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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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30 results for: Temperance and Prohibition

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Image of Imperial Liquor Co. sign at start of Prohibition, Seattle, circa 1916
Photograph

Imperial Liquor Co. sign at start of Prohibition, Seattle, circa 1916

In Washington state, Prohibition lasted from 1916 until 1933. During that time, making, selling, owning, or drinking alcoholic beverages was against the law. This photo shows a farewell sign in the window of a liquor store. Signs in image: Imperial Liquor Co. This is the end of our sinning! Ice cream and candy for us - Help us move this…
ID Number:1983.10.12280
Date:Circa 1916
Image of Elise and Roy Olmstead, Seattle, 1925
Photograph

Elise and Roy Olmstead, Seattle, 1925

During Seattle's Prohibition years in the 1920s, Roy Olmstead became one of the largest and most successful bootleggers in King County. Learning how the trade operated from involvement in raids and arrests while serving as a Seattle Police Lieutenant, Olmstead noted the lack of organization of many bootleggers and began his own operation His operation eventually grew to include many…
ID Number:1986.5G.2261.1
Date:1925
Image of Olmstead residence, Seattle, circa 1925
Photograph

Olmstead residence, Seattle, circa 1925

During Seattle's Prohibition years in the 1920s, Roy Olmstead became one of the largest and most successful bootleggers in King County. Learning how the trade operated from involvement in raids and arrests while serving as a Seattle Police Lieutenant, Olmstead noted the lack of organization of many bootleggers and began his own operation. After an arrest and dismissal from the…
ID Number:1986.5G.2263.1
Date:Circa 1925
Image of Federal grand jury in Roy Olmstead bootlegging case, Seattle, 1926
Photograph

Federal grand jury in Roy Olmstead bootlegging case, Seattle, 1926

During Seattle's Prohibition years in the 1920s, Roy Olmstead became one of the largest and most successful bootleggers in King County. Learning how the trade operated from involvement in raids and arrests while serving as a Seattle Police Lieutenant, Olmstead noted the lack of organization of many bootleggers and began his own operation. After an arrest and dismissal from the…
ID Number:1986.5G.2266.1
Date:1926
Image of Roy and Elise Olmstead with Roy's mother Sarah at courthouse, Seattle, 1926
Photograph

Roy and Elise Olmstead with Roy's mother Sarah at courthouse, Seattle, 1926

During Seattle's Prohibition years in the 1920s, Roy Olmstead became one of the largest and most successful bootleggers in King County. Learning how the trade operated from involvement in raids and arrests while serving as a Seattle Police Lieutenant, Olmstead noted the lack of organization of many bootleggers and began his own operation. After an arrest and dismissal from the…
ID Number:1986.5G.2267.1
Date:1926
Image of Roy Olmstead in a boat arriving at a dock, Steilacoom, 1931
Photograph

Roy Olmstead in a boat arriving at a dock, Steilacoom, 1931

During Seattle's Prohibition years in the 1920s, Roy Olmstead became one of the largest and most successful bootleggers in King County. Learning how the trade operated from involvement in raids and arrests while serving as a Seattle Police Lieutenant, Olmstead noted the lack of organization of many bootleggers and began his own operation. After an arrest and dismissal from the…
ID Number:1986.5G.2269.1
Date:1931
Image of Elise Olmstead, Seattle, circa 1926
Photograph

Elise Olmstead, Seattle, circa 1926

Elise Olmstead was the second wife of Roy Olmstead, one of the largest and most successful bootleggers in King County during the 1920s Prohibition years. Born in London, England in 1899 as Elsie Parsche, Elise originally immigrated to Vancouver, and after some back and forth across the border, by 1922 she was living full-time in Seattle as Elsie Campbell. At…
ID Number:1986.5G.2278.1
Date:Circa 1926
Image of Radio station KFQX in Olmstead home, Seattle, 1924
Photograph

Radio station KFQX in Olmstead home, Seattle, 1924

Roy and Elise Olmstead purchased a large home in the Mount Baker neighborhood in 1924. They started a commercial radio station called KFQX, based in a spare room of their residence. After Prohibition agents raided the home and arrested Roy Olmstead, they speculated that the couple used the radio broadcasts of children's stories to send coded messages to rumrunners, who…
ID Number:1987.30.1
Date:1924
Image of Elise Olmstead reading story book into microphone, circa 1924
Photograph

Elise Olmstead reading story book into microphone, circa 1924

Elise Olmstead, originally from England, was the second wife of Roy Olmstead, one of the most notorious bootleggers in King County during the Prohibition years of the 1920s. The Olmsteads started a radio station in their Mt. Baker home. Elise Olmstead read children's stories that were broadcast, and Prohibition agents speculated that the stories contained coded messages for rumrunners. This…
ID Number:1987.30.2
Date:Circa 1924
Image of Old Rocking Chair Club, 115 14th Ave. S., Seattle, May 3, 1945
Photograph

Old Rocking Chair Club, 115 14th Ave. S., Seattle, May 3, 1945

The origin of Seattle's Jazz scene grew out of the unique political and social climate of Prohibition and 1920s and was centered around Jackson Street in what is now the Chinatown - International District neighborhood. A decade later, the beginning of the swing era attracted new listeners to jazz music, particularly young people. The relatively small size of the jazz…
ID Number:2000.107.174.16.01
Date:1945
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