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Guests in Our State
This week, HistoryLink look back at some of the notable people who have visited Washington this time of year. We begin on October 19, 1871, when Susan B. Anthony became the first woman to address the Washington Territorial Legislature. While here, she helped organize the Washington Woman Suffrage Association.
Some folks came here just to entertain. On October 19, 1924, Babe Ruth hit three homers in an exhibition game at Dugdale Park. (Image courtesy MOHAI) On October 20, 1941, world-famous conductor Sir Thomas Beecham made his debut with Seattle Symphony Orchestra and treated the audience to one of his well-known tantrums when he snapped at a photographer who tried to take his picture. And on October 23, 1980, patrons of Seattle Old Timer's Café got quite a surprise when visiting rocker Bruce Springsteen jumped up on stage to play a few songs with the Lost Highway Band.
In the world of politics, Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy made his first political visit to Washington on October 22, 1952, to campaign for Republican presidential nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower and incumbent Republican Senator Harry P. Cain. McCarthy's trip didn't turn out quite as he had planned: He was heckled by members of the Washington State Press Club, and KING-TV canceled his televised speech. And on October 21, 1962, President Kennedy was scheduled to attend the closing of Seattle's Century 21 World's Fair, but he canceled at the last moment due to having a cold and "needing bed rest." The real reason, it was soon learned, was the Cuban Missile Crisis.
We end with two visits from royalty. On October 22, 1975, King Olav V of Norway visited Poulsbo to celebrate the sesquicentennial of Norwegian immigration to America. Twenty years later, beginning on October 24, 1995, King Harald V followed in his father's footsteps with a four-day visit to Washington with Queen Sonja that included stops in Olympia, Seattle, Poulsbo, and Tacoma.
Less Time to Wait
On October 25, 1864, telegraph lines finally reached Seattle, greatly increasing the speed that Northwesterners received news and information. Four years earlier, when Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election, it took 16 days for the news to travel west, first by telegraph to California, then north by horseback and steamer. Even then, an Olympia newspaper noted the speed with which they obtained those election results by stating, "The annihilation ... [of] time and distance seems incomprehensible."
But with telegraph lines in place, news came much faster. When the Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, it took two days for the news to reach Puget Sound. When Lincoln was assassinated a few days later, Washingtonians knew about it within hours. By the end of the decade, most of the country was wired by Western Union, and people marveled at how easy it was to communicate from coast to coast.
