Douglas Fir Plywood Association. This young couple looks very happy. They may be lucky owners of a new home built with Douglas Fir plywood. The Douglas Fir Plywood Association represented the entire fir plywood industry and maintained their headquarters in Tacoma. The organization provided national promotion as well as product development and quality control work. The organization, started in 1937, changed its name to the American Plywood Association in 1964.

Couples--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Sadie Hawkins Dance.Three young men stand near a sign for the "Giggling Gargoyle". One of the men, dressed in long-johns, carries a jug. The second one wears dark clothes, including a jacket with tails, a turban, a bushy black beard and hip boots folded down below is knees. He holds a sign, "Vard Alvordivich, Rapresantif, C.of C., Lower Slobnovia". The man on the right wears his suit too small with an engineer's hat and a wistle in his hand.

Dance parties--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stardust Dance Club (Tacoma); Lil Abner (Fictitious character); Costumes;

This studio portrait of Karen Kester wearing her tap dancing costume and tap shoes was taken in October, 1946. Karen went to Hollywood with her mother in 1947 and starred in "The Baron of Arizona" with Vincent Price and Ellen Drew and "The Enforcer" with Humphrey Bogart. In 1953 she provided the voice for one of the mermaids in the Disney animates version of "Peter Pan". Her first experience on the stage was when she was age seven in the Tacoma Little Theater, her reward for winning a city-wide story telling contest. She attended Jefferson School in Tacoma where she was also a Brownie Scout. When Karen was ten years old she was named the 1947-1948 "Little Miss America". She played the alternate part of Elsbeth in the Little Theater's production of "Janie". (T.Times, 1/24/1948, p.12)

Dancers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tap dancing--Tacoma--1940-1950; Kester, Karen;

Community Chest. Girls and boys at the Tacoma Day Nursery are seated at a table with a woman. They are saying grace as they prepare to have a snack. Cups of milk are set for each child. Carrots and celery are already on the table and more food is ready for the children on the small table in the back of the room. The Tacoma Day Nursery opened January 1918 to care for pre-school children.

Day care; Tacoma Day Nursery (Tacoma); Children praying--Tacoma--1940-1950; Children eating & drinking--Tacoma--1940-1950; Children & adults--Tacoma--1940-1950; Women--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Community Chest. Girls and boys at the Tacoma Day Nursery are lying down and supposed to be taking naps but they are all too interested in what's happening to sleep. They each lie on roll away or foldable beds with coverlets that are just the right size for the children's beds. The Tacoma Day Nursery opened January 1918 to care for pre-school children of working parents. Tacoma Day Nursery was one of the agencies helped by donations to the Community Chest.

Day care; Tacoma Day Nursery (Tacoma); Children sleeping--Tacoma--1940-1950; Beds; Bedspreads;

Trikskirts window display. Rhodes Brothers Department store first opened up on "C" Street in Tacoma, then within a few years had expanded into Seattle and a few other states as well. View of Trikskirts window display, showing a variety of colors and prices.

Department stores--Tacoma; Skirts; Window displays; Merchandise displays--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma);

The Tacoma Times called them the "Happiest family in South Tacoma" in its March 15, 1944, edition. C.A. (Clif) Erdahl had just won election as the city's Commissioner of Public Utilities the day before. He and his wife, the former Florence Sellman, posed with their four children in the Erdahl living room at 1672 South 56th St. The two boys, Martin (8) and Ronald (11) attended Horace Mann Elementary School while daughter Bebe (14) was a 9th grader at Stewart Junior High. Little Judith (4) completed the family picture. Mr. Erdahl, age 37, was a former state legislator. He had led the field of candidates for the commissioner of public utilities position in the primaries and carried through to win the final runoff with William L. Gaffney, Light Department chief inspector, with a margin of over 1300 votes. Mr. Erdahl would take office on June 5, 1944. (T.Times, 3-15-44, p. 1)

Erdahl, C.A.; Erdahl, C.A.--Homes & haunts; Erdahl, C.A.--Family; Erdahl, Florence; Families--Tacoma--1940-1950;

K Street fire at Meyer Drug Store. The Meyer Drug Company fire was started in the basement with fly poison spray. Tacoma Firemen were aided by the Civilian Defense Fire Fighter Auxiliary and the Coast Guard. It quickly destroyed a significant portion of the store. View of unidentified fire fighter, probably Coast Guard, standing in front of fire engine (T. Times, 5/30/44, p. 1).

Fire fighters--Tacoma; Fire engines & equipment--Tacoma; Meyer Drug Co. (Tacoma);

Tacoma Boat fish boat water shots. A view of the port side of North Sea, a combination fishing vessel, on Puget Sound. She was owned by Henry Stakset, Ernest Nelson and Richard Rydman, had a 100 hp Washington diesel engine and was sistership to North Star. Tacoma Boatbuilding Company was started in 1936 by H. Dahl and A. Strom. The partners wanted to build fishing vessels for North Pacific fishermen. (Fisherman Yearbook, 1945, p.256, 376)

Fishing boats--Tacoma; Boats--Tacoma; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Ship trials--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Sperry Flour Co. Flour milling is one of the oldest industries in the Northwest. Sperry Flour Division in Tacoma was just one plant of the many throughout the West. The Tacoma plant did most of the international exporting. The company celebrated its 92nd anniversary this year. Exterior view of plant.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma);

Eagles and WAC's war salvage pictures. Tacoma's Aerie No. 3 Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Women's Army Corp joined forces and set a new record for loading and sorting scrap metal. View of Eagles and WAC's after a hard day at work in April of 1944.

Fraternal organizations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Military service--Tacoma; Scrap drives--Tacoma--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Scrap drives;

Fircrest housing progress for A. G. Homann. A new housing development, consisting of 50 homes is under way in Fircrest. Miller Construction Co. is expecting the project to be completed later this year. View of construction progress in Fircrest.

Housing developments--Tacoma; Miller Construction Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

This fetching quintet of Clover Park High School upcoming seniors dressed as hula dancers and performed at the Tyac Club anniversary dance held in the Tacoma Armory at 715 South 11th Street on Saturday June 17, 1944. Two of the girls have been identified: farthest right is Joyce Woodward (Toso); second to right is Phyllis Lofgren. The Tyac Club was started in 1943 to give the students in Tacoma's high schools the opportunity to organize and run their own cooperative recreational program. To celebrate their success as an organization they sponsored the first anniversary dance, complete with a top dance band, floor show numbers provided by each of the high schools, and a birthday cake and punch for refreshments. (T. Times, 6/16/44, p. 6). (Additional information provided by a reader)

Hula dancing--Tacoma; Tyac Club (Tacoma); Women--Dancers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Woodward, Joyce; Toso, Joyce Woodward; Lofgren, Phyllis; Youth organizations--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Hoyt, Pat at Ice Arena. The talented Pat Hoyt was one of Tacoma's skating stars in 1944. Photo was taken at the Lakewood Ice Arena, Tacoma's only ice skating rink.TPL-7768

Ice skating--Tacoma; Ice skating rinks--Tacoma; Hoyt, Pat;

Ole Olson's house showing dirt. In 1944, Ole Olson, commonly known throughout the Ruston community as "Chicken," was asked to clean up his home. The neighborhood with support from the Sheriff had placed Ole under a guardianship and given him one year to clean up his home. Exterior view of Ole Olson's house (T. Times, 7/20/44, p. 2).

Land; Houses--Ruston--1940-1950; Olson, Ole--Homes & haunts;

March 5, 1944, saw the launching of a 72-foot tug built for the U.S. Army by Pacific Boat Building of Tacoma. View of wood boat with bunting.

Launchings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tugboats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Pacific Boat Building Co. (Tacoma);

Henry Mill barge assembly. Henry Mill & Timber Co. products were used throughout Tacoma for many projects. The company was organized by W. Yale Henry, who also serves as president. View of Henry Mill & Timber Co. plant with lumber being used for a barge.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Henry Mill & Timber Co. (Tacoma);

Wilkeson Products interior and exterior of mine. Interior view of Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. mine with unidentified coal miner standing in front of coal car. TPL-6620

Mining equipment; Coal mining--Wilkeson; Coal miners--Wilkeson; Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. (Wilkeson);

Three young newspaper salesmen, who sold the Tacoma Times on the streets of downtown Tacoma, receive bundles of the late afternoon edition of the Times from District Manager Ken Hagen. In 1944, the Tacoma Times printed five editions each day to keep up with breaking news from the war. The young paperboys are: (l to r) Jim Olson, who sold papers around the main post office; Melvin Merchant, who worked the corner at 11th and Commerce; and Bill Hergert, who had the Peoples store corner. (T. Times 7-15-1944 p.4) TPL-9649

Newspapers--Tacoma; Children--Employment--Tacoma--1940-1950; Newspaper industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Boys--Tacoma--1940-1950; Newspaper carriers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Times Publishing Co. (Tacoma);

Many Tacoma boys were trained as newspaper carriers by the Tacoma Times. These young men were responsible for keeping Tacoma citizens informed of World War II events and were committed to their jobs. The Tacoma Times treated their carriers to banquets and trips in addition to shows for their loyalty and responsibility in delivering the newspapers.

Newspapers--Tacoma; Children--Employment--Tacoma--1940-1950; Newspaper industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Boys--Tacoma--1940-1950; Newspaper carriers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Times Publishing Co. (Tacoma);

Gryphon staff for United Pacific Insurance. United Pacific Insurance Company relocated their home offices to Tacoma after they purchased the Medical Arts Building in downtown business district of Tacoma in 1942. This move brought many employment opportunities to the Tacoma area. United Pacific Insurance Co. is a leading casualty and surety company on the Pacific Coast. View of two United Pacific Insurance Co. women employees.

Office workers--Tacoma; United Pacific Insurance Co. (Tacoma);

Tacoma hospitals observed National Hospital Day on Friday May 12, 1944.This photograph, taken in the surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital shows (l to r) Mrs. Darlene St. Onge, supervisor of surgery, U.S. Cadet Nurse Patricia Richards, Dr. R. Merrick, U.S. Cadet Nurse Eldoris Miller and Lucille Edwards. Tacoma General and St. Joseph's were both learning hospitals for enrollees in the U.S. Nurse Cadet Corps. On Saturday May 13, 1944, seventy six cadet nurses at St. Joseph's took the induction pledge at a ceremony held in the St. Leo's High School auditorium. (T. Times, 5/11/44, p. 1).

Operating rooms--Tacoma; Medical personnel--Tacoma; St. Joseph's Hospital & School of Nursing (Tacoma); Cadet Nurse Corps (Tacoma);

The upcoming primary election had Robert Dykeman with his wife, Martha, and daughter out in the Tacoma streets campaigning. In June of 1944, Mr. Dykeman was one of the Democrats running in the primary to be the 3rd District County Commissioner. Although not elected, two years later he successfully ran for the position of County Clerk. He held this office until May, 1963 when he died at the age of 69, having served as County Clerk for sixteen years.

Political campaigns; Dwarfs--Tacoma; People associated with politics & government; Dykeman, Robert--Family;

The Boeing Aircraft Company expanded into Pierce County as World War II production demands increased. Plant security for important war industries was also a major concern. View of guards of the South Tacoma Boeing plant protection team, led by Sgt. Calvin H. Baird, on left.

Private police--Tacoma; Guards--Tacoma; Boeing Aircraft Co. (Tacoma);

Studio picture of soldier for Times. Private Inder Chhabra, a native of India, now serves in the U. S. Army. Pvt. Chhabra received his degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of CA and speaks four languages. He is stationed at Fort Lewis in the radio section of Headquarters Battery Field Artillery (T. Times, 5/5/44, p. 1).

Soldiers--Tacoma--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Military personnel--Tacoma; Chhabra, Inder;

Tyac dance and council. The Tyac Club, a recreational club, hosted their first anniversary dance. Club members consist of high school student council members, they have self governed themselves since the club began. In honor of the first anniversary dance, floor show numbers would be put on by the different high schools. Sixteen unidentified Tyac Club members smile as they get ready to celebrate their first anniversary (T. Times, 6/16/44, p. 6).

Student organizations--Tacoma; Youth organizations--Tacoma; Tyac Club (Tacoma);

War bond campaign. No fireworks will be seen this 4th of July, but the War Fund drive is in full swing during the last few days of bond sales. Six year old Charles Ray Fowler, is being helped by two unidentified War Bond Salesmen, they have just finished counting 7,500 white pennies which are being exchanged for a war bond. The white pennies were made of zinc-coated steel. They were issued in 1943 to conserve copper for the war, and were collected by his grandfather. The War Bond sales wagon can be seen in background (T. Times, 7/1/44, p. 14).

War bonds & funds; Fourth of July celebrations; Fowler, Charles Ray;

Red Cross Board Members. The American Red Cross Pierce County Chapter assisted the nation with the War Fund Drive by setting their quota at twice the amount as last years, in order to help support the war effort. View of American Red Cross Pierce County Chapter Board Members.

War bonds & funds; Patriotic societies--Tacoma; American Red Cross Pierce County Chapter (Tacoma);

Fifth War Loan campaign. Community business men display a Fifth War Loan sales banner for the final week of bond sales. Last minute drives in order to meet quota for County are likely to increase war bond sales. War bond buyers will be receiving incentives, such as free movies for all war bonds purchased this week. View of Edna's Beauty Shop above War Loan banner.

War bonds & funds; World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects of war--Tacoma; Banners--Tacoma;

Fifth War Loan campaign. McChord Field ceremony allowed the public to visit the Army base and view the parade. Over 15,000 spectators attended this Fifth War Loan Campaign "Kick-off" event. Six dignitaries including Reno Odlin, second from left, Governor Wallgren, far right, and two military officers who participated in the McCord Field events. Military orchestra in background (T. Times, 6/12/44, p. 1).

War bonds & funds; World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects of war--Tacoma; Military personnel--Tacoma;