Mess tents pitched on the old Central School playgrounds across from the Armory as cooks prepare to feed the men of the second battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry called out to control the violence associated with the 1935 Lumber workers' strike. In June of 1935, the mills in Tacoma and surrounded areas attempted to reopen with workers willing to return to work. Violence erupted between the returning workers and the strikers. Governor Clarence Martin ordered the Guard in on June 23rd, 1935 after reports that local authorities were unable to handle the situation. It was the second time the Guard was ordered out since the World War, the other two times being in 1919 and 1933. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Soldiers from the 161st Infantry of the Washington National Guard patrol the Tideflats during the Lumber worker's strike of 1935. In June of 1935, the mills of Tacoma and surrounding areas were attempting to reopen after petitions circulated stating that over 60 % of the work force was willing to return. Governor Clarence Martin promised protection to the mills and workers and called in the Guard to patrol the Tideflats and guard the entrances into the industrial area. They also accompanied returning workers on the main thoroughfares into the area. The troops totalled over 500 by June 25th and came from Yakima, Prosser, Pullman and Walla Walla. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Members of the 2nd battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry lounge on the ground, or stand in line with their mess kits, preparing to eat at the temporary mess tents set up on the old Central School playground. The Guard was called into Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin on June 23rd, 1935 to control the violence associated with the lumber workers' strike. The soldiers were stationed at the Armory and their mess tents set up in this nearby playground. The lumber and sawmill workers' strike started on May 6th and was settled August 2nd, 1935. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

When the attempts in June of 1935 of workers to return to the striking mills erupted in violence, Governor Clarence Martin ordered in the Washington National Guard late Sunday night, June 23, 1935. The guards were whisked from Camp Murray to Tacoma in 16 trucks. Their job was to protect the returning workers and the mills. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

A young boy poses by the chain link fence of the old Central School playgrounds where mess tents have been erected to feed the more than 500 members of the 2nd battalion of the 161st Infantry of the Washington National Guard called out to Tacoma to restore peace during the 1935 Lumber workers' strike. The Guard was stationed at the nearby Armory. The troops had been in training at Camp A.H. Hankins at Camp Murray for the past two weeks when they were deployed to Tacoma. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Chief of Police Harold Bird poses with an officer of the Washington National Guard, deployed to Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin to restore the peace during the 1935 lumber workers' strike. In June of 1935, as some workers prepared to return to the reopened mills, their efforts were met with violence. Returning workers were threatened, beaten, their homes and vehicles bombed and vandalized. Local authorities were unable to stop the violence. The Guard was called in to protect the workers and the mills. The strikers and sympathizers were joined in their protests by those who resented the armed troops in their midst. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

A spectacular five-hour blaze gutted the Day Island plant of the Clear Fir Lumber Co. on the evening of October 18, 1934. It was the fifth major industrial fire in the Tacoma area in the past 24 days. The sawmill and dry kilns were destroyed but the door factory adjoining the sawmill was saved. Losses were conservatively estimated at $300,000 which included 3,000,000 feet of finished lumber and 170,000 feet of valuable ship decking. Six Tacoma fire companies and the city fireboat battled the blaze of undetermined origin which had begun near the boiler room. The reddened skies made the fire visible for many miles and attracted a crowd of about 10,000 on the hillside roads on three sides of the flaming plant. Another 15,000 viewed the fire from a variety of locations. The mill had begun operations in 1912 and was incorporated in 1916 as Clear Fir Lumber Co. Lately 250 men had worked there. Plans to rebuild were not immediately announced. BU-12606 (T.Times 10-19-34, p. 1-article; TNT 10-19-34, p. 1,11- alt. photograph)

Mill workers, accompanied by Washington National Guardsmen, stand at the side of the road preparing to cross the Eleventh Street Bridge into the Tideflats to report to work. A second group of men appears to be standing just ahead, possibly strikers gathering to heckle the workers. In June of 1935, workers attempting to return to work at the reopening mills were subjected to extreme violence and threats. Governor Clarence Martin ordered the second battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry to Tacoma on June 23, 1935 to protect the returning workers and the mills. The guardsmen were armed with smoke, tear and nausea gas bombs, rifles, bayonets and ammunition. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Members of the Washington National Guard are loaded up in trucks and preparing to return to downtown Tacoma from the industrial Tideflats across the Eleventh Street Bridge. The second battalion of the Guards' 161st Infantry was mobilized to Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin when workers attempting to return to work during the Lumber workers' strike met with violence. Their job was to protect the workers and the mills. They were stationed at the Armory and patrolled the Tideflats and all bridges and roads into the area. The Eleventh Street bridge has roadblocks on all but one lane, so that vehicles could be searched. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

ca. 1935. Workers coming through the gate at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. mill in Tacoma, 1220 Saint Paul Ave., around 1935. The mill was established in 1888 on a tideflat island called the "Boot," which lay between the two principal outlets of the Puyallup River. The mill began operation in April of 1889. Production rose until, by 1940, the mill claimed the largest daily production in the world.