Tag: Seattle

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Secrets, Slices, and Scandals from Seattle Day 1909: A Postcard’s Peek into the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition

From: J.A.M To: Warren Bullard 1909

Seattle 9/10/09

Warren,

I am still taking in the sights and am not half through. Seattle day was a hummer. There was 117,013 tickets sold the racket on the “Pay Streak” was fiene(sic), they kept going all night.

I suppose you are busy fishing by this time. Who is running the the lower ground this year.

(615-12th ave N.)

J.A.M

In 1909, William Howard Taft was president, the NAACP was founded, Alice Huyler Ramsey became the first woman to drive across the United States, and the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition opened on June 1 — running until October 16.

And J.A.M was there.

This is one of my favorite postcards, partially because it provides so much information on such a small canvas. I’ve posted this card before, but I didn’t feel like I did it justice, so I wanted to re-post now that I’m a little better at this blog thing.

First, I want to talk about the Seattle World’s Fair — or the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific-Exposition. The exposition was huge, and on opening day attracted 80,000 people. However, “Seattle Day” brought in a crowd of 117,013. I’m amazed that this piece of information is immortalized in JAMs letter. I’m also thrilled about it. As a historian, it’s amazing when you can get real data from a source. And this source provides a ton of information.

The “Pay Streak” was sort of the fair’s answer to a midway. There were a variety of things that one could do on the “pay streak”. There were babies in incubators, machines that could slice a salmon in half, and even an orphaned baby that was “auctioned” off. Yes. That was a thing that happened. However, the winner never collected their prize. Apparently, historians are still trying to figure out what happened to the child. Suffice it to say, just because technology was progressing, doesn’t mean humans were.

And what of Warren Bullard and JAM? Well, I found Warren almost immediately. Warren Bullard was born January 20, 1884, which made him 25 at the time the postcard was written. A year later, in 1910, he married a woman with the best name possible, Leafy May Kendall. They had three children, and remained together until Warren’s early death in 1940. Warren registered for WWI, but I can’t find records that he fought. Leafy lived another 38 years after his death. She taught school and lived to be 90. She’s buried next to her husband.

And as for JAM? As you know, without a full name it’s almost impossible to find the person, unless they happen to be a relative of the recipient of the postcard. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find JAM. He’s not a cousin or brother that I can see — which must make him a friend or school mate. Alas, thems the breaks sometimes.

This postcard is more than just a connection, it’s a true primary source that chronicles the Seattle World’s Fair. It’s an exceptional find and I’m thrilled to at least have found Warren. I hope he took as much pleasure in reading the card as I have taken in talking about it.

Front of Postcard, Mt. Rainier, Washington

Categories
History Postcards writing

By Any Means

Miss Mabel Huss (or perhaps Husr?) 1909

Not forgetting by any means.

(unclear) me

S.E.P.

This particular postcard has an interesting postscript, on the front of the postcard it states “The original Garden of Eden. Just here is (unclear) #2”

I love this postcard because there’s so much unknown context from which we can create our own stories. Based on the “miss” Mabel was unmarried, so is this a postcard from a lover, a friend? Is there an inside joke that caused the means to be underlined? Whomever it was also wrote in an emerald ink which I think is entirely fun and whimsical. It’s a beautiful postcard with a timeless sentiment.

I’d also love to know what you think the second to last word is. Seems to start with a “c”, but could be an “i” or even an uncrossed “t”.

Front of postcard “Garden of Eden, Seattle”

Categories
History Postcards writing

Seattle Day was a Hummer

Warren Bullard, 1909

Seattle 9/10/09

Warren,

I am still taking in the sights and am not half through. Seattle day was a hummer. There was 117,013 tickets sold this racket on the “Pay Streak” was fine, they kept going all night.

I suppose you are busy fishing by this time. Who is running the the lower ground this year.

(615-12th ave N.)

J.A.M

I was curious about the tickets and the “pay streak.” After a (very) little bit of research, our friend J.A.M seems to have been enjoying the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific exposition in Seattle, also considered Seattle’s first World’s Fair (as indicated on the post). The “pay streak” was a row of attractions that seemed to change over time and cost 25c – 50c per attraction.

Like any fair, many of the attractions offered were marketed toward curiosity seekers and were therefore dubious in nature even for the time. For example, a one month old orphan was auctioned off (wut?), and premature babies in incubators were next to machines that could slice a salmon in half. A reminder that just because technology progresses, humans don’t necessarily follow.