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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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707 results for: Labor and Labor Unions

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Image of Long-distance operators at the Sunset Telephone Company, Seattle, circa 1905
Photograph

Long-distance operators at the Sunset Telephone Company, Seattle, circa 1905

The Sunset Telephone Company hired men to set poles and run wiring, and women to operate the switchboards. All calls were connected by hand through the switchboard, and the women who made the connections soon became known as the "hello girls."In this photo, taken sometime between 1903 and 1906, a group of women telephone operators sit at the long distance…
ID Number:1983.10.7641
Date:Circa 1905
Image of Women at Sunset Telephone switchboard, circa 1905
Photograph

Women at Sunset Telephone switchboard, circa 1905

In 1883, Sunset Telephone Company became Seattle's first telephone company. By 1893, the company offered local service long-distance calling to Portland. All local and long-distance calls were placed through operators, who connected callers manually through a switchboard. From the beginning, all operators at Sunset were women.In this photo, two women connect callers at a telephone switchboard. Another woman, possibly their…
ID Number:1983.10.7643
Date:Circa 1905
Image of Moving a log down a trailing chute, circa 1910
Photograph

Moving a log down a trailing chute, circa 1910

Loggers often used wooden chutes to move cut logs to a central loading place. The chutes were temporary structures, built out of long straight logs called "chute sticks." In gravity chutes, logs slid downhill under their own weight. In trailing chutes, logs were pulled along by cables.This photo, taken around 1910, shows a trailing chute crossing a trestle near Cook's…
ID Number:1983.10.7663.2
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Skidding logs on a temporary bridge, circa 1910
Photograph

Skidding logs on a temporary bridge, circa 1910

In the northwest forests, wood was so plentiful that loggers used it to build many kinds of temporary structures. This photo, taken in about 1910, shows a temporary bridge used for skidding logs across a ravine at Cook's Camp, near Brennan, Washington. Notes: The photographer may be Axtell, a photographer based in Edmonds, Washington, who took other photographs at Cook's…
ID Number:1983.10.7664
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Yarding logs with a steam donkey, circa 1910
Photograph

Yarding logs with a steam donkey, circa 1910

Yarding is the process of hauling logs to a central loading area or landing. Starting in the 1880s, steam engines began to replace animal teams for yarding logs. These steam donkeys or donkey engines were fueled with ever-plentiful wood. A long cable was attached to a log, and the donkey engine reeled it in. Many donkey engines were built on…
ID Number:1983.10.7666
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Workers in salmon cannery, circa 1908
Photograph

Workers in salmon cannery, circa 1908

In 1905, three-quarters of Washington state's salmon catch came from Puget Sound. The fish were brought in to Seattle, Bellingham, Anacortes, and other Puget Sound ports where they were cleaned, processed, and canned. This photo, probably taken around 1908, shows three men at work in a Puget Sound cannery. Handwritten on sleeve: Canning Salmon.Photographer's Reference Number: 5812
ID Number:1983.10.7671
Date:Circa 1908
Image of Old sailor with ship model, circa 1906
Photograph

Old sailor with ship model, circa 1906

Many sailors stayed in Seattle and other port cities when they became too old for the hard work at sea. In Seattle, some lived at the Seamen's Institute home on Western Avenue.In this photo, taken at the Seamen's Institute around 1906, a retired sailor works on a model ship. Photographs and pictures decorate the net hanging on the wall behind…
ID Number:1983.10.7695
Date:Circa 1906
Image of Wrecked IWW union hall, July 18, 1913
Photograph

Wrecked IWW union hall, July 18, 1913

A number of political movements swept Seattle in the late 1890s and early 1900s. One of the most radical groups was a labor union called the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Its members were commonly called Wobblies. The activities and opinions of the IWW sometimes angered other citizens. In 1913, a group of sailors invaded the IWW's Seattle union…
ID Number:1983.10.7800
Date:1913
Image of Interior of the Virginia Street Dock warehouse, circa 1911
Photograph

Interior of the Virginia Street Dock warehouse, circa 1911

Northwest Fisheries caught and canned red salmon in Alaska. The cans were packed into wooden crates and shipped to Seattle. The crates were then stored in warehouses until they could be sent to buyers in the United States and other countries.This photo was taken around 1911. It shows men loading crates of Northwest Fisheries' canned red Alaska salmon onto a…
ID Number:1983.10.7984
Date:Circa 1911
Image of Workers using water hoses to regrade Denny Hill, Seattle, circa 1909
Photograph

Workers using water hoses to regrade Denny Hill, Seattle, circa 1909

Workers in the first Denny Hill regrading project sometimes used high pressure jets of water to wash away the hill. Over five million gallons of water were pumped from Elliott Bay and Lake Union every day. The dirt was washed out into the bay through tunnels and flumes. Handwritten on sleeve: Regrade Denny Hill.Photographer's Reference Number: 9026
ID Number:1983.10.8127
Date:Circa 1909
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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