Tacoma Elks handball team. Most men are wearing white Tshirts with the Elk logo and the Lodge number, 174 along with shorts, court shoes and special gloves in this January 5, 1940 photograph. There were apparently more than one handball team among the Elks members. In June of 1940, the News Tribune in a special Elks insert, paid tribute to a Tacoma Elks handball team who had gone undefeated in Class B Puget Sound league that season. Although not the team pictured above, the victorious Elks proved the popularity of the sport. (TNT 6-13-1940, p. 8-special insert)

Elks Club (Tacoma); Clubs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Handball--Tacoma--1940-1950; Sports & recreation facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Sport clothes; Athletes--Tacoma;

Each troop of Tacoma's Girl Scouts had chosen a project for Christmas 1939, in order to make it a happier time for children and underprivileged adults. These three Girl Scouts, all from different troops, display the dolls they have dressed. From left to right are: Barbara Ann Brotherson, Fern Hill Troop 15; Patsy Kelly, Washington Troop 13 and JoAnn Fitch, Jason Lee Troop 11. (T.Times 12-23-39, p. 4-alt. photograph)

Girl Scouts (Tacoma); Community service--Tacoma--1930-1940; Dolls; Christmas presents; Gifts; Christmas trees--1930-1940; Brotherson, Barbara Ann; Kelly, Patsy; Fitch, JoAnn;

Gathering of men at the Tacoma Club in the Washington Building to celebrate Sam Perkins 73rd birthday. Group of men seated and standing around dinner table, Perkins far left; Mayor Smitley third from left.

Tacoma Club (Tacoma); Perkins, S.A.--Commemoration; Birthday parties--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Room inside Tacoma Club. The Tacoma Club, located on the 17th floor of the Washington Building, was organized and incorporated in November, 1936. (filed with Argentum)

Tacoma Club (Tacoma);

Card room w/small tables and piano in corner, believed to be inside the Tacoma Club. (filed with Argentum)

Tacoma Club (Tacoma);

Dining room w/many tables set, believed to be inside the Tacoma Club. (filed with Argentum)

Tacoma Club (Tacoma); Dining rooms--Tacoma--1940-1950;

ca. 1939. Ladies musical club taken at YWCA - about 50 ladies on stage with man in center holding book. Book on music stand open.

Young Womens Christian Association (Tacoma);

Tacoma Drama League committee members planning the gala opening night of "Call It A Day" meet in the garden of the home of Mrs. Abner Bergersen. The play by Dodie Smith would be produced at the Tacoma Little Theater March 27-29 and April 3-5, 1941. It would be directed by Marjorie (Mrs. Harry) Cain. Pictured left to right are Mrs. Salem Nourse, Margaret (Mrs. J.W.) Matheson, Mabel (Mrs. Abner) Bergersen and Marion Seymour. (T. Times 3/22/1941, pg. 5)

Clubs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Drama League (Tacoma); Bergersen, Abner R.--Homes & haunts; Matheson, Margaret; Bergersen, Mabel; Seymour, Marion;

Co-Ed Daffodil Dance at Hotel Winthrop on March 22, 1941. The Co-Ed Club annually hosted the opening ball of the Daffodil Festival, held immediately following the coronation. Pictured, left to right, are Mack Koon and his fiance Dorothy LaGasa, Amy Lou Murray and Dean MacDonald. The couple to the right are unidentified. The Koon-LaGasa wedding was scheduled for June. (T. Times 3/29/1941, pg. 5)

Co-Ed Club (Tacoma); Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1941 : Tacoma); Koon, James Mack; La Gasa, Dorothy; Murray, Amy Lou; MacDonald, Dean;

Members of original Thrift Shop committee at the Junior League Thrift Shop. (T. Times)

Junior League (Tacoma); Clubwomen--Tacoma--1940-1950; Thrift shops--Tacoma; Charitable organizations--Tacoma; Junior League Thrift Shop (Tacoma);

A couple dressed in the style of the Gay Nineties poses at the Pi Beta Phi style show, held at the Masonic Temple roof garden on September 6, 1940. The style show and tea was hosted by the sororities' alumnae organization. (T. Times 9/5/1940, pg. 10)

Pi Beta Phi (Tacoma); Fraternities & sororities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fashion shows--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Posing with their bicycles outside the Lakewood Community Center in September of 1940 were seven Lakewood-area music lovers: (in no particular order) Mrs. R.W. McMahon, Mrs. Bert Sweeting, Mrs. William Panman, Mrs. George Hellyer, Mrs. Brian Shera, Mrs. W.W. Williver and (believed to be) Anne Baker. These ladies were part of a volunteer committee involved in the Tacoma Philharmonic Association membership drive. Several of them were also part of a local music appreciation study group and they used their bicycles to travel to each other's homes for meetings. (T.Times 9-14-40, p. 5)

Tacoma Philharmonic Association (Tacoma); Membership campaigns--Lakewood; Bicycles & tricycles--Lakewood;

The room is swaying to the swinging sounds of Stan Miskoski and his orchestra at the University Union Club's Sadie Hawkins dance on March 15, 1941. The orchestra is attired in keeping with the Dogpatch theme of the Club's first costume ball in two years. Sadie Hawkins Day was an American Folk event started by Al Capp in his Li'l Abner comic strip. Decades before women's liberation, it was the day when emboldened females could ask out the man of their choice.

University Union Club of Tacoma (Tacoma); Dance parties--Tacoma--1940-1950; Miskoski, Stan;

Opera group at Y.W.C.A. (T. Times)

Young Womens Christian Association (Tacoma);

Pacific Coast Fire Chiefs Convention. Men with flag on roof of Winthrop Hotel, Washington Building in background. Photograph taken on July 23, 1940.

Meetings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Pacific Coast Association of Fire Chiefs (Tacoma); Flags--United States; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma);

Washington State Pharmaceutical Association State Convention - Tacoma - July 14-17, 1940. Large group of men seated on roof top. Some 400 druggists were expected to attend the Tacoma convention held at the Winthrop Hotel including P.H. Brady, chairman of the Washington State Board of Pharmacy. Election of new officers chosen for the upcoming year saw a Tacoman, Everett Riser, selected as president of the association. (T.Times 7-11-1940, p. 12-article on convention; T.Times 7/17/1940 p.11-story )

Meetings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Pharmacists--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Chief Baker, left, of Louistown, Mt., president of the Pacific Coast Fire Chiefs Association, greets his fellow members at the 47th annual convention, held for the first time in Tacoma. Tacoma would play host July 31st - August 3rd, 1940 to 1500 fire chiefs, wives and guests from the western states. Standing second to the right is Jay W. Stevens of San Francisco, secretary of the organization. (T. Times 7/23/1940, pg. 2)

Pacific Coast Association of Fire Chiefs (Tacoma); Meetings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stevens, Jay W.;

Tacoma Sculpturing Club exhibit in window at Rhodes Department Store. The plaque in the center reads that the exhibit is by the Tacoma Sculptors Club and the Bryant Creative Arts Studio; a school centered community recreation program and a WPA cooperative program offering free instruction. The project originated four years previously. The larger pieces on display are wood etchings, a cabinet, scenic carvings and a chest. New ideas in carving include covers for photo, guest and scrap books. Also represented are finely carved cameos in hand carved frames. (T. Times 8/19/1940, pg. 7)

Tacoma Sculpting Club (Tacoma); Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Wood carvings; Woodwork;

Girl Reserves 60th Anniversary celebration publicity. Mrs. Edward Lewis serves cake to Peggy Clancy, Barbara Noble and Arlene Sagen. All three are dressed in Girl Reserve uniforms. The Girl Reserves was an organization for girls sponsored by the Young Women's Christian Association. Room decorated with international flags, including China, France, the Soviet Union and Great Britain. (T.Times 5/1/1941 p.11)

Girl Reserves (Tacoma); Anniversaries--Tacoma; Young Women's Christian Association (Tacoma); Clancy, Peggy; Noble, Barbara; Sagen, Arlene;

Girl Reserves 60th Anniversary celebration publicity. Three teenage girls having a picnic in Wright Park. [Also dated 04-26-1941and 05-02-1941]

Girl Reserves (Tacoma); Wright Park (Tacoma); Parks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Picnics--Tacoma; Young Women's Christian Association (Tacoma);

Junior League provisionals at Kathryn King's residence. Mrs. Robert Pfeiffer and Mrs. Henry Walker pose on the street outside the home. (T. Times 10/4/1941, pg. 5)

Junior League (Tacoma); Clubwomen--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Junior League provisionals at Kathryn King's residence. Seated on a sofa are Mrs. James Will (the former Muriel McDonald), Mrs. Thomas H. Monroe (the former Marion Roseann Burns) and Martha (Mrs. Douglas) Gonyea. (T. Times 10/4/1941, pg. 5)

Junior League (Tacoma); Clubwomen--Tacoma--1940-1950; Will, Muriel; Monroe, Marion; Gonyea, Martha;

Nearly 1,200 representatives of the Rainbow Girls from around the state met in Tacoma from July 12 through July 15, 1939 for their 13th annual Grand Assembly. On Wednesday the 13th, members met at the Masonic Temple at 47 St. Helens Ave. and march down St. Helens and Broadway. The convention ended on Saturday with a picnic at Pt. Defiance Park. The building in the center of this photograph is the Bostwick Building, 755-71 St. Helens Ave., home, at that time, to the Kress Malted Milk Shop. (T.Times 7/13/1939 p.13)

Rainbow Girls (Tacoma); Fraternal organizations--Tacoma--1930-1940; Parades & processions--Tacoma--1930-1940

Dance hosted by the Spinster Club at the Winthrop Hotel. Margaret Franich poses with her date on the right in this photograph dated May 30, 1939.

Spinster Club (Tacoma); Franich, Margaret; Couples--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Part of the membership of the Tacoma Amateur Astronomers poses on the College of Puget Sound campus. Their photograph will be exhibited in the planetarium at the New York World's Fair. The group organized in 1931and has built 30 telescopes of varying size and power. The membership has spread and now boasts members as far away as Yakima, Seattle, LaGrande and Wollochet Bay. The group currently meets at CPS, but has plans to build a clubhouse and observatory on McKinley Hill. Pictured, left to right, are W.H. Crump, George Imoe, L. Herbert Love, J.R. Wiborg, James Wiborg, Fred Myers, Earl Sowles, Walter Imme, Edward Imme, R.S. Seward, Evelyn Hazelton and Albert Morrison. (T. Times, 5/16/39, p. 16. Names listed)

Tacoma Amateur Astronomers (Tacoma); College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Astronomers; Astronomical instruments; Telescopes; Clubs--Tacoma--1930-1940;

The unidentified young women in this photograph from June, 1938 are probably the drill team from the Knute Rockne Lodge, Daughters of Norway. Over 1,000 members of the Sons of Norway and the Daughters of Norway, representing lodges in Washington, Oregon,California, Idaho, Alaska, and British Columbia, attended the four day convention in Tacoma from June 23 - 28. The drill team members, and their little "mascot," are attired in jodhpurs and holding what appear to be polo mallets. The male team leader in the center is wearing a United States Marines uniform. (T. Times 6/23/1938, pg. 9)

Daughters of Norway (Tacoma); Meetings--Tacoma; Fraternal organizations--Tacoma;

Hatasu Dancers, June of 1938. Large group of women in hall, attired in matching costumes. The Hatasu Temple was a group name used by Daughters of the Nile. Queen Hatasu was an Egyptian monarch. The Daughters of the Nile are the female offshoot of the Shriners, or Masons. The group was founded in 1913 in Seattle. The Hatasu #1 Temple still meets in Seattle. The annual session of the Supreme Temple of the Daughters of the Nile was held in Tacoma June 6-10, 1938. It was the first convention of this group to be held in Tacoma since 1925. (filed with Argentum)

Daughters of the Nile (Tacoma); Fraternal organizations--Tacoma--1930-1940; Evening gowns--Tacoma--1930-1940; Rites & ceremonies--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1939. Photograph taken at the Elks Temple, 565 Broadway, showing attendance. (filed with Argentum)

Elks Temple (Tacoma); Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma Lodge No. 174 (Tacoma);

ca. 1938. Dinner at the Elks Temple, circa 1938. Men being served by waitress, fireplace with head of an elk above it. (filed with Argentum)

Elks Temple (Tacoma); Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma Lodge No. 174 (Tacoma); Fraternal organizations--Tacoma--1930-1940; Dining rooms--Tacoma; Fraternal lodges--Tacoma;

Twenty-one members of the Normanna Male Chorus, wearing the group's distinctive white pants, dark blazers and nautical hats, posed for a formal portrait on the steps of the Masonic Temple in 1938. The Chorus was to be very busy in September of 1938 as they were celebrating their Golden Jubilee. Norwegian singing societies from across the Northwest were coming to Tacoma to help the group celebrate their 50th anniversary at Normanna Hall, 47 Saint Helens Avenue, on September 10-11th. The singing society had organized in 1888 with John Soquest as the director. They originally met in the old school house between I and J streets; their publicity was handled by the publishers of the Norwegian newspaper "Tacoma Tidende." The group reorganized in 1895 and has been active since that date. The singers were led by Carlo A. Sperati, churchman and musician, until 1904; he was succeeded by George Johnson, still the director in 1938. (T. Times 9/9/1938, pg. 3) TPL-9519

Normanna Male Chorus (Tacoma); Choirs (Music); Fraternal organizations--Tacoma; Ethnic groups--Tacoma; Sons of Norway (Tacoma); Music ensembles--Tacoma; Singers;