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Category Archives: history
Tom Robbins and I
No, Tom Robbins, who died a year ago come February 9th, was not a friend. Or even a casual acquaintance. Though for a few years it seems like our paths crossed obliquely in the picture-perfect town of La Conner, Washington. … Continue reading
Posted in farming, history, marriage, rural life, social criticism, Tom Robbins, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., La Conner. Skagit Delta, Swinomish Slough, Rainbow Bridge, bookstores,, Washington State Ferries, writing
Tagged creative-writing, La Conner WA, Seaport Bookstore, Tom Robbins, writers, writing, writing fiction
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The Humble Spike Maul
As a day to celebrate, Saint Patrick’s Day is filled with images that are simultaneously hackneyed and cherished. The leprechaun, the green top hat, the harp–and then there’s the shamrock. Here on the west side of the Atlantic, most of … Continue reading
Posted in history, Ireland, labor, nostalgia, railroad construction, railroading, social criticism, writing
Tagged gandy-dancers, hand tools, track work
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A Valley’s Loss of Innocence
When my wife and two young daughters and I moved into valley of the South Fork of the Nooksack River in the early 80s, we thought we’d bought into a little slice of heaven. This was rural Western Washington state … Continue reading
Nothing Sacred?
It’s summer, down the shore, in 1948, which would make me three years old. If there’s an east wind, aka sea breeze, you can hear the ocean murmuring half a block away, through the back screen door. It’s morning, … Continue reading
Posted in history, nostalgia, social criticism, writing
Tagged Amazon, Boeing, grocery delivery, hot cereal, Jersey Shore, Merck, Rahway N.J., Regina Corporation, robots, shopping, Wheatena
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Wallace Stegner and Joe Hill–Was He Guilty?
On November 19th, 104 years ago, Joe Hill was executed by the State of Utah. The young itinerant laborer was born Joel Emmanuel Hagglund in 1879. After emigrating from Sweden to the United States he took the name Joseph Hillstrom, … Continue reading
Mill Town Under Siege: Everett, Washington–1916 (Part Three)
Sunday, November 5, 1916 The Seattle office of the I.W.W. has charted a steamboat to take as many men who could fit aboard up to a citizens’ meeting in Everett. The purpose of the community meeting is to discuss the … Continue reading
Mill Town Under Siege–Everett, Washington, 1916 (Part Two)
34-year-old Mike Scanlon, itinerant worker and I.W.W. member–along with some 40 others–has managed to survive a beating the previous Monday night at Beverly Park, south of Everett. Led by the Snohomish County Sheriff, the attackers were made up of several … Continue reading
Posted in Everett WA, history, labor, social protest
Tagged !.W.W., Beverly Park Beating, class warfare, Everett Commercial Club, Everett Massacre, Joe Hill, Lumber Trust, Sheriff Donald McRae, Shingle Weavers' Union, Snohomish County, socialism, Spokane Free Speech Fight, strikes, Washington state
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A Mill Town Under Siege: Everett, Washington – 1916 (Part One)
Hewitt Ave., Everett, WA., ca. 1910 Everett Public Library On May Day, 1916, every shingle mill in the bay-side city of Everett, Washington, shut down. The men who saw, grade and pack the cedar shingles were striking. … Continue reading
Posted in Everett WA, history, labor
Tagged Beverly Park Beating, Everett Blockade, Everett Commercial Club, Everett Massacre, Great Northern Railway, Great War, I.W.W., Seattle-Everett Interurban, Sheriff Donald McRae, Shingle mills, Shingle Weavers' Union, Snohomish County, strikes
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Joe Hill–Not Forgotten
On November 19th, 100 years ago, Joe Hill was executed by the state of Utah. A fitting time to re-publish this post. On January 10th, 1914, A Salt Lake City grocer (a former policeman) named John G. Morrison and his … Continue reading
Posted in history, labor, social protest
Tagged class warfare, I.W.W., protest movements, song writing, Utah, Woodrow Wilson, World War One
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J.P. Kenna 