An enthusiastic crowd watched in awe as the first Daffodil Parade rolled by in 1934. The parade, designed to use the leftover daffodil blooms that were formerly thrown away when the bulb was harvested, has become a much anticipated annual feature of the spring festival. There has been a parade every year since 1934, with the exception of the war years of 1943, 1944 and 1945. In 1934, the parade consisted of decorated horses, bicycles, flower covered automobiles and a few floats. It started at Union Station and continued uptown. It later travelled to Puyallup, Sumner and Orting. In this photograph, two flower bedecked automobiles pass by delighted spectators.

This daffodil decorated horse and driver were one of the entries in the first Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival parade in 1934. The two wheeled cart was advertising Will Rogers in the motion picture "David Harem" playing at the Roxy Theater. Most of the entries in the first parade were modest when compared to later years. The parade began at Union Station, travelled through downtown Tacoma then on to Puyallup, Sumner and Orting.

Tacoma loves a good parade and Labor Day of 1934 was no exception. The Chamber of Commerce float bears Miss Tacoma, Queen of the Labor Day festivities and the Seattle Potlatch, Roberta Cohoon, down the parade route. She is attended by Margie Christen, left, and Eleanor Layton. The parade preceded the dedication ceremony for the relocated and restored Fort Nisqually. (TDL 9/4/1934, pg. 1)

The Rotary Club, a perennial entrant in the Daffodil Parade, entered this flower bedecked emblem of Rotary International in the 1936 parade. The word "Service" is emblazoned on the side of the float.

ca. 1935. This float was entered in one of the very early Daffodil Festival parades, most likely 1935. A grass covered car is topped by a daffodil basket in which sit two charming cherubs. The two children are dressed formally, he in top hat and tails and she in a white bonnet. The floats at this time period were very simple; usually flower covered cars or mounted on the flat beds of small trucks.

Billye Fairchild, Frankie Cowan and Betty Brumbaugh pose in flowered spring gowns and picture hats in a field of yellow daffodils advertising the first Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival in March of 1934. The brainchild of Tacoman Lee Merrill, the first Festival had a tight budget of $600 and not many supporters. The parade, then called the procession, took place on March 17,1934. It began at Union Station and wound its way through downtown Tacoma, followed by Puyallup, Sumner & Orting. Area businesses and clubs, still recovering from the Great Depression, contributed decorated horses, bicycles, busses, autos and a few floats plus marching bands and drill units. The Queen, Elizabeth Lee Wooten, was selected a few days prior to the Festival as she walked down a city street in Puyallup. TPL-3148

Margaret Thomas, crowned Queen Margaret I of the 1935 Greater Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival, smiles serenely over her bouquet of daffodils. The twenty three year old from Sumner was the first Queen chosen in an actual contest. Queen Margaret was selected from a field of ten candidates. The very first Festival Queen, Mrs. Elizabeth Lee Wooten, was selected by a committee without a contest. Until the mid-1950s, the Queen was always from Sumner or Puyallup, the birthplaces of the daffodil industry.

A young rider, dressed in chaps and a flower decorated hat, posed on a daffodil festooned horse ready to ride in the first annual Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival parade on March 17, 1934. The main viewing area was 11th & Pacific, where the parade passed with daffodil bedecked autos, busses, bicycles, carts and horses, as well as marching bands and drill teams. Still reeling from the Great Depression, business and club entries in the first parade were modest when compared to later years.

Sumner's entry in the 1940 Daffodil Parade was this floral cross section of a daffodil. Each daffodil petal is occupied by a girl. The girls wear white dresses. The float appears to be lined up in a staging area. One can only wonder if there were also five girls on the other side of the float, or if this float could only be fully appreciated from one side. The Tacoma Times calls the float a giant paddle wheel, a-la a Mississippi riverboat, with a girl in each paddle. See D9587 image 4 for another view of the float. (T. Times 3/30/1940, pg. 1)

Governor Clarence D. Martin rides in an open car for the Labor Day parade in 1934. Gov. Martin sits on the left side of the rear seat of the automobile, beside him sits Mayor George Smitley's wife dressed in white; the man on the right is unidentified. Tacoma Mayor Smitley rides next to the driver in the front seat. The group rides past the Bostwick Building, 755-71 Saint Helens Ave., at this time occupied by William Whetstone, the Credit Dentist. In the background, streetcars are parked to accomodate the passing of the parade. Later the same group would oversee the dedication of the relocated and reconstructed Fort Nisqually at Point Defiance.

Two young girls with bouquets of daffodils ride atop the Rotary Club of Tacoma's float in the 1940 Daffodil Parade. The focus point of the Rotary Club float is the gigantic globe, with the continents marked out with daffodils. The floats are lined up in a staging area prior to the parade. See Series D9587 image 19 for a Richards Studio photograph taken at almost the same exact time. TPL-2941

ca. 1938. This float was entered by the city of Sumner in a mid to late 1930's Daffodil Parade. The driver's head can be seen at the center of the float. In the back, two girls in Dutch costumes ride in chairs.

This float in the 1936 Daffodil parade carries the K Street emblem mounted on an axis and describing the K Street business sector as the "Hub of Activity." The float is offered by the K Street Business Mens' Association The floral tribute is built on the bed of a large truck. (T. Times 4/20/1936, pg. 3)

ca. 1935. The Rotary Club, almost always represented in the Daffodil Parade, entered this flower covered car in one of the early parades, most likely 1935. The automobile has so many flowers that even the wheels are covered with their own bouquets.

Daffodil Parade float entry by KMO radio, a floral representation of a microphone with the call letters KMO. The float was probably an entry in the 1936 parade. Several patches of daffodils in the outer ring of the microphone are missing showing the chicken wire base.

On this float in the 1936 Daffodil Parade, the flower vase has tipped over, sending the daffodils and the smiling girls they hold to the ground. Peeking around the edge of her flower is Mary Frances Cavanaugh, left, and in the other blossom is Weda Claire Dykeman. Mary Frances is the daughter of Cecil Cavanaugh, of Cavanaugh Lumber Co., and Weda Claire is the daughter of Doug Dykeman. (T. Times 4/20/1936, pg. 3)

Weda Claire Dykeman smiles from inside a daffodil during the 1936 Daffodil Parade. Weda Claire is the daughter of Doug Dykeman. (T. Times 4/20/1936, pg. 3)

Float sponsored by the City of Tacoma in the 1936 Daffodil Parade, symbolizing the city's dominance in public utilities. In the forefront are three rearing horses pulling a large wheel. A large dynamo is in the back, an emblem of the power of the hydroelectric plants. (TDL 4/19/1936, pg. 1)

ca. 1936. This float was entered by the city of Puyallup in the Daffodil Parade in the mid to late 1930s. Daffodils and crepe paper streamers cover the truck where uniformed Girl Scouts ride on the bed. The girls hold an American flag and a second flag, possibly the Washington state flag.

This undated photograph featuring the Corner Club Girls rolling down Broadway at 9th Street is most probably of the historical pageant parade presented Labor Day 1934. The costumed lovelies are from Pioneer Days and are festooned in ruffles, bonnets and parasols. The Tacoma Corner Club was formed by Mrs. Percy C. Smith who served as advisor and was fondly referred to as "Mother Smith." The women of the Tacoma Corner Club hosted dinners, dances, plays, took classes in bookkeeping, first aid, shorthand, the Bible, among others, and supported one another. They presented a flag to the State Historical Society in 1933. The original club was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1917. (Additional information provided by a reader)

Queen Margaret I, Margaret Thomas of Sumner, and her four attendants pose on their Daffodil Parade float on March 23, 1935. The attendants are, left to right, Irma Jane Janig, Sumner; Billie Barto, Puyallup; Olive Chervenka, Sumner; and Evelyn Mellinger of Tacoma. The 1935 parade was the second annual.

The 1936 Daffodil court is getting out of their vehicle at the base of the reviewing stand on So. 10th Street & Pacific, a 35-feet-high, four-tiered structure covered with 200,000 daffodils. They will ascend to the first daffodil covered platform to view the parade as it passes by. The pylon was the photo opportunity of the third annual Daffodil Festival. The old bank building at 10th and Pacific, overhead streetcar wires, and the ruins of The Tacoma Hotel punctuate the background. (T. Times 4/20/1936, pg. 3)

Copy of customer print. A parade of trucks filled with alder products paused on an unidentified street in this Marvin D. Boland photograph. They participated in the American Legion patriotic parade in 1920. "Save Alder Timber" signs were prominently displayed on top of the trucks and cars. Buffelen Lumber & Mfg. Co., established in Tacoma in the early 20th century, wanted to demonstrate how valuable alder timber was and how many ways the wood could be used. Rather than buying hardwood out-of-state, it would benefit companies to purchase the useful alder within the state's borders, thereby helping out the local economy. Buffelen announced plans in July of 1920 to build a $100,000 plant on the Hylebos for the purpose of making hardwood finish from alder logs. Photograph ordered by Paxport Mills on March 8, 1979. ( D169349-1) (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 7-11-20, B-6)

Parades--Tacoma--1920-1930; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Signs (Notices); Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1920-1930;

A group of young ladies "pop" out of a large "egg" as they await entry into the Western Washington Fair on September 18, 1930. The similarly dressed women are representing the Washington Co-op Egg & Poultry Association. The "egg," being hauled by a heavy duty truck, is a symbol of the Co-op's claim of their eggs being "Bigger & Better." TPL-523; G6.1-102

Floats (Parades); Washington Co-op Egg & Poultry Association (Tacoma);

More than 6,000 Tacoma union men took part in the Labor Day Parade down Pacific Ave. in September of 1919. The parade of Tacoma organized labor through downtown began at the City Hall, 625 Commerce, and proceeded south on Pacific Ave. Charles Richmond, a labor leader, led the parade as marshall mounted on a horse; he was followed by the Railway Brotherhood, policemen and firemen. Next came this float from the Teamsters, an old-time coach mounted on a horse drawn wagon. It was decorated with a banner reading, "Does the man who delivers your goods belong to the Teamsters Chauffeurs Union #313." Union 313 consisted of Tacoma drivers from many industries. Many union members followed the float carrying American flags. One of the goals of the Labor Day celebration was to reach the $30,000 goal set for the Labor Temple building fund. Labor Temple buttons were being sold to raise the funds. (T. Times 9/1/1919, pg. 1) G38.1-018 TPL-10094

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1910-1920; Labor unions; International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 313 (Tacoma); Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1910-1920;

1919 Labor Day parade. Five uniformed motorcycle policemen lead the 1919 Labor Day parade down Pacific Avenue before waiting crowds. Grand marshal of the parade, Charles Richmond, secretary of the Building Trades Council, rode on horseback. Bands and marching units follow. Streetcars move along adjacent to the parade activity. Businesses along this stretch of Pacific were thickly bundled together including banks, hotels, dentists, and drugstores. G38.1-019

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1910-1920; Business districts--Tacoma--1910-1920; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1910-1920;

Waiting for the "Ship by Truck" parade to begin on August 16, 1919, was this float composed of a (now rare) Cole Eight automobile being carried on a Bethlehem truck. The truck was furnished by Wever Motor Car Co., 725 Broadway, and had a large flag draped over its hood. Wever Motor also sold new Coles. Tacoma truck dealers would be participating in the nationwide campaign fathered by Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. called "Ship by Truck," promoting the various uses of motor trucks in shipping and hauling. A grand parade involving some 500 trucks was held on Saturday, August 16th. Nearly every truck offered for sale in Tacoma was represented in the parade that traveled through Tacoma's business streets. G11.1-007 (TDL 8-14-19, p. 2-article; TDL 8-15-19, p. 2-article)

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1910-1920; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1910-1920; Cole automobile; Bethlehem truck;

At 10 a.m. on a clear July 4th morning in 1919, the most elaborate Independence Day parade in years got underway. Thousands watched the 45 minute spectacle, part of the Northwest Peace Jubilee celebration. In the fourth division, industrial, was this pictured float entered by the Walker Cut Stone Co. of Tacoma. A General Motors 5 ton chassis carried a 6 1/2 block of carved Wilkeson Sandstone. The stone was elaborately carved and designed for the "Temple of Justice" in Olympia, Wa. The float banner stated that 142 carloads were used in the construction of the Temple, at Cherry Lane and 12th Ave. in Olympia, which houses the State Supreme Court. The structure was completed in 1920. The GMC truck was loaned by Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. to Bob Walker, at the wheel of the vehicle. Wilkeson Sandstone is named for the small mountain town of Wilkeson, in the Cascade range, where it is quarried. The 1919 City Directory lists A.J. Griesemer as President, Robert Walker as Sec-treas., and 1008 Puyallup Ave as the location of the office and yard of Walker Cut Stone. (TDL 7/5/1919, pg. 1; TDL 7/13/1919, pg. 6C- picture) G33.1-114, TPL-2244

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1910-1920; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1910-1920; Walker Cut Stone Co. (Tacoma); Holidays--Tacoma--1910-1920; General Motors trucks;

An impressive parade took place in Tacoma on the first Memorial Day following the end of the Great War, May 30, 1919. Veterans from the Civil, Spanish American and Great War (WWI) were represented with local Boy Scouts marching as the fourth generation. Bringing up the rear of the parade was the pictured decorated automobile entered by the War Camp Community Service. It was covered with frilled crepe paper and topped with a parasol. The War Camp Community Service was formed in 1917 at the request of the War Department. Its primary responsibility was to organize recreational and social activities in communities where servicemen and women might spend off duty time. G20.1-029 (TDL 5/31/1919, pg. 1)

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1910-1920; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1910-1920; Memorial Day; Commemoration--Tacoma; Memorial rites & ceremonies--Tacoma; War Camp Community Service (Tacoma);

This truck, adorned with large American flags, was believed to have participated in the 1918 Labor Day parade that swung through Tacoma's downtown streets on September 2nd. It carried an unidentified well-dressed man holding what may have been sheets of paper containing stamps. Signs urged people to buy US savings stamps to support the war. 18,000 workmen carried American flags, allied banners and union banners in what organizers believed was the largest Labor Day parade to date. (TDL 9-2-18, p. 1-article; TDL 9-3-18, p. 1-article)

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1910-1920; Floats (Parades)--Tacoma--1910-1920; Signs (Notices); Flags--United States;