February 16, 2012 - February 22, 2012

Washington's Birthday

This week the nation celebrates President's Day, and 80 years ago -- on the bicentennial of George Washington's birth -- a huge crowd of Washingtonians honored their state's namesake by opening a brand new bridge in Seattle. Here they are, filling the crossing from side to side.

On February 22, 1932, the George Washington Memorial Bridge was dedicated and 15,000 people attended to witness the opening of the Seattle's first highway bridge. At 2 o'clock that day, President Herbert Hoover turned a telegraph key in the "other" Washington, which unfurled flags on the bridge. Sirens blared, a 21-gun salute interrupted a speech by Governor Roland Hartley, and cheers rang out from the crowd. Within a month, more than 11,000 cars were traveling across the bridge each day.

The structure was designed by Captain Ralph Ober, who also advocated its location on Aurora Avenue. Other suggested sites included an extension at Stone Way, but the decision to place it on Aurora made financial and technological sense. The only hitch was the "speedway" that provided the most direct approach to the bridge from the north -- it cut right through Woodland Park. The resulting road wars divided the local citizenry, not unlike the recent dilemma about what to do with downtown Seattle's aging viaduct.

The George Washington Bridge (or Aurora Bridge as it's commonly called) still stands strong 80 years later, thanks in part to recent safety improvements and earthquake retrofitting. It now carries more than 100,000 vehicles a day, and is listed on both state and national historic registers. Not only that, one of Seattle's most noteworthy residents resides beneath it, but watch out -- he likes to grab cars, especially Volkswagen Beetles.

Seattle's Fat Tuesday

Pioneer Square's raucous first Fat Tuesday was the brainchild of the late Bobby Foster, then co-owner of the historic Central Tavern. HistoryLink.org Executive Director Marie McCaffrey, who joined a band of crazed volunteers to plan the original, recalls the naive audacity of the event, which drew unruly crowds and negative publicity.

The following year, John Smith's poster depicting a "Fat Tuesday" Weld offended some, and things got totally out of control in 1979. Celebrations over the next few years were relatively subdued, until 2001, when the city was shocked by Mardi Gras riots in the evening, and rocked by an earthquake the next morning. Fat Tuesday festivities since then have remained calm, so please revel responsibly.

News Then, History Now

Sisters Provide: On February 18, 1864, the Sisters of Providence established St. Vincent's Academy in Walla Walla, which grew to include a hospital. During the twentieth century, St. Vincent's became part of a comprehensive parochial system in Walla Walla.

Trees Far and Wide: On February 22, 1897, President Grover Cleveland proclaimed more than two-thirds of the Olympic Peninsula as the Olympic Forest Reserve. Forty years later, President Franklin Roosevelt toured the area, which led to the creation of Olympic National Park.

Death From Above: On February 18, 1943, a horrific plane crash occurred in Seattle, when a strange-looking aircraft crashed into the Frye Meatpacking plant north of Boeing field. Eleven crewmembers died along with 19 workers on the ground, and in the resulting fire, much of the livestock was killed. Although the event could not be concealed, military police quarantined the scene and censored press reports, for this plane was the top-secret prototype of the famed B-29 Superfortress that two years later would drop the first atomic bombs and end World War II.

Innocent Of: Years after Betty MacDonald's book The Egg and I became a best-seller, libel charges were brought up by a family that claimed to be the inspiration for the Ma and Pa Kettle characters. The Seattle trial generated front-page headlines, and on February 20, 1951, the jury found for the defendant.

Motion Requested: On February 18, 1969, Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson introduced the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into the U.S. Senate. It became law less than a year later, and is considered to be the Magna Carta of our nation's environmental laws.

Seven Arrested: On February 17, 1970, the day after the rulings in the Chicago Seven trial, protesters led by the Seattle Liberation Front clashed with police in front of the federal courthouse. This led to indictments of the organizers, who became known as the Seattle Seven.

Over the Line: Washington's constitution defines Washington's northern boundary as running "along said forty-ninth parallel of north latitude," but the international boundary is located hundreds of feet north. On February 21, 2002, the State Supreme Court ruled that the state boundary does indeed extend north of the 49th parallel.

This Week in Crime: Two bandits robbed a train near Bellingham on February 20, 1914, and killed three passengers in the process. Exactly 50 years later, thieves burgled Pioneer Safe Deposit Vaults in Seattle, and were never apprehended. And on February 18, 1983, three young men raided the Wah Mee Club in Seattle, tied up and robbed 14 patrons, and then shot them all in cold blood. Only one victim survived, and his testimony led to the conviction of all three assailants.

Quote of the Week

Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.

                             --George Washington

Image of the Week

The initial phase of Lower Monumental Dam was completed on February 21, 1969.