Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
D13509-11
Date(s)
- 1942-10-07 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
In October of 1942, the driver of a 1942 De Soto convertible stood behind the steering wheel of his car and watched in amazement as a team of nine women service attendants at the Maxwell Super Service Station at 910 Puyallup Avenue completely encircled his car. Dressed in neat white blouses and dark slacks, they filled the car's gas tank, added air in his tires, checked under the hood, and polished his headlights. One almost invisible attendant even got into the front seat and dusted off the dashboard. The war was on and many Tacoma men were either in uniform or were working in the defense industries, such as the shipyards. Women entered the work force, taking over what had traditionally been male jobs. When the Maxwell Super Service Station on Puyallup opened in February of 1941, advertised as the "nation's first all glass service station," it employed twenty men as service attendants. The 1942 De Soto had concealed headlights called "airfoil lights."
World War, 1939-1945--Women--Tacoma; Automobile service stations--Tacoma--1940-1950; De Soto automobiles; Maxwell Super Service Station (Tacoma);