In January of 1937, polio victim Shirley Ford, Mayor George Smitley and Gus C. Westerdale, the owner of the Model Bakery, posed with a special cake baked for the President Roosevelt Birthday Ball to be held on January 30th to benefit Infantile Paralysis (Polio) research. The birthday cake was topped with a bust of FDR and was to be put on display in the bakery's window. The cake was a joint product of the bakers and confectioners unions. Young Miss Ford was to have the honor of cutting and distributing the enormous cake. The poster held between Mr. Westerdale and Mayor Smitley states that the ball would occur on January 30th at the Masonic Temple. This annual fund raising event, held throughout the country, started in 1934 with most of the money staying in the local communities. The Harter Dance Studio provided the entertainment. (TNT 1-29-37, pg. 1; T.Times 1-28-37, p. 11; 1-29-37, p. 16) ALBUM 11.
March of Dimes (Tacoma); Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Smitley, George A., 1872-1956; Bakeries--Tacoma; Model Bakery (Tacoma); Poliomyelitis--Tacoma; Fund raising--Tacoma--1930-1940; Ford, Shirley; Westerdale, Gus C.;