On June 10, 1926, thirteen World War I era wooden warships lay at anchor in one of the shallow inlets of Henderson Bay. The vessels had been built by Seaborn Shipbuilding Co., Wright Shipbuilding Co. and Tacoma Ship Building Co. in Tacoma for the French and intended for service during World War I, but when the war ended, the work was stopped and none of the remaining ships were completed. They previously were moored in Lake Union, Seattle. They were purchased for salvage by Washington Tug and Barge Co. and towed to the mouth of Minter Creek and then out into the inlet at high tide. The cabins and super structure were broken up, doused in kerosene and at 11:45 p.m. would be set on fire. (photograph is damaged (line) upper right corner) TPL-125 (TNT 6/11/1926, pg. 1)
At dawn on June 11, 1926, blackened shells were all that remained of 13 wooden World War I warships anchored in an inlet of Henderson Bay. The ships, built by Seaborn Shipbuilding Co., Wright Shipbuilding Co. and Tacoma Ship Building Co. in Tacoma for the French and incomplete at the end of the war, had been moored in Lake Union in Seattle. After being sold for scrap, they were towed to the mouth of Minter Creek and floated out at high tide to an inlet on Henderson Bay. They were then broken up, doused with kerosene and set on fire. After the controlled blaze burned itself out, iron and other salvageable metals would be collected. TPL-127, Bowen 26393 (TNT 6/11/1926, pg. 1)
ca. 1920. Ship under construction or being repaired at Skansie Shipbuilding Co. yard at Gig Harbor, circa 1920. Skansie Brothers was founded in 1912 by four Yugoslavian brothers, Pete, Mitchell, Andrew and Joe Skansie. TPL-688, BU-13900
Shortly after midnight on June 11, 1926, the one and a half million dollar bonfire of World War I era warships was at its height. During WWI Seaborn Shipbuilding Co., Wright Shipbuilding Co. and Tacoma Ship Building Co. on the Tacoma tideflats had a contract to build 20 3,000-ton five-mast auxiliary schooners for France. When the war ended in 1918 thirteen partially completed ships still rested in the ways of the shipyard. Unfinished, they were towed to Seattle and moored in Lake Union until years later when they were sold for salvage. They were towed to the mouth of Minter Creek which feeds into Henderson Bay and set on fire. From midnight to dawn, a red glow from the fires lit up Tacoma's northwestern sky. When the fire had burned itself out, iron and other metals were collected from the ruins. (TNT 6/11/1926, pg. 1) TPL-126 Information provided by patron: The first few wrecks were burnt at Richmond Beach starting sometime after 1923, some wreckers including Nieman & Marcus continued working there up until the 1930s, while the one in Minter River was used at least twice, 13 ships were burnt in Jun 1926 and 5 ships were burnt in Aug. 1927. As late as 1930, residents complainined about the burning at Henderson Bay, preferring them to revert to Richmond Beach. I believe that the author of the Victoria Daily Times clipping (Victoria Colonist, Victoria B.C. 5/31/1926 p.8) with the ships names has gotten the location wrong, but they all are named as being laid up at Lake Union in 1921. Articles mentioned can be found in the clipping file TACOMA - INDUSTRIES - SHIPBUILDING
Dennison's Chili, found in markets today, was first made in a Tacoma plant located in Fern Hill. The factory opened in 1925, when they moved to Fern Hill. Belle Dennison started canning chicken in her kitchen in 1915. Friends raved about the product and soon her husband Lee was selling it to local stores. When this photograph was taken in 1931, 15 women from the Fern Hill neighborhood worked at Dennison & Company. Meat from 45,000 chickens, purchased at nearby ranches and packed in glass jars, was sold in stores from Alaska to the border of Mexico. The product line was expanded in the 1930s and sold about 1938 when the company moved to Seattle. (TDL, 3/29/1931, p. 4A).
This was how Tacoma Field, the Pierce County airport, located south of the city near Lakeview (now Lakewood), looked in May of 1931. View of a flat expanse of land with a hanger, some small outbuildings and several planes. Photograph taken for the Tacoma News Tribune on the first day of a three day dedication program. Bowen # 310-209
Mess tents pitched on the old Central School playgrounds across from the Armory as cooks prepare to feed the men of the second battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry called out to control the violence associated with the 1935 Lumber workers' strike. In June of 1935, the mills in Tacoma and surrounded areas attempted to reopen with workers willing to return to work. Violence erupted between the returning workers and the strikers. Governor Clarence Martin ordered the Guard in on June 23rd, 1935 after reports that local authorities were unable to handle the situation. It was the second time the Guard was ordered out since the World War, the other two times being in 1919 and 1933. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)
Soldiers from the 161st Infantry of the Washington National Guard patrol the Tideflats during the Lumber worker's strike of 1935. In June of 1935, the mills of Tacoma and surrounding areas were attempting to reopen after petitions circulated stating that over 60 % of the work force was willing to return. Governor Clarence Martin promised protection to the mills and workers and called in the Guard to patrol the Tideflats and guard the entrances into the industrial area. They also accompanied returning workers on the main thoroughfares into the area. The troops totalled over 500 by June 25th and came from Yakima, Prosser, Pullman and Walla Walla. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)
Members of the 2nd battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry lounge on the ground, or stand in line with their mess kits, preparing to eat at the temporary mess tents set up on the old Central School playground. The Guard was called into Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin on June 23rd, 1935 to control the violence associated with the lumber workers' strike. The soldiers were stationed at the Armory and their mess tents set up in this nearby playground. The lumber and sawmill workers' strike started on May 6th and was settled August 2nd, 1935. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)
When the attempts in June of 1935 of workers to return to the striking mills erupted in violence, Governor Clarence Martin ordered in the Washington National Guard late Sunday night, June 23, 1935. The guards were whisked from Camp Murray to Tacoma in 16 trucks. Their job was to protect the returning workers and the mills. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)
A young boy poses by the chain link fence of the old Central School playgrounds where mess tents have been erected to feed the more than 500 members of the 2nd battalion of the 161st Infantry of the Washington National Guard called out to Tacoma to restore peace during the 1935 Lumber workers' strike. The Guard was stationed at the nearby Armory. The troops had been in training at Camp A.H. Hankins at Camp Murray for the past two weeks when they were deployed to Tacoma. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)
Chief of Police Harold Bird poses with an officer of the Washington National Guard, deployed to Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin to restore the peace during the 1935 lumber workers' strike. In June of 1935, as some workers prepared to return to the reopened mills, their efforts were met with violence. Returning workers were threatened, beaten, their homes and vehicles bombed and vandalized. Local authorities were unable to stop the violence. The Guard was called in to protect the workers and the mills. The strikers and sympathizers were joined in their protests by those who resented the armed troops in their midst. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)
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)
On April 15, 1931, after spending two weeks loading lumber and timber at the Defiance Mill, 4601 Ruston Way, the four masted "Commodore" left port in Tacoma for the Hawaiian Islands. It was towed to the Straits of Juan de Fuca by the tug Goliath. The last of the off shore sailing fleet in regular service on Puget Sound, it was the first sailing vessel to visit Tacoma in more than two years. The wooden four masted topsail schooner of 1,500 tons was built in 1919 by the JH Price Construction Co., a Lake Washington yard, for Norwegian owners and was named "Blaatind." By 1920, it was owned by a Seattle company and was renamed "Commodore." She sailed with lumber to Hawaii long past the demise of the remainder of the west coast sailing fleet. By 1942, she had passed through many hands to South African owners. They had her towed to South America and knocked apart for lumber to build houses. Bowen 05-761 (TNT 4/16/1931, pg. 20; "Marine History of the Pacific Northwest" H.W. McCurdy) TPL-9411
ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. This view of equipment at the cannery was taken circa 1931. See series 310, image 069 for exterior view of Dennison & Company.
A spectacular five-hour blaze gutted the Day Island plant of the Clear Fir Lumber Co. on the evening of October 18, 1934. It was the fifth major industrial fire in the Tacoma area in the past 24 days. The sawmill and dry kilns were destroyed but the door factory adjoining the sawmill was saved. Losses were conservatively estimated at $300,000 which included 3,000,000 feet of finished lumber and 170,000 feet of valuable ship decking. Six Tacoma fire companies and the city fireboat battled the blaze of undetermined origin which had begun near the boiler room. The reddened skies made the fire visible for many miles and attracted a crowd of about 10,000 on the hillside roads on three sides of the flaming plant. Another 15,000 viewed the fire from a variety of locations. The mill had begun operations in 1912 and was incorporated in 1916 as Clear Fir Lumber Co. Lately 250 men had worked there. Plans to rebuild were not immediately announced. BU-12606 (T.Times 10-19-34, p. 1-article; TNT 10-19-34, p. 1,11- alt. photograph)
ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. Glass jars filled with Dennison's Tender Chicken on display circa 1931.
ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. Unidentified Dennison employee stands near canning equipment circa 1931.
ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. This circa 1931 photograph depicts five women working at an assembly line of glass jars full of Dennison chicken.
ca. 1933. Retiring Northern Pacific Stationmaster at office Union Station with his hand on the lever of the switchboard. Photograph ordered by the News Tribune.
ca. 1936. Actress Lucille Lund shares a moment with girls in her hometown of Buckley during a visit in 1936. Lund had a long career in motion pictures and television after leaving Buckley for Hollywood in 1933, starring in "Saturday's Millions" with Robert Young, "The Black Cat" with Boris Karloff, several Charlie Chase comedies and numerous television commercials. She later became Mrs. Kenneth Higgins.
ca. 1936. Walker Cut Stone Co. outcropping, Wilkeson, Washington, circa 1936. Walker Cut Stone operated a sandstone quarry in Wilkeson from 1914-1959. Sandstone was commonly used in building and paving projects. The Walker company used Wilkeson sandstone in constructing the major state Capitol buildings in Olympia. Walker Cut Stone's offices and plant were located in Tacoma at 2403 Center St. (photograph copied for TPL by Mary Randlett)
ca. 1935. Workers coming through the gate at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. mill in Tacoma, 1220 Saint Paul Ave., around 1935. The mill was established in 1888 on a tideflat island called the "Boot," which lay between the two principal outlets of the Puyallup River. The mill began operation in April of 1889. Production rose until, by 1940, the mill claimed the largest daily production in the world.
ca. 1932. South end of Pacific Ave. just south of the Union Station. Goodrich Silvertown, Inc. (1955 Pacific ) and the Bone-Dry Shoe Co. (2113-15 Pacific) are neighbors as evidenced in this circa 1932 photograph. The tire store, Goodrich Silvertown, utilized Hollowstone concrete and tile in its construction. Throngs visited the store when it opened in June of 1931. The Bone-Dry Shoe factory was designed by architects Hill, Mock & Griffin and opened in 1919. It manufactured top quality boots for nearly 40 years mostly handcrafted by skilled workers.
