Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
D644-1
Date(s)
- 1936-01 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
In January of 1936, William T. "Tom" Lane, the Metropolitan Park District's blacksmith, was photographed with one of his inventions, a complex device for sharpening stakes. Thousands of wooden stakes were used each year by the Tacoma Parks. In 1936, Mr. Lane made all of the materials used in the park system. When needed, he also invents tools and machinery to use in their construction. He received his early training in England and in 1889, sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco and spent years travelling around the Southwest. He shod stage coach horses for twenty years in Wyoming. In May of 1919, he drifted to Tacoma and took a security job at Point Defiance. He gradually became the park's full time machinist and carpenter. (T. Times 2/4/1936 p.9).
Lane, William T.; Blacksmiths--Tacoma; Blacksmithing--Tacoma--1930-1940;