Golden Wave Table Topics

Table Topic questions are meant to stimulate family and classroom discussion.
Use the questions below after reading,"City Rises on 'Golden Wave'"

Was Seattle already booming when the Gold Rush began? What was the city like when news arrived that gold had been discovered in the streams of the Yukon River in Alaska and Canada?
With what event did the Gold Rush begin in Seattle?
On the Centennial Page, which photograph best captures the excitement of the Gold Rush in Seattle? If you were a historical detective and searched the other photos for evidence, what would you find? List the many kinds of evidence the pictures provide, and then think about and discuss what that evidence means.
During the Klondike Gold Rush, prospectors risked their lives for gold. The journey to the Klondike was long and dangerous. It began with a sea journey from Seattle to Alaska in a small steamer, and then a long hike over the dangerous Chilkoot Pass. Over the years of the Gold Rush, hundreds of miners died along this route. Then, once in the Yukon, miners hastily set up their tents and portable stoves, hoping to outlast the blizzards.
Imagine that you were 15 years old in 1897, and you just heard that your best friend's father brought back $150,000 in gold from one season's prospecting in the Yukon. Would you have wanted to go to the Klondike? Why? Would you go alone? How would you prepare?
Not everyone got rich in the gold fields; in fact, most people who went didn't make back the cost of their trip. The odds were clearly against success. In your opinion, why did people still love to read about lucky prospectors and continue to rush to the Klondike?
What do you think life was like for the miners in the Centennial Page photo, shown at their claim in the Klondike gold fields?
On the Centennial Page, see The Seattle Times headline about the PORTLAND's arrival and the advertisements relating to Klondike outfitting and transportation. What was the role of the newspaper in spreading the news of the Gold rush? How did the newspaper's information differ from city gossip?
There are a number of different kinds of images on the Centennial Page. Some are advertisements that appeared in The Seattle Times in 1898. What are advertisements? Why did they appear in the newspaper? What products do these particular ads offer to the reader?
In 1898, the Lippy family brought back nearly $250,000 from the Yukon. That amount was worth a great deal more at that time than it is today. At different times in American history, money has changed in value, and we can measure that change by what can be purchased with one dollar. The display ads in the 1898 newspaper made it clear that ham sold for $09.5 per pound and Seattle laborers worked for $1 per day. Considering that, what was the Lippy family fortune worth in 1996 dollars?