One Hundred Years Ago

[gabrielle]

Wow...K Dubb those pics are so interesting.  I want to go on the tour!!!   I wonder if anyone has gone down there to record potential ghost sounds.

[gabrielle]

Here is a little bit more on Sir Sam Hughes.  He was known for his insistence that Canadian troops use the "Ross Rifle" rather than the British Lee Enfiield.  This did not turn out so well. 

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ross-rifle/

[K_Dubb]

What brought the Scandinavians to that area to begin with..the fishing?

Some of that, certainly, but Indians were still doing a lot of the fishing around here at that time.  Personally I think lumbering was a bigger draw, as in the upper midwest -- this was the case for my great grandfather and his brothers, who had logged in Sweden.  They worked their way across the country from Minnesota, saving enough to get married and buy a farm.



It's kind of a joke around here, but every little town in the mountains has its piece of some huge old tree by the side of the road, felled about a hundred years ago.  My neighbors even have a huge old silver-gray stump in their front yard with the notches for the footboards still visible.

[gabrielle]

K Dubb...wow.  That is so cool!!!!

I like how you Americans spell neighbours...LOL.

[albrecht]

Some of that, certainly, but Indians were still doing a lot of the fishing around here at that time.  Personally I think lumbering was a bigger draw, as in the upper midwest -- this was the case for my great grandfather and his brothers, who had logged in Sweden.  They worked their way across the country from Minnesota, saving enough to get married and buy a farm.



It's kind of a joke around here, but every little town in the mountains has its piece of some huge old tree by the side of the road, felled about a hundred years ago.  My neighbors even have a huge old silver-gray stump in their front yard with the notches for the footboards still visible.

I the the maritime trade also brought a lot in since Norway etc were very prominent in fishing, sailors, etc and land being at it was there and inheritance issues many a young man left to join a vessel or to homestead in the upper Midwest (and a fairly large group went to Texas.) Seattle/Tacoma, etc had big ports and logging, paper mills, and mining were huge industry. People go to where jobs are and where they can find a community like themselves.

[K_Dubb]

I the the maritime trade also brought a lot in since Norway etc were very prominent in fishing, sailors, etc and land being at it was there and inheritance issues many a young man left to join a vessel or to homestead in the upper Midwest (and a fairly large group went to Texas.) Seattle/Tacoma, etc had big ports and logging, paper mills, and mining were huge industry. People go to where jobs are and where they can find a community like themselves.

That is a good point.  My mom didn't leave Norway until 1953, but her father and grandfather had already been to Seattle several times as sailors and knew all about Ballard, which was almost a Norwegian ghetto even when I grew up there.  Grandma could, and did, have several friends over for coffee she'd known from their town in Norway.

As a kid I remember running around outside with the cousins even when it was cold because Grandma's house was stiflingly hot.  It smelled of coffee, cardamom, fish, and mothballs, and the kitchen table was crowded by gruff old Norskies all talking ingeningeningeningening in that sing-song way.



This was above the kitchen table, and The Angelus was in the living room.  I don't think Grandma realized it was Catholic.

[Walks_At_Night]

I guess it is debatable if Finland is Scandinavian or not, but there is a boat load of them up in the Keweenaw Peninsula region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  I went to college there and it certainly was different.   In Hancock, Mi the street signs are in both  English and Finnish.  They immigrated into that region to work in the Copper mines and because the climate was pretty similar to their homeland.   I would imagine moving from Finland to say Florida in pre-AC days would be quite a shock to the system.  Every other resident in that area is a Finn - tons of Ahola's, Kinnunen's, Wiitanen's and the like.   

[albrecht]

That is a good point.  My mom didn't leave Norway until 1953, but her father and grandfather had already been to Seattle several times as sailors and knew all about Ballard, which was almost a Norwegian ghetto even when I grew up there.  Grandma could, and did, have several friends over for coffee she'd known from their town in Norway.

As a kid I remember running around outside with the cousins even when it was cold because Grandma's house was stiflingly hot.  It smelled of coffee, cardamom, fish, and mothballs, and the kitchen table was crowded by gruff old Norskies all talking ingeningeningeningening in that sing-song way.

My granddad grew up as a kid speaking Norwegian though once at school his parents, and older brother, forced them to only use English. The first generation (at least on that side) was very "we are in America now." His dad worked on the docks which was a very dangerous work back then "skid row" was originally called it because the logs were "skidded" down the row to the mills. All dockwork and maritime work was very dangerous at the time and often exploitation.
By the way, much of the protection and law related to shipping labor (and stevedores and longshoremen) like the Jones Act, Seamen's Act, etc   was a result of a Norwegian (Furuseth (who also worked fishing in Oregon for a time)) and Sen. "Fightin' Bob" La Follete, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Furuseth

[K_Dubb]

I guess it is debatable if Finland is Scandinavian or not, but there is a boat load of them up in the Keweenaw Peninsula region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  I went to college there and it certainly was different.   In Hancock, Mi the street signs are in both  English and Finnish.  They immigrated into that region to work in the Copper mines and because the climate was pretty similar to their homeland.   I would imagine moving from Finland to say Florida in pre-AC days would be quite a shock to the system.  Every other resident in that area is a Finn - tons of Ahola's, Kinnunen's, Wiitanen's and the like.   

How cool!  I'd love to visit there and catch some pelimannit music, if they still do that.

Here's Ballard's syttende Mai parade last year and 1905:





The Norwegian Men's Chorus always fields a big group, but they never sing as they're marching.  The joke is that they can't agree on what to sing.

[K_Dubb]

My granddad grew up as a kid speaking Norwegian though once at school his parents, and older brother, forced them to only use English. The first generation (at least on that side) was very "we are in America now." His dad worked on the docks which was a very dangerous work back then "skid row" was originally called it because the logs were "skidded" down the row to the mills. All dockwork and maritime work was very dangerous at the time and often exploitation.
By the way, much of the protection and law related to shipping labor (and stevedores and longshoremen) like the Jones Act, Seamen's Act, etc   was a result of a Norwegian (Furuseth (who also worked fishing in Oregon for a time)) and Sen. "Fightin' Bob" La Follete, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Furuseth

Interesting; I know many of the Scandies had a Leftist/Labor bent but didn't know they had an effect on the law.

Yeah, too bad about the language.  Mom renounced her citizenship and changed her name to sound more American and never spoke Norwegian to us when we were kids.

[Walks_At_Night]

How cool!  I'd love to visit there and catch some pelimannit music, if they still do that.

Here's Ballard's syttende Mai parade last year and 1905:

They even have their own little school. When I was up there it was known as Suomi College but has been since renamed Finlandia University. 
I went to the Engineering school across the lake with a huge male-female inbalance in an isolated part of the world so it was nice to have a
school so nearby with a 60%+ female population.

http://www.finlandia.edu/about-finlandia.html

[albrecht]

Interesting; I know many of the Scandies had a Leftist/Labor bent but didn't know they had an effect on the law.

Yeah, too bad about the language.  Mom renounced her citizenship and changed her name to sound more American and never spoke Norwegian to us when we were kids.

Like any people there is variety, but a lot of them, especially those coming over here and when Norway gained independence (and was a poor country prior to the oil&gas discoveries) were concerned about the "little guy" and Christian charity etc. Farm/Labor Party in Minnesota, the North Dakota State Bank, etc. In modern times I know, though they are reaping the whirlwind in some cases due to these policies, Scandi countries have been very charitable and missionary work, taking in refugees, strong labor laws, equal rights for women, and even here (Minneapolis area has taken a huge amount of Somalian refugees.)

[K_Dubb]

From the Seattle Star today, the badger case turned out to be a bust, but now a sensational murder!:














That address works out to Uptown Espresso.  I wonder if they have any idea:

[K_Dubb]

More from the Star:











And, from a section reserved for snide comments on the news:

[albrecht]

From the Seattle Star today, the badger case turned out to be a bust, but now a sensational murder!:














That address works out to Uptown Espresso.  I wonder if they have any idea:

Man, I want to know who-did-it! I find the nephew a bit suspicious, sleeping on the sofa of his rich older relatives, going out to "find work" but going to restaurants and the theater and then not being worried about his elderly relations upon his return. I hope the later papers tell us the murderer. Dexter Horton was the first banker in Seattle, eventually to become part of BoA.

[Rix Gins]

That address works out to Uptown Espresso.  I wonder if they have any idea:

OMG, K.  You should stop by and show them the clippings and ask if anyone has seen the ghosts of two aged sisters floating around, looking for their money.

[K_Dubb]

Man, I want to know who-did-it! I find the nephew a bit suspicious, sleeping on the sofa of his rich older relatives, going out to "find work" but going to restaurants and the theater and then not being worried about his elderly relations upon his return. I hope the later papers tell us the murderer. Dexter Horton was the first banker in Seattle, eventually to become part of BoA.

Yeah, I thought the same thing, but then they emphasize his age and his wife for those of us with suspicious minds.  I hope he has an alibi.

Well-written article, good as a book.

[K_Dubb]

OMG, K.  You should stop by and show them the clippings and ask if anyone has seen the ghosts of two aged sisters floating around, looking for their money.

Haha the thought crossed my mind!  Especially today!

[albrecht]

Yeah, I thought the same thing, but then they emphasize his age and his wife for those of us with suspicious minds.  I hope he has an alibi.

Well-written article, good as a book.

Very well written and I hope some stereo-typical Irish detective is befuddled by the case but a visiting prominent Oriental detective figures it out (and a Swedish washer-woman is featured in a comedic way. Too much to hope for a "colored" comedy routine in Seattle, probably, but certainly some musical number should also be featured.)
ps: You should visit that coffee house and see if they know of the history (heck, at least, you might get a free coffee.)

[WhiteCrow]

Man, I want to know who-did-it! I find the nephew a bit suspicious, sleeping on the sofa of his rich older relatives, going out to "find work" but going to restaurants and the theater and then not being worried about his elderly relations upon his return. I hope the later papers tell us the murderer. Dexter Horton was the first banker in Seattle, eventually to become part of BoA.

Yes!!!.. A Bellgab Cold case file if nephew wasn't convicted..  Oops.. the Perp(s) would be all dead by now

got'a  say it again ..love this thread.. Keep them comming!

[WhiteCrow]

Here is a little bit more on Sir Sam Hughes.  He was known for his insistence that Canadian troops use the "Ross Rifle" rather than the British Lee Enfiield.  This did not turn out so well. 

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ross-rifle/

If have an interest in American firearms the Cody Firearms museum in Wyoming is a must see.

America's largest collection, 7,000 firearms..

Cody is the Eastern entrance to Yellow Stone NP.
Cool town ..we spent 3 days in Cody, could HAVE spent a week.


https://youtu.be/HWBu2FF5S1k

https://youtu.be/HFewsMNUo3s

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Man, I want to know who-did-it! I find the nephew a bit suspicious, sleeping on the sofa of his rich older relatives, going out to "find work" but going to restaurants and the theater and then not being worried about his elderly relations upon his return.

I can never figure out who the murderer is in mysteries, but the nephew and his "gray haired wife" sure look like the prime suspects in this case. He certainly went to great lengths to establish that he was elsewhere when the killings took place, and it's a bit fishy that an unemployed man would just happen to splurge on dinner and a show on that fateful night without fear of catching holy heck from his wife for doing so. His tale about waiting an hour for his aunts to come home from a late night walk before discovering their bodies in a back room is pretty leaky, too.  My guess is that he hired some thug to do the deed while he was elsewhere, spent the hour before "finding" his aunts looting the bodies and their apartment, and then proclaimed his shock and innocence while his complicit wife corroborated his alibi.  I wouldn't be surprised if the cops cracked the case in a week or two.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

More from the Star:

That was a wonderful selection, K! He was obviously an extraordinary man, and it's nice to see his invaluable contributions were recognized during his lifetime. 

[Rix Gins]

Man, I want to know who-did-it! I find the nephew a bit suspicious, sleeping on the sofa of his rich older relatives, going out to "find work" but going to restaurants and the theater and then not being worried about his elderly relations upon his return. I hope the later papers tell us the murderer. Dexter Horton was the first banker in Seattle, eventually to become part of BoA.

"All foxes come at last to fur store."

[K_Dubb]

Very well written and I hope some stereo-typical Irish detective is befuddled by the case but a visiting prominent Oriental detective figures it out (and a Swedish washer-woman is featured in a comedic way. Too much to hope for a "colored" comedy routine in Seattle, probably, but certainly some musical number should also be featured.)
ps: You should visit that coffee house and see if they know of the history (heck, at least, you might get a free coffee.)

Brilliant!  The way you lay it out would make a great movie -- swirling fog, rattling old cars, lots of period detail, a Chinese detective diverted from his usual beat of smuggling and gambling cases...

[K_Dubb]

That was a wonderful selection, K! He was obviously an extraordinary man, and it's nice to see his invaluable contributions were recognized during his lifetime.

I'm glad you liked them!  It's clear reading the paper that a lot of the business interests in town were focused on exploiting Alaska during this period.  Mostly I liked his pipe.

[K_Dubb]

I've never heard of a Jimmy pipe.  This is from Popular Mechanics in 1913:



Whatever was meant by meranto is a mystery to me.  If it works like meerschaum, there's no appreciable reduction in nicotine.

[Rix Gins]

Everett True, April 7, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

The Chicago Day Book, April 7, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

The Daily Bonanza, April 7, 1916.