[Motion pictures with sound for the entertainment of the general public was something I normally associate with the late 1920s. But apparently the opportunity to see a talkie came much earlier. The Sept. 14, 1913 Sunday Olympian reports]:

"Talking Movies" To Make Debut Here

The seemingly impossible has at last been accomplished-- moving pictures that talk and laugh and sing. Thomas A. Edison, the wizard, has at last made this possible and these wonderful talking pictures will be seen at the Olympia theater, Friday and Saturday, September 19 and 20.

Mr. Edison does not claim that his pictures are the first talking pictures, but he does claim that they are the first and only practical and genuine talking pictures, perfected and presented to the public. The Edison talking pictures are genuine, that is, the film and record are taken simultaneously, and every sound and action is faithfully reproduced.

[And here's a follow up article from the Sept. 20, 1913 Morning Olympian. Olympia history buffs will recognize the name of John Miller Murphy. I like the word "motography"]:

Talking Pictures Win High Praise

"I have never seen the equal of the Edison talking pictures now being shown at the Olympia theater, although I have been in the newspaper business for years and have been in the show business myself, and have seen shows of all kinds from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They are the most wonderful sight I have ever seen."

This was the comment made by John Miller Murphy, pioneer editor and business man of this city, after he had seen the wonderful pictures shown under the management of Allen & Morris last night. This is peculiarly significant in view of the fact that it was Mr. Murphy who built the Olympia theater and operated it for many years.

There was such a packed house at the theater last night, with promise of a still greater crowd tonight, that the management made arrangements for two shows tonight. There will be one at 7:30 o'clock and another at 9:15 o'clock. The pictures appear to be almost the climax of all motography, with the proper words and the proper sounds accompanying every scene and movement, and great as has been the success of the regular motion picture, it is evident that before long the ordinary film will have become the relic that the slide picture has become with the development of the motion film.