Why did we start using the phrase Get there before the rush?

Answer 1

It came from a ship that was named "Rush" that was sent to Alaska every year to help stop the over harvesting of seals. So the hunters of the seals would try to get to the hunting grounds before the Rush arrived. Thus the saying "Get there before the Rush."

The predecessor to the United States Coast Guard was the Revenue Cutter Service. It was established in 1790 by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Its primary mission was to crack down on piracy and, while at sea doing that, to help vessels in distress. After the U. S. bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, the U. S. placed a tariff on harvested seals in order to help pay the $7 million cost of acquiring "Seward's Folly." Gold had not yet been discovered in Alaska, so the tax on the seal harvest was the greatest money maker at the time. Two Revenue Cutter Service ships bore the name of Treasury Secretary Richard Rush (1825 - 1829). The first one was tasked with catching seal poachers. With the Rush on the lookout, poachers would often exclaim, "Let's get there before the Rush!"