In April of 1940, these patients of the Rust Memorial Ward and the Tacoma Orthopedic Clinic were able to learn their 3 R's despite being at the Tacoma General Hospital, thanks to a compact school room furnished by the Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The newly decorated room held regular classes five days a week for children with physical disabilities. Some of the children, under the supervision of the Orthopedic Clinic, were transported from their homes daily for school sessions. The schoolwork was done under the direction of Mrs. Meredith Duguay, whose services were provided by the Tacoma School District. The woman in front of the bookcase at the back of the room may be Mrs. Duguay. (T. Times, 4-19-40, p. 3-alternate picture )

School children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); People with disabilities--Tacoma;

In February of 1940, when this photograph was taken, the Tacoma General Hospital at 315 K Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way) still looked much as it did when it opened in August of 1915. Since then it has undergone numerous changes including major additions in 1964, 1977 and 1982. Founded as the Fannie C. Paddock Hospital in 1882, Tacoma General is the oldest, continually operating hospital in Pierce County.

Hospitals--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

Swimming pool provided at Tacoma General by Orthopedic Group for physical therapy. Two nurses are pictured on February 23, 1940, working with two children. The older child is already in the water kicking away.

Swimming pools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Hospitals--Tacoma--1940-1950; Children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Physical therapy--Tacoma; Nurses--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Exterior view of Tacoma General Hospital. (T. Times, Special Edition.)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

Pediatric ward at Tacoma General Hospital in September of 1939. Three children in a hospital ward. The infant in crib has a child in a bed on either side. The beds are divided by what appear to be partitions with large panes of glass and curtains. A chair for a visitor is tucked beside each bed with the seat underneath the bed. The boy on the right has something cylinder shaped over his lower body, holding up the sheet. (filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

Pediatric ward at Tacoma General Hospital in September of 1939. Three children in a hospital ward. The infant in crib has a child in a bed on either side. The beds are divided by what appear to be partitions with large panes of glass and curtains. A chair for a visitor is tucked beside each bed with the seat underneath the bed. (filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

Tacoma General Hospital, Pediatric ward. The small occupants of Tacoma General's Pediatric ward had their cribs and beds separated by floor length curtains as viewed in this September 22, 1939 photograph. Framed pictures of animals and children placed on walls helped to brighten the room.

Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Hospital wards--Tacoma--1930-1940; Children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Sick children;

This Tacoma trio is leaving by automobile for a pair of medical conventions in St. Louis, Missouri. They are, left to right, Annabell Norton, photographer for the pathology clinic at Tacoma General Hospital, Dr. Benjamin T. Terry, pathologist, and Mrs. Alice Kern, technician and secretary to Dr. Terry. Dr. Terry is the originator of the latest method of rapid razor diagnosis of cancer. The trio have prepared exhibits, which they will explain at the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, May 11-14, and the convention of the American Medical Association, May 15-19, 1939. (T. Times 5/5/1939, pg. 9)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Norton, Annabell; Terry, Benjamin; Kern, Alice;

Tacoma General Hospital. Two nurses working with x-ray equipment. Patient lying on table and covered with white sheet. Pathology and clinical laboratories. Ordered by Clarence J. Cummings, Superintendent. (filed with Argentum) see also D8155 image 3

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940; Radiography--1930-1940;

Tacoma General Hospital. Women working in pathology and clinical laboratories. Ordered by Clarence J. Cummings, hospital Superintendent. (filed with Argentum) see also D8155 images 1, 4

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940; Laboratories--1930-1940;

Tacoma General Hospital. Women working in pathology and clinical laboratories. Ordered by Clarence J. Cummings, Superintendent. See also A8155 image 2.

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940; Laboratories--1930-1940;

Tacoma General Hospital. Women working in pathology and clinical laboratories. Ordered by Clarence J. Cummings, Superintendent.

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940; Laboratories--1930-1940;

Two unidentified nurses adjust the x-ray equipment at Tacoma General Hospital in April of 1939 as a patient waits lying on a table, covered chin down with a white sheet. Although by 1939 it was well known that lead was effective for protecting against x-ray exposure, neither the patient in this photo or the nurses appear to be wearing any protective lead or lead-equivalency shielding. Established in 1882 as the Fannie C. Paddock Hospital, the facility became the Tacoma General Hospital in 1912. Ordered by Clarence J. Cummings, Superintendent. See also A8155 image 3

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940; Radiography--1930-1940;

In March of 1938 the Red Top Cab Company added this state-of-the-art Packard ambulance to its fleet of vehicles. The new ambulance was considered a "hospital on wheels" that could provide complete care to patients while en route to the hospital. It is parked in front of the Tacoma General Hospital. (T. Times, 3/9/1938, p. 11).

Red Top Cab Co. (Tacoma); Ambulances; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

On November 18, 1937, Patricia Bush, a nurse at Tacoma General Hospital, was photographed while holding William Henry Hartle, one of the triplets born to Mrs. William (Genevieve) Hartle on Sunday November 14th around midnight. There had only been one other set of triplets born at Tacoma General and that was years before 1937. The first of the triplets, a girl later named Waunita (at right), was born at 11:23 Sunday night and weighed 3 lb. 7 oz. She was followed by two boys, William Henry 4 lb. 7 oz. and Warren Edward (at left) 4 lb 2 oz. The two smallest babies were kept in incubators; William was in a cloth-covered bassinet. All three of the triplets survived. They and their older sister Dorothy were still living in Washington state in August of 2000. (T.Times 11/15/1937 p.1 & 11/18/1937 p.1).

Hartle, William--Family; Triplets; Hartle, William Henry; Hartle, Warren Edward; Hartle, Waunita Marie; Bush, Patricia; Nurses--Tacoma; Incubators;

Mrs. Genevieve (William) Hartle rests in her hospital bed after giving birth to triplets, a girl and two boys, born during the midnight hours of November 13 and 14, 1937, at Tacoma General Hospital, the first set in many years. Waunita Marie, 3 lb. 7 oz., was the first born, shortly before midnight on November 14th. William Henry, the heaviest at 4 lb. 7 oz., arrived a few minutes after midnight on the 15th followed by his brother, Warren Edward weighing in at 4 lb. 2 oz. The two lightest siblings were placed in incubators. Mr. and Mrs. Hartle were apparently shocked at the multiple births; they already had one daughter, age 3. William Hartle was a truck driver; the Hartles lived in a rural part of Tacoma. First pictures of the triplets were released on November 18, 1937, and appeared on the Tacoma Times front page. (T.Times, 11-15-37, p. 1, 11-18-37, p. 1).

Hartle, Genevieve; Mothers & children--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Mid April 1937, Tacoma General Hospital bested their old record when 37 babies were born there in one week. Eighteen of the little ones posed for this picture from inside their glassed-in ward. Student nurse Maxine Balschley, left, held two of her charges up for the camera while Lorraine Greenough, supervisor of the maternity ward, held two more. The usual bundle production in a week at the hospital was 20-25. There were no multiple births in the week's bumper crop. (T.Times 4/15/1937, pg. 1) (filed with Argentum)

Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Infants; Maternity hospitals (Tacoma); Balschley, Maxine; Greenough, Lorraine;

On Friday evening, January 8, 1937, twenty five students in the Tacoma General Hospital nursing program took their first step toward graduating as nurses. The women received their caps, signifying that they had completed the preliminary four month basic course in theory and practice. The students will receive their full graduation honors when they complete their studies in May of 1939. Photograph of nurses congratulating one another. Left to right, Miss Sutherling congratulates Miss Baskerville, Miss Gibson and Miss Rembert, Miss Timmerman and Miss Phillips, Miss Harvey and Miss Barton, and Miss Pederson is congratulated by Clarence Cummings, superintendent of Tacoma General. (T.Times 1/7/1937, pg.. 4- picture; TNT 1/8/1937, pg. 2) (filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940;

On Friday evening, January 8, 1937, twenty five students in the Tacoma General nursing program took the first step toward graduating as nurses. The women are lined up preceding their "capping ceremony." The ceremony signifies that they have completed a probationary period of study and have been accepted as student nurses. The procession in the nurse's home at the hospital is being led by Miss Sutherling, head of the education department, and her assistant, Miss Harvey, in capes and caps. The students carry lighted candles, a symbol of the light they will bring to others, in honor of Florence Nightingale, "The Lady with the Lamp" and the founder of modern nursing. The students will receive their full graduation honors in May of 1939. (TNT 1/8/1937, pg. 2; TDL 1/8/1937, pg. 4- names in caption) (filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940;

On Friday evening, January 8, 1937, twenty five students in the Tacoma General Hospital nursing program took their first step toward graduating as nurses. The women received their caps, signifying that they had completed the preliminary four month basic course in theory and practice. The caps were presented by Laura Gibson (far left), Director of Nurses, in a ceremony held in the nurses' home at the hospital. The students will receive their full graduation honors when they complete their studies in May of 1939. (TNT 1/8/1937, pg. 2)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital School of Nursing (Tacoma); Gibson, Laura;

ca. 1936. Doctors and attendants in Tacoma General Hospital operating room, circa 1936. Large windows and skylights supplied natural light; which, along with the operating lights, flooded the operating table. Several large tanks, right, supplied oxygen and probably gaseous anesthesia. A curved stand held operating instruments and several bowls sat on stands. By the mid 1930's, the new Heidbrink anesthetic machine and uniform sterilization of instruments and equipment had reached Tacoma. (filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Operating rooms--Tacoma--1930-1940; Surgery--Tacoma--1930-1940; Physicians; Medical personnel--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1936. Exterior view of Tacoma General Hospital with an ambulance parked in front, ca. 1936. The original $100,000 hospital, front, opened in 1915. It was designed by the architectural firm of Heath and Gove. It had a capacity for 150 beds and was virtually fireproof. The East wing, or "C" Wing, opened in 1926, Sutton, Whitney & Dugan architects. It brought the hospital's capacity to 250 beds. (filed with Argentum) ("A House of Mercy" by Mildred Bates, RN)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Ambulances--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1936. Switchboard operator at Tacoma General Hospital, circa 1936. To the right in the picture is the illuminated board invented by hospital superintendent C.J. Cummings. Listed on the board was each doctor at the hospital and to the right of the name was a light and a switch. When a doctor entered the building, he switched on the light next to his name, letting everyone know that he was in the building. (filed with Argentum) ("A House of Mercy" by Mildred Bates, RN)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Switchboards--Tacoma--1930-1940; Telephone operators--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1936. Exterior view of Tacoma General Hospital, intersection of 4th Street and K Street. Building constructed in 1915 and designed by Heath and Gove, architects. The east wing, behind the main hospital, was added in 1926. The hospital originated in 1882 as the Fannie C. Paddock Hospital at 2511 No. Starr St. It is Tacoma's oldest continuously operating hospital.

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

ca. 1936. Exterior of Tacoma General Hospital, circa 1936. The photograph shows both the original building, front, opened in 1915 and designed by the firm of Heath and Gove., and the 1926 addition. The addition can be seen behind the original building. It is called the East, or "C," Wing. It was designed by the firm of Sutton, Whitney and Dugan. The hospital began its life as the Fannie C. Paddock Memorial Hospital in 1882 on Starr St. It is the oldest continuously operating hospital in the city of Tacoma. (filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

ca. 1936. Close-up of illuminated register at Tacoma General Hospital, circa 1936, invented by hospital superintendent C.J. Cummings. The board, situated at the hospital office, listed all the doctors and could be easily seen by the switchboard operators. There was a small light and a switch to the side of each name, as well as a slot where a message could be inserted. As each doctor entered the building, he switched on his light, letting everyone know that he was in the building. The board was the most modern device of its kind and a great aid in hospital efficiency. (filed with Argentum) ("A House of Mercy" by Mildred Bates, RN)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

ca. 1936. Exterior of Tacoma General Hospital, circa 1936; front entrance. Tacoma General is Tacoma's oldest continuously operating hospital. It began as the Fannie C. Paddock Memorial Hospital in 1882 at 2511 No. Starr St. As the population grew, a new Fannie Paddock Hospital was opened in 1889 at 312 So. J St. on a plot of land donated by the Tacoma Land Co. In 1912, the name was changed to Tacoma General Hospital in an attempt to help the community identify with the hospital. The building in this photograph opened in 1915 at 315 So. K (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way) and has been added on to in 1925, '64, '77 and '82 as the need arose for more beds and services. (filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

Bedroom with twin beds, possibly in the Tacoma General Hospital nurses' quarters, circa 1936. For 85 years, from 1895-1980, Tacoma General ran its own nurse training program. The nurses studied for three years, emerging as Registered Nurses. In its years of operation, Tacoma General graduated 2200 nurses.(filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma);

Tacoma General Hospital. Six women having afternoon tea. (filed with Argentum)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Tea parties--Tacoma--1930-1940;

In April of 1936, two nurses welcome a girl entering the Tacoma General School of Nursing for training. One nurse is shaking the woman's hand. The Tacoma General School of Nursing was established in 1895, and closed 85 years later in 1980. In 1936, the hospital was still recovering from the Depression. It had 126 employees, plus the students. However, hospital usage was up, necessitating the reopening of the north end of the second floor. Plus, the American Nurses' Association had adopted the eight-hour work day in the 1930's, meaning that more trained nurses were now needed. (filed with Argentum) ("A House of Mercy" by Mildred Bates, RN)

Hospitals--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma); Nurses--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tacoma General Hospital School of Nursing (Tacoma);