In November of 1939, Paul Roberts and Augusta C. Semmern offered Tacomans something other then turkey from the Thomsen's Health Foods booth at the second annual Show of Progress sponsored by the Tacoma Lions Club. A hungry shopper could buy a large, freshly prepared glass of raw vegetable juice, or take home canned soybeans, raw honey, or "meat substitute". Tacoma manufacturers and distributors of all kinds had displays at the trade show; nearly every article useful in the home could be viewed. The show of Progress was held in the old Sears building at the corner of Pacific and South 24th. The regular Thomsen's Health Food stand and restaurant, which was founded in 1928, was located in the Crystal Palace Public Market at South 11th and Market Streets. (TNT 11/13/1939 p.7)
Thomsen's Health Foods (Tacoma); Nutrition--Tacoma--1930-1940;
Four women gaze out upon a peaceful lily pond at "Thornewood," one of Lakewood's exquisite estates, located at 8601 North Thorne Lane SW. In 1930, Thornewood was voted by the Garden Club of America "the most beautiful formal garden in America." The 35 acre gardens were originally designed by the world famous Olmsted Brothers and were maintained by a full time staff of 28 gardeners. This garden and two others in Lakewood are part of a 1940 caravan tour sponsored by the Y.W.C.A.. The tour includes visits to "Dower Dell" at 7517 Dowerdell Lane SW and " Waloma,"` located at 12718 Gravelly Lake Drive SW. (T. Times 6/29/1940, p. 4).
Thornewood (Lakewood); Gardens--Lakewood--1940-1950; Lily ponds--Lakewood; Water gardens;
Winner of Mercury Automobile Contest in front of Titus Motor Company. Man hands envelope to another man across the hood of a 1940 Mercury. Leon Titus at far right. Titus Motor Co. was offering a special prize for gasoline economy. Beginning January 27, 1940, contestants could drive a special Mercury 8 equipped with a gasoline meter. First prize in the contest, 50 gallons of gasoline, would be awarded to the driver with the best mileage. The new Mercury 8 averaged 20 miles per gallon.
Titus Motor Co. (Tacoma); Titus, Leon E.; Mercury automobile; Contests;
Automobile hit by train which killed Mrs. Hull of Steilacoom. A small group of men and teenagers stand at the railroad crossing to the wharf and Steilacoom ferry dock where the accident occurred on November 27, 1939. Mrs. William A. Hull, wife of a McNeil Island federal penitentiary guard, died when the vehicle she was driving was struck by a Union Pacific freight train as it crossed the railroad tracks. The 40-year-old woman was thrown clear upon impact. She had been on her way to pick up her husband who was returning to the mainland from the island. Mrs. Hull was thought to have been driving slowly and possibly did not see the train in time. (TNT 11-28-1939, p. 1-article & alt. photograph)
Traffic accidents--Steilacoom; Railroad accidents--Steilacoom; Railroad crossings--Steilacoom; Hull, William A.--Family;
Scene of traffic accident for insurance claim #700648, Allstate Insurance Company. Highway where road Ys into another road. Houses in background. Sign reads : "The Rosebud Groceries & Notions." This scene was photographed on April 24, 1940.
Although threatened with both humiliation and physical harm by his fraternity brothers, Herman Kleiner survived "Hell Night" at the College of Puget Sound and became a member of Delta Kappa Phi. In this photograph from December of 1939, Johnnie Esthen (left) and Norman Burke force young Mr. Kleiner to board a Tacoma bus dressed in little more then a barrel. Kleiner went on to graduate from CPS in 1943 with a major in Sociology.
Universities & Colleges--Tacoma--1930-1940; College of Puget Sound (Tacoma); Hazing; Fraternities & sororities--Tacoma--1930-1940; Buses--Tacoma--1930-1940;
Ruling over the merriment at the College of Puget Sound May Day Festival in 1940 was Queen Ruth, center, and her attendants; photographed here near the Seymour Conservatory in Wright Park. Pictured, left to right, are Doris Grandlund,attendant; Queen Ruth Raymond; and Beulah Eskildsen, attendant. On campuses across the country, May Day was celebrated on the first day of the month of May. (T.Times, 5/1/1940, pg. 1).
Universities & colleges--Tacoma--1940-1950; College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1940-1950; May Day--Tacoma; Wright Park (Tacoma); Parks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Grandlund, Doris; Raymond, Ruth; Eskildsen, Beulah; Seymour Conservatory (Tacoma);
New Bremerton-Tacoma bus. Three men, including bus driver, standing inside bus garage next to new bus signed: Bremerton-Tacoma Stages. Curtains on windows, blunt front end with open radiator grill. Ordered by Shaub-Ellison.
The gang at Walt's Lunch poses in their Jubilee hats. Tacoma had so much fun at the 1939 Golden Jubilee, that when it came time to celebrate the opening of the Narrows Bridge and McChord Field; they dusted off their Jubilee bonnets, changed the hat bands and prepared to party all over again. The souvenir hat bands were imprinted with a picture of the bridge and the dates of the celebration, 6/30-7/4/1940.
Wauna Club dance at Winthrop Hotel. Enjoying the "Hia-Wauna" party on January 27, 1940 were Mr. and Mrs. Harold Johnson and Mr. and Mrs. Herman Brandes. The couples are dressed in formal attire for this special evening. (T.Times 2-3-1940, p. 4)
Boats at Western Boat Building Company and Standard Oil Company in photograph dated May 8, 1940. Left to right: "Western Pacific," "St. Francis," "Clipper" and "Stanford." Buildings in background.
Western Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Standard Oil Co. of Tacoma (Tacoma); Boats--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Clemens Bauer, 76 years old, posed with a bouquet of wild hyacinths on May 18, 1940. The wildflowers are rare in this state and Bauer wouldn't revealing where he found them. He would only say that they grew in a swamp region near Fife. They were in bloom about two weeks earlier than usual. Mr. Bauer was the proprietor of the Butler Hotel, 824 A St., for 35 years until his death June 1, 1941. He had no known relatives in the area. He had fled to the United States from service in the German army in 1889, ending up in Tacoma in 1901. (T. Times 5/23/1940, pg. 13)
An unidentified man is pictured on April 9, 1940 checking out some of the 71 wooden reels waiting at a North Puyallup storage yard. Each spool weighs 5,000 pounds and each contains some 4,000 feet of aluminum wire, roughly enough to span 55 miles. These Bonneville Dam power transmission wires are awaiting arrival of insulator and steel tower shipments before contracts wil be let to bring federal power to Pierce County. Construction of the federal power transmission line was expected to start in the summer of 1940 and would link Bonneville with the Tacoma and Seattle municipal power systems. (T. Times 4-11-40, p. 8)
Narrows Bridge - McChord Field Celebration. "Legion of 40 et 8" (World War I Veterans) mock jail and courtroom on flatbed truck parked in front of The Fisher Company store, July 1, 1940. Another scofflaw "faces the music" as he pays the penalty for not wearing a Celebration Hat. He will probably join fellow citizens "arrested" for disobeying the "law" in the make-shift pen. A large crowd casts amused looks at the good-natured foolery; this was part of the celebration surrounding the grand openings of both the (first) Narrows Bridge and McChord Field.
World War, 1914-1918--Veterans--Tacoma; Veterans organizations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Signs (Notices); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; American Legion (Tacoma); 40 et 8 auxiliary (Tacoma);
Y.M.B.C. Narrows Bridge Committee. Club members may have looked deep into their closets to find the variety of hats worn in this June 25, 1940, photograph. Ten-gallon, sombreros, top hats and skipper's caps are worn jauntily by the Young Men's Business Club. Each year they held a Water Carnival at Point Defiance; in 1940, the date of the carnival was set for Sunday, June 30th, the day before the grand opening of the first Narrows Bridge and several days before the opening of the nation's newest airbase, McChord Flying Field. The Y.M.B.C. was a service organization who was heavily involved in community affairs; they would also sponsor the last ferry ride on the Kalakala, July 2nd, which would carry nearly 1400 people over the two routes to be discontinued by the opening of the Narrows Bridge. (TNT 6-28-40, p. 21)
Young Mens Business Club (Tacoma); Clubs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Community service--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hats--1940-1950;
Boys who build. 1940 welding class at Lincoln High School. Lincoln High School senior Paul Yurisich, face hidden behind a safety shield, is busily welding a piece of steel with an electric arc welding machine constructed by fellow student Melvin Nelson and himself. Melvin and Paul have built 22 arc welders with a total value of some $4,000 to equip all the industrial art shops at school and a few private customers. Paul Yurisich, the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Yurisich, would be graduating from Lincoln in June of 1940. (T.Times 4-24-1940, p. 13-- alt. photo)
Yurisich, Paul; Lincoln High School (Tacoma); Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Welding; Vocational education--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Members of the Tacoma Orthopedic Association held numerous events to raise funds for the Orthopedic Clinic at Tacoma General Hospital and a future medical facility devoted entirely to children. One such event was a large garden sale in 1940. Shown here are young orthopedic patients Dale Little, Donald Hart and Edward Lynam with customer Blanche (Mrs. Frederick) Pflaum and members Martha (Mrs. John F.) Davidson and Kath (Mrs. John) Mueller (left to right). (T. Times, 3/9/1940, p. 5)..
Fisk Flag and Decorating Company truck advertising "Customers of Cities". Night scene of men on truck parked in front of building. One man is holding a triangular sign with the new Narrows Bridge and the words " Welcome".
Flaming Geyser Park. Series of pools embedded with river rocks. Water spouting from pools and small waterfalls moving water from level to level. Lawns and trees in background.
American Manufacturing Company negatives. Two men on joists for flooring; several different heights of floors; triangular roof joists in background. American Manufacturing Co. was located in Tacoma at 2123 Pacific Ave. They built elevators. (filed with Argentum)
Studio photography of a new boot by Bone Dry Shoe Co., shot for advertising purposes. The instep of the boot has a plate with sharp points, probably intended for gripping or assuring sure footing. The Tacoma company was best known for making sturdy, long lasting boots and still employed skilled shoemakers.
Vats at Cammarano Brothers. The Cammarano Brothers were bottlers of beer and other carbonated beverages. Four brothers owned and operated the facility, Phillip J., James J., and William B., and Edward J. Cammarano. (filed with Argentum)
