C.H. Ranschler, Superintendent of Elections, taught new voter Clara Hill how to use a voting machine in anticipation of the Primary Elections taking place in February of 1926. A record voter turnout, estimated to exceed 30,000, was expected at Tacoma's 101 polling places. At stake were the elections of the mayor and two City Councilmen. Five candidates had thrown their hats into the ring for the mayoral election and the two with the most votes in the February 23rd primary would run head-to-head in the March general election. Likely taken on the 2nd floor of the Old City Hall building.TPL-3206 (TNT 2/22/1926, pg. 16)
German sailor Carl Lischke died in Tacoma on March 17, 1934, during the visit of his ship, the "Karlsruhe." Sadly, the package lovingly sent to him by his fiance so far away contained tainted fish. Lischke died of food poisoning. His funeral was at Mountain View Cemetery where he was interred. Members of Tacoma's Disabled American Veterans, Post No. 1, pledged to care for his grave.
Hyde, Beulah L. (Mrs. Robert), artist. Mrs. Hyde was a well-known, award winning Tacoma area painter who exhibited her work at many shows primarily in the late 1940s to the mid-1950s. Her husband, Robert, was the founder of West Coast Grocery. She is photographed here at the preview of the December Tacoma Art League show on November 28, 1954. Mrs. Hyde, whose paintings were signed B.L. Hyde, was the guest that evening of the Delta Phi Delta, College of Puget Sound art honorary. A special exhibit of her paintings, one of which is pictured above, was shown along with other Tacoma-owned work. Mrs. Hyde, a native of Kansas, came to the Tacoma area when she was 10. She was a graduate of Annie Wright School (then Seminary) and attended Abbott Academy in Andover, Mass. Mrs. Hyde died at age 96 in January of 1983. She was a longtime patron of the Tacoma Art Museum and a member of the Tacoma Country & Golf Club. (TNT 11-28-1954; TNT 1-21-1983, obit.)
ca. 1880. Henry Drum was elected mayor of Tacoma on May 1, 1888. Mayor Drum, a prominent banker and staunch Democrat, defeated A.C. Smith by a majority of 52 votes out of a total of 1,712. Mr. Drum had arrived in New Tacoma only five years before his mayoral election and had immediately immersed himself in the business and social functions of this growing city. He was a stockholder and director in many businesses including the Skagit Railway & Lumber Co., Fidelity Trust Co., and Tacoma Lumber & Manufacturing Co. as well as one of the organizers of the First Unitarian Society in Tacoma and was an active Mason. Mr. Drum served one term as mayor, choosing not to run for re-election. He became the only Democrat elected to the first state Senate and served several terms. This picture is from William F. Prosser's "A History of the Puget Sound Country" The Lewis Publishing Company, 1903. opp p.96 (North Pacific History Co.: History of the Pacific Northwest, p. 307-309) ALBUM 16. Also G1.1-055
Rasmus P. Rasmussen and his West End Fuel Co. served Tacoma's West End and Day Island areas from 1913 to 1935. In the 1920s, Rasmussen advertised "dependable delivery" of fuelwood on the side of this Mack truck which is equiped with chain-driven spoke wheels.
Drawing of the modern English-styled home of John H. Abeel. The circa 1927 Stadium area residence was located at 815 No. G St. and was designed by the architectural firm of Heath, Gove & Bell. The lstately arge home had three levels and a basement.
Undated photograph by Chapin Bowen of Mobilgas station, seller of Norwalk Tires, located on Meridian Avenue South at Fourth Street, S. E., Puyallup. Mohr's Sausage truck is parked at the three pumps.
Foundation Co., Yard #4, located on the Tacoma Tideflats - Rigger Storage and Water Tank, May 10, 1918. The Riggers Store House measured 32' x 27'6", 14' high, 880 sq. feet and built at a cost of $250. The water tank cost $1241 to build and consisted of a 25' diameter tank 16' high and a 26 x26 platform, 18' high. Due to the fact that most of the machinery was steam driven, an abundance of water was very important.
Women are pictured hard at work at their sewing machines in this undated photograph by photographer Chapin Bowen of the Shull-Day, later Day's Tailor-d, Clothing Co. They are surrounded by piles of the finished product, men's trousers. The company, founded by Frank Eugene Day in 1902, became the Northwest's largest manufacturer of trousers. The company perfected the assembly line where over 33 different types of sewing machine performed one function each, with the pants product being passed between the machines until completed. TPL-9501, BOWEN 2657
A Medosweet milkman, carrying a load of bottles, is on his way to deliver milk on this sunny morning in this undated Chapin Bowen photograph. He has parked his small insulated truck and left the door ajar. Medosweet Dairies, a merger of the Royal Ice Cream & Milk Co. and the Producers Dairy, had a modernized plant located at South 25th & Pacific Avenue. It emphasized its pure milk products and adherence to strict standards of cleanliness as far back as 1928. Medosweet had a laboratory, the first of its kind in Tacoma, to guarantee the highest quality of their products, including milk, cream and buttermilk. The company's pasterurized milk was delivered to home and chosen grocers the same day it was brought in by the firm's selected producers. Customers could be assured that their milk was fresh.
Wreck of Gig Harbor bus. This undated photograph by Chapin Bowen shows that a bus has apparently swerved off the road and plunged through a wooden guardrail. The Gig Harbor bus' rear wheels remain on the road. (damaged negative) G72.1-138
This undated photograph featuring the Corner Club Girls rolling down Broadway at 9th Street is most probably of the historical pageant parade presented Labor Day 1934. The costumed lovelies are from Pioneer Days and are festooned in ruffles, bonnets and parasols. The Tacoma Corner Club was formed by Mrs. Percy C. Smith who served as advisor and was fondly referred to as "Mother Smith." The women of the Tacoma Corner Club hosted dinners, dances, plays, took classes in bookkeeping, first aid, shorthand, the Bible, among others, and supported one another. They presented a flag to the State Historical Society in 1933. The original club was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1917. (Additional information provided by a reader)
Undated photograph of a very large group of children and a few adults who had apparently taken a special excursion. Three buses in background. Location unknown. Due to clothing styles, this photograph may have been taken roughly in the 1920s or 30's.
This is the 185-yard par 3 8th hole on the Fircrest Golf Club Course as it appeared in the 1920's. In the background on a hill is a water tower which has since been replaced by a larger, modern tank. Situated on 160-acres in the heart of the small city, the private golf club opened in July of 1924 with nine of the planned 18 holes available. The second nine holes would be put into use by the summer of 1925. (Additional information provided by a reader)
Undated photograph by Chapin Bowen of a Mobilgas station that also served lunches and where groceries could be purchased. The automobile service station was located in Riffe, Washington, southwest of Morton in south central Lewis County. The town of Riffe no longer exists. It was buried with the construction of Mossyrock Dam.
Undated photograph by Chapin Bowen of Mobilgas station, seller of Norwalk Tires, located on Meridian Avenue South at Fourth Street, S. E., Puyallup. Mohr's Sausage truck is parked at the three pumps.
Stan's Corner. Mobilgas. Waller Road at 96th Street, Tacoma. The service station, in this undated photograph, had three gas pumps. In addition, Stan's Corner sold groceries for the passing motorist.
Undated photograph by Chapin Bowen of a Mobilgas station that also served lunches and where groceries could be purchased. The automobile service station was located in Riffe, Washington, southwest of Morton in south central Lewis County. The town of Riffe no longer exists. It was buried with the construction of Mossyrock Dam.
ca. 1909. Delegates to the first annual convention of the Washington State Humane Society posed for a group portrait in 1909. The eleven women and twenty-two men were photographed outside the Lou Johnson Co. store, 940-42 South C (now Broadway), in downtown Tacoma.
Stan's Corner. Mobilgas. Waller Road at 96th Street, Tacoma. The service station, in this undated photograph, had three gas pumps. In addition, Stan's Corner sold groceries for the passing motorist.
Undated photograph of Mobilgas station located at Legion Way and Jefferson Street, Olympia, Washington. Two old cars parked near open bay. Norwalk tires were sold at this station. Ed Whitney was the independent dealer.
Undated photograph of Mobilgas station located at Legion Way and Jefferson Street, Olympia, Washington. Two old cars parked near open bay. Norwalk tires were sold at this station. Ed Whitney was the independent dealer.
Old St. Louis Tavern, 1110 Commerce St., Tacoma. Interior showing four men standing behind bar on December 15, 1946. Large mural of three horses on grassy land above bar. See TPL, image 6924 for view of bar without bartenders. For Bruno Lavorini.
Built in 1902, and originally the home of the Stilson-Kellogg Shoe Company, this building at 108-16 East 26th St. became the new home of the Brown & Haley Candy Company in June, 1919. Harry L. Brown & Jonathan Clifford Haley formally organized the Brown & Haley Candy Co. in 1914 with Haley as president and chief salesman, and Brown as general manager and chief candy formulator. Harry Brown created the company's unique "English Toffee," later given the brand name "Almond Roca," in 1923. This photograph dates from 1948.
ca. 1949. Called both a "wonder of the age" and "an architectural monstrosity" the old Pierce County Court House stood at 1012 South G Street just northeast of the Armory. Modeled after the courthouse in Pittsburgh, PA, the brick walls were faced with stone quarried in Tenino and sandstone from Wilkeson. Included in the building plans were secret stairways, hideouts, a hanging room and dungeons that would have done credit to a 15th century castle. The four clock faces in the tower were each 8 feet in diameter and had concealed lights which enabled Tacomans to read the time by day or night. The county commissioner moved his offices in the as yet unfinished building on June 21, 1893. It was demolished in 1959. (TNT 4/7/1959 p. C-16) Bowen # 1062-1
ca. 1948. This photograph, taken in 1948, shows Engine No. 903 of the Tacoma Municipal Beltline Railway. In January of 1948, Tacoma bought two almost new 65-ton diesel locomotives through the War Assets Administration. The Beltline Railroad was able to buy both locomotives from the federal government for only $41,000. They had originally cost over a quarter of a million dollars. (TNT 01/14/1948 p.14)
Candy product display by Harry Brown Confections. A gift box of assorted Brown delicacies, including chocolates, pecan caramel, Parisian Cream and Almond Omega. In 1944, the Haley family bought out the Brown family's interest in Brown & Haley. Harry Brown then formed his own company, working with his son Alvin and his brother Charles, his partner for over 30 years. He opened a plant at 1932 Pacific Ave.
