ca. 1908. Yakima Ave.-Center Street tunnel - Union Pacific Railroad (from copy negative). The first Holy Rosary Church, a wooden structure, is in the background. This is the site of the planned Union Pacific Railroad 8,600-foot tunnel circa 1908. Construction began about 1909 but abruptly halted the following year and was not resumed. It was thought that water conditions may have caused the stoppage. The abandoned tunnel was discovered in 1959 when drilling equipment involved in the construction of the Yakima Street Bridge broke into the tunnel.

Railroad tunnels--Tacoma; Union Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma); Holy Rosary Church (Tacoma);

ca. 1910. Yakima Ave./Center St. tunnel. Drilling equipment involved in the construction of the Yakima Ave. Bridge in 1959 opened an abandoned railroad tunnel just beyond Yakima Avenue and Center Street. The tunnel was begun by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1909 but construction abruptly stopped the next year and never started again. It is possible that water conditions caused the halt of the planned 8,600 foot tunnel. The tunnel was believed to be about 26-feet high and about 100 feet below the present street grade. Questions arose later regarding what, if anything, was used to back-fill the tunnel with cord wood and dirt mentioned as possible solutions. Discovery of the abandoned tunnel did not ultimately stymie the building of the 1.3 million dollar bridge; it would be dedicated in September of 1961. G45.1-007 (TNT 7-2-59-article; TNT 7-5-59-article)

Railroad tunnels--Tacoma;

In the foreground is the pond to the right of the pergola at the Sheridan Street entrance to Wapato Park. The pergola was built as part of a WPA project in the mid to late 1930s. At that time, they built three entrances, improving the one at Wapato Lake Drive and 64th, and adding one at S. Sheridan Ave and S. 72nd Street.

The Clan Gordon Pipe Band was founded in 1955 with support from the Clan Gordon Lodge of Scottish Clans. The original band consisted of seven pipers and four drummers led by pipe major John Montgomery. First limited to Scottish males, today band membership is open to anyone with an interest in Scottish music. The act is a traditional favorite in the Daffodil Parade and other community events. The group posed for this photograph in 1958.

What better way to introduce visitors to the Northwest's scenic beauty than a relaxing cruise on Commencement Bay? Mayor Ben Hanson (2nd from left) welcomed the delegation from Tacoma's Japanese sister city on July 16, 1959. Kokura (now part of Kitakyushu), Japan became Tacoma's first sister city on July 2, 1959. Tiachung, Taiwan became Tacoma's ninth sister city in May 2000. ALBUM 16. Trueblood #81.

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hanson, Ben; Delegations--Japanese; Foreign visitors--Japan; Boats;

The health science instructors at Lincoln High School were teaching a progressive curriculum in March 1960. Students were exploring the nutritional benefits of algae years before the current craze for "health" foods. Two Lincoln students pose with a plate of freshly baked algae cookies. No fooling - seaweed cookies are good for you! Linda Chromage is at left.

Lincoln High School (Tacoma); Students--Tacoma--1960-1970; Cookies--Tacoma; Nutrition--Tacoma; Chromage, Linda;

Bricks for South Tacoma Library

Woodworth & Co. workers are dwarfed by the size of concrete beams spanning Wakefield Drive (South Tacoma Way) and Center Street. The Yakima Avenue Bridge is under construction after voters approved a $1.5 million dollar bond to finance the project. Designed by Horace Whitacre, the new Tacoma bridge is the highest pre-stressed concrete span in Washington State. The steeple of Holy Rosary Church can be seen in the background. Trueblood #451.

Bridge construction--Tacoma; Structural frames; Girders; Concrete; Scaffolding; Woodworth & Co. (Tacoma); Yakima Avenue Bridge (Tacoma); Whitacre, Horace;

On April 12, 1961, former mayor "Big John" Anderson, Mayor Ben Hanson, and Chamber of Commerce president Herbert F. Syford examined the 36' totem pole which had been carved and painted as a gift to the City of Kokura, Japan, from its sister city, Tacoma. The totem pole was on display at the Narrows fire station on Sixth Avenue. The cedar log was donated by Cascade Pole Co. and hauled to the 9th & A fire station headquarters where it was carved and painted by Stadium High School English teacher, Bud Cairns. Only the lower part of the totem pole is seen in the above photograph; characters representing Tacoma's seaport and lumber industries, forest products, commercial fishing, boating, water sports, and rich agriculture in addition to a sketch of the Narrows Bridge, were all found on the totem. "Big John" Anderson led a tour group to Japan in June, 1961, where he expected to present the totem pole, however, due to shipping difficulties, the totem did not actually arrive in Kokura until August. The U.S. Marines came to the rescue by delivering the approximately 2,500 pound totem in a R4Q "Flying Box Car" to Kokura. (TNT 9-24-61, TNT 4-16-61, TNT 3-5-61)

Totem poles--Tacoma; Anderson, John H.; Hanson, Ben; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Syford, Herbert;

An old tenement building, scheduled for demolition, was used for training purposes by the Tacoma Fire Department as a practice burn in April of 1961. Eleven small fires were set, then put out, before the building was allowed to burn down. Fifteen fire departments from King and Pierce Counties participated in the day-long training exercise. attracting crowds of curious onlookers. (TNT, 4/17/1961, p. 1) Trueblood #459

Tacoma Fire Department (Tacoma); Abandoned buildings--Tacoma; Building deterioration--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Mayor Ben Hanson met with four representatives of the Trade Fair on May 19, 1961. The women are wearing the costumes of their native lands, including Japan, the Philippines, and Europe. World Trade Week would be celebrated May 21-27th in 1961. TRUEBLOOD 482A

Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hanson, Ben; Guests--Tacoma--1960-1970; Costumes;

Mayor Ben Hanson gestures as his visitor, L. Shukin of Turkey, watches on the grass outside the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Avenue South, on July 10, 1961. The mayor may have been pointing toward the old Central School building further up the street. TRUEBLOOD 524

Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hanson, Ben; Shukin, L.; Foreign visitors--Turkey;

Mayor Ben Hanson welcomes Brazilian labor leaders to Tacoma on July 31, 1961, with a firm handshake and the key to the city. Ten labor leaders were visiting Tacoma for one week to learn about collective bargaining and union contracts. While in Tacoma, the visitors talked to labor, city and school officials and toured industrial plants and civic installations. Mayor Hanson had been elected mayor by the city council in 1958 and then elected by the people of Tacoma in a charter change. ALBUM 16. (TNT 7-31-61, p. 1-article)

Hanson, Ben; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Shaking hands--Tacoma; Foreign visitors--Brazil;

Mayor Ben Hanson presented Dr. Saburo Tomita, director of the Kokura, Japan, Hospital, with a key to the city on September 28, 1961, in front of Tacoma General Hospital. Kokura is Tacoma's sister city. Dr. Tomita delivered a letter of greeting and gift from Kokura Mayor Nobuo Hayashi and in return, received a key to the city from Mayor Hanson. From L-R are Sylvia Sass and Dr. David H. Johnson of the Sister City Committee, Dr. Tomita, Dr. Sumiho Wada, Mayor Hanson and Thomas Takemura. Dr. Tomita had toured Tacoma General the previous day and had visited Mountain View General Hospital on the 28th. (TNT 9-28-61)

Hanson, Ben; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tomita, Saburo; Foreign visitors--Japan; Keys (Hardware); Sass, Sylvia; Johnson, David H.; Wada, Sumiho; Takemura, Thomas;

Kokura, Japan, one of Tacoma's sister cities, sent a miniature Shinto shrine to the City of Tacoma in 1961 as a token of their friendship. Toyosuke Nogami, a resident of Kokura, was commissioned to hand-carve the shrine; he journeyed to the Japan Alps to select the best Japanese cypress for the job. When it arrived, the shrine was put on display in the "solarium" adjacent to the second floor lobby of the County-City Building. The elaborately carved shrine also included a gate and two lantern posts which were damaged slightly during shipping. A terrace behind the Washington State Historical Society museum on Stadium Way was chosen as the permanent site of the shrine. It was dedicated there in May, 1962. Pictured above with the Shinto shrine are Sylvia Sass (kneeling, center left) and Thomas Takemura (kneeling, center right) of the Sister City Committee.

Shrines--Tacoma; Wood carvings; Sass, Sylvia; Takemura, Thomas;

Three young men from Kitakyushu University, the sister university of the University of Puget Sound, receive keys to the City of Tacoma from Mayor Ben Hanson on November 8, 1961. Hiromi Yokota, Shinichi Tanaka and Kazama Tsunomachi were paying a two-week visit to Tacoma. When they departed on November 16, the visitors were presented with Douglas Fir seedlings as a "living reminder" of the Pacific Northwest. TRUEBLOOD 593 (see G51.1-025 for additional photograph of visitors)

Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hanson, Ben; Foreign visitors--Japan; Yokota, Hiromi; Tanaka, Shinichi; Tsunomachi, Kazama;

Visitors from Kokura, Japan, were presented with Douglas fir seedlings from their sister city, Tacoma. They are pictured on November 16, 1961, prior to departure on United Airlines. Man on right is Thomas Takemura of the Sister City Committee; stewardess has been identified as C.M. Herron of Los Angeles. The three young men are Kazama Tsunomachi, Shinichi Tanaka, and Hiromi Yokota; they were all students from Kitakyushu University, the sister university of the University of Puget Sound, who were paying a two-week visit to Tacoma. The Chamber of Commerce and St. Regis Paper Co. sent 500 Douglas fir seedlings to Kokura as a token of friendship and as a "living reminder" of the Pacific Northwest. The wrapped bundle at the feet of the visitors contained the seedlings. (TNT 11-3-61, TNT 11-23-61, Tacoma Progress, 11-24-61)

Takemura, Thomas; Herron, C.M.; Tsunomachi, Kazama; Tanaka, Shinichi; Yokota, Hiromi; Firs; Foreign visitors--Japan;

ca. 1961. A visiting Miss California places a large sombrero on Mayor Ben Hanson's head in this circa 1961 photograph. The beauty queen is wearing her jeweled tiara, suit and black leather gloves. TRUEBLOOD 595

Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hanson, Ben; Guests--Tacoma--1960-1970; Beauty contestants--California; Sombreros; Women--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Daffodil Princess Elisa Peterson received the first copy of Tacoma Transit's new route map from driver Cleo Pickle in January of 1962. The three-color, fold-out maps gave complete information on all transit route lines. They were available from bus drivers and other locations, including the County-City Building. This was the first step in 1962's promotional campaign to make Tacomans more aware of the availability and convenience of their publically owned transit system. Trueblood - 609 (TNT 1-12-62, p. 18-alt. photograph & article)

Peterson, Elisa; Pickle, Cleo; Bus drivers--Tacoma; Buses--Tacoma--1960-1970; Mass transit--Tacoma--1960-1970; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970; Timetables;

Mayor Harold Tollefson posed with about 50 beauty queens and various police units on May 15, 1962, in front of what is believed the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Avenue South. Although this particular photograph apparently did not appear in the local newspaper, it may have been taken in conjunction with the Century 21 Exposition, better known as the Seattle World's Fair, which was already in progress. TRUEBLOOD 682

Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970;

In September of 1962 Mayor Harold Tollefson (far right) was photographed with three members of Tacoma's Sister City committee. He was showing them the People to People Citation that Tacoma received at the 1962 American Municipal Association congress that was held that year in Philadelphia. The citation was awarded to Tacoma for its Sister City program and its "excellent manner in promoting goodwill." From left to right are Sister City committee members Thomas Takemura, Sylvia Sass and Dr. John Moore. (TNT 8-22-62)

Awards; Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Takemura, Thomas; Sass, Sylvia; Moore, John;

Fern Hill

On April 5, 1963, Mayor Harold Tollefson accepted a small ceramic statue from German exchange student Ulrich Bliesener of Dusseldorf. Ulrich was representing Mayor Peter Muller of that city. The statuette is a rendition of Prince Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz who had transformed Dusseldorf from a village to a city hundreds of years ago. Ulrich Bliesener was a student at Stadium High School. (TNT 4-9-63, p. 3- article & alternate photograph) TRUEBLOOD 848

Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Bliesener, Ulrich; International students--German; Figurines;

The "Jackie" Kennedy look was in vogue when these Miss Tacoma contestants posed at the County-City Building on April 23, 1963. Gale Yuckert (second from right) went on to become Miss Tacoma of 1963. The contest has been held sporadically since the 1920s. Trueblood #862.

Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970; Beauty contests--Tacoma--1960-1970; Yuckert, Gale; County-City Building (Tacoma); Women--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Mayor Harold Tollefson examines gifts from Tacoma's sister city, Kitakyushu (formerly Kokura) on January 11, 1964. He is holding a letter from the Japanese city. The young man on the picture's right is believed to be John Delp, University of Puget Sound student, who had studied in Japan at Kitakyushu University from April-August, 1963. The other young man is possibly Leslie Hagmann, former UPS student of mathematics. Hagmann was the first representative of UPS to visit the Kitakyushu campus since a sister university relationship was established early in 1961.

Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Gifts;

Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson (at center) traveled to Tacoma in February of 1964 to help launch the start of Tacoma's Center Street urban renewal project. Governor Albert D. Rosellini stands immediately to his right. Tacoma Mayor Harold M. Tollefson is seen at far left. "Scoop" Jackson played a major role in national politics from his election to Congress in 1940 until his death in 1983. ALBUM 16. (Also G67.1-152)

Jackson, Henry M., 1912-1983; Legislators--Washington--1960-1970; Rosellini, Albert D.; Governors; Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Urban renewal;

Mayor Harold Tollefson bows his head while shaking the hand of Mrs. Motohiko Kanai on April 22, 1964, outside the County-City Building. Her husband, the Japanese governor of Washington's sister prefecture, Hyogo, and Washington governor Albert Rosellini both smile. She is wearing an exquisite silk kimono while also carrying a modern handbag. Governor Kanai was presented with a key to the city by Mayor Tollefson. (TNT 4-22-64, C-16)

Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Rosellini, Albert D.; Governors; Kanai, Motohiko; Kanai, Motohiko--Family;

Arrival of Japanese governor and wife at County-City Building. Motohiko Kanai and his wife in conversation with Washington State Governor Albert D. Rosellini and a state trooper in front of the County-City Building on April 22, 1964. They had just arrived via Lincoln Continental. Kanai, governor of Washington's sister prefecture, Hyogo, met with city, county and port officials at a brief reception in Mayor Harold Tollefson's office. Prior to their departure for Olympia, the Kanais were presented the key to the City of Tacoma and a framed picture of Tacoma's port. (TNT 4-22-64, C-16)

Kanai, Motohiko; Kanai, Motohiko--Family; Governors; Rosellini, Albert D.; Guests--Tacoma; Lincoln automobile;

Miss Alaska, Nina Whaley, visited the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium on May 19, 1964, as part of a busy schedule promoting Alaska's summer tourist season. She is pictured above (center with large purse) smiling as she gazes at the outdoor seal and otter exhibit. TRUEBLOOD 1064

Whaley, Nina; Beauty contestants; Guests--Tacoma--1960-1970; Point Defiance Zoo (Tacoma); Aquariums--Tacoma;

This seal has scrambled out of the water in order to grab a tasty snack from visiting Alaskans, Mr. and Mrs. Chester Seveck and Nina Whaley, reigning Miss Alaska (far right). The trio were personal representatives of Alaska governor William Egan who traveled to Tacoma to aid Tacoma's Chamber of Commerce campaign to promote Alaska's tourist industry. The Sevecks were professional entertainers and guides. TRUEBLOOD 1064 (TNT 5-21-64, B-4)

Whaley, Nina; Beauty contestants; Seveck, Chester; Seveck, Chester--Family; Guests--Tacoma--1960-1970; Point Defiance Zoo (Tacoma); Aquariums--Tacoma; Seals (Animals);