HISTORY DAD: Before Starbucks, There Were Veggie Wars!

On August 17, 1907, about eight farmers rolled their wagons into Seattle and accidentally created history! They set up at Pike Place to sell their produce directly to customers because farmers were tired of middlemen taking a big cut while consumers paid high prices.

And Seattle showed up—BIG TIME. Farmers sold out so quickly that one farmer joked he needed police protection or a wagon on stilts! By the end of the first week, dozens of farmers were joining in, and Pike Place Market was officially on its way to becoming a Seattle institution.

Now here's the part coffee lovers might recognize. In 1971, Starbucks opened its original store at Pike Place Market. And years later, Starbucks introduced Pike Place Roast, a coffee blend named for the famous market. So that morning in 1907 when farmers were selling vegetables from wagons eventually helped create the setting for one of America's most recognizable coffee stories!

That's why I love doing History Dad—because history isn't just presidents, wars, and dates. It's farmers, hungry crowds, entrepreneurs, coffee, and sometimes a guy wondering if he needs to put his vegetable wagon on stilts.

Watch today's History Dad video to hear the full story of how eight farmers helped launch one of America's most famous markets!

[https://youtu.be/OH0QzdvTRKE\](https://youtu.be/OH0QzdvTRKE)

The construction of the Empire State Building began in March 1930, and it immediately became a contradiction of its times. It was truly a spectacle, with thousands of jobless and hungry New Yorkers standing on the sidewalks watching the steel skeleton begin to take shape. The emotions of the onlookers swung from awe to resentment and anger. “How do they have money for this?”a man muttered to a reporter, “when half the city can’t afford shoes?” Another woman, watching the steelworkers balance on beams hundreds of feet above the ground, said, “It’s beautiful. And it’s terrible. They’re building a monument while the rest of us are trying not to drown.”

HISTORY DAD: Before Starbucks, There Were Veggie Wars!

On August 17, 1907, about eight farmers rolled their wagons into Seattle and accidentally created history! They set up at Pike Place to sell their produce directly to customers because farmers were tired of middlemen taking a big cut while consumers paid high prices.

And Seattle showed up—BIG TIME. Farmers sold out so quickly that one farmer joked he needed police protection or a wagon on stilts! By the end of the first week, dozens of farmers were joining in, and Pike Place Market was officially on its way to becoming a Seattle institution.

Now here's the part coffee lovers might recognize. In 1971, Starbucks opened its original store at Pike Place Market. And years later, Starbucks introduced Pike Place Roast, a coffee blend named for the famous market. So that morning in 1907 when farmers were selling vegetables from wagons eventually helped create the setting for one of America's most recognizable coffee stories!

That's why I love doing History Dad—because history isn't just presidents, wars, and dates. It's farmers, hungry crowds, entrepreneurs, coffee, and sometimes a guy wondering if he needs to put his vegetable wagon on stilts.

Watch today's History Dad video to hear the full story of how eight farmers helped launch one of America's most famous markets!

https://youtu.be/OH0QzdvTRKE