Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
D13060-1
Date(s)
- 1942-07-03 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
On Friday July 3rd, 1942, Tacoma Mayor Harry P. Cain and his wife Marjorie got up early to practice their berry picking skills in a neighbor's back yard. They were preparing spend the 4th of July weekend picking raspberries in the Puyallup Valley. The forced evacuation of Japanese-Americans in the spring led to a labor shortage in the fields and all local citizens were asked to help the war effort by volunteering on the Independence Day weekend to harvest the ripe raspberry crops. Mayor Cain suggested that Tacomans pack a lunch, make some lemonade, load up the kiddies and make the harvesting a family affair. He stated that "You couldn't possibly find a better way of living up to the true meaning of Fourth of July. Let's all celebrate it that way." (T. Times 7/3/1942, pg. 1)
Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Cain, Marjorie Dils, 1908-1994; Harvesting;