Daffodil Festival Parade along Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma, 63 entries participated in the Tacoma parade, many of the same entries would participate in the Puyallup and Sumner parades. View of the Tacoma Young Men's Business Club float. "Trees for Tomorrow ---Keep Washington Green" was the message posted on the Young Men's Business Club float. This float received second place among service clubs (T.N.T., 3/29/47, p. 1).

Floats (parades)--Tacoma--1940-1950; Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1947 : Tacoma); Young Men's Business Club (Tacoma); Daffodils--Tacoma;

A pet parade was sponsored by the Tacoma Lincoln Lions' Club July 26, 1947. The parade started at Lincoln Park and then proceeded through the business district. Awards were presented to contestants by business people of the Lincoln shopping district with free ice cream and balloons for all. Here a wagon, pulled by two matched horses, advertises Carstens Meats and their Lucky Dog Dog Food Contest.The lucky person to submit the best slogan for Lucky Dog would win $200. (T.Times, 7/24/1947, p.11)

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; Horse teams--Tacoma--1940-1950; Horses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Carts & wagons--Tacoma--1940-1950; Carstens Packing Co. (Tacoma); Hogan's Fine Foods (Tacoma); Pets;

The 1946 Daffodil parade drew one of the largest crowds in parade history. Many Pierce County businesses, organizations and schools signed up to appear in the parade. View of Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company float covered in beautiful daffodils. Three unidentified telephone employees are holding telephones, large telephone on rear of float. TPL-8693 (TNT 3/31/1946, pg. 1)

Daffodils--Puyallup; Parades & processions--Puyallup; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1946 : Puyallup); Floats (Parades)--Puyallup;

The float entered by the Veterans of Foreign Wars glides down the parade route in Puyallup at the first post World War II Daffodil Parade, held March 30, 1946. It features a depiction of the globe and is manned by Lady Liberty and representatives of the various branches of the service. The parade was the first held in three years due to its termination during World War II. TPL-8695 (TNT 3/31/1946, pg. 1)

Daffodils--Puyallup; Parades & processions--Puyallup; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1946 : Puyallup); Floats (Parades)--Puyallup;

The 1946 Daffodil Parade almost didn't take place. The Planning Committee was not figuring on a parade, until the Puyallup Chamber of Commerce stepped forward to sponsor it. Plagued by a shortage of post war trucks and chassis, the parade was not only beautiful, but ingenious, and patriotic. Here, the Riverside 4H float is appropriately pulled by a tractor. It features young girls in a pen with baby animals and is followed by flag bearers. TPL-8696

Daffodils--Puyallup; Parades & processions--Puyallup; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1946 : Puyallup); Floats (Parades)--Puyallup;

The 1946 Daffodil parade was expecting one of the largest crowds in Puyallup history to gather to watch the festivities. In just a short amount of time many community businesses, organizations and schools gathered together and wanted to participate in the traditional procession. View of Puyallup Camp Fire Girls standing behind their daffodil covered float.

Daffodils--Puyallup; Parades & processions--Puyallup; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1946 : Puyallup); Floats (Parades)--Puyallup;

The 1946 Daffodil parade was expecting one of the largest crowds in Puyallup history to gather to watch the festivities. In just a short amount of time many community businesses and schools gathered together and wanted to participate in the traditional procession. View of Puyallup Lodge No. 32 Ancient Order of United Workmen parade float. Queen Gloria Dinwiddie, Caryn Chervenka and unidentified male attendant standing in front of float.

Daffodils--Puyallup; Parades & processions--Puyallup; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1946 : Puyallup); Floats (Parades)--Puyallup;

Daffodil Parade, Times. Queen Doreen Moody (a junior at Sumner High School) and Princesses Jerene Fly (from Puyallup High School) and Joy Lundgren (a senior at Stadium High School) are riding on a float specially prepared for them by City Light. Queen Doreen wearing a crown of daffodils and a dark robe sits next to the upward facing trumpet of the large daffodil whose petals form the seats for Princess Jerene and Princess Joy. A few members of one of the bands performing in the parade are seen in the background. (TNT, 4/3/1948, p.1)

Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1948 : Tacoma); Moody, Doreen; Fly, Jerene; Lundgren, Joy; Queens; Princesses; Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1940-1950; Daffodils--Tacoma; Teenagers--Tacoma;

Daffodil Parade, Times. The Afifi Shrine Circus float showed three members seated in thrones wearing turbans, long beards and decorated robes while two others are dressed as island natives under a palm tree with fans to cool the nobles. They are displaying their neon emblem on the side of their float. (TNT, 4/3/1948, p.1)

Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1948 : Tacoma); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1940-1950; Afifi Shrine Circus (Tacoma); Electric signs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fraternal organizations--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Five children, bundled up against the cold, sit on the curb to watch the 15th Annual Puyallup Valley Daffodil Parade. Held on April 3, 1948, thousands of Tacomans and out-of-town visitors lined Broadway and Pacific Avenues to watch the 100-unit parade. Ted Brown, the chairman of the festival, estimated that 1,000,000 daffodils were used to decorate the many floats. The Daffodil Queen, Doreen Moody, shared the attention of the crowd with Gretchen Fraser, who had just won a gold medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics. TPL-9606

Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1948 : Tacoma); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1940-1950; Daffodils--Tacoma; Children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Children & adults--Tacoma; Coats; Hats--1940-1950; Neckties;

1948 Daffodil Parade, Times. Roses and daffodils tumble from the Horn of Plenty depicting Tacoma as the City of Plenty.

Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1948 : Tacoma); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1940-1950; Daffodils--Tacoma; Cornucopias; Roses;

Daffodil Parade, Times. Tacoma's Women's Clubs sponsored a float for the Freedom Train that was making its way around the United States carrying copies of 127 great American documents important to the history of the United States for citizens to see. The Freedom Train, sponsored by the American Heritage Foundation, was to be in Tacoma April 8, 1948. A man stands in front of the float dressed as an engineer. (T.Times, 4/1/1948, p.1)

Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1948 : Tacoma); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1940-1950; Daffodils--Tacoma; Freedom Train;

Armed Forces Day parade marching down Pacific Avenue in May of 1951. Prominent buildings on the left include the Rust Building and (Old) City Hall. Puget Sound National Bank Building is on the right. The Seaforth Highlanders from Vancouver, B.C., (lower center) provide pipe and drum entertainment for the crowds. Besides the various marching military units, jeeps and other vehicles were present.

Military parades & ceremonies--Tacoma--1950-1960; Armed Forces Day; Marching--Tacoma--1950-1960; Marching bands--Tacoma--1950-1960; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rust Building (Tacoma); Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma);

Armed Forces Day was created in 1949, a single day set aside for festivities thanking our men in uniform for their duty to our country. During this 1951 Armed Forces Day parade, three units are seen as they prepare to turn from 9th Street onto Pacific Avenue. The Seaforth Highlanders from Vancouver, B.C., Canada's championship pipe and drum band, turn the corner while two military units follow. Vern's Sandwich Shop is seen on the corner.

Military parades & ceremonies--Tacoma--1950-1960; Soldiers--Tacoma--1950-1960; Marching--Tacoma--1950-1960; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Scotland--Clothing & dress; Marching bands--Tacoma--1940-1950; Pipes (Musical instruments); Bagpipes;

Exposure of Stadium High School majorettes, marching band and drill team during the 1952 Daffodil Parade turning from 9th onto Pacific Ave. The 19th annual Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival had a 15 mile long parade made up of 70 floats, 21 bands, 28 marching units and three mounted groups. The parade formed in Tacoma at 17th and Broadway for a 10 a.m. kick off time moving north on Broadway to 9th, down 9th to Pacific, and down Pacific to 19th Street. (TNT 4/5/1952, pg. 1)

Celebrations--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma; Parades & Processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1952 : Tacoma); Drill teams; Stadium High School (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Marching bands;

A floral ship pulled by leaping goldfish carries a evening gown clad woman and two young sailors in the 1952 Daffodil Parade. This float was the entry by the Tacoma Savings and Loan Association and won second place in the organization division. Tacomans were warned against plucking daffodils off the floats as they passed through town as all entries had to complete the entire three-city parade route to be eligible for awards and would need every flower to look their best for judges. (TNT 4-5-1952, pg. 1-2)

Celebrations--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma; Parades & Processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1952 : Tacoma); Floats (parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma);

Husky dogs "mush" up a floral mountain carrying a sledded bottle, in this 1952 Daffodil Parade float sponsored by Cammarano Brothers, bottlers of carbonated beverages. It is followed by the entry from Nora's Bridal Shop, a lovely spring bride in a wide hooped dress, wide enough to hide the car that moves the float.

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1952 : Tacoma); Festivals--Tacoma; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cammarano Bros. (Tacoma);

Young women in daffodil hats and a king ride atop this 1952 float sponsored by Tacoma Vocational and Technical School. This float is very royal in keeping with the 1952 theme of "Alfred in Wonderland," a reference to the King Alfred daffodil- Puyallup Valley's most famous export. Young boys perch on the second floor ledge of the Willis Tavern, 1504-06 Jefferson Ave., to view the parade. The taller building to the right with the boys seated next to the Willis Tavern sign was the Hotel Lewis, 1520-22 Pacific Ave.; it was later demolished. (TNT 4-6-1952, pg. 1)

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1952 : Tacoma); Festivals--Tacoma; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Vocational School (Tacoma);

The man adding a uniform hat to the top of this small totem pole is wearing a Daffodil Festival pin on his lapel in this photograph from March of 1952. The hat would perch on the carved dome of a dark-haired figure. Three official badges, one of them a Tacoma Police Department Chief badge and another a Tacoma Fire Department Chief badge, are shown against the bottom of the totem pole. A small wooden box with an engraved message on top sits on the table and the unidentified man holds a square platter decorated with an image of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Events celebrating the 19th annual Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival were held on April 1-6, 1952.

Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1952 : Tacoma); Totem poles; Hats--1950-1960; Badges;

A convertible has been decorated by Art's Glass & Upholstery for the 1951 Daffodil Parade. The crowd was estimated at 100,000 this year. There were 97 entries in the parade with 70 floats and nearly 30 bands and marching units. The parade celebrated the arrival of spring and the bulb industry in the county. Pierce County was the largest bulb producing county in the United States at this time. (TNT, 4/3/1951, p.1)

Celebrations--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma; Spectators--Tacoma; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1950 : Tacoma); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Art's Glass & Upholstery Shop (Tacoma);

St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company sponsored the "Sweepstakes Winning" float in the 1951 Daffodil Parade. It featured two robins in front, two young ladies next to an arbor, and an enormous butterfly with an unidentified woman as the "body." It is seen here as it passed in front of Washington Hardware's retail facility with the Sports Shop next door.

Celebrations--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma; Spectators--Tacoma; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1951 : Tacoma); Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Hardware Co. (Tacoma);

Pausing on its way out of town is the Jordan Baking Co. float on April 7, 1951. It is most likely heading for Puyallup and environs as part of the 1951 Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival parade. The flower-bedecked float had as its theme "Jordan's Bread Fresh as a Daisy" which won it second place in the Commercial Division. Jordan's, with over 100 employees, was believed to be the state's largest independent bakery and known for their high quality, prize-winning bread. The young ladies on the float are not identified but company owner, Arthur K. Jordan is standing next to the float. The woman next to him may be Mrs. Jordan. (TNT 4-8-51, A-9, alt. photograph)

Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1951 : Tacoma); Jordan Baking Co. (Tacoma); Jordan, Arthur K.;

Small boys with big axes accompany the Boys Club entry in the 1951 Daffodil Parade. A tractor is pulling a large cart containing a daffodil-covered Blue Ox and his famous associate, Paul Bunyan. Crowds estimated at 100,000 packed the downtown streets of Pacific (shown above) and Broadway for the 18th annual Daffodil Festival Parade. Many families also got a good view of the 1 1/2 hour procession of floats, bands and other marching units, through office building windows including Washington Hardware Co.'s.

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1951 : Tacoma); Boys Club (Tacoma); Washington Hardware Co. (Tacoma);

The Tacoma Kiwanis Club's entry in the 1951 Daffodil Parade provided a somber note to the festivities in its "Freedom is not Free" theme. WWII was still a fresh memory and the country was now engulfed in the Korean War. A nurse is flanked by a sailor and soldier who stand with their weapons, overlooking a coffin and cross in a field of daffodils. Judges awarded this entry third place in the Service Club division. (TNT 4-7-51, p. 1-article)

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1951 : Tacoma); Kiwanis Club (Tacoma);

Making a slow and careful turn onto Pacific Avenue is the prize-winning float from the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co., entitled "Springtime." Graced with two large robins and enormous butterfly wings and dressed in green, yellow and maroon colors, the float won the Sweepstakes Award in the 1951 Daffodil Festival parade.

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1951 : Tacoma); Spectators--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Pauline Martin, 18, was selected on February 28, 1941 to reign over the 1941 Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival. Miss Martin, the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Paul Martin of Sumner, was born in a log cabin on a Montana ranch 25 miles from Sidney. Her family moved to Sumner when she was two, and she graduated from Sumner High School. The photographers and other Daffodil Queen contestants in this photograph are not identified. (T. Times 3/1/1941 p.1)

Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1941 : Sumner); Martin, Pauline; Photographers;

Two bathing beauties pose beside a 1950 Hudson decorated by Central Motors auto dealers, 714 Broadway, as their entry in the 1950 Daffodil Parade. The girls smile despite the cool and gloomy parade weather. The 1950 parade was celebrating its 17th year in existence and was the longest and best attended in the history of the parade.

Celebrations--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma; Parades & Processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1950 : Tacoma); Bathing suits; Automobiles--Tacoma--1950-1960; Central Motors (Tacoma);

An aerial view of the 1950 Daffodil Parade, looking north up Pacific Ave. from 13th Street to the City Hall, between Commerce and Pacific at 7th. The route of the 1950 parade began at the staging area at 17th and Jefferson, proceeded up Broadway to 9th, and then back on Pacific Ave. to 17th. The parade broke up at 17th and Pacific and reassembled in Puyallup for the march to Sumner. The two hour parade featured floats, marching band, drill teams, mounted posses and comic relief and was viewed by over 100,000 in Tacoma alone.

Celebrations--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1950 : Tacoma); Floats (parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960;

This aerial view of the 1950 Daffodil Parade shows Pacific Avenue looking north from South 13th Street toward the Old City Hall building. The Clover Park Band and Drill Team are followed by the Young Men's Business Club float, which took first place in the Class 2 competition. Spectators lined the parade route up to 10 deep, climbing atop ladders, buildings, fire escapes and awnings for a better view. The cold and wet weather did not stop the crowds, and every available officer of the law was needed to direct traffic in and out of Tacoma. TPL-8494

Celebrations--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1950 : Tacoma); Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960;

This daffodil sailed boat was the entry of the Retail Trade Bureau in the 1950 Daffodil Parade. The float was a play on words proclaiming "Better 'sales' for a Greater Tacoma." The 17th annual parade was a huge affair attended by more than a 100,000, however the parade tradition began in the town of Sumner with $25 and a small parade of wagons and trucks decorated with discarded daffodil heads at the height of bloom season.

Celebrations--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma; Spectators--Tacoma; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Parades & processions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival (1950 : Tacoma);