- Story & Photography by Frank Barnett
When my editor suggested that I contribute an article on Seattle’s Pike Place Market I thought to myself, “Hey, great subject.” Seattle’s only a quick train trip from my home-base in Portland; I can visit my son Anthony (who has a medical practice there), and I love taking Amtrak just about anywhere that the tracks will lead me.
- Photo by Frank Barnett
Just give me an excuse and I’m on board. As I began my usual pre-photographing and interviewing research, I became more and more enchanted with the project. It turns out, I discovered, that between 1906 and 1907, the cost of onions had increased tenfold on the West Coast.
On August 17,1907, Seattle’s City Councilman Thomas Revelle, also a lawyer and journalist, introduced the enduring concept of “Meet the Producer,” the underpinning premise behind Pike Place Market that is alive and well to this date. As the price of onions rose steadily throughout the year, Seattle’s citizenry became more and more outraged with the concept of a middleman. That’s when Councilman Revelle proposed a public market that would directly connect farmers with consumers.
To read the entire story in The Contemporary Sportsman Vol. 2 No. 1 log in >>>