Showing 163 results

Authority record

Elsa Nessenson

  • 6.1.15
  • Person
  • 1878-1969

Elsa Nessenson (1878-1969) was a playwright, actress, and director active in the Pacific Northwest. Born in Illinois in 1878 of German immigrant parents, her father died when she was a young child (1, 2). Her mother brought her and her older brother to Tacoma in 1896 when she accepted the position of Language Department head at the College of Puget Sound (2). Elsa graduated from Vassar in 1899 and taught English and German at Miss Round’s School in Brooklyn, New York. She gave dramatic readings and became a protégé of Heinrich Conried, then manager of the Metropolitan Opera House (3). She returned to Tacoma in 1914 and taught French at Stadium High School, where she was granted sabbatical time to travel in Europe and study at the Sorbonne. The Tacoma Drama League branch was formed in 1918 and she was a founding member. One of her plays, In the Secret Places, won an award and was reprinted in the November 1926 issue of Drama Magazine. She continued writing and performing up to and after her retirement from Stadium in 1946. She moved to Wesley Gardens, a retirement community in Des Moines, Washington, where she died in 1969 (2).

Red Kelly

  • 2.3.2
  • Person
  • 1927-2004

Thomas “Red” Kelly was born on August 29, 1927, in Shelby, Montana, and moved around between various Montana orphanages from when he was a toddler until he reunited with his family at 16 years of age in Seattle. (1, 2) Kelly began learning to play the double-bass during his freshman year at Seattle Prep high school. (1) Jazz bandleader Tiny Hill was looking for a bassist while on tour in Seattle and hired Kelly to play. This sparked a more than three-decade touring schedule for Kelly which began with playing bass in Chubby Jackson’s Big Band in 1949. (1) During the early 1950s, Kelly toured with Herbie Fields, Charlie Barnet, Red Norvo and Claude Thornhill. Kelly also toured and recorded with Woody Herman’s band throughout the 1950s. (1)

Kelly returned to Seattle and then went to Los Angeles where he worked with Stan Kenton’s band as well as Med Flory and Maynard Ferguson, who would become lifelong friends. Throughout the 1960s, Kelly played with bandleader Harry James, where he struck up a friendship with famed drummer Buddy Rich. (1) Kelly married Donna Griswold in 1974 and they opened their own jazz club “The Tumwater Conservatory” while settling in Tumwater, Washington.

It was during this time, in 1976, that Kelly began his OWL party, based on the slogans of “Out With Logic” and “On With Lunacy”. (2) Kelly’s friends and family joined him on the ticket as Kelly ran a mock campaign for governor. He got 9 percent of the vote, which is a total “most third-party candidates can only dream of.” (3) Kelly and his family would wind up moving to Tacoma, Washington, and from 1986 until 2003, operated Kelly’s, a jazz bar, on South 11st Street and Tacoma Avenue South. (4) When not playing live shows with his various jazz-playing friends who would drop by the club, Kelly also ran for mayor of Tacoma under the OWL Party in 1989 and received 10 percent of the vote during a six-candidate primary. (3)

Wife, Donna, died in 1999 and Kelly closed his Tacoma jazz bar in September of 2003. (1) Kelly died on June 9, 2004, at the age of 76. Some of the well-known players Red Kelly played with during his life include Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Billy Eckstein, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Billie Holiday, Harry James, Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich and Frank Sinatra.

Reverend David Alger

  • 3.7.5
  • Person

Reverend David T. Alger served as Executive Director of Associated Ministries for nearly thirty years from 1980 until 2009. (1) During his tenure, Reverend Alger expanded the Hilltop-based non-profit from an annual budget of $58,000 in 1980 into an organization with a budget of $3.7 million and a membership of over 200 congregations, religious groups, and interfaith partners. (2)

Reverend Alger played a vital role in the founding and growth of many agencies, including: the Pierce County AIDS Foundation, the Indochinese Culture and Service Center, the Shalom Center (focusing on Central American and Middle Eastern Peace), the South Sound Peace and Justice Center, the Pierce County Dispute Resolution Center, Faith Partners Against Family Violence, the Moments of Blessing program (services held to reclaim places where homicides have occurred), and the Hilltop Action Coalition. (1)

Reverend Alger graduated from the College of Wooster with a BA in Sociology/Religion. He then graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with a Master’s in Social Work and received his Master’s in Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary in 1971. Reverend Alger received the Tacoma Peace Prize in 2009 and the Community Service Award from the Rotary Clubs of Pierce County in 1989.

Black Women's Caucus of Washington State

  • CAC2008
  • Organization
  • 1977-

The Black Women's Caucus is a non-profit organization based in Washington state. The caucus was created at the State Women's Year Conference in July 1977. The organization's purpose is to "identify the barriers that prevent Black women from participating in mainstream society and to remove these barriers using their efforts, resources, and talents."

On January 7, 1978, a constitution governing the caucus was passed at a statewide meeting of Black women held in Seattle. Thelma Jackson of Olympia was elected as the first State President. The state organization was divided into four areas: the northwest, southwest, northeast, and southeast quadrants. Officers served for one year at the state level as well as the regional level. The activities of the caucus center on issues identified by Black women, then a work plan is created. This plan is updated and evaluated regularly to track progress.

The Black Women's Caucus sponsored the First Annual Black Summit Conference in Yakima in October 1978. In October 1979, the Second Summit Conference was held in Seattle. The third Annual Meeting was held in May 1980 in Seattle. Barbara Williams, the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus, was the keynote speaker and workshop leader.

The caucus has been active in presenting cultural events important to African Americans' history, such as Juneteenth and Kwanzaa. Annually in June, the caucus has presented a luncheon with themes relevant to the African American community.

Tyra Melvia Westling

  • 4.3.7
  • Person
  • 1897-1975

Tyra Melvia Westling was an educator of the Deaf who taught in the United States, the Philippines, and China. Born in Nebraska in 1897 to Swedish immigrant parents, her family moved to Tacoma in 1901 (1,4). In 1916 she graduated from Everett High School in the Normal (teacher training) course, after transferring from Tacoma’s Stadium High School the previous year (2). Her interest in Deaf education led her to visit numerous schools on the East Coast, where she sought employment (3). In 1924 she accepted her first teaching position overseas, in the Philippines (3). By 1948, while at the Chefoo School for the Deaf, she and her students were evacuated due to unrest associated with the Chinese Communist revolution, and she subsequently taught at the Ming Sum School for the Blind in Canton (3). Later, in the United States, she taught at the Tucker Maxon Oral School for the Deaf in Portland, OR, and Tacoma Public Schools. She died in Tacoma in 1975 at the age of 78 (4).

Michael K. Honey

  • 6.1.13
  • Person
  • 1947-

Michael K. Honey was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1947. His father, a WWII veteran, worked as an urban planner and professor. His mother was from a working class Detroit family. He lived in Williamston, Pontiac, and Grand Rapids, Michigan as well as Toledo, Ohio. From 1965-1969, Honey attended Oakland University in southeast Michigan. After graduation, his status as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War was approved. He then spent time in Kentucky and in Memphis, Tennessee, where he served as the Southern Director of the National Committee Against Repressive Legislation. He received an MA from Howard University and a PhD from Northern Illinois University. His research focused on labor history and civil rights. His books include "Southern Labor and Black Civil Rights: Organizing Memphis Workers," "Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign," and "To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice." In 1990, he became a founding faculty member of the University of Washington Tacoma. He held the Fred and Dorothy Haley endowed professorship and served as the Harry Bridges Chair of Labor Studies. He taught African American and Labor History and also began a Community History curriculum which engaged students in interview projects and other public history initiatives focused on Tacoma. In addition to his scholarly work, Honey is also a film maker, musician, oral historian, and activist.

Tacoma Public Schools

  • 4.1.1
  • Organization
  • 1869-

Tacoma School District No. 10, known as Tacoma Public Schools, is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It comprises 35 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 10 high schools, and 4 early learning centers. It is the third-largest school district in Washington State, with more than 30,000 students and 5,000 employees. Tacoma Public Schools is one of the largest employers in the greater Tacoma area.

Tacoma School District #10 was established on September 18, 1869, on the future site of Tacoma. (1) The first classes occurred in a resident's log cabin, with 13 students from the Baker, Fleetwood, and A. W. Stewart families. The first school building was a log cabin constructed in 1870, located on the southwest corner of North 28th and Starr Streets. It cost around $300. (1) A.W. Stewart served as a director, J.P. Stewart as a teacher, and R. H. Landsale as a board clerk. (1)

Like the rest of the United States, Tacoma Public Schools was influenced by the influx of European immigrants in the years before World War I. Government and religious agencies worked to address ethnic integration. (2) The National Conference on Immigration and Americanization in 1913 created a list of three critical aspects of immigrant assimilation: literacy, health and hygiene, and learning democracy. (2) In response, U.S. schools began introducing new policies and programs to promote and teach the importance of these three values.

The Tacoma School District began incorporating nurses, health clinics, showers, and home economics departments. The purpose was to improve health and hygiene within the school property. The school district also expanded social services, such as after-school programs, summer school, and the availability of on-site lunches. (2) The focus on the civic responsibilities of schools led to the improvement of libraries, lunchrooms, and administrative offices. (2)

During the early twentieth century, Tacoma and its school system experienced population growth due to the United States' involvement in World War I, including establishing Fort Lewis in 1917 and the 1914 opening of the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal expanded the business and industry associated with the Port of Tacoma; Fort Lewis also became the largest fort in the United States, housing 37,000 soldiers. (2)

From 1915 to 1920, enrollment in Tacoma Public Schools rose from 14,211 to 18,023. (2) In order to address the growing student population, the district school board debated between three educational models. The educational models would affect the construction of schools. The models were the 8-4 system, the 6-6 system, and the 6-3-3 system. (2) The 8-4 system was the typical school model before World War I. It had grades one through eight in elementary schools and nine through 12 in high schools. The 6-6 system recommended grades one through six in elementary school, with grades seven through 12 in high school. (2) The board adopted the 6-3-3 system, which advocated for grades one through six in elementary school, seven through nine in middle school, and 10 through 12 in high school. (2)

Tacoma voters authorized a $2.4 million plan in 1923 to transition to the new elementary, intermediate, and high school model. (2) The funding allowed for the construction of six new intermediate schools and additions to existing elementary schools. As a result, Jason Lee, James P. Stewart, Morton M. McCarver, Franklin B. Gault, Allan C. Mason, and Robert Gray's middle schools were built. (2)

Another significant population increase occurred in Tacoma and its schools during World War II because the Port of Tacoma and Fort Lewis brought economic growth. From 1950 to 1956, public school enrollment rose 26% from 22,157 to 29,778. (2) The increase in student population led to the overcrowding of aging elementary schools. Furthermore, the need for construction in suburban areas caused the school board to draft a new building campaign emphasizing quick, cheap, and flexible school construction. (2)

Following the Brown v. Board of Education decision and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Tacoma School District sought to desegregate schools with high non-white enrollment. (3) Dr. Angelo Giaudrone, the district superintendent, addressed the de facto segregation and focused on two elementary schools. The two schools were Stanley Elementary, with a Black population of 64 percent, and McCarver Elementary, with a Black population of 84 percent. Tacoma Public Schools formed a subcommittee in 1963 to study de facto segregation and provide solutions. (3) On July 8, 1966, the school board announced a plan for an optional enrollment program. The program’s goal was to close McCarver Junior High and provide limited open enrollment to students affected by the closing. (3)

After a decade of teaching in the Tacoma School District, Willie Stewart became the first Black principal in 1970. Stewart often liaised between the Black community and the school district. (3) Reflecting on the success of the voluntary desegregation plan, Stewart discussed the wish to have more African American counselors and a two-year education process instead of one year. (3) "Stewart thought the district could also have improved its plan by having high school regional meetings with schools and the community and separate meetings for the Black community to help with the transition with the loss of school lineage." (3) By 1972, the school district stated that de facto segregation had ended in fifty-eight school buildings. All buildings were at or below the forty-percent threshold for black student enrollment. (3)

Henry Foss

  • 6.1.12
  • Person
  • 1892-1986

Henry Foss was one of four children born to Andrew and Thea Foss who founded the Foss Launch and Tug Company in Tacoma. Henry attended Stadium High School and went on to attend Stanford University. After graduating, he returned to Tacoma to work in the family business. In 1930, he was elected as the State Senator for the 26th District. During World War II, he served in the US Navy where he was part of naval intelligence. He retired as a Rear Admiral and was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Navy Marine Life Saving Medal. Over the course of his career, he served as Pierce County Republican Chairman, Port of Tacoma Commissioner, and Director of the Pacific National Bank of Washington. In 1973, Henry Foss High School was named in his honor. He died in 1986.

Rowena and Gordon Alcorn

  • 3.7.4
  • Family
  • 1905-1996

Rowena Lung Alcorn (1905-1996) and Gordon Dee Alcorn (1907-1994) were collaborative authors, writing articles on Northwest history, Native Americans, biology and other topics (1). Their separate careers were in the visual arts and biological sciences.

Born in Tacoma in 1905, Rowena Alcorn began drawing while young, sketching Native Americans at age 7 as her family camped at Browns Point (1). By age 20, she had joined her sister in Santa Barbara, California, to study art (2). At the time of their marriage, Gordon was a biology professor at the University of Idaho in Boise and it was there she began painting portraits of the Nez Perce people (2). After they returned to Tacoma, she taught art at The University of Puget Sound, Grays Harbor College, and Pierce College (1). A portrait of Henry Sicade, Puyallup tribal leader, was commissioned by the Tacoma Public Library, where it hangs as of this writing in 2023 (3). A concurrent interest in writing led to her founding the Tacoma branch of the National League of American Pen Women in 1956 (2). She died in Tacoma May 3, 1996 at age 91.

Gordon Alcorn was born in Olympia in 1907 and graduated from Lincoln High School in Tacoma in 1926 (4). He received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Puget Sound and his doctorate from the University of Washington (4). He began teaching full-time at UPS in 1946 and was named chairman of the biology department in 1951 (4). He helped found the Slater Museum of Natural History there and was its director for 20 years (4). The campus of the University of Puget Sound was named the Gordon Dee Alcorn Arboretum in 1976 (4). An environmental activist, he was instrumental in preserving Nisqually Delta as a wildlife refuge, as well as Swan Creek in Pierce County and three Grays Harbor County islands (5). He died age 86 in Tacoma on March 25,1994 (4).

The Alcorns together wrote over 100 articles (1). Seamen’s Rest was of particular interest as Rowena Alcorn’s mother, Velma Lung, was a neighbor and personal friend of the founding Funnemark family (6). Mrs. Brigitte Funnemark and her daughter Christine Funnemark maintained the mission which ministered to the material and spiritual needs of sailors (6). Christine Funnemark went on to be a founder of the Tacoma Rescue Mission (6).

Ralph William Thompson

  • 2.5.2
  • Person
  • 1889-1961

Ralph William Thompson was born in Livingston, Montana, on October 26, 1889. (1) He graduated from the University of Washington in 1914 and attended the University of Minnesota. (2) Thompson lived in Washington state for 60 years and served as an attorney for 47 years. (2) Thompson was also a member of Sigma Chi, the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, and the Tacoma Club. (2) Thompson married Grace M. Knowles, whose father, Samuel Crawford Knowles, was a lumberman. (3) Ralph W. Thompson died on December 16, 1961, in Tacoma.

Nels Bjarke

  • 6.1.11
  • Person
  • 1875-1950

Nels (Nils) Bjarke was born in 1875 in Denmark. He immigrated to the United States in 1915 and lived in Nebraska before moving and settling in Tacoma at the end of the first World War. He worked as a laborer in shipyards before becoming an engineer for the Fern Hill School. He moved to Fern Hill in 1927 with his family. Bjarke wrote about the history of the Fern Hill area including Byrd Mill Road and Naches Pass. He also compiled a history of Chief Leschi. Bjarke spearheaded the community effort to build the Fern Hill branch of the Tacoma Public Library by petitioning the library board and collecting signatures highlighting the desire for a local library. Bjarke died in 1950 at the age of 74.

Lindstrom Family

  • 6.2.4
  • Family
  • 1861-

The Lindstrom family live in Tacoma in the early to mid 20th century. Emil Lindstrom was born in Sweden in 1861 and immigrated to the United States in 1889 [1], starting a job in Tacoma as a shipping clerk for the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company [2]. He worked there for about 10 years, becoming the superintendent of St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company and the treasurer of Tacoma Electric Company [3]. He moved to a house on N Yakima Avenue in Tacoma, where he would live the rest of his life. By 1910 he was married to Henrietta Lindstrom, a U.S citizen from Michigan, and they lived with her daughter Henrietta Tousley. He started and became the president of the Lindstrom-Hanforth Lumber Company, and local historian Michael Sullivan explains that, “by 1917 the Lindstrom-Hanforth Mill in Rainier was cutting 18 million board feet a year, was operating its own railroad and had burnt to the ground twice only to be rebuilt bigger in the aftermath each time” [4]. After retiring in 1946, Emil Lindstrom passed away in Tacoma in 1950 at the age of 88 [5].

Myron Kreidler

  • 2.1.10
  • Person
  • 1904-1985

Myron Kreidler was born in Tacoma in 1904. He attended Pacific Lutheran University and later became president of the Pacific Lutheran University Alumni Association from 1936-1937. He began his career as a 9th grade teacher at Mason Junior High. He later worked as a staff photographer at Pacific Lutheran University and owned Kreidler Photo Studio. He died in Tacoma in 1985 at the age of 81.

Aubrey F. Andrews

  • 1.4.8
  • Person
  • 1906-1950

Aubrey F. Andrews (1906-1950) was a World War II veteran, librarian, and director of the Tacoma Public Library from 1946 to 1950. A native of Escanaba, Michigan, Andrews received a Bachelor of Arts in Library Science from the University of Washington in 1935 (1). He interned at the Joint Reference Library in Chicago, and after graduation held various library positions around the United States. He worked in the order department of the Oregon State College Library, was a Reference Assistant at the Technical Library in Knoxville, and a Community Librarian in Norris, Tennessee. He was later appointed as Chief of the Chattanooga, Tennessee Branch Technical Library, and in 1941 became Administrative Assistant at the Buffalo, NY Public Library. During World War II Mr. Andrews served in the Navy aboard the USS Hickox in the Pacific and kept a diary recording his experiences. He was discharged from the Navy at the conclusion of the war and appointed director of the Tacoma Public Library in 1946. One of his immediate major responsibilities was advocating for and planning a new main library building. In 1949 Aubrey Andrews was elected to a two-year term as president of the Washington Library Association. Andrews was also a member of the Tacoma Rotary Club, the Washington State Historical Society and the Tacoma Lodge No. 174 of the Elks. Aubrey Andrews died in Tacoma on November 8, 1950.

Jacqueline Noel

  • 1.4.7
  • Person
  • 1880-1964

Jacqueline Noel was City of Tacoma Librarian from 1924 until her retirement in 1943. She was born in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 1880, to Jacob Edmund Noel and Eleanor Fresneau Leadbeater Noel. Jacqueline Noel graduated in 1913 from the Library School of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y. She would continue to donate to the Pratt Institute throughout her life. Before joining the Tacoma Public Library staff in July 1924 as an assistant in the reference department, she was an assistant librarian in La Grande and Portland, Oregon.

While serving with the Tacoma Public Library, Jacqueline Noel became the Head of the Reference Department and was elected as the librarian to succeed John Kaiser. Jacqueline Noel is credited with expanding the branches of the Tacoma Public Library. She obtained the funds to build the McCormick and Mottet branches by raising donations from citizens. From 1938 to 1941, Jacqueline and the Tacoma Public Library worked with the Works Project Administration. She played an active role in the Washington Library Association.

Tacoma confectioner Harry Brown (1893-1960) created a butter-crunch toffee covered in milk chocolate and chopped almonds in 1923. Henry Brown then passed out samples of the candy to Tacoma residents. At the Tacoma candy company Brown & Haley, company lore credits Jacqueline Noel with the name Almond Roca. The name came about because of the hard crunch when eating the candy. Furthermore, most almonds were imported from Spain, and "Roca" is a Spanish word for rock.

Jacqueline Noel was an active member of numerous organizations. She was a member of the American Library Association and had previously served as vice president of the Pacific Northwest Library Association. During the American Library Association's 1933 conference in Chicago, Jacqueline presented a paper describing the business and technical books held in the reference library, which Tacoma citizens used widely. She had also participated in the North End Shakespeare Club. She was a past regent of the Elizabeth Forey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a member of the Huguenot Society of America. Jacqueline Noel passed away in Tacoma, WA, on May 19, 1964.


Noel Family


Noel, Edmund Jacob:

Jacqueline's father, Jacob Edmund Noel, was born in Cumberland County, PA, on January 25, 1847. His grandfather immigrated to America after serving in Napoleon's army and would later die during his service in the War of 1812. Jacob Noel's father was a captain of the Pennsylvania volunteers during the Civil War. Jacob served as a drummer boy early during the conflict; however, his father obtained an appointment in West Point. He would graduate from West Point in 1865. His class was sent out on a gunboat at the naval academy after the Confederate cruiser Florida off the Long Island Sound.

Jacob spent twenty-six years in the Navy, where he rose to senior lieutenant commander. From 1871-1872 he participated in the first surveys of the Nicaragua canal route, and from 1872-1875, he led an investigation into the dangerous aspects of navigation. He married Eleanor F. Leadbeater on March 18, 1879, in New York City.

In 1889 the Noel family moved to Tacoma, WA, where Jacob Noel took up civil engineering. He served as deputy county engineer for two years, and for eight years, he served as the county engineer for Pierce County. Later, he began a private practice in 1912 and focused his energy on Masonic service. He became a freemason in Lisbon, Portugal, in July 1867. He died in Tacoma, WA, in 1918.

Noel, Fresneau Eleanor:

Eleanor F. Noel nee’ Leadbeater was born to Edward H. Leadbeater and Lucy S. Dodge around1857 in New York. She would marry Jacob Noel on March 18, 1879, in New York City. They would go on to have two daughters together, Jacqueline and Anita. She had a deep interest in family genealogy and became a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution on January 2, 1896. She died in Tacoma, WA on October 15, 1924.


Mason Family


Mason, Anita (Noel):

Jacqueline’s younger sister Anita was born to Jacob and Eleanor Noel in 1885. She would graduate from Tacoma High School on June 6, 1902. On July 17, 1907, Anita married Thomas Wilson Mason with her sister as a witness. Anita and Thomas had one son, Thomas E. Mason (Teddy), born on June 12, 1914. She passed away in Tacoma, WA, on June 22, 1964.

Mason, Wilson Thomas:

Thomas W. Mason came to Tacoma, WA, in 1888 with his parents, John Quincy Mason and Virginia Murdoch Mason. Thomas was born in 1883 in Missouri. He attended Tacoma High School and later worked at the West Coast Grocery Company with Charles C. Hyde, the founder. Thomas W. Mason also worked with the Northern Pacific Railroad engineering department during the Kalama to Vancouver line construction. After marrying Anita Noel on July 17, 1907, they homesteaded in Flathead County, MT. He joined an irrigation project workforce. Later, he worked at various smelters in Tacoma, WA, Great Falls, MT, and Sudbury, Ontario. Thomas W. Mason also worked at the Pierce County division of the Standard Oil Company and retired from the Pacific Wax Paper company based in Seattle, where he was secretary-treasure for ten years. Following retirement, he formed Mason Sales of Tacoma. He passed away on January 6, 1950.

Mason, Edward Thomas (Teddy):

Jacqueline Noel’s nephew Thomas E. Mason or Teddy was born June 21, 1914, to Thomas W. Mason and Anita Mason nee’ Noel. Teddy graduated from Stadium High School in 1931 and received his undergraduate from Puget Sound. He was an employee of the United States Postal Service for 28 years. He died on December 12, 1986, in Tacoma, WA. In his will, Teddy donated $360,000 to the Tacoma Public Library in 1988 to honor his aunt Jacqueline.

Della Gould Emmons

  • 6.1.4
  • Person
  • 1890-1983

Della Gould Emmons (1890-1983) was a writer of historical fiction based in the Northwest. Her first novel, Sacajawea of the Shoshones (1943), was written from Sacajawea’s point of view and told the story of her life and participation in the Lewis and Clark expedition. Emmons invested ten years of research, travel, and correspondence with historians before its publication, and she included brief references at relevant chapter ends. She assisted with an adaptation of the book for Hollywood in 1953, as The Far Horizons, which starred Charlton Heston, Fred McMurray and Donna Reed. Nothing in Life is Free (1953) focused on the pioneer experience and the Puget Sound settlers who crossed the Cascade Mountains at Naches Pass. She next wrote the story of Leschi of the Nisquallies (1965), an account of his involvement in the Medicine Creek Treaty and ensuing Puget Sound War, his two trials for murder, and subsequent death by hanging. Her fourth book was a compilation of 12 plays, Northwest History in Action (1960). Lastly she wrote a biography of her oldest brother, titled Jay Gould’s Million Dollar Gems (1974), which served additionally as a memoir as she related their early upbringing together.

She was born in Glencoe, Minnesota August 12, 1890, where she spent her early life. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1912 and the following year she taught high school in Sisseton, South Dakota. Her tenure there culminated in the production of a musical and theatrical presentation at the local opera house as well as the nearby Sioux agency [1, 2, 3]. Her marriage to Allan Burdette Emmons (1887-1958), a train dispatcher, in 1913, led to their subsequent travel west along the railroad line as his job required. They lived in Seattle for nineteen years, and when her daughter’s fourth grade class at Green Lake School studied history, Emmons was motivated to write pageants for the students’ participation. The pageants were popular and restaged multiple times and Emmons was encouraged to submit radio plays to local stations where they were aired in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1936 her husband had been transferred to Tacoma and she was involved in civic life there for her remaining 47 years. She served on the Board of the Washington State Historical Society, was appointed Historian for the Fort Nisqually Restoration Council, and was adopted by the Lummi Nation in 1955. She gave talks and presentations at events and on the air, and received numerous awards. A plaque was placed in Point Defiance Park dedicating the rose arbor to her in 1981. She died in Tacoma at the age of 93, November 6, 1983, and was buried in Glencoe, Minnesota [5,6,7].

Harold M. Tollefson

  • 1.2.5
  • Person
  • 1911-1985

Tollefson was born in Perley, Minnesota, one of seven children. His family moved to Tacoma when he was two and lived in the McKinley Hill neighborhood. He graduated in 1928 from Lincoln High School, then worked at Hunt and Mottet Hardware to support two of his siblings while they completed their education. He was an enthusiastic amateur athlete.

Tollefson graduated with a law degree from the University of Washington and began practicing law in Tacoma in 1939. In 1952 as a freeholder, he helped draft a new charter for Tacoma, changing it from a Commissioner--Mayor to a Council--Manager system of government. Following adoption of the new charter, he won a seat on the new City Council. The Council appointed him to Mayor. As Mayor, Tollefson worked to shut down commercial prostitution and gambling in the city. He oversaw development of modern sewage treatment for Tacoma, undertook a program of street paving and lighting, and worked to replace the city’s wooden water mains. After completing his term as Mayor, he served on the Council from 1956-1958.

In 1962 he was directly elected Mayor by citizens of Tacoma. In this second mayoral term Tollefson brokered an agreement for joint tenancy of the County-City Building. He successfully lobbied the Washington State Legislature to allow cities and counties to receive a portion of the State sales tax. He led the fight to protect Tacoma’s Green River Watershed by keeping the area closed to the public. He supported completion of the Cowlitz River dams.

Tollefson served on the Executive Board of the Association of Washington Cities. In 1966 he was elected President of the National League of Cities. In these positions Tollefson championed increased intergovernmental cooperation. He organized municipal lobbying efforts in favor of full funding for the Model Cities program.

Defeated in the 1967 election, Tollefson returned to practicing law in Tacoma. He continued in public service as a board member of the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington. He was President of the Tacoma Lion’s Club and the Tacoma Bar Association.

Tollefson was survived by his wife Edith, his children Nicola, Andrea and Brian, three grandchildren, sisters Agnes Hendrickson and Gyda Langlow, and brother Erling.

The Tacoma Mountaineers

  • 3.6.1
  • Organization
  • 1912-

The Mountaineers was founded in 1906. The following year, Charles and Henry Landes organized the first Tacoma area Mountaineers Local Walk. The walk, from American Lake to Steliacoom, was the third official outing of the The Mountaineers organization. The "Auxiliary to the Mountaineers" was organized in Tacoma in March of 1912. The Tacoma branch was active in organizing multi-day excursions in Longmire and Paradise. During the Great Depression, the group purchased the "Irish Cabin" and surrounding 18 acres of land near the Carbon Rover entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. The Cabin provided a gathering place for chapter events and sleeping quarters for 60 members at a time. The group maintained the cabin until 1978. In 1956, they opened the Tacoma Program Center in Old Town. The building was designed by Silas Nelson of Tacoma. The group hosts excursions, events, classes, and youth programs.


Member Biographies


Catherine Seabury

Catherine Seabury (1880-1970) was an active member of the Tacoma Branch of the Mountaineers, participating in outings and climbs and contributing photographs to the Mountaineer Bulletin. Originally from Peoria, Illinois, by 1919 she and her widowed mother were living together in Tacoma at 3810 N Washington, where she cultivated prize-winning roses. She was employed as a teacher at Sherman and Point Defiance Elementary Schools among others and spent additional time in the mountains at the family cabin in Paradise Valley. She moved to the Franke Tobey Jones Home in 1937, and died in Tacoma in 1970 at the age of 89.


Alma Wagen

Alma Wagen (1878-1967) was the first woman employed as a climbing guide at Mount Rainier National Park. Born in Minnesota, Alma arrived in Tacoma after graduating from the University of Minnesota. First employed at Whitman School, she taught mathematics at Stadium High School beginning in 1909 and had joined the Mountaineers by 1913. Her summer vacations were spent trekking in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains in Washington, Glacier National Park, and Alaska. In 1915 she summited Mt. Rainier for the first time, with a Mountaineer party. When World War I created a shortage of available men, she joined the National Park Service and was the first female guide to work at Mount Rainier. She guided John D Rockefeller, Jr. and his party “like a master”, according to Joseph Hazard, chief climbing guide at the time. In the spring of 1922 she moved to Yosemite National Park, and by the summer had returned to Rainier.

In 1926 at the age of 48 she retired from guiding and married Dr. Horace J Whitacre. A widower with two young sons, he too was a Mountaineer as well as a tennis player and yachtsman. He was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and the North Pacific Surgical Society, president of Tacoma Rotary Club as well as president of the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce. Alma began to be active in civic affairs, being chosen in 1933 to lead Tacoma women in implementing the National Recovery Act. She then served as president of the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Washington State Medical Association, president of the Tacoma Y.W.C.A., and hosted dinners and gatherings at her home at 3803 N Monroe St. After the death of her husband in 1944, she moved to Claremont, California. There she competed in numerous bridge tournaments and did fund-raising for the local Community Chest. She died in 1967 at the age of 89 and is buried at New Tacoma Cemetery.


Willard G. Little

Willard G. Little (1870-1955) and Walter S. Little (1874-1958) arrived in Tacoma from Minnesota with their parents in the first decade of the 1900s. The two brothers remained close their entire lives, Walter living at 2121 N Washington with their parents, and Willard moving one block away, at 2219 N Washington, where he raised his family while working as an accountant. They both joined the Mountaineers, as well as the North End Shakespeare Club, and Willard also named his son Walter (B.). Walter (S.) was employed by the Bank of California and remained single. Willard chaired the Tacoma Branch of the Mountaineers from 1933-1936. It is thought that the photo album in the collection depicts him at this time, although the principal subject is referred to only as “he who needs no introduction”.

Willard’s son Walter B. Little (1909-2002) participated in the Tacoma chapter as a young man, then moved to Seattle and was very active in the Mountaineers there. He would be instrumental in developing the practice of ski mountaineering in Washington State through his work with the club.


Stella Kellogg

Stella Kellogg (1896 -1972) was born in Wyoming and moved to Tacoma in 1927. A member of the Mountaineers from 1931, she climbed the six major Cascade volcanic peaks and was recognized with an award in 1970. She was employed as executive secretary by the Pierce County Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association for 34 years. Active in civic affairs, she was a charter member of the Tacoma Altrusa Club, a member of the University-Union Club, Tacoma Audubon Society and an alumna of the Kappa Delta sorority. She remained single and died in Tacoma at the age of 76.


Minnie Hutchinson

Minnie Hutchison (also Hutchinson) (c.1876- c.1941) was a member of the Tacoma Mountaineers c.1908 - 1917. In 1915, she participated in a publicity stunt developed to promote tourism and bring attention to Tacoma and its proximity to Mount Rainier National Park. On April 27, four cars and a Milwaukee Road train left Tacoma in a race to Ashford. A film cameraman, B.B.Dobbs of the Hobbs Totem Film Company was on hand to document the event and produce a film. Titled “Fours Hours From Tacoma to the Glaciers”, the film was intended to be shown at the San Francisco Panama-Pacific International Exposition and elsewhere. Minnie was a passenger in a car driven by Mrs. O.H. Ridgeway. They drove the 48 miles to Ashford and arrived first before the other three cars, although the train had bested them by just minutes. A prize consisting of a bag of gold coins worth $1000 was awarded to the train personnel, who promptly transferred it to the Mrs.Ridgway. Both before and after the race, promotional events and photographs were arranged, in which Minnie took part.

She worked as an assistant to her brother Ralph Hutchison, a dentist. At some point after his death in 1931, she moved to Oregon and was employed as a housekeeper.


A.H. Denman

Asahel H. Denman (1859-1941) was a principal founder of the Tacoma Branch of the Mountaineers. In 1912, along with John B. Flett and Harry Weer, he organized the meeting that established its by-laws and constitution. He was elected chairman and started the Tacoma winter outings that year.

Born in in New York, he studied law at the State University of Iowa, graduating in 1885. By 1890 he had arrived in Tacoma and began practicing law here in 1894. He joined the Mountaineers in 1909 and climbed the six principal peaks of the Cascades, as well as organizing and participating in many annual and local outings. An avid amateur photographer, he concentrated on documenting the features of Mount Rainier, two of which were named for him (Denman Falls and Denman Peak). He provided photographs and articles to the Mountaineer Bulletin, and delivered illustrated lectures to church and school groups around the state. He advocated changing the mountain’s name to Mount Tacoma and in 1924 wrote a book presenting his views, The Name of Mount Tacoma. He never married and died in Tacoma at the age of 81.


John F. Gallagher Jr.

John F. Gallagher, Jr. (Jack) (1925-2015) was born in Tacoma, and had joined the Tacoma Branch of the Mountaineers by the age of thirteen. He attended Stadium High School and was active in Boy Scouts, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. He enlisted in the US Navy in World War II, serving in the Pacific aboard the USS Wilkes-Barre. In 1950, he received a BS in Civil Engineering from Santa Clara University and began his career with the Washington State Department of Transportation as a project engineer. The Tacoma Branch of the Mountaineers elected him chairman for 1952-1954. He had a particular interest in skiing and was one of the few leaders of ski tours in the mid-fifties. He continued his involvement with Scouting, serving as Scoutmaster for 33 years from 1950 through 1983. He died in University Place, Washington in 2015 at the age of 89.


Josephine and Stella Scholes

Two Scholes sisters, Josephine (1874-1961) and Stella (1876-1934), collected the materials here. Their parents brought seven children to Tacoma in 1890 via Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and Kansas. All five daughters worked as teachers, and at least three of them, Josephine, Stella, and Emma, participated in Mountaineer outings in their summer vacations.

Josephine, the second oldest daughter, was born in Missouri and taught at the elementary level initially, at Bryant, Franklin, Grant, and Willard Schools. The remainder of her career, from 1933 until retirement in 1940, was spent at Jason Lee Junior High School. She maintained daily entries in three diaries during summer outings.

Stella, the fourth child and third daughter, was first employed at Central School, then taught algebra and geometry at Stadium High School until her death at the age of 58. She climbed the six major peaks of Washington State and served as secretary-treasurer for the Tacoma Branch. She was a member of the 1909 expedition to the summit of Mount Rainier, sponsored by the Mountaineers and offered as a side trip for visiting suffrage conventioneers. Participants planted a pennant from the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition with the motto “Votes for Women” on the summit.


Clarence Garner

Clarence Garner (1892 -1968) joined the Mountaineers in 1920 and soon began a life of active participation in the Tacoma Branch. He served as a member on the Local Walks Committee in 1924, and in 1925 acted as camp helper on the summer outing that year. Thereafter he was a regular helper and/or assistant cook on at least 35 outings and was known for his yodeling at the rising call. He acted in camp skits and pantomimes, singing “Acres of Clams” and other favorites. He was a “Six-Peaker”, and climbed Mount Rainier four times, Mount Baker three, Mounts Baker and St.Helens each twice. An avid amateur photographer, his photographs began to be featured in the annuals in the 1930s. While the bulk of his output was concentrated on the Mountaineers, his interests were varied and included documenting the Seattle Symphony, of which he was a patron, Daffodil Parades, and the construction of the Narrows Bridge. A vice president of the Tacoma Branch in 1931, he served as president in 1943 after having been awarded the Acheson Cup for outstanding service in 1937. A Trustee three times in the late 1940s and 1950s, he served variously as chairman of the Special Outings, Music, and Photography Committees. After the Tacoma Clubhouse was built in the 1960s he was caretaker, and documented the construction of the climbing pylon there.

Born in Buckley, Washington, he lived in Tacoma with his widowed mother until her death in 1932. He remained single and retired from St. Regis Paper. He died in Tacoma at the age of 78, having been a Mountaineer for 48 years.


Curtis & Miller

Curtis & Miller was a Seattle photographic studio that was in business from 1914 to 1916. Its principals were Asahel Curtis (1874-1941) and Walter Miller (1876- 1938).

Asahel Curtis was the younger brother of photographer Edward Curtis. Born in Minnesota in 1874, he moved with his family to the Puget Sound area in 1888. By 1895 he was working in the photography business with his brother in Seattle. He represented his brother’s studio on a trip to the Yukon in 1897, bringing his glass plate equipment into the gold fields. On his return in 1899, he discovered that Edward had taken credit for the trip and some of the resulting photographs, and that led to their lifelong estrangement. He continued working as a photographer with various partners and established his own studio in 1920.

He summited Mount Rainier in 1905 and made an early ascent of Mount Shuksan in 1906. Curtis Glacier on Mount Shuksan and Camp Curtis and Curtis Ridge in Mount Rainier National Park are named for him. In November of 1906 Frederick Cook came to Seattle on his return from his purported first ascent of Denali (then Mount McKinley) and spoke inspiringly of his expedition. That same month Curtis participated in the first meetings that organized the Mountaineers, Cook attending one. In December 1906 the Mountaineers were formed, with a constitution and by-laws, and Asahel Curtis was elected to the board of trustees. He organized and led the first summer outing to Mount Rainier in 1909, and was in the party that brought a pennant from the Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Exposition to the summit.

His involvement with the establishment of Mount Rainier National Park resulted in a break with the Mountaineers, as his ideas for its development differed from theirs. He served as the official photographer for the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and chaired its Development Committee and Highway Committee for years. His studio continued to document people, companies, and features of the state until his death in 1941. 60,000 of his images are held by the Washington State Historical Society.

Walter P. Miller was born in Illinois, and was in Seattle by 1900 and working as a photographer. In 1903 he accompanied explorer Frederick Cook as photographer on his first expedition to Denali, then known as Mount McKinley. He participated again as photographer on the controversial second expedition in 1906, when Cook claimed to have reached the summit, a claim that is now discredited. After Curtis & Miller was dissolved, he continued in the photography business in Seattle on his own until at least 1935. He died of a heart attack on his yacht in Anacortes, Washington in 1938.

ASARCO

  • 2.4.1
  • Business
  • 1888-1993

In 1888, Dennis Ryan built a smelter on the Tacoma Waterfront of what would become the town of Ruston. Under the leadership of William Rust, the smelter, called the Tacoma Smelting & Refining Company, processed lead. Ran successfully by Rust until 1905, the smelter changed ownership and names when it was sold it to the Guggenheim brother’s company ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company) for $5.5 million dollars. In 1912, ASARCO transformed the plant from lead to primarily copper smelting and refining. ASARCO received a lease from the Port of Tacoma in the 1920’s to expand the plant, which contained multiple processing buildings and the smokestack.

The smokestack, an integral fixture in Ruston’s landscape, transformed over the years. In 1905, it measured at 307 feet tall, and following complaints, was raised to 571 feet in 1917 to disperse smoke higher in the air in order to mitigate its impact to the surrounding area. Ruston’s smokestack was the tallest chimney in the world at the time. However, in 1937, following damage from an earthquake, the stack measured 562 feet tall.

ASARCO owned and operated the smelter until 1985, when it shut down the Tacoma smelter due to the falling price of copper. The smelter played an important role in the economy of Ruston and the South Sound area. Tacoma News Tribune reports that, “the Asarco plant had employed more than 1,300 workers at its peak” [1]. and the Tacoma Daily Index reports that “for most of its years in operation, it provided about 40% of Ruston’s tax revenues” [2]. Additionally, the operation of the smelter created unique environmental impacts in the surrounding areas. Throughout the years of operation, the smelter emitted arsenic both into the air and the soil, and the refining process included pouring molten slag into commencement bay. This resulted in the smelter being designated as a federal superfund site in 1987 [3]. The Washington Department of Ecology explains, “In the mid-1990s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) required Asarco to start cleanup work in the Ruston/North Tacoma Study Area under the Superfund program” [4]. The process of this clean-up included demolishing the old smelter buildings, alongside replacing and capping the soil in and around the smelter site.

In January of 1993, in front of a crowd of nearly 100,000 onlookers, the smokestack was demolished with dynamite. The Tacoma News Tribune reported that, “The 75-year-old chimney was dropped in its tracks Sunday by strategically placed explosive charges that knocked away its underpinnings. Crushed by its own weight, the stack crumbled into a 250-foot-long pile of bricks, interspersed with metal bands and a few chunks of masonry up to 15 feet across” [5]. The demolition of the smokestack changed Ruston’s landscape as ASARCO continued the government-mandated clean-up process that would continue on for years. The Tacoma News tribune reports that, “In 2004, workers demolished the last building and finished burying the worst of the contaminated materials in a huge pit” [6]. Additionally, throughout this time, the neighborhoods and public parks in proximity to the smelter were being offered both soil testing and replacement. The Tacoma News Tribune reports that, “from 1993 to 2011, Asarco and the EPA lab-tested 3,570 properties’ soils for pollution, and 2,436 of them had at least a section of soil replaced” [7].

In addition to cleaning up yards, construction began in 2006 on the emerging commercial and residential hub of Point Ruston. Cleanup continued of the surrounding area, and Washington State received a settlement of $188.5 million from ASARCO’s bankruptcy claim in 2009, with $95 million initially set aside for the continued clean-up of the smelter [8]. In 2013, $5 million of these funds were put towards the Metro Trails Project, allowing for the contaminated soil to finish being capped, and the opening of the Dune Peninsula of Point Defiance Public Park opening in July 2019. Today, Point Ruston consists of restaurants, shops, residential facilities, and a walking path alongside Commencement Bay.

Fern Hill Parent Teacher Association

  • 4.3.6
  • Organization
  • 1911 - ?

The Fern Hill Parent Teacher Association was established in 1911 as a branch of the National Congress of Mothers. It backed projects such as upgrading the school water fountain and remodeling the school when the original structure was deemed "unsanitary." The PTA also voted on the measure of splitting up Fern Hill's school population into elementary and intermediate. Fern Hill was the only school within Tacoma Public Schools to have grades from kindergarten to eighth in one building. The PTA also helped to plant a tree celebrating the 100th anniversary of Tacoma Public Schools on Fern Hill property.

Winnifred Olsen

  • 4.3.5
  • Person
  • 1916-2011

Winnifred "Winnie" Olsen (nee Castle) was born on July 26, 1916 in Olympia, Washington. She attended and graduated from Washington State College (Washington State University) with a degree in sociology and journalism. She was involved in a number of organizations and causes including Red Cross, Girl Scouts, March of Dimes, United Good Neighbors, and many more. Winnie was also a writer and producer for a local Olympia Saturday morning radio show, “Mother Goose Radio Party”, from 1948 to 1957. Afterwards, she joined the Olympia High School PTA, City Council PTA, and the Citizens Advisory Council on Education.

She was also a member of the Olympia branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for 60 years and was its president for two years. Along with this involvement, Winnie also helped to organize the Thurston County Juvenile Protection Committee and the Olympia Panhellenic Association. She wrote for the Olympia chapters of the YWCA, League of Women Voters, and Junior Programs.

Her career with Tacoma Public Schools began in 1967 and ended with her retirement in 1984. During this time, she focused on creating material that highlighted marginalized groups in the Pacific Northwest. She compiled over 100 years of information about the history of the Tacoma Public Schools for research for her book, For the Record: A History of the Tacoma Public Schools, 1869-1984.

After her retirement in 1984, Winnifred went on to volunteer around Olympia, serving at the Timberland Library, Friends of the Library, Thurston County Historic Commission, Washington State School Retirees Association, and others. In 1997, the Bush Family Interpretive Park was dedicated partially due to her extensive research on the history pioneer George Bush.

Winnifred died at the age of 94 in Lacey, Washington. She was awarded the YWCA Lifetime Achievement, WSU Alumni of the Year, Olympia High School Alumni Hall of Fame, Alpha Gamma Delta Distinguished Citizen, Olympia City Council Historic Preservation Award.

Sutton, Whitney, and Dugan Architectural Firm

  • 2.2.2
  • Business
  • c. 1912-c.1973

The architectural firm of Albert Sutton and Harrison Allen Whitney operated in Portland, Oregon, from 1912-1950. After 1934 the firm name included Fred Aandahl, who had been a chief draftsman (1919-1923) and Associate (1923-1934). (1) The firm of Sutton, Whitney, and Dugan's projects included “the National Bank of Tacoma Building (1921), the W.R. Rust Building (1920), Scottish Rite Cathedral (1921), Annie Wright Seminary (1924), the campus of the College of Puget Sound (1923-1924; renamed the University of Puget Sound in 1960), and numerous residences.” (1) In 1927, a committee of Washington State architects for the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects conducted an architectural survey of all buildings in Tacoma. The committee presented awards to exceptional projects, and Sutton & Whitney received more than other Tacoma firms.(1) The highest Honor Award was given to the National Bank of Tacoma, and the College of Puget Sound and Annie Wright Seminary also received Honor Awards. “Sutton and Whitney received eleven awards from the committee for work ranging from commercial buildings to residences and schools.” (1)


Albert Sutton (1867-1923)
Albert Sutton was born on June 6, 1867, in Victoria, British Columbia; however, Sutton grew up in Portland, Oregon. (1) After attending the University of California Berkeley, he worked as a draftsman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1888 Sutton moved to Tacoma and formed a partnership with James Pickles. (1) Sutton and Pickles designed commercial buildings in Tacoma, including the “Sprague Block (1888); the Sprague Building (1980); the U.S. Post Office (1889); the Abbot Building (1889); the Uhlman Block (1889); the Baker Building (1889); the Wolf Building (1889); the Joy Block (1882); the Berlin Building (1892); the Dougan Block (1890); and the Holmes & Ball Furniture Co. (1890).” (1) The pair also designed the Wilson Hotel (1890) in Anacortes, but their partnership ended in 1893. (1)

Afterward, Sutton began a partnership with Ambrose J. Russell between 1893 and 1895. (1) After his partnership with Russell ended, Sutton moved to San Francisco and worked primarily with Charles Peter Weeks. The firm Sutton & Weeks was established around 1901 and lasted until 1910. (1) Sutton then returned to the Northwest and opened a practice in Hood River, Oregon. (1) He partnered with Harrison A. Whitney of Portland in 1912 and returned to Portland in 1916. Sutton returned to Tacoma in 1918 to establish a Tacoma branch of Sutton & Whitney with Earl A. Dugan as an associate. (1) Sutton was an American Institute of Architects (AIA) member and a Mason. On November 18, 1923 Albert Sutton passed away in Tacoma due to a heart attack. He was 56. (1)


Harrison Allen Whitney (1877-1962)
Harrison A. Whitney was originally from Iowa and was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Whitney worked in Boston and Chicago then moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1904 where he was head draftsman for Whidden & Lewis. While working for Whidden and Lewis, Whitney contributed designs for the Lewis and Clark Exposition and the Multnomah County Courthouse.(2) Whitney began partnering with Sutton in 1912.(2) When the firm of Sutton, Whitney, and Aandahl was dissolved in 1951, Whitney became the senior member of Whitney, Hinson, and Jacobsen.(3)


Earl Nathaniel Dugan (1877-1956)
Earl N. Dugan was born in Perry, Iowa and in 1906 he graduated from the University of Illinois. (4) Dugan worked in Chicago and San Francisco before moving to Tacoma to work as a draftsman in 1910. “Dugan exhibited a sketch of German city hall at the Seattle Architectural Club's 1910 Exhibition.” (5) Dugan partnered with Sutton and Whitney’s firm in 1922 and he also worked with Mock and Morrison. (4) Dugan was the founding member of the Tacoma Society of Architects and a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Washington State Chapter. (4)(5) He died at age 79 on 12/22/1956 in Seattle, WA. (5).


John H. Sutton
John H. Sutton was the son of Albert and Mary Sutton. He was born in Hood Canal, Oregon, and moved to Tacoma in 1920. (6) He graduated from Stadium High School and attended the University of Washington. Like his father, John H. Sutton worked as an architect, and in 1957 he designed the first addition to the Annie Wright Seminary since his father designed the building in 1924. (6) John H. Sutton was a member of the Tacoma Golf and Country Club, the Little Church on the Prairie, the American Institute of Architects, and the Tyee member of the University of Washington Alumni Association. He passed away on August 1, 1973. (6)

Tacoma Community House

  • CAC2002
  • Organization
  • 1910-

The Tacoma Community House was founded in 1910 under the name “Tacoma Settlement House” as a Methodist institution serving the children of the Hilltop neighborhood. Deaconesses Miss Chayer and Miss Branning offered educational and recreational activities for local children out of a rented home on South M Street beginning in 1913, later expanding the programs offered to serve adults as well. Early in the institution’s history, workers at Tacoma Settlement House supported recent Italian and Scandinavian immigrants in the area. In 1922, the name change to “Tacoma Community House” was finalized. The organization continued gearing its programs to recent immigrants, offering English language classes beginning the following year, and focusing much of its efforts in the 1960s and 1970s to accommodate incoming refugees and immigrants from Southeast Asia. As of 2022, the institution states it mainly focuses on immigration, housing, education, employment, and legal advocacy services.

Robert Ramsey

  • 3.6.4
  • Person
  • 1920-2006

Robert Wayne Ramsey was born on October 9, 1920, in Byron, Washington to farm owners Prentice and Della Ridout Ramsey. He participated in the National Guard and was called into service with the 161st Infantry at Camp Murray. He met his wife, Georgia Kathryn Hayner, and they married on December 24, 1940 before settling in the Olympia area. Ramsey held many jobs over the course of his life. He worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), served in World War II and the Korean War, taught floriculture at Oregon State University, served as president of Landscapers Northwest, as senior partner at Chaffee-Zumwalt & Associates design firm, a partner of Mann, Milegan, Morse & Ramsey in Seattle, and the manager of the Snake Lake Nature Center. While at the Snake Lake Nature Center, he helped to start the Junior Naturalist program.

After Ramsey retired, he continued to hold membership in many different groups and societies. Ramsey led hikes for the Boy Scouts of America and a member of the the Puget Sound Mycological Society, where he served as a board member from 1969 to 1974 and president from 1970 to 1972. He was also a member of the Tahoma Audubon Society, being a charter member from 1969 onwards, board member from 1969 to 1976, and president from 1973 to 1975 and again in 1983. He chaired the Nisqually River Basin Study from 1973 to 1974.

Robert Ramsey also was also given the title of Pierce County’s Resource Conservationist of the Year in 1972. He was also appointed to a statewide committee for non-point water pollution abatement planning from 1976 to 1981 and being a chairman for it from 1980 to 1981. He was also a member of the Pacific Northwest Key Council for scientific study, identification, and keys for northwest mushrooms from 1977 to 1997. He also served as a chairman for the McNeil Island Committee for conservation matters during its change from federal prison to state prison from 1979 to 1983. Ramsey was also an author, writing works such as “Two Steps to Destruction”, “Onsite Surface Water Management”, “Pathway Planning”, as well as preparing a hypothesis for the origin of the Mima Mounds found in Thurston County, WA from 1988 to 1992.

Society of Professional Graphic Artists

  • 3.2.1
  • Organization
  • 1955-

The Society of Professional Graphic Artists is a trade association for freelance graphic artists. The Seattle chapter was established in 1955 under the name Art Studio Association of Seattle. In 1972, the group renamed again to Professional Art Studio Association and become the Society of Professional Graphic Artists (SPGA) in 1974. SPGA members voted to join the Graphic Artists Guild in 1993, changing the final name to SPGA Seattle Chapter of the Graphic Artists Guild. The group hosted educational events and art showcases including ArtJam, an exhibit of local artists, and workshops on copyright law, royalty-free artwork, and how to attract more clients. The SPGA offered legal and health services to paying members and focused on fair business practices and ethics regarding treatment of independent artists.

Tacoma Ministerial Alliance

  • 3.7.2
  • Organization
  • 1883-

What is now the Tacoma Ministerial Alliance was first organized as the Tacoma Ministerial Union on June 11, 1883 at the First Presbyterian Church on Railroad Ave. The initial goal of this group was for evangelical clergy in Tacoma to come together for ‘fellowship, mutual encouragement, etc..’ (1) In the 1904-1905 Constitution and Roll of Members of the Ministerial Alliance of Tacoma, the object of the Alliance is “to promote Christian fellowship among the brethren and to advance the religious and moral interests of our City and State.” (2)

George Kupka

  • 6.1.10
  • Person
  • 1912-1989

George W. Kupka was born on July 3, 1912 in South Prairie, Washington. He held the title of Sheriff’s Deputy for Pierce County from 1934 to 1941. After this, he enlisted in the Navy during World War II. Before becoming a state legislator, Kupka was also a jeweler and worked in private construction. He was also a founder of the Bank of Tacoma. Kupka was elected to the House of Representatives in 1948 as a Democrat for Tacoma’s 27th District. He held this position until 1956 where he was elected to the Senate until 1968. During his time as an elected representative, he was chairman of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Licenses Committee, and the Interim Committee on Public Institutions and Youth Development. He was also a member of the Committee of Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance; Cities, Towns and Counties; Labor and Social Security; Liquor Control; State Government and Veterans Affairs, and Ways and Means; and Military Affairs, Civil Defense and Public Utilities. George Kupka died on December 30, 1989, at the age of 77.

Altrusa International Club of Tacoma

  • 3.4.4
  • Organization
  • 1938-?

Altrusa International Club was originally founded in 1917 in Tennessee. The purpose of Altrusa is to provide a location for women leaders in professions to work together to help their local community and world. Altrusa International Club of Tacoma was organized December 7th, 1938, and chartered April 26th, 1941. The group had biweekly meetings, starting in September of the year, and ending in July of the next year for the summer months. Lyle Ford Drushel, former Dean of Women at the College of Puget Sound was elected the first president of Altrusa in 1939. New leaders were elected at the end of every member year in June and July.

The women that were members of Altrusa were given roles to fulfill, such as President, Treasurer, Historian, Secretary, and others. These women organized different social engagements, dinners, and volunteer opportunities. Early on, Altrusa members focused on hosting dinners and fundraisers to donate money to organizations in need. Some examples of this are donating bone tools to Mary Bridge Hospital, purchasing war bonds, and donating money to UNICEF. Later in its history, Altrusa organized events and fundraisers to provide welcoming shelter for those affected by crime and homelessness, donated scholarships to college students in healthcare and education fields in the Tacoma/Pierce County area, and organized donation drives to help children access age-appropriate books.

Penelope Loucas

  • 3.5.4
  • Person
  • 1940-

Penelope H. Loucas was born in Roundup, Montana in 1940. She received her B.A. in English and French Literary Studies, as well as an M.A. and Fulbright Scholarship in Modern Greek Poetry and French Surrealism. She was appointed Curator of Exhibitions from 1988-1990 at the Tacoma Art Museum. She specialized in multi-cultural interdisciplinary studies and exhibitions including but not limited to: Modern and Contemporary Realism in the West, American, Asian and Canadian Contemporary ceramics, as well as Native American art. Much of her curatorial work looked at and promoted artists within the Northwest region of the United States.

From 1983-1985 she opened an art gallery in her own apartment, by the name of “The Upstairs Gallery” in Helena, Montana. She later took her curatorial experience to Tacoma where she owned and directed a similar “Penelope Loucas Gallery” apartment space from 1990-2007. Penelope was a part-time professor of Languages & Literature and Academic Writing for International Students at Pacific Lutheran University from 2003-2007. She also served as an adjunct professor at University of Washington from 2000-2003, as an Education Consultant at Clover Park Technical College in 1999 and lectured at the Evergreen State College in Summer 1991. At different points in her career she held many administrative positions, locally Director of the Tacoma Arts Commission, and a Grant Writer/Director of the Enumclaw Arts Commission.

Broadway Theater District Task Force

  • 3.5.10
  • Organization
  • 1989-?

The Broadway Theatre District Taskforce was established 1989 to “create and oversee the vision” of the Broadway Theatre District Campaign. The Broadway Theatre District Campaign began in 1988 as an initiative by the Executive Council for the City of Tacoma in order to establish permanent, modern facilities within which the Tacoma Actors Guild could operate. Inspired by the Portland Performing Arts Center, the goal of the campaign was to provide physical space for Tacoma’s cultural development and to help “revitalize” the downtown area per the 1987 American Cities Plan for the Central business District of the City of Tacoma. The plans included expanding the Pantages Theatre to include the adjacent Jones Building and the renovation of the entryway of the Pantages Theatre into an art gallery. The Rialto Theatre, built in 1918, was renovated by 1991, and the campaign also worked directly with Pierce Transit to incorporate public transport into the district. The Theatre on the Square Building was newly constructed during the project for the purpose of housing the Tacoma Actor’s Guild.

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