Two young girls with bouquets of daffodils ride atop the Rotary Club of Tacoma's float in the 1940 Daffodil Parade. The focus point of the Rotary Club float is the gigantic globe, with the continents marked out with daffodils. The floats are lined up in a staging area prior to the parade. See Series D9587 image 19 for a Richards Studio photograph taken at almost the same exact time. TPL-2941

Sumner's entry in the 1940 Daffodil Parade was this floral cross section of a daffodil. Each daffodil petal is occupied by a girl. The girls wear white dresses. The float appears to be lined up in a staging area. One can only wonder if there were also five girls on the other side of the float, or if this float could only be fully appreciated from one side. The Tacoma Times calls the float a giant paddle wheel, a-la a Mississippi riverboat, with a girl in each paddle. See D9587 image 4 for another view of the float. (T. Times 3/30/1940, pg. 1)

This undated photograph featuring the Corner Club Girls rolling down Broadway at 9th Street is most probably of the historical pageant parade presented Labor Day 1934. The costumed lovelies are from Pioneer Days and are festooned in ruffles, bonnets and parasols. The Tacoma Corner Club was formed by Mrs. Percy C. Smith who served as advisor and was fondly referred to as "Mother Smith." The women of the Tacoma Corner Club hosted dinners, dances, plays, took classes in bookkeeping, first aid, shorthand, the Bible, among others, and supported one another. They presented a flag to the State Historical Society in 1933. The original club was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1917. (Additional information provided by a reader)

Posed by the stage doors of the venerable Temple Theatre are the Maylon Players troupe in April, 1926. They were there to welcome a bowling team from Spokane. Tacoma was hosting the week-long North Western International Bowling Congress where a five-man team sponsored by Texaco Oil from Spokane would participate. The Maylon Players stock company would perform "Best People" written by Avery Hopwood at the Tacoma Theatre the following evening.

John MacKessy, 13, smiled for the camera from his stretcher during the trial run on December 24, 1929 for his big Christmas Day outing. It would be his first Christmas Day out of bed in three years. He and 125 other children were guests at a Christmas party on the USS Lexington, which was tied up at Baker Dock helping to supply electricity to Tacoma. The trip was supplied by the Tacoma Sciots, a Masonic social group, that took care of the boy. Pictured, left to right, were Maurice Raymond (club sec.), John G. Thorstenson (pres.), Chief of Police M.D. Guy and officer Dick Rodius who drove the boy. He was transported in a police paddy wagon. Young MacKessy suffered from inflammation in the bones of his feet, legs and hips and his family needed assistance to care for him properly. (TNT 12/24/1929, pg. 3)

Showing off her freckled face and bobbed hair, Margaret Wheeler posed serenely with a Lady Craig rose at the Tacoma Rose Show, which was held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, 5 South G Street, on June 17, 1927. The young miss looked off camera with her large dark eyes, possibly listening to directions from the photographer. The Lady Craig was being shown for the first time at the Rose Show. It was one of 1,000 entries in the 16th annual show, the largest display in years. The event was sponsored by the Tacoma Rose Society. (TNT 6/17/1927, pg. 1)

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)

In March of 1934, (l to r) Frankie Cowan, Billye Fairchild, and Betty Brumbaugh wearing long Spring dresses and stylish hats posed in a field of bright yellow daffodils to help advertise the first ever Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival. Several days before the parade, Puyallup lawyer Herman Zander had still not selected a Festival Queen. Mrs. Elizabeth Lee Wooton of Puyallup was finally selected when he saw her stroll by his office window. Billye Fairchild was selected the Queen's attendant from Tacoma. In the early days of the Festival, pre-1950s, the Queen had to be from either Sumner or Puyallup. TPL-9812

Organizers of the first Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival in March of 1934 were not above using a little "cheesecake" to advertise their fledgling flower festival. Left to right, Frankie Cowan, Betty Brumbaugh and Billye Fairchild pose in thirties swimsuits in field of bright spring daffodils. The first festival was the brain child of Tacoman Lee Merrill and was loosely patterned on the Dutch flower festivals held around Easter. The 1934 event included the reign of the first Daffodil Queen, Elizabeth Lee Wooten, a parade (then called the "procession") and "Bulb Sunday," where visitors were invited to motor out to the fields and view the blossoms.

Three bathing beauties, left to right, Frankie Cowan, Betty Brumbaugh and Billye Fairchild, pose in the chilly spring air in their swimsuits and goosebumps amid the bright yellow daffodils. They are advertising the first annual Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival in March of 1934. The festivities, originated by Tacoman Lee Merrill, would include a Queen, a parade and a "Bulb Sunday." On Sunday, area residents were encouraged to motor out and view the daffodil fields. The first festival had a total budget of $600.

Frankie Cowan can hardly hold back a laugh. She is heartily enjoying posing in a field of bright Spring daffodils as a promotion for the first annual Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival in March of 1934. Miss Cowan is Frances Cowan, a saleswoman at the Peoples Store who resides at 621 So. Yakima Ave.

This daffodil decorated horse and driver were one of the entries in the first Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival parade in 1934. The two wheeled cart was advertising Will Rogers in the motion picture "David Harem" playing at the Roxy Theater. Most of the entries in the first parade were modest when compared to later years. The parade began at Union Station, travelled through downtown Tacoma then on to Puyallup, Sumner and Orting.

Margaret Thomas, crowned Queen Margaret I of the 1935 Greater Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival, smiles serenely over her bouquet of daffodils. The twenty three year old from Sumner was the first Queen chosen in an actual contest. Queen Margaret was selected from a field of ten candidates. The very first Festival Queen, Mrs. Elizabeth Lee Wooten, was selected by a committee without a contest. Until the mid-1950s, the Queen was always from Sumner or Puyallup, the birthplaces of the daffodil industry.

Queen Margaret I, Margaret Thomas of Sumner, and her four attendants pose on their Daffodil Parade float on March 23, 1935. The attendants are, left to right, Irma Jane Janig, Sumner; Billie Barto, Puyallup; Olive Chervenka, Sumner; and Evelyn Mellinger of Tacoma. The 1935 parade was the second annual.

Float sponsored by the City of Tacoma in the 1936 Daffodil Parade, symbolizing the city's dominance in public utilities. In the forefront are three rearing horses pulling a large wheel. A large dynamo is in the back, an emblem of the power of the hydroelectric plants. (TDL 4/19/1936, pg. 1)

Daffodil Parade float entry by KMO radio, a floral representation of a microphone with the call letters KMO. The float was probably an entry in the 1936 parade. Several patches of daffodils in the outer ring of the microphone are missing showing the chicken wire base.

1936 Daffodil Queen Helen Edgerton of Puyallup. In the early years, the queen alternated year to year between Puyallup and Sumner residents. The first queen from Tacoma was in 1956 and from Orting in 1962.

The Young Mens' Business Club entry in the 1936 Daffodil Parade was this flower covered replica of the bastions at the restored Fort Nisqually at Point Defiance. The restored Fort had opened in 1934. A sign on the float advertises the "Beaver Centennial" 1836-1936, a celebration to be held July 4, 1936.

The Rotary Club, a perennial entrant in the Daffodil Parade, entered this flower bedecked emblem of Rotary International in the 1936 parade. The word "Service" is emblazoned on the side of the float.

A large crowd of baseball fans gathered outside the Tribune Publishing Company building to watch the box score of the World Series game between the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals on October 5, 1930. The News Tribune had a large scoreboard mounted on the front of their building which allowed fans to follow the game play-by-play. Although Cardinals pitcher Jesse Haines outdueled Lefty Grove 3-1 to tie the Series up at 2 wins apiece, the Athletics would ultimately prevail, winning the World Series 4 games to 2. BU-12852, TPL-2115

ca. 1935. This float was entered in one of the very early Daffodil Festival parades, most likely 1935. A grass covered car is topped by a daffodil basket in which sit two charming cherubs. The two children are dressed formally, he in top hat and tails and she in a white bonnet. The floats at this time period were very simple; usually flower covered cars or mounted on the flat beds of small trucks.

Undated photograph of a very large group of children and a few adults who had apparently taken a special excursion. Three buses in background. Location unknown. Due to clothing styles, this photograph may have been taken roughly in the 1920s or 30's.

The funeral for Thea Christiansen (Mrs. Andrew) Foss, founder of Foss Maritime and community leader. Mrs. Foss was so widely admired in the community for her compassion and charity that her funeral was the largest that Tacoma had seen to date. All of the trademark green and white flags of the Foss Co. flew at half mass in honor of "Mother Foss." Immigrants from Norway, Andrew and Thea Foss arrived in Tacoma the spring of 1889. While Andrew took what work he could find, Thea started the family business with the purchase of 1 rowboat for $5, all the money that she had. With shrewd business moves and hard work, the Foss family parlayed that one rowboat into the one of the largest maritime companies in the country. Thea Foss never forgot her origins and continued to aid Scandinavian immigrants offering them food, lodging, work and the family they so sorely missed. Mrs. Foss was never idle, running the company's office, store and boarding house for its workers. She also found time to nurse the sick, help the needy and fulfill her purpose in life- to be of service to others. TPL-8662, BGN 589

On December 3, 1926, a bevy of beautiful Rhodes sales girls swooped down on the annual Tacoma Poultry Show, selected their favorite prize winning poultry and literally took them for a ride. The ride was in a new Buick, provided by Mueller- Harkins Motor Co.; proving that the Buick's smooth ride would not ruffle the feathers of the favored fowl. Pictured left to right are Christine and Sallie Jean Collier (not associated with Rhodes), Zelma Metzker, Neva Reed, Evangeline (Vangie) Harrod, Sybil Lea, Grace Moore, Isabel Kearns, Irene Ratcliffe, Lucille Vosberg, Gladys Rodside and Florence Oberg. (TNT 12/5/1926, pg. G-3)

On December 3, 1926, a quartet of salesgirls from the Rhodes Brothers department store departed from their usual duties to pose with four of the prize winning chickens from the 29th Annual Tacoma Poultry Show. The girls are, left to right, Isabel Kearns with a Rhode Island Red Cockerel, Irene (Iva) Ratcliffe with a Buff Orpington Cockerel, Evangeline (Vangie) Harrod with a white Wyandotte hen and Grace Rutchoe (identified as Grace Moore in same paper) with a Buff Plymouth pullet. The photographs from this publicity stunt were to be shown around the country to promote Tacoma. The 29th Annual Tacoma Poulty Show was held at South 10th Street and A from November 30th through December 5th. (TNT 12/5/1926, pg. G-8; group picture pg. G-3; TDL 12/5/1926, pg. G8- similar picture)

In March of 1926, three employees at the Washington Co-Operative Egg & Poultry Association Headquarters, (left to right) Mary Zack, Sarah Gruno and Esther Christoferson, demonstrate how to decorate Easter eggs. Sarah Gruno, in the center, is dyeing eggs with natural dyes made from vegetables, such as beets, spinach and coffee. Mary Zack is cutting out transfers to decorate her eggs, and Esther Christoferson is using a pen and ink to draw faces on her's. The Washington Co-Op packed transfer pictures with every carton of eggs sold around the holidays. (TNT 3/30/1926, pg. 1)

A crowd of several hundred people celebrated the arrival of the Pacific Air Transport Co.'s mail carrier plane at the municipal airport on April 15, 1928. It was the inauguration of the new American Railway Express Co. air service provided for Tacoma in conjunction with Pacific Air Transport's mail carriers. Tacoma Chamber of Commerce president John Dower took his first plane ride during the event as pilot J. Barton Story took him to greet the incoming express plane from the air. (TNT 4-16-28, p. 7, TDL 4-15-28, 8-A)

Ruth DuCharme and Orville Fuller posed in January of 1926 surrounded by Bill Winder (extreme left) and his Hotel Winthrop Orchestra. The pair was taking part in the Southwest Washington Championship Ho-down Ballroom Charleston competition which kicked off on January 23, 1926. The contest was sponsored by the Rialto Theater and the Hotel Winthrop and took place over 4 weeks. It featured dancers from Tacoma, Aberdeen, Chehalis, Centralia and Olympia. Winners were decided by popular applause. When all the shouting was over, Mrs. DuCharme and Mr. Fuller were the Tacoma champions. This was the first big ballroom Charleston contest to be held locally. (TNT 1/22/1926, pg. 8) TPL-466

For 17 years Al Pentecost, general foreman at the Milwaukee shops, had kept a single bottle of Rainier pale beer on ice in his ice box. He had purchased a case of the beer in 1915 before Washington State went dry. Only a single bottle remained of the case which Mr. Pentecost faithfully kept cool, replacing the ice frequently. With State Initiative 61 effective on December 8, 1932, repealing the bone dry law, Mr. Pentecost decided to finally crack open the beer bottle. He proclaimed it as good as the day he bought it with plenty of suds. Mr. Pentecost resided at 3708 North Madison St. (T.Times 12-8-32, p. 1,11)