April 21, 1925, saw the return of former hometown girl, Mildred Davis, and her movie star husband, Harold Lloyd. Miss Davis had been a student at Stadium High School prior to her acting career. She and her husband (on right) are posed at Union Station along with Director Joe Murphy and Mr. Murphy's wife. The Lloyds were on the way to New York from California and made a brief stopover in Tacoma. (TDL 4-22-25, p. 1; TNT 4-22-25, p. 1+-article only)

Actors; Lloyd, Harold; Lloyd, Harold--Family; Actresses; Davis, Mildred; Murphy, Joe; Murphy, Joe--Family; Railroad stations--Tacoma; Union Station (Tacoma); Railroad travel--Tacoma--1920-1930;

On August 30, 1926, Miss Tacoma, Dorothy Rothermel, boarded the Oriental Limited at Union Station for Atlantic City. She was Tacoma's first entry in the fledgling Miss America contest. In 1926 the Miss America contest was not limited to one contestant from each state. Miss Rothermel was accompanied by her official chaperone Mrs. Bernice E. Newell. She stopped for three days in Philadelphia as guest of the John B. Stetson Hat Company. On September 7th, she boarded the "American Beauty Special" with the other seventy plus contestants for Atlantic City. Although Miss Rothermel did not win the Miss America crown for 1926, which went to Miss Tulsa, she was awarded third place in the Western division. She also left a lot of people wondering "Where the heck is Tacoma?" Dorothy May Rothermel would marry Gareld Bentley Banta six months after competing in the Miss America pageant. (TNT 8/30/1926, pg. 2; 8/31/26, pg. 1) G44.1-098 (Additional information provided by a reader)

Rothermel, Dorothy; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1920-1930; Newell, Bernice; Arrivals & departures--Tacoma--1920-1930; Railroads--Tacoma--1920-1930; Railroad stations--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Mayor M.G. Tennent (extreme left with hat) and a contingent of football fans were on hand to greet the Gonzaga University football team at Union Depot on November 10, 1926. 22 "Bulldogs," led by coach "Clipper" Smith plus a manager and trainer, posed for a group portrait before traveling by car to the Winthrop Hotel. The Gonzaga team would face a local independent team comprised of Tacoma Athletic Commission athletes at Stadium Bowl for an Armistice Day game. The college students were heavy favorites and would indeed go on to defeat the Tacomans 41-0. (TDL 11-11-26, p. 7; TDL 11-12-26, p. 8-article)

Mayors--Tacoma--1920-1930; Tennent, Melvin Green; Football players--Tacoma--1920-1930; Students--Tacoma--1920-1930; Union Station (Tacoma);

On display at the Union depot, 1717 Pacific Avenue, in early February of 1927 was the giant Great Northern electric locomotive #5007. It had made its way from East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Washington State, a distance of 2600 miles. This unidentified group of men, some of the hundreds in attendance, took the opportunity to have their photograph taken with the latest "Iron Horse" before it left town. #5007 weighed in at 715,000 pounds and had an overall length of 94'4". G44.1-097; G44.1-069 (TNT 2-3-27, p. 14-article)

Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1920-1930; Union Station (Tacoma);

Mayor Melvin G. Tennent and several Tacoma commissioners joined the hordes of Tacomans on February 2, 1927, in viewing the giant Great Northern electric locomotive #5007 on display at the Union depot. The latest and greatest "Iron Horse" had an overall length of 94'4" and a total weight of 715,000 pounds. It was built jointly by Baldwin Locomotive and Westinghouse Electric. A banner on the locomotive proclaimed it to be the "most powerful motor-generator electric locomotive ever built." It had traveled from East Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania to Skykomish, Washington, a distance of 2600 miles, hitched to the end of a through freight. After stops in Portland and Everett, it would be put into service. From L-R above are: Mayor Tennent (on steps), Commissioners Jesse Silver & Dyer Dyment, Commissioner Ira S. Davisson, and Llewellyn Evans, superintendent of City Light. The two men standing on the ground were not identified. (TDL 2-3-27, p. 12; TNT 2-3-27, p.14-article) G44.1-069; TPL-675; TPL-5813

Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1920-1930; Mayors--Tacoma--1920-1930; Tennent, Melvin Green; Silver, Jesse; Dyment, Dyer; Davisson, Ira; Evans, Llewellyn; Municipal officials--Tacoma--1920-1930; Banners--Tacoma; Union Station (Tacoma);

Former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey (at left) posed with Allen Motor Co. president Harold A. Allen (center) and Mr. Dempsey's manager, Leonard Sacks, on September 10, 1931, at the Union Station, 1717 Pacific Avenue. A new Studebaker President eight brougham, courtesy of Allen Motors, is ready for Mr. Dempsey, per his request. The boxer customarily drove a Studebaker at home and asked to be transported in one while in Tacoma. He was in town for the Junior League Milk Fund Benefit which would earmark proceeds towards the purchase of milk for undernourished children at Tacoma Public Schools. Mr. Dempsey was the star attraction for the September 10th event which was held outdoors at Stadium Bowl. Photograph ordered by Allen Motor Co. TPL-678 (TNT 8-28-31, p. 1-article; T. Times 9-12-31, p. 9)

Dempsey, Jack, 1895-1983; Boxers (Sports); Allen, Harold A.; Studebaker automobile; Sacks, Leonard;

The stars of the future Weaver Productions, Inc. motion picture "Totem Pole Beggar" arrived at Tacoma's Union Depot on March 5, 1926. The movie was scheduled to begin filming at the H.C. Weaver studio near Titlow Beach on March 8. H.C. Weaver, studio head, is in the back row, third from the right. In the back row are George F. Whitcomb, Louis von Weithoff, Tom Santschi, Weaver, director W.S. Van Dyke and Peter L. Shamray. In the front row are Mrs. Peter L. Shamray, Mrs. H.C. Weaver, Mrs. Llewellyn Jones, Dorothy Jones, Anne Cornwall, Wanda Hawley, Violet Palmer and actor Gareth Hughes, in knickers and argyle socks. Dorothy Jones and her mother, Mrs. Llewellyn Jones, were prominent Tacomans involved in the theater. Most of the women are wearing full length fur or fur trimmed coats. "Totem Pole Beggar," whose title was later changed to "Eyes of the Totem," was the second film made by the recently opened H.C. Weaver Productions, Inc. motion picture studio. Filmed partially in the Narada Falls area, the drama opened at the Broadway Theatre on June 10, 1927. (TDL 3-6-26, p. , TNT 3-6-26, p. 1)

Weaver, H.C.; Actors--Tacoma--1920-1930; Actresses; Hughes, Gareth; Santschi, Tom; Shamray, Peter L.; George F. Whitcomb; Palmer, Violet; Jones, Dorothy; Van Dyke, W.S.; Hawley, Wanda; Cornwall, Anne; H.C. Weaver Productions, Inc. (Tacoma);

College of Puget Sound. 33 members of the 1948 College of Puget Sound Loggers football team left for San Jose, California with Head Coach John Heinrick (second row, far right) on the morning of September 30, 1948. They had already worked out on campus in preparation for the battle against the San Jose State Spartans on October 1st. The team and coach were met in California by several ex-Loggers including Al Ruffo, the Mayor of San Jose. (T.Times, 10/1/1948, p.10)

College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Heinrick, John; Railroad travel--Tacoma--1940-1950; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad stations--Tacoma; Union Station (Tacoma);

College of Puget Sound. Head Coach John Heinrick (second row, far right) is taking his entire squad of 1948 football players to San Jose for their pre-season game against the San Jose Spartans. This was the last game prior to the start of the Evergreen Conference season. The highly favored San Jose came from behind to beat the Loggers 20-7. They will be catching their train from Union Depot. (T.Times, 10/1/1948, p.10) TPL-8484

College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Heinrick, John; Railroad travel--Tacoma--1940-1950; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad stations--Tacoma; Union Station (Tacoma);

College of Puget Sound. The Loggers are ready to travel to San Jose, California, to play the San Jose Spartans October 1, 1948. L-R, Co-Captain Dick Hermsen, Yell Queen Cynthia Harris, Yell Duke Ed Hager, Coach John Heinrick, and Co-Captain Dick Brown are standing on the platform at Union Depot along with other people waiting for the train. The entire team would make the trip to get plenty of practice before the start of the Evergreen Conference season starting the next week. (T.Times, 10/1/1948, p.10)

College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Heinrick, John; Railroad travel--Tacoma--1940-1950; Football players--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad stations--Tacoma; Union Station (Tacoma);

Tacoma's semi-pro Coast Ice Hockey League team, the Tacoma Rockets, were returning from a series of five games, all of which they won. They were the first team in club history to win five straight. The Rockets had an upcoming game against the Vancouver Canucks at the Tacoma State Armory. View of Tacoma Rockets at Union Depot, names appear in newspaper (T. Times, 11/19/48, p. 15). Founded in 1946, the Rockets ceased operations in 1953.

Ice hockey--Tacoma; Athletes--Tacoma; Luggage; Travel--Tacoma; Coast Ice Hockey League (Tacoma); Tacoma Rockets (Tacoma); Union Station (Tacoma); Railroad travel--Tacoma--1940-1950;

CPS Homecoming Parade, Times, Buzz. A parade was held Saturday November 6, 1948, from Union Station to Stadium Bowl preceeding the College of Puget Sound Homecoming Game that afternoon. Many of the CPS fraternities entered a contest for the oldest car. Delta Pi Omicron entered a 1907 Palmer-Singer automobile owned by Ed Griffin, a well-known local businessman. It was the only one of its kind in the parade. The automobile had over-drive and could attain speeds of 75 miles per hour. Ed Bartell is driving and his fraternity brothers, Bob Wagnlid and Dick Sawyer, are in the back seat. Homecoming Queen Cynthia Harris is seated in the back of a convertible in front of Union Station behind them. (T.Times, 11/11/1948, p.3)

Union Station (Tacoma); College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Parades & processions--Tacoma--1940-1950; Universities & colleges--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad stations--Tacoma;

A radioman stretches his microphone toward President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, center in profile, who looks over the large crowd gathered at the Union Depot. He was preparing to leave on the Great Northern Railway for a tour of the Grand Coulee Dam project site. The small children behind the railing are his grandchildren, Anna Eleanor (nicknamed Sistie) and Curtis (Buzzie) Dall. The men are believed to be, left to right, Senator Homer T. Bone, Harold Allen, the President's son James, Tacoma Mayor George Smitley (waving to the crowd) and the President's bodyguard (in hat.) ALBUM 1.

Presidents; Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945; Union Station (Tacoma); Smitley, George A., 1872-1956; Visits of state--Tacoma--Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945; Dall, Anna Eleanor; Dall, Curtis;

Tacoma Mayor George Smitley with President Roosevelt on his train at Union Depot. Posed on the platform with the President were, left to right, Senator Homer T. Bone, Tacoman Harold Allen, granddaughter Anna Eleanor (called Sistie) Dall (at the railing), Roosevelt's son James, the President's bodyguard (wearing hat) on his left side, and Tacoma Mayor George Smitley. The President's next stop was the Grand Coulee Dam project. (T. Times, 10/2/1937, p. 9). ALBUM 1.

Presidents; Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945; Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Smitley, George A., 1872-1956; Visits of state--Tacoma--Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945; Roosevelt, James; Dall, Anna Eleanor;

On October 1, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made an early evening speech from the back of his train at Union Depot. The train made a 15 minute stop to allow the President to board. Roosevelt was being picked up after an automobile trip around the Olympic Peninsula and a motorcade from Olympia to Tacoma. It was estimated that over 50,000 Tacomans lined the street and crowded Union Station to catch a glimpse of the popular President. The President's next destination was the site of the Grand Coulee Dam project. Visible behind the President on the train car deck are believed to be Tacoman Harold Allen, the President's son James Roosevelt, Tacoma Mayor George Smitley and the President's grandson Curtis (Buzzie) Dall. At the time of this photograph, he was in his second term as President. He died April 12, 1945, during his fourth term, of a cerebral hemorrhage. (T. Times 10/02/1937, pg. 9) TPL-1999 ALBUM 1

Presidents; Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945; Union Station (Tacoma); Visits of state--Tacoma--Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945;

Mayor John C. Siegle's flag draped casket arrived at Tacoma's Union Station on April 14, 1939. The first Tacoma mayor to be born and raised in Tacoma, Mayor Siegle took ill with flu-like symptoms shortly after he was sworn in in June of 1938. After trying to recuperate in humid Tacoma, he left for the drier environs of the area around Palm Springs, Ca. The Mayor died of an apparent heart attack while returning home by train, at Klamath Falls, Oregon on 4/13/1939. He was the first Tacoma mayor to die while in office. Assisting as his honor guard at the train station were three of his American Legion comrades. Wearing their Legion caps are (l to r) Dr. Reuben Hedberg, Barney Drew and, in the right foreground, Jerry Walters. (T. Times 4/15, p. 1)

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Siegle, John C., 1885-1939-- Funeral rites & ceremonies; American Legion Tacoma Post No. 138 (Tacoma);

American Legion Honor Guard flanked the casket of Mayor John C. Siegle as it was loaded onto a hearse at Union Station on April 14, 1939. Mayor Siegle's funeral was scheduled for April 15th, but first his body would lie in state at the Mellinger Chapel. The color guard from the Tacoma and Rhodes American Legion Posts accompanied the body to the chapel. Siegle was the first Tacoma Mayor to die in office. He was also the first member of the American Legion past commanders "Last Man Club" to die. (T. Times, 4/15/1939, p. 1).

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Siegle, John C., 1885-1939-- Funeral rites & ceremonies; American Legion Tacoma Post No. 138 (Tacoma);

Charlotte Doud (at left) and Catharine Strong leaving for trip to California. Boarding train at Union Depot on January 8, 1940 with group of well-wishers or others waiting to board the railroad car. The women were going there to attend the Beverly Hills wedding of Mary Roberts and Alexander Baillie Ripley, former Tacomans, and Miss Strong would be the maid-of-honor. After the wedding Miss Strong and Miss Doud would take an apartment in San Francisco for the season. (T.Times 1-13-1940, p. 5-alt. photo)

Doug, Charlotte; Strong, Catharine; Union Station (Tacoma); Travel--Tacoma--1940-1950;

On December 20, 1939, Mayor J. J. Kaufman (left) greeted Bob and Louise Lynd (center) upon their return by train from their publicized six month trip by Willits canoe from Fort Benton, Montana, to New Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi. Harry P. Cain (far right), chairman of the Golden Jubilee celebration that sponsored the trip, was also on hand at Union Station to greet the couple. The 3,500 mile journey in part retraced the path of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Lynds, "Goodwill ambassadors from Tacoma," travelled in a tiny canoe supplied by Henry Foss and built by Earl & Floyd Willits. The Lynds also wrote a series of articles, exclusive to the Tacoma Times, relating their experiences in publicizing Washington's Jubilee celebration to the states bordering the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The Willits Brothers handcrafted their wooden canoes in Tacoma, later Day Island, from 1908-1967. ALBUM 11. (T.Times 12-20-39, p. 1, 12-21-39, p. 1)

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Kaufman, Joseph J.; Lynd, Robert C.; Lynd, Louise D.; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Willits Brothers Canoes (Tacoma);

Lincoln High School Glee Club leaving on tour from Union Depot on March 28, 1940. Large group of people standing on railroad tracks next to Union Pacific passenger train.

Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lincoln High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Union Station (Tacoma); Railroad passenger cars--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad tracks--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Sales counter in lunch room at Union Depot. Two unidentified men and a woman stand behind case filled with cigars. Sign in background: "Read the Journal, It's Smar(t.)" Photographed on March 21, 1940.

Union Station (Tacoma); Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cigars; Signs (Notices);

Group of people standing by Dining Room in Union Station; lunch counter can be seen behind group. (filed with Argentum)

Union Station (Tacoma);

Miss Mary Fairhurst is pictured boarding a southbound train at Union Station for San Francisco, California where she has accepted a position with a nationally known concern. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cyril J. Fairhurst. (T. Times 8/26/1940, pg. 9)

Fairhurst, Mary; Union Station (Tacoma); Arrivals & departures--Tacoma--1940-1950; Farewells; Luggage; Railroad travel--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Tacoma Marine Corps Reservists boarding the train at Union Station on November 7, 1940 for active duty in San Diego. A special train of fourteen cars carried Companies B & C of Tacoma, as well as Companies A & D of Seattle. America, although not formally in the war, had reinstated the draft and was calling up its reservists to enter active duty. (T. Times 11/7/1940, pg. 12)

Union Station (Tacoma); Marines (Military personnel)--1940-1950; Military uniforms--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Military mobilizations;

Two police officers stand by Patrol Car Number 12 along curb of Pacific Avenue south of 19th Street, Union Depot in background. Ordered by United Pacific Insurance Company

Union Station (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1940-1950;

On August 17, 1941, Tacoman Dwight Howell, Jr., the male Washington State entry in the national finals of the Ford Good Driver's League, and his mother, Mrs. D.E. Howell, set off from Union Station to travel East for the contest. They were pictured boarding the train for the trip to Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan. The Howells were being seen off by Leon Titus, 2nd from right, and an unidentified man. While in Michigan, the student drivers were given a series of driving tests over a six mile course laid out in downtown Detroit. They were also entertained by the Ford Motor Company. Dwight Howell won a $500 scholarship by placing third out of 49 contestants. (T. Times 8/15/1941, pg. 13-article; T.Times 8/26/1941, pg. 16-results)

Howell, Dwight; Howell, D.E.--Family; Union Station (Tacoma); Titus, Leon E.;

On May 17, 1942, 418 Tacoma citizens of Japanese ancestry gather at Union Station prior to being shipped to the Pinedale "Assembly Center," an internment camp near Fresno California. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 allowing the military to shortcut civil liberties and remove anyone they considered potentially dangerous from any area considered to be at risk. On March 2, 1942, the Western Defense Command unveiled its plan to banish all people of Japanese ancestry from the entire West Coast and incarcerate them in internment camps. (T. Times 5/18/1942, pg. 1; TNT 5/18/2003, pg. B8+ by Stan Flewelling)

World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Union Station (Tacoma);

Tacoma's Japanese Americans board a train at Union Station. Thirty six hours later they will arrive at the Pinedale "Assembly Center" where they will wait out the war, their presence on the coast considered a threat to national security. The relocation was peaceful, with uniformed soldiers answering questions and helping with baggage. Only a few of the Japanese Americans complained about the process. (T. Times 5/18/1942, pg. 1+)

World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Union Station (Tacoma);

On February 19, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. This action eventually led to the removal of some 110,000 Japanese-Americans to internments camps in remote areas of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. This little girl was photographed at Tacoma's Union Station as she and her family prepared to board a train to the Pinedale, California assembly center camp. 879 Japanese-Americans from the Tacoma "restricted area" left for Pinedale beginning on May 14, 1942. (T. Times)

World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Union Station (Tacoma);

Japanese American families wait to board a train at Union Station. The 418 Tacoma residents are being sent to the Pinedale "Assembly Center" near Fresno California, for "the Duration," until the war is over. In all, 859 people of Japanese descent left Tacoma May 17-18, 1942 for incarceration in the internment camp. (T. Times 5/18/1942, pg. 1)

World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Union Station (Tacoma);