1935 Daffodil Festival Queen. 23-year-old Margaret Thomas of Sumner was the Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival's second-ever queen. She was the first chosen from a field of ten contestants in 1935; Mrs. Elizabeth Lee Wooten was selected by committee without a contest the previous year. Miss Thomas is pictured looking pensively at the camera while holding an enormous bouquet of daffodils.
Thomas, Margaret; Beauty contestants--Sumner; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1935 : Sumner);
Charles Evans, as Leif Eriksson, commanded a boatful of stern looking Norsemen, armed with swords and shields, who were "Bound for Wineland" on May 17, 1895. Tacoma's Scandinavians celebrated the 81st anniversary of Norwegian Constitution Day with a small parade, outdoor concerts and picnic games. Fireworks and dancing capped the activity-filled day. This photograph was probably taken between So. 13th and So. 15th on Tacoma Avenue. (Tacoma Morning Union, 5-18-1895, p. 4)
Pacific Avenue appears rather empty on the morning of May 19, 1912, except for the parishioners of St. Joseph's Slovak Catholic Church who were celebrating the dedication of their new church with a parade in downtown Tacoma. Two small girls are pictured in the foreground in a small buggy pulled by one horse as they pass the McCormack Bros. store. The new church, the first Slovak Catholic church built in the Northwest, was located at South 34th and Tacoma Avenue South. It was dedicated at 10 o'clock a.m. with Bishop Edward J. O'Dea conducting the service. Church members provided the labor necessary to build the 92 x 46-feet brick veneer building. The church and building site was paid for entirely by Slavonians, the congregation and/or other Slavonians in the community. (TDL 5-19-12, p. 33-article)
Parades & processions--Tacoma--1910-1920; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1910-1920; St. Joseph's Slovak Catholic Church (Tacoma); Church dedications--Tacoma;
Standing among acres of colorful daffodils while holding a beribboned bouquet is Pauline Martin. Miss Martin would reign as the 1941 Daffodil Festival Queen. The 18-year-old blue-eyed, brown haired Sumner High School student is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Martin. Born in a log cabin in Montana, she has lived in Sumner for sixteen years. Five newspaper photographers unanimously chose Miss Martin from a field of eleven Sumner High School students as the new Daffodil Queen. (TNT 3-1-41, p. 1)
Martin, Pauline; Beauty contestants--Sumner; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1941 : Sumner); Daffodils;
1966 Daffodil Festival Queen. Susan Bona, 17, posed for her first royal portrait as 1966 Daffodil Festival Queen with a beribboned scepter, queen's gold crown, and bouquet of daffodils. Queen Susan I is also wearing the white velvet royal robe decorated with gleaming crowns and daffodils. This picture ran on the News Tribune's front page on April 1, 1966. The new queen is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lester M. Bona. She was crowned on March 28, 1966, at Sumner's Spartan Hall by Governor Dan Evans. The event was televised in color by KTNT-TV. Miss Bona, a top Wilson High School student, would continue her education at the University of Puget Sound. (TNT 4-1-66, p. 1; TNT 3-29-66, p. 1)
Bona, Susan; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1966 : Tacoma);
1968 Daffodil Festival Queen. Cheryl Lamka, 17-year-old Stadium High School senior, was chosen to reign over the 1968 Daffodil Festival during April 1, 1968, ceremonies at Spartan Hall in Sumner. Governor Dan Evans had the honor of crowning the new queen. She posed for her formal portrait holding a bouquet of daffodils and ferns and clutching a brass scepter. Queen Cheryl I is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Dewane Lamka and the youngest of four children. She was very active in high school, as Wilson High School annual editor, Girls Club service department head, and member of the Stadiana and Triple S, all while holding down a 3.97 grade point average. (TNT 4-2-68, p. 1)
Lamka, Cheryl; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1968 : Tacoma); Daffodils; Crowns; Scepters;
1971 Daffodil Festival Queen. Holding the symbols of her new office, Jean Fink of Lakes High School posed for her formal portrait as the 1971 Daffodil Festival Queen. The daughter of Lt. Col. and Mrs. Garvie S. Fink of Lakewood, she had attended schools in many states and had been at Lakes for 19 months. Miss Fink had a GPA of 3.97, the highest of the field of 14 princesses. She was crowned by Lt. Gov. John Cherberg on March 29, 1971, on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University. Jean Fink was Lakes' first queen. As befitting the daughter of a U.S. Air Force pilot, she flew a Cessna 150 as a hobby. Other achievements included appointment to the Bon Marche Fashion Board, member Junior Achievement, member of Lakes drill team and a Sunday School teacher. (TNT 3-30-71, p. 1, p. 16; TNT 12-2-70, p. 1-article) {photograph is partially torn}
Fink, Jean; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1971 : Tacoma); Daffodils; Scepters; Crowns; Students--Lakewood--1970-1980; Lakes High School (Lakewood);
1978 Daffodil Festival Queen. Holding a symbol of her office, a scepter decorated with daffodils, is 17-year-old Janice Ash. A lovely bouquet of golden daffodils and baby's breath with "butterflies" interspersed is placed before her. She was chosen as the 1978 Daffodil Festival Queen on March 13, 1978, during public ceremonies held at Pacific Lutheran University. The Wilson High School senior is the second princess named Janice honored as queen. Miss Ash is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond B. Ash of Fircrest. She is a member of Wilson's Girls Club, Booster Club and a violinist in the school orchestra. The new queen would go on to further her education at Seattle Pacific University. (TNT 3-27-78, A-4, TNT 3-11-79, C-1)
Ash, Janice; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1970-1980; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1978 : Tacoma);
ca. 1938. 1938 Daffodil Festival Queen. 17-year-old Bliss Lundrigan of Puyallup was chosen the 1938 Daffodil Festival Queen. She was accompanied by princesses Bernice Daniel of Tacoma and Agnes Kucemba of Sumner. Miss Lundrigan is shown seated in a chair hidden by a mass of daffodils. A robe of royal purple is fastened at the collar; 1938 was the first year that Royalty wore official robes. A crown of daffodils adorns her dark hair.
Lundrigan, Bliss; Beauty contestants--Puyallup; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1938 : Puyallup);
Surrounded by blossoms is the 1941 Daffodil Queen, Pauline Martin. This portrait of the radiant 18-year-old Sumner resident was selected to be on the front page of the News Tribune on March 23, 1941, the night after her coronation. In 1941 the Daffodil Parade and activities fell in late March rather than later in April. Miss Martin and her two attendants, Maxene Maddex of Lincoln High School and Doris Simonsen of Puyallup, would have a busy week ahead of them. Besides riding in the Daffodil Festival Parade of March 29th they were scheduled to start the Daffodil Festival sailing regatta, appear at the opening of the National Flower & Garden Show in Seattle and listen to the University of Washington Band perform at Jason Lee Junior High. (TNT 3-23-41, p. 1)
Martin, Pauline; Beauty contestants--Sumner; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1941 : Sumner); Daffodils;
1958 Daffodil Festival Queen. Gretchen Brockhoff, a Stadium High School senior, became the 1958 Daffodil Festival Queen. She is posed in flowing robes and a bouffant gown. A beribboned bouquet of daffodils is cradled in her arms. The 17-year-old blond, blue-eyed yell queen was the third successive Tacoma representative selected as festival queen, having succeeded Margaret Strachan of Stadium and last year's queen, Janice Methven of Lincoln. She was crowned by Governor Albert D. Rosellini in ceremonies held at Sumner's Spartan Hall on April 7, 1958. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Brockhoff, Sr., had her whole family present that evening; her six-year-old brother Hans, having correctly predicted her victory, fell asleep before and slept through her coronation. (TNT 4-8-58, p. 1, 6)
Brockhoff, Gretchen; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1958 : Tacoma); Daffodils;
1952 Daffodil Festival Queen. More than 2200 people gathered at the Tacoma Armory to view the public coronation of the Daffodil Festival Queen on April 1, 1952. It was the largest crowd recorded at that time for a festival coronation. Eva Beattie, Sumner High School senior, was crowned with a garland of daffodils by Orville L. Brown, festival chairman. She was given keys to the cities of Puyallup, Sumner, Orting and Tacoma by the mayors and representatives of those cities. Queen Eva's coronation officially marked the start of a six-day celebration. (TNT 4-1-52, p. 1; TNT 4-2-52, A-1)
Beattie, Eva; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1952 : Tacoma);
1974 Daffodil Festival Queen. 17-year-old Wilson High School senior Lori Weber became the 1974 Daffodil Festival Queen in impressive ceremonies on April 1,1974, on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University. She was chosen from a field of eighteen princesses. Queen Lori I is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Weber of Fircrest. She is a cheerleader at Wilson and a pianist for the school choir. Miss Weber was crowned by Congressman Floyd Hicks. (TNT 4-2-74, A-1, 3)
Weber, Lori; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1970-1980; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1974 : Tacoma);
1975 Daffodil Festival Queen. Wendy Van Noy posed for her formal portrait as newly chosen Daffodil Festival Queen in April of 1975. Clutching the traditional bouquet of daffodils, she also holds the royal scepter. Upon her wavy hair is the queen's crown made out of old gold. Miss Van Noy, the 17-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Rhine of Tacoma, is a senior at Franklin Pierce High School. An accomplished oboist, she was chosen from a field of eighteen princesses. The 41st queen accepted her crown from professional bowler Earl Anthony on April 7, 1975, at Pacific Lutheran University's Olson Auditorium. She and her court would ride in the Grand Floral Parade on April 12th; Mr. Anthony would be the Grand Marshal of the parade. (TNT 4-8-75, A-1, A-3)
Van Noy, Wendy; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1970-1980; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1975 : Tacoma); Daffodils; Scepters; Crowns;
Brewery Workers Union No. 328 gathered en masse on Pacific Avenue, north of City Hall, on September 6, 1915 to proudly march in the big Labor Day parade. This was the last hurrah for brewery workers before Prohibition began in Washington State in January of 1916. Tacoma had basically shut down with city, county, major businesses and industrial plants closed for the day. Union workers of all sorts - blacksmiths, machinists, boilermakers, cooks, bridge workers, pressmen, painters, carpenters and longshoremen, to name just a few, would be participating in the march that led from Pacific Ave., Broadway and Sixth Ave. to conclude at Wright Park. Thousands of spectators were anticipated. (TDL 9-6-1915)
Carol Glenn of Bethel High School was crowned the 1977 Daffodil Festival Queen in ceremonies held at Pacific Lutheran University on March 9, 1977. Miss Glenn, a senior, was the first top royalty selected from her school and the first African-American to receive that honor. There were a total of 18 princesses, each representing a public school in Pierce County. Miss Glenn, the daughter of retired Staff Sergeant and Mrs. Robert Glenn of Spanaway, was one of nine children. She planned to use the $1000 college scholarship awarded to the queen to further her studies at Pacific Lutheran University. (TNT 3-10-77, A-1, 3)
Glenn, Carol; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1970-1980; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1977 : Tacoma); African American women--Tacoma--1970-1980;
1979 Daffodil Festival Queen. Curtis High School princess Paula Nelson had the honor of being her school's first representative to be selected Daffodil Festival Queen. Miss Nelson, 18, bore the title "Paula ll" as she was the second Paula named queen. At her March 12, 1979, coronation, she was draped with a royal cloak of velvet traced with sequins and a heavy gold crown mixed with amethysts and other semi-precious jewels was placed on her head by Pierce County Commissioner Joe Stortini. A scepter, a symbol of her reign, would be inscribed with her name. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Nelson, Miss Nelson was chosen on the basis of her appearance, poise and speaking ability. (TNT 3-13-79, A-1, A-10)
Nelson, Paula; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1970-1980; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1979 : Tacoma); Crowns; Scepters; Daffodils;
Y.M.B.C. (Young Men's Business Club) Water Carnival at Point Defiance. On April 24, 1938, the first water carnival was held as a farewell ceremony for the Tacoma- built fishing vessel "Western Explorer" (pictured center.) The event was planned by the Y.M.B.C. to promote Tacoma's shipbuilding industry, but it was so immensely popular that it became an annual event. View of the "Western Explorer" in front of the Point Defiance Pavilion. Crowds of people lined the railings of the Pavilion. (T.Times, 4/25/1938, p. 1).
Festivals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Young Men's Business Club (Tacoma); Piers & wharves--Tacoma; Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Point Defiance Boat House (Tacoma); Fishing boats--Tacoma--1930-1940;
1960 Daffodil Festival Queen in regalia. Succeeding Queen Carol Mills as Daffodil Festival Queen was 17-year-old Lincoln High School senior Diane Harkness. She was chosen from a field of 12 representing high schools in Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Orting and Fife. Miss Harkness is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James G. Harkness. She is the president of Aqua Maids water ballet team, a member of the honor society, and associate editor of the Lincoln News. The new Daffodil Festival Queen was crowned on April 4, 1960, by Governor Albert D. Rosellini during impressive ceremonies at Sumner's Spartan Hall. (TNT 4-4-60, p. 1; TNT 4-5-60, p. 1)
Harkness, Diane; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1960 : Tacoma); Daffodils; Crowns; Scepters;
1967 Daffodil Festival Queen. Carol Parcheta, 17, of Franklin Pierce High School became the 1967 Daffodil Festival Queen as she was crowned by Lt. Gov. John Cherberg on April 3, 1967 in Spartan Hall, Sumner. She was Carol II as there was a previous Queen Carol, 1959's Carol Mills also of Franklin Pierce. Miss Parcheta, shown above holding the symbols of her new office, was a song leader at her high school. She would continue her education at the University of Puget Sound. (TNT 4-4-67, p. 1)
Parcheta, Carol; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1967 : Tacoma); Daffodils; Crowns; Scepters;
1970 Daffodil Festival Queen. Shelley Grobey of Mount Tahoma High School was selected as the 1970 Daffodil Festival Queen. She is posed with a jeweled crown of old gold in her blond hair and holding a scepter and bouquet of daffodils. Miss Grobey is wearing the white velvet royal robe with a embroidered daffodil motif. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Grobey, Jr., she is the youngest of five children. One of the few golden haired queens selected in the festival's first 37 years, the blue-eyed high school senior is president of Mount Tahoma's choir, and member of the studio choir, Cleophas, Pep Club and Senior Girls Trio. Miss Grobey, 17, received her crown at Pacific Lutheran University's Olson Auditorium from Governor Dan Evans on April 6, 1970. (TNT 4-7-70, p. 1)
Grobey, Shelley; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1970 : Tacoma); Daffodils; Crowns; Scepters;
1973 Daffodil Festival Queen. Sherri Murrey posed for her formal portrait as 1973 Daffodil Festival Queen holding her royal scepter in one hand and a beribboned bouquet of daffodils in the other. She is wearing the queen's heavy crown. Queen Sherri I is the first queen from Fife High School. The 17-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Murrey was crowned by Lt. Gov. John Cherberg on April 9, 1973, in Olson Auditorium. She was chosen as queen from a field of 16 princesses. Miss Murrey was also voted co-winner of the "Miss Congeniality" award. (TNT 4-10-73, p. 1) {photograph scratched at bottom}
Murrey, Sherri; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1973 : Tacoma); Daffodils; Crowns; Scepters;
1972 Daffodil Festival Queen. Wearing ceremonial garments is 17-year-old Wilson High School senior, Paula Achziger, who was crowned the 1972 Daffodil Festival Queen. She is holding a symbol of her office, a scepter, and cradling a bouquet of daffodils and ferns. Miss Achziger is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron F.J. Achziger who watched her selected out of 16 nominees, the largest court in the festival's history at that time. Lt. Gov. John Cherberg had the honor of placing the heavy queen's crown on the brown haired Miss Achziger during ceremonies on April 3, 1972, at Pacific Lutheran University's Olson Auditorium. (TNT 4-4-72, p. 1)
Achziger, Paula; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1970-1980; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1972 : Tacoma); Scepters; Crowns; Daffodils;
