Sunday, November 5, 1916 marked the bloodiest battle in Pacific
Northwest labor history. On that day, about 300 members of the
Industrial Workers of the World (the I.W.W.) boarded the steamers Verona
and Calista from Seattle and headed north toward Port Gardner Bay. The
I.W.W. (or Wobblies) planned a public demonstration in Everett that
afternoon, to be held on the corner of Hewitt and Wetmore, a spot
commonly used by street speakers. Hoping to gain converts to their dream
of One Big Union, the Wobblies began street speaking in Everett during a
local shingle weavers' strike, encountering brutal suppression by local
law officers. Free speech soon became the dominant issue. The number of
demonstrators and the violence of the response from law enforcement grew
as the weeks wore on. On November 5th, word reached Everett that a group
of armed anarchists was coming to burn their town. 200 citizen deputies,
under the authority of Snohomish County Sheriff Donald McRae, met to
repel the invaders. The Verona arrived first, pulling in alongside the
dock. McRae asked Who is your leader? When he was told We are all
leaders!, he informed passengers they could not land. A single shot was
fired, followed by minutes of chaotic shooting. Whether the first shot
came from boat or dock was never determined. Passengers aboard the
Verona rushed to the opposite side of the ship, nearly capsizing the
vessel. Bullets pierced the pilot house, and the Verona's captain
struggled to back it out of port. The Calista returned to Seattle,
without trying to land.
