In December of 1959, the Lincoln High School Song Queens and Yell Queens (Pep Staff) posed for a studio portrait in their uniforms. The song queens led the school in song while the yell queens led the cheers. The girls were, clockwise from 12 o'clock, song queen Jan Manfull, pep queen Rhoda Lee Tallman, song queen Jan Geppert, pep queen Joyce Alice Reichel, song queen Edna Sharlene Tyler, pep queen Deanna Marlow, song queen Patty Jo Clifford and pep queen Kathy Wahl. (The Lincolnian 1960, TNT 11/8/1959, pg. D-1)

Lincoln High School (Tacoma); Cheerleading--Tacoma--1950-1960; Students--Tacoma--1950-1960; Teenagers--1950-1960; Tallman, Rhoda Lee; Reichel, Joyce Alice; Tyler, Sharlene; Marlow, Deanna; Clifford, Patty Jo; Wahl, Kathy; Manfull, Jan; Geppert, Jan;

Professor Gunnar J. Malmin, Director of Music at Pacific Lutheran College and well known musician, conductor and composer. He was born April 9, 1903 in Thompson, Iowa. He studied music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, at the famed St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. and the University of Michigan. He was an active member of the Lutheran Church and the Norwegian community. His career was based around those things most precious to him, singing, teaching and his faith. Malmin was married twice, to fellow musician and composer Dorothy, who died in 1986, and later to Berna Holland Olson, who died in 1999. Malmin died July 23, 2000 at the age of 97 of natural causes. He was survived by four children, Olaf, Jon, Ann and David and six grandchildren. (TNT 8-11-2000)

Conductors; Universities & colleges--Parkland; Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1950-1960; Malmin, Gunnar J.; Composers; Portrait photographs;

A classroom of bright eyed youngsters, students at the Annie Wright Seminary, smile for the camera on February 29, 1960. The eighteen girls and their teacher, Miss Hartwell, are doing a bit of light reading on this sunny morning. Classes were kept small at this private school with total enrollment approximately 300 and staff of 55. Holding the Alvin the Chipmunk doll is Nancy Bond at near right with Jamie May next to her. Blond Leilee Weyerhaeuser is seated behind Nancy. Other girls identified in the classroom were Jill Stone, Penny Rumbaugh, Mimi Wiborg and Ann Dickman. (Identification provided by a reader)

School children--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; Teachers--Tacoma--1960-1970; Bond, Nancy; May, Jamie;

Production crew at work. In 1960 Pacific Lutheran celebrated its 70th year of existence along with a change to university status. Now known as Pacific Lutheran University, the school maintained its well-known music and theatrical departments. Students and staff are shown backstage in this April, 1960, photograph preparing for an upcoming event. Props and scenery are being put into place. This may be the Curtain Call Club which furnished the assistant directors and back-stage crews for many campus plays. Membership in the club was open to all students interested in any phase of the theater, from directing to make-up and costume design. (1961 SAGA yearbook, p. 151)

Pacific Lutheran University (Parkland)--1960-1970; Universities & colleges--Parkland--1960-1970; Theatrical productions--Parkland--1960-1970; Stage props;

Pacific Lutheran University students pay close attention to their professor in this April, 1960, photograph. Gordon O. Gilbertson was an associate professor of music and director of the P.L.U. band. These musicians probably make up the woodwind and brass sections of the school band.

Pacific Lutheran University (Parkland)--1960-1970; Universities & colleges--Parkland; Students--Parkland--1960-1970; Musicians--Parkland--1960-1970

ca. 1960. Color architectural drawing of Mount Tahoma High School. Robert Billsbrough Price, noted Tacoma architect, designed the "campus style" format of the new Mount Tahoma High School, located at 6229 So. Tyler. Mr. Price had received much praise for his innovative design of Hunt Junior High School. The architect's drawing made full use of the new campus' 76 acres. Built by Strom Construction, Mount Tahoma would be the first "all-electric" school in Tacoma and would have the first "school-within-a-school" where sophomores, juniors and seniors would be in separate sections. It would have its first classes in September, 1961, and be officially dedicated on November 8, 1961.

Mount Tahoma High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1960-1970; Architectural drawings;

Each year the students of Annie Wright Seminary held a May Day festival to welcome back the blooming life of spring to the cool and gray Northwest. The ceremony in 1959 was held on a bright, sunny May 9th with the air stirred by a stiff breeze. 1959 was a special year, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the school, which opened in 1884 with a class of 93 from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Since most of the upper class girls were directly involved in the pageant, the entertainment was usually provided by the lower and middle school classes. This group appears to be performing a folk dance, perhaps from the Netherlands. Some girls are dressed in full skirts with aprons and boxy bonnets, some are dressed as boys in knee length pants and vests.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Annie Wright Seminary's Masque Players production of the operetta "HMS Pinafore." The school presented the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera May 1-3, 1959 for Parents' Weekend. The 1959 Parents' Weekend was a special celebration of the seminary's 75th anniversary. The plot of the operetta revolves around a captain's daughter who falls in love with a common sailor. It was first produced in 1878 and is probably the pair's most popular work. The Masque Players production was directed by Mrs. Diedre Monks and the players were assisted by the school's glee club choir and dance troop. The production featured Mitzi Weiss as Josephine, Gundl Primus as Ralph Rackstraw, Cynthia Fanshaw as Captain Corcoran and Anne King as Buttercup. (TNT 4/26/1959, pg D-11)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1950-1960; Costumes; Children performing in theatrical productions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Operas & operettas--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The Annie Wright May Day Queen's train bearers smile winsomely at the camera. They are, left to right, Jean Buttorff and Nancy McGoldrick. Every year the students of Annie Wright Seminary celebrated the arrival of spring to the gray Northwest with the May Day festivities. A senior was chosen to rule over the festivities, with the younger girls as attendants. Lower school (primary) girls were chosen to serve as heralds, train bearers, flower girls, scepter bearers, crown bearers and pages.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buttorff, Jean; McGoldrick, Nancy;

Every year, the student body and faculty of Annie Wright Seminary welcomed back spring with a May Day Festival. A senior girl was chosen to reign over the festivities as Queen, with other upper class girls as the court. Lower school (primary) girls acted as attendants. The girls pictured here in their May Day regalia on May 9, 1959 are, left to right, Muffet Gilfin, scepter bearer; Joan Anderson, herald; Terry Weyerhaeuser, crown bearer; Sally Dimant, page; Belinda McLean, flower girl and Rita Smith, flower girl. (yearbook "The Shield" 1959, TNT 5/7/1959, pg. D-7) )

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1950-1960; Festivals--Tacoma--1950-1960; Gilfin, Muffet; Anderson, Joan; Weyerhaeuser, Terry; Dimant, Sally; Smith, Rita; McLean, Belinda;

Pacific Lutheran College's 1959 May Day Queen and some of her Court. Queen Carolee Chindgren poses in the center of the group. The second row, left to right, are Linda Bloomquist, freshman, Margery Krueger, sophomore, Janice Snyder, junior and Janet Gullekson, freshman. This was the college's 26th annual May Festival. The celebration would be highlighted by gay spring music, colorful folk art and dancing and the coronation of the May Queen. Over 2,000 people attended the celebration. (TNT 4/28/1959, pg. 13, 5/3/1959, pg. D-11)

Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1950-1960; Universities & colleges--Parkland--1950-1960; Festivals--Parkland--1950-1960; Chindgren, Carolee; Bloomquist, Linda; Krueger, Margery; Snyder, Janice; Gullekson, Janet;

ca. 1959. Aerial of Hunt Junior High School, opened in 1958 to serve the growing communities of Fircrest and West Tacoma. When completed, the school designed by architect Robert Billsbrough Price was hailed as one of the most imaginative new schools in the country, and one of the least expensive per square foot. The reduced cost was due to the use of wood in construction, as opposed to concrete. The school's most distinctive feature was its mushroom shaped cafeteria/auditorium, growing from the landscape like something from P.T. Barnum. Hunt opened in 1958 with 27 teachers and 700 students under the guidance of Principal Trygve Blix. It was named after Henry F. Hunt, a Tacoma educator for 34 years who died in 1937. The school was expanded in 1964, 1974 and 1980. ("For the Record" by Winnifred L. Olsen) TPL-10159

Henry F. Hunt Junior High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Aerial photographs; Aerial views;

Franklin Elementary Scout Pack 159. The boys and leaders pose in front of their woodworking booth at the annual Scout Expo, being held at the College of Puget Sound Fieldhouse in May of 1959. The boys in the front in the dark uniforms are Cub Scouts. The boys behind in the lighter uniforms are Boy Scouts. Franklin Elementary was located at 3202 So. 12th St.

Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Franklin School (Tacoma); Cub Scouts (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Boy Scouts (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

On August 19, 1959, eight co-eds from the Annie Wright Seminary lent a hand in mortaring the new library wing at the school. The girls were, left to right, Margaret Woodhams, athletics; Lib Hewitt, secretary service league; Frances Finnigan, Class VIII president; Peggy Yates, of Puyallup, senior yearbook editor; Caroline Woodhams, secretary treasurer of the student body; Shirley Cartozian, Christmas Carnival; Laurie Grenley, vice president freshman class; and Missy Hyde, Class VII president. This group was part of a larger planned gathering for class and school officers to make plans for the upcoming school year. The new library wing was completed in November of 1959 at at cost of $170,000. It was of Tudor design, with 4,000 square feet of room to house 16,000 volumes and 68 students. The upper floors had bedrooms, storage and bath space. Photograph ordered by AWS for the Tacoma News Tribune. (TNT 8/23/1959, pg. D-3-alternate photograph of students)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Students--Tacoma--1950-1960; Woodhams, Margaret; Hewitt, Lib; Finnigan, Frances; Yates, Peggy; Woodhams, Caroline; Cartozian, Shirley; Grenley, Laurie; Hyde, Missy;

The Concert Chorus at Pacific Lutheran College posed for the camera seated in an open fan shape in the Music-Chapel on April 9, 1958. The men all sported tuxedoes while the women were primarily dressed in evening gowns. According to the student yearbook, the SAGA, the popularity of the group was increasing rapidly in the Seattle-Tacoma area. The chorus performed several times on Fort Lewis, at various churches, and at chapel exercises on campus. They were honored to be the first choral group to sing at the new Central Lutheran Church in Tacoma. The Concert Chorus, under the direction of R. Byard Fritts, concluded its year by recording music for the sound track of a technicolor movie to be released by the United Good Neighbors. (1958 SAGA yearbook, p. 94)

Choirs (Music); Universities & colleges--Parkland; Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1950-1960;

These little girls lounging on the grass at Annie Wright Seminary were probably part of the Lower School. They were waiting to participate in the school's annual May Day festival. It is likely that they would be performing a dance, perhaps ballet, for the enjoyment of parents and fellow students. Sepia photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary.

Private schools--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1950-1960; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

The ivy-covered walls of Annie Wright Seminary do not appear to have changed in the decades since the school was established. The elegant brick buildings of the college preparatory school for girls still remain in the city's northend. The Tudor Gothic style buildings were designed by architects Sutton Whitney and Dugan and built by J.E. Bonnell, contractor. Photograph ordered by the Shield yearbook.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--Buildings; Private schools--Tacoma;

The glass-encased multi-story fine arts annex at Lincoln High School was dedicated in November of 1957 and open for public viewing as part of the annual Back-to-School night and observance of American Education Week. It was the first major improvement at the school in several years. The modernistic steel and concrete Fine Arts Building is adjacent to the ivy-covered walls of the main building. Photograph ordered by Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation. TPL-8474

Lincoln High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A message board lends an air of modernity which contrasts with the French chateau architecture of Stadium High School. It stands as a reminder that this beautiful building, placed on the city, state, and national registries, is being utilized as a high school by the Tacoma School District. In May, 1958, there were only two high schools in Tacoma, with Woodrow Wilson High School to open four months later. Photograph ordered by Chase, Brass & Copper Co., Waterbury, Conn. TPL-9161

Stadium High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

Placed on the City, State and National Registry of historic buildings, the French chateau styled Stadium High School opened as a school in 1906. Intended originally for use as a hotel, and damaged by fire, the building was saved and remodeled to be used as a high school. View of Stadium High School; the unusual spires, turrets and towers would have been a challenge for roofers to maintain and replace. Nevertheless, $850,000 was spent in the summer of 1958 for renovations to the school. A new roof, rewelded and repainted fire escapes, replacement windows and sashes and a 50 foot steel beam lowered across the top of the gym to make the basketball court regulation sized and turned around were just some of the projects. Photograph ordered by Chase Brass & Copper Co., Waterbury, Conn. (TNT 7-20-58, B-11) TPL-8668

Stadium High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;

This side view of Stadium High School was taken on a sunny spring day in 1958 from the corner of N. 2nd and "E" Sts. Fire escapes are attached to the outside of the buildings so that students could exit in case of emergencies. These fire escapes would be removed, rewelded and painted during the $850,000 renovation project at the school during summer, 1958. Hipped and pitched roofs, spirals, and dormers blend in with the French chateau architecture but would have been difficult to repair and maintain. Besides a new roof, 500 windows and sashes were replaced during renovations. Photograph ordered by the Chase Brass & Copper Co., Waterbury, Conn. (TNT 7-20-58, B-11)

Stadium High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Henry F. Hunt Junior High School was applauded for its innovative use of wood. Architect Robert Billsbrough Price designed the new West end school to be built on one-level using primarily wood instead of the traditional brick or concrete. Costs were kept low at 15 cents a square foot because of the wood usage. View of Hunt cafetorium, an unusually shaped cafeteria/auditorium, showing huge curved glue-lam beams. Photograph ordered by American Lumberman, Chicago.

Henry F. Hunt Junior High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exterior of Thomas Jefferson Junior High School in Olympia, photo taken July 27, 1958. The buildings have a modern appearance; the larger two-story building with tall glass windows may have been the auditorium/gymnasium. Photograph ordered by Woodlam, Inc., a laminating wood products company. Building identification provided by patron.

Public schools--Washington;

The finished interior of the new Henry F.Hunt Junior High cafetorium at 6501 South 10th Street was photographed on June 23, 1958. The school opened in September of 1958, and the dedication was held on October 29th. The innovative dome-shaped building combined the cafeteria and the school auditorium. The curved stage blends with the building's curved glue-lam beams. The cafetorium had 20 bays with the dome covering a 144 foot span. The dome was formed by the use of 7" by 26" glue-lam beams; the purlins between the beams were covered with a half-inch fir plywood sheathing. There were many skylights to help with the natural lighting. The feeling of spaciousness was further accentuated by the lack of supporting columns within the building. Because of the extensive use of wood, the school district was able to save quite a bit of money in construction; costs ran 15 cents per square foot. (TNT 2-9-58, A-19, 20)

Henry F. Hunt Junior High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A covered walkway would offer protection to students on their way to the cafeteria/auditorium on the campus of the new Henry F. Hunt Junior High School at 6501 South 10th street when it opened in September of 1958. The saucer-shaped building was designed by architect Robert Billsbrough Price and was made primarily of wood. The glass walls, along with the many skylights, provided plenty of natural light. The innovative building had no supporting columns within to distract from the feeling of spaciousness. This photograph was taken in June of 1958 while it was still empty. It was built to serve the burgeoning student population of Tacoma's West End and Fircrest neighborhoods.

Henry F. Hunt Junior High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Over thirty students - only one a girl - were crowded into Clare Sherwood's science lab at Wilson High School in December of 1958 for a presentation that centered on what appears to be the wiring harness of a pinball machine. Mr. Sherwood was the head of the science department at Tacoma's newest high school. Woodrow Wilson High School opened its doors in September, 1958, the first new Tacoma high school in four decades. It was designed by architects Lea, Pearson & Richards as a modified campus-type arrangement on a 40-acre site purchased in 1953 by the school board as tax title land. The total cost was approximately $2.84 million with a cost per square foot of $13.96. (Photograph ordered by Citizens Committee for School Support.) (TNT 7-14-57, B-8) TPL-9296

Woodrow Wilson High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Classrooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Sherwood, Clare; Teachers--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Delighted Pacific Lutheran College co-eds applaud the selection of freshman Nadine Bruins of Arnegard, North Dakota, as the Lucia Bride on December 12, 1958. She has her eyes closed as the traditional red sash is wound around her waist. Tammara Oman (L) and Solveig Leraas (R) were selected as her attendants. The Festival of Santa Lucia is a very old Swedish custom, generally held the 13th of December, which features the eldest daughter of each household approaching her sleeping parents dressed in a long white gown with a red sash and wearing a crown of lingonberry leaves in which are set seven lighted candles. She supposedly represents the white-clad maiden, wearing a crown of burning candles, who brought food to starving Swedish villagers. Pacific Lutheran, like many other schools with large Scandinavian populations, celebrated this festival annually with the selection of a lovely Lucia Bride. (1959 Saga yearbook, p. 190-191, TNT 12-13-1958, p. 3)

Pacific Lutheran College (Parkland)--1950-1960; Festivals--Parkland; Bruins, Nadine; Oman, Tammara; Leraas, Solveig;

Chemistry students at the brand new Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma's west end focus intently on their lab experiments just prior to the Christmas holidays in 1958. The high school, with an enrollment of 1,350 students, had just opened in September of that year. Woodrow Wilson High School was the first new Tacoma high school to be built in forty-four years. About half of the students transferred from Stadium High School, and a few came from the University Place area. Maynard Ponko was Wilson's first principal. Photograph ordered by the Citizens Committee for School Support. (TNT 9-3-58, A-1) TPL-9297

Woodrow Wilson High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Classrooms--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1890. This copy of an old lantern slide shows the original Annie Wright Seminary at 611 Division Avenue as it appeared around 1890. The large building, with its tall vertical proportions, steeply pitched roofs, towers and decorative shingles, appears to be in the Queen Anne style of architecture. The school, named in honor of the daughter of its benefactor, Charles Barstow Wright, opened on September 3, 1884, with a student body of 93 girls from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and one from Alaska. In 1924, a new school was built on a ten-acre campus a few miles west on Tacoma Avenue, and this building was dismantled. The site where it stood is home to Stadium Thriftway and the Chevrolet dealership recently purchased by Bruce Titus. ( Date of original glass plate may have been about 1890; copy made on October 3, 1958.)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1880-1890; Private schools--Tacoma;

Adjoining Washington Elementary School, the new Nell Hoyt Primary School, 2708 North Union Avenue, was under construction in October of 1958. As originally designed, by innovative architect Robert Billsbrough Price, natural light would flood the four large open learning areas that made-up the major part of the school from large skylights in the domical roofs and from the wall-to-wall glass windows that encased the building. It was named after Nell Hoyt, a national pioneer in the "preschool" movement and a resident of Tacoma. Photograph ordered by Weyerhaeuser Timber Co.

Nell Hoyt School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960;