1906

We know (vaguely) when Louis Fifer and his family moved to Seattle…the obituaries don’t give a definite date so I have to make some assumptions. One obituary states, “Some twenty years ago the Long – Bell Lumber Company by whom he was employed sent him to Seattle to manage its Pacific coast buying office.” So I would say that it was some time in the year 1906, but it could have been earlier than that.

Washington was a “new” state, only 17 years old when the Fifer’s arrived, being admitted to the Union on November 11, 1889, with the signature of President Benjamin Harris.

What was Seattle like in 1906? Well, it was very much a boom town. That was one of the reasons to send a seasoned lumberman to manage the business. The Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 had made Seattle a town to reckon with and very soon debates raged over whether Seattle should be an "open city," welcoming gold rush miners and allowing or tolerating services such as saloons and brothels. Some argued the city should be closed because of the presumed corruption brought by these activities. During the last years of the nineteenth century and the first years of the twentieth, open city advocates won. Downtown Seattle featured a variety of "services" for miners and thrived economically.

Here is a good link to Seattle history.

http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3643

And how about this for some humor?
Horse harness makers unionize in Seattle in August 1906.
During August 1906, 22 horse harness makers and leather workers organize a union, Local 156. Most of the trade joins the union.
In 1908, the harness makers were earning from $2.75 to $3.25 per week. They worked a nine hour day, six days a week (a 54 hour week).