Completed exterior of home designed by Lance, McGuire & Muri architects and built by Bert Sundgren, contractor. The exterior of the two story house has been covered with plywood. Large windows will provide uninterupted views from the interior. A small extension is seen on the lower floor on the right. Photograph ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association, Margie Chalmer. (TNT, 9/11/1949, p.B-5)

Houses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Windows--Tacoma--1950-1960; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

A photograph of North 2nd and G Streets taken for L.A. Nicholson and Sons, land surveyors. A view of property nearly one block in size in the Stadium District.

L.A. Nicholson & Sons (Tacoma); Land; Land use--Tacoma--1950-1960; Real estate development--Tacoma--1950-1960;

In January of 1950, the members of the Lakewood Dance Club welcomed in the new year with a "Half Century" Ball, held at the Lakewood Center, 6100 Motor Avenue SW. In this publicity photograph, Mrs. E.B. Linsley played an organ while Mr. and Mrs. Harold Engers (at the left) and her husband stood by admiring her skill. Mrs. Linsley is wearing a Victorian-style dress with lace overlays and a high necked under-blouse. She wears her hair up in a Victorian style. The men are wearing fancy dress clothes and Mrs. Engers has added a wide brimmed hat to her costume. (TNT, 1/29/1950, p.B-1) Ordered by the Tribune, Barbara Dana.

Lakewood Community Center (Lakewood); Balls (Parties)--Lakewood--1950-1960; Costumes--Lakewood--1950-1960; Lakewood Dance Club (Lakewood); Linsley, E.B.--Family; Engers, Harold--Family; Organs;

The Hortensia-Bertin sits in the ways building at Tacoma Boat Building ready for launching into Commencement Bay. The large tuna clipper was designed by Arthur DeFever of San Pedro, and measured 103' x 24'10". O.E. Bertin would be her captain. She would have outstanding communication capabilities with radiophone and code instruments, a Northern Radio sending set and a National receiver. She was capable of carrying a crew of 20 and 185 tons of fish at 10 knots. Her home port was to be Tegucigalpa, Honduras. (TNT, 1/5/1950, p.21; Pacific Fisherman, April 1950, p.26; Pacific Fisherman, October 1950, p.12) TPL-9024

Launchings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fishing boats--Tacoma; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

Launching of the John N. Cobb at Western Boat. L-R, Mrs. Emmett Egan and Mrs. Margaret E. Johnson, wife of Captain Sheldon W. Johnson, stand ready to christen the John N. Cobb, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service exploratory vessel. She was named after John N. Cobb, the first Dean of the School of Fisheries of the University of Washington, who had also served with the United States Bureau of Fisheries. Ordered for the Seattle Times by Mr. R.H. Calkins. (Marine Digest, 2/4/1950)

Launchings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Western Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Egan, Emmett--Family; Johnson, Margaret E.;

A man inspects a large stack of Hemlock boards in the yard at the St. Paul Lumber Company. The boards are ready for dry kilns where they would remain 2 to 4 days. Each tier of lumber is stripped to separate the pieces, which allows heat and steam to circulate freely when the load is in the kiln. After drying, the load is ready to be unstacked and sent to the planers. (Tree Life Hemlock, St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co.)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

A large stack of lumber in the yard at the St. Paul Lumber Company. The lumber is separated at even intervals to insure even drying.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

McMurtrie's Breakfast Program, KTBI. Fifteen people gather around tables after breakfast wearing Hawaiian shirts, leis, and straw hats for the morning radio program presented by KTBI and Burt McMurtrie. Burt McMurtrie was a commentator for KMO Radio Station in 1951. He had been a reporter with the Tacoma Times before it closed March 1949. Ordered by Burt McMurtrie.

McMurtrie, Burt; Radio broadcasting--Tacoma--1950-1960; Talk shows--Tacoma--1950-1960; Shirts; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The front of Nancy's Baby Portrait Studio and Richards Commercial Photo Service after the snow and wind storm in January 1950. The Richards Studio was established in 1921 by 19-year-old Turner Richards. Three of Turner's brothers (Bob, Ed, and Nelson), his mother, and other members of the Richards family participated in the business during its operation. During its most active years, the 1930s through the mid-1970s, the Richards Studio maintained a staff of 35 with three studios in the Tacoma area including one at Ft. Lewis and the children's portrait studio, Nancy's.

Photographic studios--Tacoma--1950-1960; Nancy's Baby Portrait Studio (Tacoma); Snow--Tacoma--1950-1960; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Window displays--Tacoma--1950-1960; Storefronts--Tacoma; Richards Commercial Photo Service (Tacoma);

The snow storm that hit Tacoma on January 13, 1950 turned downtown Tacoma into a winter wonderland. In this photograph, taken on Saturday evening January the 14th, a man wearing an overcoat, hat and boots stops to look in the window of Nancy's Baby Portrait Studio at 736 Pacific Avenue and smoke a cigarette. Tacoma had received almost nine inches of snow, and the wind, at 25 miles per hour, had created drifts up to five feet high. The temperature, which had been at 12 degrees Saturday morning did not get above the mid-20s for several days. (TNT 01-16-1950 p.1)

Photographic studios--Tacoma; Nancy's Baby Portrait Studio (Tacoma); Snow--Tacoma--1950-1960; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Window displays--Tacoma--1950-1960; Storefronts--Tacoma; Facades--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Building a sample and testing flooring at the Douglas Fir Plywood Association Plywood Lab. Two men are standing on a flooring sample to test the strength of plywood in this application. Two other men are reviewing the specifications for the test. A drawing table with lamp and stool are seen against the wall on the right. Ordered by Villa Daily.

Product inspection--Tacoma; Testing--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Research facilities--Tacoma; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

Studio portrait of E.A. Ryder. Mr. Ryder wears a dark suit, a white shirt and polka dot tie. He wears his white hair parted on one side and a narrow moustache. He looks directly at the camera with one eyebrow raised.

Ryder, E.A.; Moustaches; Portraits;

On December 23, 1949, Sr. Capt. Heber Sainsbury of the Salvation Army and his wife filled cardboard boxes with fresh food to be distributed to needy Tacomans for Christmas. The Tacoma Branch of the Salvation Army was founded in July, 1888. In 1922 they built a headquarters building at 109 So. 13th St. In 1949, the Salvation Army helped over 7,500 people with meals, beds, garments and jobs; they helped 14,000 persons obtain employment; and made over 8,000 visits to local hospitals. Mr. Sainsbury and his wife came to Tacoma in August of 1949, having previously served the Salvation Army in Walla Walla, Everett, Helena, Montana, and the Hawaiian islands. (T.Times 8/27/1949 p.7) TPL-8107

Salvation Army (Tacoma); Charitable organizations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Community service--Tacoma--1940-1950; Food--Tacoma; Celery--Tacoma; Holidays--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Boat on the ways and sea trials, Bill Vinson. "Sunrise" is out on the water for her sea trials. Her captain stands on the upper deck to steer her onto Puget Sound. Her dinghy has been hauled up and is stored above the lower cabin. There is a large, covered area on the back for comfortable enjoyment of a day on the water.

Ship trials--Tacoma--1940-1950; Yachts--Tacoma--1940-1950;

A crane loading freight vans onto a ship for Alaska Freight Lines at Shaffer Terminal #1. Shaffer terminal reported in 1949 that 88 vessels discharged 43,532 tons of general cargo and 4,645,964 board feet of lumber. The most frequent cargo was chrome ore, but also frequently imported were spruce from Alaska and hardwood from the Philippines for furniture processing. For the same year, the terminal reported 83 outbound ships took 40,812 tons of general cargo and 19,662,143 feet of lumber. The largest single item of outbound cargo was pulp and paper from the St. Regis Paper Company. (TNT 2-14-1950 C-11)

Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960; Marine Terminals--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hoisting machinery; Alaska Freight Lines (Tacoma); Shaffer Terminals, Inc. (Tacoma);

Several of the dignitaries attending the installation banquet for the Delta Phi Chapter of Sigma Chi at the College of Puget Sound pose for their group portrait. The gentleman in the center of the back row is Henry O. Foss. Ordered by the Magazine of Sigma Chi, Merrill E. Pritchard.

Sigma Chi (Tacoma); Fraternities & sororities--Tacoma--1950-1960; College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

Exterior of the Standard Paper Company. The wholesale paper and stationery company stands on the corner of Pacific and South 21st. Standard Paper took over this location in 1931 from West Coast Steel Company. The three-story facility was built in 1904 for the West Coast Wagon Company. Adolph Schantz was president of the company at this time. James F. Wilhelmi was vice president and G.W. Paul served as secretary-treasurer.

Standard Paper Co. (Tacoma); Stationery trade--Tacoma; Paper--Tacoma; Business enterprises--Tacoma--1950-1960; Facades--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Progress photograph, new building at Stauffer Chemical Company. Stauffer Chemical Company was just getting into production on the tideflats, manufacturing superphosphate fertilizer. The new plant would serve a market area of 200 miles with approximately 30,000 tons of its product a year. The Barthel Chemical Construction Company had installed lined acid tanks for Stauffer Chemical at this time. The plant was built on a 40 acre tract on the tideflats at the location of the old Rainier Steel facility. (TNT, 2/14/1950, p.A-7; 9/13/1949, clipping)

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Progress photographs; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Barthel Chemical Construction Co. (Tacoma);

Mr. Frank Walters, President of the Tacoma Athletic Commission, and Mrs. Walters posed with a publicity poster for the organization's 4th annual birthday party to be held at the club's headquarters at the Top of the Ocean on February 20, 1950. The party celebrated four years of active promotion of the city's athletic programs. The TAC was unique in the U.S. Organized as the Tacoma War Athletic Commission in 1942, it raised funds for athletic equipment for the thousands of US servicemen stationed in the Pacific Islands. Equipment was sent to fighting forces from Alaska to Australia. Following the end of the war, the group directed its policies to the civic and athletic betterment of Tacoma, particularly in the support of sports activities for youth. (TNT 2-26-1950 D-1, TNT 3/23/1956, pg. 1)

Tacoma Athletic Commission (Tacoma); Events--Tacoma--1950-1960; Clubs--Tacoma--1950-1960; Top of the Ocean (Tacoma); Walters, Frank; Walters, Frank--Family;

Fire damage at Tacoma Transit. The fire at the Tacoma Transit Company terminals destroyed four buses, several private automobiles and gutted the firm's repair shops and maintenance depot. Bricks, placed more than 50 years earlier in the two-story building, withstood the heat and flames. The framed interior of the building was a total loss, however. During streetcar days, in the section of the building damaged, were housed the old power house and the giant 12 and 15-foot diameter wheels which furnished power for the fleet of Tacoma cable cars. Ordered by United Pacific Insurance Company, Mr. Littlemore. (TNT, 2/16/1950, p.1)

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Fires--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bus terminals--Tacoma;

Four Tacoma Transit buses were totally destroyed on February 15, 1950 when a gasoline-fed fire swept through the Transit Company's repair shop at 1301 A Street. The repair shop was located in the historic Tacoma Railway & Motor Company Power House which was built in 1889; it was originally built as the main powerhouse for Tacoma's streetcars. Although the brick walls withstood the heat and flames, the frame interior of the building and the buses inside were a total loss. Today the site of the old Transit building is occupied by the Columbia Bank Center which was built in 2001. Pictured above removing a "school bus" sign from one of the destroyed buses is Herbert "Herb" Emerick. His primary bus route was "Old Tacoma," which was also the area he lived in with his wife, Ida Strubstad Emerick. "Herb" Emerick would retire from Tacoma Transit and pass away in 1955. (Ordered by United Pacific Insurance Company, Mr. Littlemore.) (TNT, 2/16/1950, p.1. Additional information provided by a reader.)

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Fires--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bus terminals--Tacoma; Emerick, Herbert;

Dolores Determan and Sgt. Mason F. Stober, Jr., were married April 18, 1950 at the McChord Air Force Base chapel. The bride is wearing a floor-length wedding gown with a train, a finger-tip veil with a heart-shaped headress, and she carries a bouquet of white orchids and hyacinths. The bride-groom is wearing his military uniform. (TNT, 5/6/1950, p.23)

Weddings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Brides--1950-1960; Grooms (Weddings)--1950-1960; Wedding costume--1950-1960; Military uniforms; Determan, Dolores--Marriage; Stober, Mason F.;

Interior of new bungalow court, Adlee Court, built and managed by Addison Forrester and Carter Lee. This view shows one of the four bachelor units that would be available January 2, 1950. The kitchen is straight ahead, the bathroom is just to the right. Forrester & Lee, designers and builders of the 20 unit bungalow court, held an open house January 1, 1950. Cost of the structure was $130,000. In addition to the four bachelor apartments were four large one-bedroom apartments and twelve medium sized one-bedroom units. The units ranged from $65 to $85 per month. (TNT, 1/1/1950, p.6)

Adlee Court Apartments (Tacoma); Apartments--Tacoma--1940-1950; Kitchens--Tacoma--1940-1950;

The interior of the Tacoma Club showing tables set with white table cloths and tableware. A mural of trees in bloom covers the upper part of the back wall. Ordered by Earl Reynolds.

Banquet halls--Tacoma; Table settings & decorations; Tacoma Club (Tacoma); Murals--Tacoma;

Interior exposure of 944 So. Mountain View Ave. in the Narrowmoor addition, designed and built by Tietz Construction. The home has a brick fireplace for coziness. Built in shadow box partitions between the kitchen and dining room form attractive staggered shelves used for displaying collected treasures without the blocked off feeling of a solid wall. The square American modern furniture sat on embossed carpet. Pictures of this home were used in Tietz's exhibit at the Greater Tacoma Home Show in March, 1950 and in the TNT special for National Home Week in September, 1950 and the TNT special for the 1952 Tacoma Home Show. In 1952, this was the home of George Petrich. (TNT 9/10/1950, pg. B-9 & TNT 4/1/52, pg. 29)

Houses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Interiors--Tacoma--1950-1960; Interior decoration; Fireplaces; Furniture--1950-1960; Living rooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Kitchens--Tacoma--1950-1960; Petrich, George--Homes & haunts;

Interiors of homes ordered by Wm. W. Tietz. This view of an early 1950's living room features a large brick fireplace with a large, unframed mirror above it and bookcases on either side as a focal point. The plush and upholstered furniture is all pushed against the walls. The ceilings are lower than those in houses of earlier periods and the woodwork has been scaled down considerably or is nonexistent, as at the ceiling edges. A large patterned wallpaper is seen on the walls of the dining area.

Living rooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fireplaces--Tacoma--1950-1960; Wallpapers; Moldings--Tacoma;

Studio set-up, Tacoma Engraving Company, Harry Keller. The Tacoma Engraving Company was located at 921 Market. They specialized in photoengraving, illustrating, industrial name plates, etched metal awards, plaques and specialties. Shown here are examples of specialized packaging they created for several companies to contain lard, candies, ice cream, cookies, stuffing and apples and more.

Packaging; Photoengravings; Engraving--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Engraving Co. (Tacoma); Printing industry--Tacoma;

Pioneer Sand and Gravel's booth at the Seattle Housing Show features a model of Pioneer's blue cement truck pulled up to a miniature construction site and a stone fireplace with heatilator built into it. Bags of Tru-Mix are on display as well as other items relating to the construction trade. Ordered by Vance Tjossem.

Pioneer Sand & Gravel Co. (Seattle); Merchandise displays--Seattle--1950-1960; Exhibit booths--Seattle--1950-1960; Building materials industry--Seattle--1950-1960;

A workman is operating a hopper to deliver materials to a container on a lower level, possibly a cement truck. By pulling different handles hanging over his head he can deliver each ingredient needed for different batches of products. A large scale stands against the wall behind the workman. Ordered by Pioneer Sand & Gravel, Seattle, Vance Tjossem, for translites.

Pioneer Sand & Gravel Co. (Steilacoom)--Employees; Machinery;

Their feet resting on a snow bank, the employees of the Sepic Electric and Furniture Company store at 1301 South K Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way) posed for a group portrait in February of 1950. Sepic's advertised that they had qualified, experienced employees in each and every department. They had recently completed a modernization of their store and had 10,000 square feet of floor space with complete stocks of both furniture and appliances, and a new floor covering department. Fred Sepic is seated in the front row next to a young woman employee, second from the left; Stan Sepic is seated second from the right. Ordered by Stan Sepic. (TNT, 2/14/1950, p.D-14) TPL-8364

Sepic Electric Co. (Tacoma); Furniture stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Appliance stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;