troops of Colonel George Wright and a force of Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, and Palouse tribesmen. Sohon also documented Wright's controversial roundup and slaughter of a large herd of tribal horses a few days later.

Opening Day: On September 4, 1882, Whitman College opened its doors to students in Walla Walla. On September 6, 1891, Washington State Normal School -- now Central Washington University -- welcomed its first students in Ellensburg, and on September 6, 1966, classes began at Seattle Community College.

At Work and at Play: On September 6, 1909, thousands of union workers in Seattle attended a Labor Day parade and a rally that followed at Woodland Park in protest of Seattle Day at the A-Y-P. Labor Day in 1993 was a bit more whimsical when guerilla artists attached a ball-and-chain to the Seattle Art Museum's Hammering Man statue. This year, Labor Day will be celebrated by many at Bumbershoot, which got its start in 1971.

Places to Stay: On September 3, 1918, Seattle's "More Homes Bureau" campaign kicked off to build thousands of new dwelling units to meet Seattle's critical wartime housing shortage. Wartime housing of a different sort got its start on September 6, 1942, when Seattle inventor Frank Hobbs was awarded an U.S. Army contract for prefabricated Pacific Huts for use by troops in Alaska.

Paving the Way: Businessman and philanthropist Sam Hill took a keen interest in good roads, and for years promoted a coastal highway stretching from Vancouver, B.C., to Tijuana, Mexico. On September 6, 1921, he dedicated his Peace Arch on the Canadian border at Blaine, even though the road's point of entry had not yet been decided.

Floating Away: On September 2, 1917, Marysville lost its wooden policeman when the anthropomorphized traffic signal was kidnapped from his post and tossed into the Snohomish River. And on September 6, 1926, Al Faussett got in his homemade boat and rode over Eagle Falls on the Skykomish River. He was well known for this kind of stunt.

Fiery Display: On September 8, 1928, fire damaged the Old State Capitol Building in Olympia. And on September 7, 1949, a blaze destroyed the Big Four Inn along the Mountain Loop Highway.

Quite the Soiree: On September 3, 1931, more than 20,000 people showed up for the opening of Spokane's Fox Theater. In recent years, the Art-Deco structure underwent a massive restoration, and re-opened in 2007 as the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox. It is now the home of the Spokane Symphony.

The Judge Has His Say: Twenty years ago this week, on September 6, 1990, Federal District Judge William Dwyer ruled that the Metro Council was unconstitutional. Created on September 9, 1958 with the initial mission of cleaning up Lake Washington, the regional utility gained authority to operate transit services in 1972. Although it won high marks for efficiency, Metro's federated governance rankled critics and fudged the constitutional mandate for "one person, one vote."

Quote of the Week

Without labor nothing prospers.

                       --Sophocles

Image of the Week

Beginning on September 5, 1962, Elvis Presley spent 10 days in Seattle filming It Happened at the World's Fair.