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More than Petticoats
Myths and Mysteries of Washington
Tales of intrigue in this book include unusual unsolved crimes, legends of lost treasure, spine-tingling ghost stories, and well-documented sea creature sightings. Based on historic accounts from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, author Lynn Bragg recounts fifteen myths and mysteries from Washington's past, verifying some tales from multiple accounts and exposing some stories for what may have really occurred. Readers will be riveted by the detailed descriptions of Puget Sound's demon of the deep, Northwest gold fever may strike again after readers learn the details of Captain Ingalls's lost treasure, and believers will be surprised to learn that strange sightings over Mount Rainier predate the famous Roswell event. Enjoy these tales and more from Washington's suspicious past.
161 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 22, 2012
I've always been a sucker for myths and legends, ghost stories and folk tales, treasure hunters and ye olde crime. Knowing that my wonderful fiancee sent me this book about my (hopefully) soon-to-be home. Some of the stories I'd read before like D.B. Cooper and flying saucers over Mount Rainier but now they mean so much more after visiting there and knowing I might soon be living there.
It's also given me lots of places I want to visit like Ape Cave and Crescent Lake and has also inspired me to learn more about Washington state. The book isn't perfect, some of the stories a little short and as can be a problem with non-fiction like this some are a little out of date with new information surfacing since the book was written. But these are only minor issues that don't really detract from the overall book.
A great collection, I can't wait to visit these places and learn more about my new home.
It's also given me lots of places I want to visit like Ape Cave and Crescent Lake and has also inspired me to learn more about Washington state. The book isn't perfect, some of the stories a little short and as can be a problem with non-fiction like this some are a little out of date with new information surfacing since the book was written. But these are only minor issues that don't really detract from the overall book.
A great collection, I can't wait to visit these places and learn more about my new home.
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November 20, 2015I really liked it. very interesting about Women and their accomplishments
July 15, 2023
When dealing with a mini reading slump this Spring, I thought a great way to unlock my block, was to get back into the vibe of what I loved to read as a kid.
While the instincts were good, unfortunately, the book was not so much. I liked the attention to historical detail, but each chapter was winding, circuitous, and not always laid out in sequential or chronological order. Sometimes, it was a little difficult to track what the author was actually trying to get at with their story. While there were mysteries certainly under discussion, learning more about them shouldn't have been so difficult to cipher out.
My takeaway from the experience is that yes, we have quite a few legendary beasts, haunted castles, and hair-raising histories here in Washington State... but I also felt that there was plenty the author didn't get into that was also worthy of a mention.
While the instincts were good, unfortunately, the book was not so much. I liked the attention to historical detail, but each chapter was winding, circuitous, and not always laid out in sequential or chronological order. Sometimes, it was a little difficult to track what the author was actually trying to get at with their story. While there were mysteries certainly under discussion, learning more about them shouldn't have been so difficult to cipher out.
My takeaway from the experience is that yes, we have quite a few legendary beasts, haunted castles, and hair-raising histories here in Washington State... but I also felt that there was plenty the author didn't get into that was also worthy of a mention.
February 10, 2018
An excellent collection of biographies of women who shaped and changed Washington. The biographies are short, and I will be reading more in depth bios of them in the future. Well researched with good references.
December 2, 2018
The writing style Is formulaic, but it was interesting and I learned a lot. Sadly, I had never heard of any of these women. It was interesting to Google them and see what else I didn’t know! There’s also an edition of this series for Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. I’m putting them on my To Read list.
October 3, 2018
The topic is interesting and includes many women I had never heard of before, but the writing style could have been livelier. Would be good for middle school aged students.
October 24, 2018
Despite being designed to highlight badass ladies, the book clearly places importance on the women being chaste and sort of traditional women. Still good to learn about a few cool Washington's women.
February 22, 2025
Some bios are better than others.
March 16, 2017
Clunky and biased writing in many places, but an interesting assortment of brief descriptions of a diversity of women from Washington State.
January 4, 2012
More than Petticoats: Remarkable Washington Women, 2nd (More than Petticoats Series) by L. E. Bragg
Globe Pequot (2010), Edition: Second, Paperback, 224 pages
A fascinating collection of vignettes, featuring names familiar to almost any Washingtonian, and less familiar names, but women of significant accomplishments, provides a look at a collection of women who have shaped the culture, history and character of Washington from the 19th into the 21st centuries.
Featuring stories from the founding days of Seattle to 21st century social activism we get a glimpse into lives such as Mary Ann Boren Denny, known as the “Mother of Seattle”, Thea Christiansen Foss, the original “Tugboat Annie” and founder of Foss Maritime, still operating the largest tugboat enterprise on the West Coast, to Mother Joseph, founder of Seattle's Sisters of Providence and Providence Hospital.
Dr. Nettie J. Craig Asberry, the nation's first black woman to hold a Doctorate of Music (and thought to be the first doctoral degree in any subject) resided in Tacoma for many years providing not only instruction in music, but in social and cultural change. Further illuminating Washington culture is the iconic photographer Imogen Cunningham. Adding adventure are Fay Fuller, the first woman to summit Mount Rainier, Kathleen Rockwell, also known as “Klondike Kate” and Maude C. Lillie Bolin, aviatrix, cowgirl and rodeo performer.
Washington's first female judge, Justice Reah Mary Whitehead, Seattle's only female mayor, Bertha Knight Landes, Environmentalist and Social Activist Hazel Wolf and a host of others share drive, foresight, determination and colorful long lives to contribute significantly to Washington as we see it today.
The author has done a thorough job of research and reconstruction of these ladies' lives as we know them. There are a few slightly rough and disjointed segments, but I suspect that is more due to lack of consistent source material than the author's effort. Even as a long-time Washington resident and history geek there are many places where I paused to say “Gee, I didn't know that”. Remarkable Washington Women, indeed.
Globe Pequot (2010), Edition: Second, Paperback, 224 pages
A fascinating collection of vignettes, featuring names familiar to almost any Washingtonian, and less familiar names, but women of significant accomplishments, provides a look at a collection of women who have shaped the culture, history and character of Washington from the 19th into the 21st centuries.
Featuring stories from the founding days of Seattle to 21st century social activism we get a glimpse into lives such as Mary Ann Boren Denny, known as the “Mother of Seattle”, Thea Christiansen Foss, the original “Tugboat Annie” and founder of Foss Maritime, still operating the largest tugboat enterprise on the West Coast, to Mother Joseph, founder of Seattle's Sisters of Providence and Providence Hospital.
Dr. Nettie J. Craig Asberry, the nation's first black woman to hold a Doctorate of Music (and thought to be the first doctoral degree in any subject) resided in Tacoma for many years providing not only instruction in music, but in social and cultural change. Further illuminating Washington culture is the iconic photographer Imogen Cunningham. Adding adventure are Fay Fuller, the first woman to summit Mount Rainier, Kathleen Rockwell, also known as “Klondike Kate” and Maude C. Lillie Bolin, aviatrix, cowgirl and rodeo performer.
Washington's first female judge, Justice Reah Mary Whitehead, Seattle's only female mayor, Bertha Knight Landes, Environmentalist and Social Activist Hazel Wolf and a host of others share drive, foresight, determination and colorful long lives to contribute significantly to Washington as we see it today.
The author has done a thorough job of research and reconstruction of these ladies' lives as we know them. There are a few slightly rough and disjointed segments, but I suspect that is more due to lack of consistent source material than the author's effort. Even as a long-time Washington resident and history geek there are many places where I paused to say “Gee, I didn't know that”. Remarkable Washington Women, indeed.
May 22, 2014
It consists of short tellings of several different stories and in that, I enjoyed it. It served the purpose of what I was after in reading it: which was to familiarise myself with some myths so I could discover and choose a handful to look into in further depth elsewhere. And this book does have a nice variety of tales.
But that's where my enjoyment probably ended. About the third story in I began to realise I was getting thoroughly confused about what was supposed to have happened. And from there it only got worse. Her non-linear writing style became very distracting, often feeling like someone telling an oral story for the first time and missing important details, only to inject them during later parts of the story as the teller remembered them. In addition to this there were times when she would completely contradict herself from one sentence to the next. While she was likely drawing from multiple accounts with conflicting tales, she herself did not delineate this and I could not tell which was supposed to be the known piece of fact and which was hearsay, or if all of it was hearsay and there were no known facts at all. An example: one tale opens "Lost in the eastern Cascade Mountains in the winter of 1872, Captain Benjamin Ingalls..." etc, but then it's two pages later when she tells us that this man died in 1861. I did a double take. Why even tell us a date in the first place? Where did that date come from? I got the jist of these stories, but I would have liked to know what is actually known and what is still myth. I just don't understand how this book was constructed the way it is.
Nice collection. Poorly written.
But that's where my enjoyment probably ended. About the third story in I began to realise I was getting thoroughly confused about what was supposed to have happened. And from there it only got worse. Her non-linear writing style became very distracting, often feeling like someone telling an oral story for the first time and missing important details, only to inject them during later parts of the story as the teller remembered them. In addition to this there were times when she would completely contradict herself from one sentence to the next. While she was likely drawing from multiple accounts with conflicting tales, she herself did not delineate this and I could not tell which was supposed to be the known piece of fact and which was hearsay, or if all of it was hearsay and there were no known facts at all. An example: one tale opens "Lost in the eastern Cascade Mountains in the winter of 1872, Captain Benjamin Ingalls..." etc, but then it's two pages later when she tells us that this man died in 1861. I did a double take. Why even tell us a date in the first place? Where did that date come from? I got the jist of these stories, but I would have liked to know what is actually known and what is still myth. I just don't understand how this book was constructed the way it is.
Nice collection. Poorly written.
May 2, 2010
"Myths and Mysteries" is a fairly decent book highlighting some of the biggest of Washington's odd/mysterious stories ... and many obscure ones as well. In fact, they were so obscure, even my dad hadn't heard of them, which is saying something positive;)
Each story is told in a quickly digestable chapter, which is likely the intent of the book, but it's also a major shortcoming. Of course, every tale that's told has been told in better and greater detail in a book (or more) of its own. The main problem I had, though, was really poor editing. The book could stand a complete makeover and thorough rewrite, not only to update (Kennewick Man, for example), but to add subheads, reorganize chapters so they flow and transition well, and so on.
The one thing that really resonated with me: How many times Seattle Post-Intelligencer articles were cited. For example, the P-I was there to tell the stories of the Hope Diamond Curse, and was the first paper to publish a photo of a "flying saucer" (since flying saucer mythology -- from the actual term to government conspiracies to men in black -- actually originated in Washington state, not with Roswell.) That the P-I provided original source material for this book (along with other publications) hit home. It was a reminder of the depth of the paper's history, and its unforgiveable death.
Each story is told in a quickly digestable chapter, which is likely the intent of the book, but it's also a major shortcoming. Of course, every tale that's told has been told in better and greater detail in a book (or more) of its own. The main problem I had, though, was really poor editing. The book could stand a complete makeover and thorough rewrite, not only to update (Kennewick Man, for example), but to add subheads, reorganize chapters so they flow and transition well, and so on.
The one thing that really resonated with me: How many times Seattle Post-Intelligencer articles were cited. For example, the P-I was there to tell the stories of the Hope Diamond Curse, and was the first paper to publish a photo of a "flying saucer" (since flying saucer mythology -- from the actual term to government conspiracies to men in black -- actually originated in Washington state, not with Roswell.) That the P-I provided original source material for this book (along with other publications) hit home. It was a reminder of the depth of the paper's history, and its unforgiveable death.
January 12, 2021
This was pretty much exactly as expected- a collection of biographical overviews of trailblazing women in the PNW in the 1800s.
The pacing is odd and was slightly off-putting. Each chapter starts with several paragraphs fictionalizing a moment in that woman's life (anywhere from beginning to end)- assuming thoughts, emotions, reactions, and environment. Then the rest of the chapter is a chronological overview of her life. Some of the nonfiction passages are factually stated. Otherwise delve into a more fantastical range. And then go right back to dry nonfiction. It made for an uneven pacing, but also made me question whether the author was drawing from a source or just making things up.
I would've really enjoyed some footnotes for further reading, every time one of these "and here's what she was thinking and feeling" moments came around. There's a bibliography in the back, but no direction on what bits came from where, for those more fictionalized passages.
Bonus points for a span of diversity- they aren't all white women, or all teachers, or all from wealthy families. Overall, it's a good jumping off point if you're looking to dive deeper into the life of pioneering women.
The pacing is odd and was slightly off-putting. Each chapter starts with several paragraphs fictionalizing a moment in that woman's life (anywhere from beginning to end)- assuming thoughts, emotions, reactions, and environment. Then the rest of the chapter is a chronological overview of her life. Some of the nonfiction passages are factually stated. Otherwise delve into a more fantastical range. And then go right back to dry nonfiction. It made for an uneven pacing, but also made me question whether the author was drawing from a source or just making things up.
I would've really enjoyed some footnotes for further reading, every time one of these "and here's what she was thinking and feeling" moments came around. There's a bibliography in the back, but no direction on what bits came from where, for those more fictionalized passages.
Bonus points for a span of diversity- they aren't all white women, or all teachers, or all from wealthy families. Overall, it's a good jumping off point if you're looking to dive deeper into the life of pioneering women.
July 27, 2023
Meh. This was okay. The kind of book that you read and think "Oh, that's interesting," or "I didn't know that!" but never really read again.
Highlights:
- The story of D.B. Cooper and the search for him
- Sea serpents, dating back to ancient drawings
- People discovering gold and other treasures, or being sure that these treasures existed somewhere
- Haunted homes (including the Georgetown castle built in the 1880s or '90s, and a shady doctor's mansion in South Hill)
- Sasquatch-like creatures on Mt. St. Helens
- Shanghaiing
- The first reported UFO sightings were over Mt. Rainier in 1947, and other sightings occurred in other locations along the Cascades in the '40s
- (Hey, I didn't know Edward R. Murrow was from Washington!)
- Steilacoom and Fort Steilacoom/Fort Steilacoom Park/Western State Hospital had some crazy, creepy things happen
- The Hope Diamond is connected to Western Washington, with former owner's wife and actress Lady Francis Hope, May Yohe, living and working as a shipyard janitress in Seattle
- Kennewick Man
Highlights:
- The story of D.B. Cooper and the search for him
- Sea serpents, dating back to ancient drawings
- People discovering gold and other treasures, or being sure that these treasures existed somewhere
- Haunted homes (including the Georgetown castle built in the 1880s or '90s, and a shady doctor's mansion in South Hill)
- Sasquatch-like creatures on Mt. St. Helens
- Shanghaiing
- The first reported UFO sightings were over Mt. Rainier in 1947, and other sightings occurred in other locations along the Cascades in the '40s
- (Hey, I didn't know Edward R. Murrow was from Washington!)
- Steilacoom and Fort Steilacoom/Fort Steilacoom Park/Western State Hospital had some crazy, creepy things happen
- The Hope Diamond is connected to Western Washington, with former owner's wife and actress Lady Francis Hope, May Yohe, living and working as a shipyard janitress in Seattle
- Kennewick Man
July 5, 2012
I love a good mystery. Perhaps that's one reason I became a journalist. As a native and lifelong resident of Washington state, I figured I'd heard all of the stories, especially with my interest in cryptozoology. But this modest book was able to dig up many new and fascinating stories. I even had the opportunity to share the details of ther Lady of the Lake with friends in the context of another conversation.
If you love the Pacific Northwest and its lore, you'll likely enjoy this light read.
If you love the Pacific Northwest and its lore, you'll likely enjoy this light read.
October 17, 2012
I bought this book with the hopes of learning a little bit about the history and mystery of Washington after moving here. I enjoyed the stories although there were some that I thought could have used a little more research and time working on them, as they seemed a little choppy and didnt exactly flow well together.
But for anyone that wants to get an overall view of a few of the things that have happened here in Washington, this is a good place to get your feet wet.
But for anyone that wants to get an overall view of a few of the things that have happened here in Washington, this is a good place to get your feet wet.
August 27, 2016
The author wrote about 18 women who were historically significant to the history of Washington. The stories were interesting and many unknown facts were brought out about these women. There was a lot of poverty at the turn of the century in the early 1900s just as there is today. A few of the featured women helped children in need, much like today. Overall, a good book for a read about history.
July 25, 2020
Even though I've lived in the NW my whole life some of these stories were new to me and great fun to read about. The stories are short but you are given enough information to get a good idea of what was happening. I did find myself at the end of a few of the stories doing more research online to get a better understanding of what was going on but for the most part the book does a good job of explaining the myth and mysteries.
October 3, 2008
I read this book while at Sol Duc Hot Springs. I had just finished a 4 day hiking trip and was waiting for a ride to come pic me up. The managed to kill an hour or so - but it did have some interesting washington history.
January 14, 2009
Everyone's probably heard of D.B. Cooper and Sasquatch, but what about flying saucers over Mt. Rainier? Or the murdered woman whose corpse had turned into soap? I love books like these, especially when they are set locally.
June 9, 2013
This is a wonderful book if you like to read about people in history. It is full of stories about famous women in Washington state, where I live. These women are truly interesting and some led absolutely fascinating lives. All of them made their marks on the history of the state.
November 17, 2010
Really enjoyable stories from women in Washington State History. While the writing style was a bit repetitive, it was fun to get a glimpse into some fascinating women from my home state.
January 1, 2011
I like it. It was intersting and fun. I would recommend it.
July 26, 2015
Fantastic histories and written engagingly
October 15, 2016
Very enjoyable read. It has 16 short biographies about 16 Washington women. I really enjoyed that they had Narcissa Whitman's included.
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April 15, 2017Loved it
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews