Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A young girl looks up at the enormous log section. The annual rings show the tree was 586 years old. It would have provided much good lumber even before Columbus landed in America. Long over-ripe, rot had begun to appear just inside the bark at the base of the trunk and much of the upper part was decayed. (T.Times, 10/16/1946, p.4; TNT 8/21/1946, pg. 1)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Logs; Girls--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Puget Sound Boat Building, "Sun Glow". Starboard view of the "Sun Glow" during water trials. Several men stand on the upper deck of this fishing vessel. Two men are on the middle deck by the smaller life boat and two more are in the stern of the lower deck TPL-8912

Puget Sound Boat Building Corp. (Tacoma); Fishing boats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Ship trials--Tacoma--1940-1950;

The Western Boat Building Company, long recognized as a leader in commercial boat construction, expanded after World War II to offer its first complete line of stock model yachts. They introduced their Fairliner 26 foot deluxe express cruisers at the January 1947 motorboat show in New York. The Fairliners under construction in this photograph introduced a new name to the world of yachting. (T.Times, 12/7/1946, p.1)

Western Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Rucker Brothers trucking company was owned by Burrell and Murrell Rucker, they were located on 733 East 11th Street, on the same site as the St. Paul and Tacoma Retail Lumberyard. View of Rucker Brothers truck loaded with lumber, St. Paul and Tacoma Lumberyard in background. St. Paul and Tacoma lumber was shipped throughout Washington in Rucker trucks.

Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shipping--Tacoma; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Rucker Brothers (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; International trucks;

Buck & Sons manufactured farm machinery, sold Ford and Ferguson Tractors, repaired tractors and sold tractor tires. Exterior view of their building, Ferguson System tractor sign above entrance, shop windows, garage on left side.

Agricultural machinery & implements--Tacoma; Machinery; Tractors--Tacoma; Storefronts--Tacoma; Buck & Sons Tractor & Implement Co. (Tacoma);

Buck & Sons manufactured farm machinery, sold Ford and Ferguson Tractors, repaired tractors and sold tractor tires. Exterior view of their building, Ferguson System tractor sign above entrance, also visible are Puget Sound Paint and Hardware store and Signal gas station.

Agricultural machinery & implements--Tacoma; Tractors--Tacoma; Gasoline pumps--Tacoma; Storefronts--Tacoma; Buck & Sons Tractor & Implement Co. (Tacoma);

Buck and Sons was holding a tractor and farming equipment demonstration for the local farmers. They were showing their new merchandise and their new and modern facilities. Buck and Sons had modern equipment and supplies to meet a farmer's needs. Interior view of Buck and Sons.

Agricultural machinery & implements--Tacoma; Tractors--Tacoma; Meetings--Tacoma; Buck & Sons Tractor & Implement Co. (Tacoma);

Hooker Electrochemical Co. also had a large plant in Niagara Falls, New York. The company was always expanding and had many smaller plants and offices throughout the United States. Since the end of World War II, they had substantially grown and were looking at the possibility of opening up an office in Vancouver, British Columbia. Exterior view of Hooker-Dextrex solvent plant, where Hooker produced chemicals PCE and TCE from 1947-1973. The water tank (safety first!) is on an adjoining shipyard property. Additional image information provided by patron.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma);

General Mills produced over 12,900 barrels of flour per day, their output had doubled in just five years. They were one of the oldest flour mills in the Pacific Northwest. The Tacoma plant handled most of the international exporting. Interior view of storage building with thousands of sacks of Sperry flour stacked up.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Grains--Tacoma; Bags; Food storage buildings--Tacoma; Storage facilities--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma);

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad. The Olympian Hiawatha was built by the Milwaukee Road for the Pacific Northwest. She was a diesel-electric locomotive that would run between Tacoma and Chicago. She would make the run between the two cities in 45 hours, 14 hours less than previously. All cars were air conditioned and she was outfitted with a public address system. (T.Times, 6/25/1947, p.11)

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma); Railroads--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad tracks--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Ladd Logging Company. Several very large logs float in a log pond. In October 1948 Ladd Logging Company was known to have been cutting logs from the Kosmos section of east Lewis County along with other logging companies. The logs were brought to Tacoma's harbor dumps and storage spaces by rail. When needed they were rafted together and taken to saw or pulp mills. Large numbers of logs were cut and dumped in log ponds against the approaching winter slowdown in the woods. (T.Times, 2/26/1941; Ledger 11/10/1946)

Ladd Logging Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Logs; Waterfronts;

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. An interior view of the plant. Three large funnels are shown with large tanks in the background. One man is painting some of the metal surfaces of the internal structures. Another man is standing reviewing the process.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Factories--Tacoma;

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. An interior view of the plant showing a line of very large storage tanks along the left side. On the right are stacks of bagged materials.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tanks (Storage); Factories--Tacoma;

Exterior of Wheeler Osgood Company's offices. Wheeler-Osgood was known as the world's largest manufacturer of doors and plywood at this time. The company started making doors in Tacoma in 1889 and plywood in 1910, only five years after the first fir plywood was manufactured at Portland, Oregon. N.O. Cruver served as president of the company at this time. He was president for 32 years.

Wheeler, Osgood Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Interior views of the St. Regis Paper Company where pulp is being dried further (steam is coming off as the pulp goes through the roller at the rear) and looks more like paper. St. Regis Paper Company, a national company, had seven mills throughout the country and also had extensive timber holdings in the Pacific Northwest and in other locations in the United States. On spec. for the Times, Labor Day. TPL-3765

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Paper industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery;

Marine Iron Works located at 1120 East D Street, was designing and building lightweight garden tractors, known as the "Mighty Man". These small tractors were intended for use on small farms and gardens, they could pull up to 8,000 pounds on a 2% grade. These tractors were becoming very popular with the urban farmers. View of "Mighty Man" garden tractor in action, photo ordered by Condon Advertising Company. TPL-9140

Agricultural machinery & implements--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tractors--Tacoma; Machinery; Equipment; Marine Iron Works, Inc. (Tacoma); Condon Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

Permanente Metals began production at their newly equipped aluminun plant on Taylor Way in Tacoma on October 31, 1947. Permanente purchased the former Olin Corp. facility, built in 1942, from the federal government and spent two years modernizing the plant. The remodeled Tacoma plant was the first in the nation to have self cleaning reduction pots with scrubbing systems, minimizing pollution released into the environment (PMC Annual Report, 1947-1948).

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Aluminum; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Laborers--Tacoma; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees;

Charles P. Love, General Superintendent of Permanente Metals, along with plant technicians activated the first pot line in Tacoma, making October 31, 1947 the first official day of operations. Other pot lines will be activated, once the plant can make certain everything is operating without problems. The plant is expected to be producing at full capacity by the end of November. View of plant technician checking dials and control system (T. Times, 10/31/47, p. 1).

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Control rooms--Tacoma; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees;

Robert Breskovich, President of Pacific Boat Building Company, and Ray M. McCarty (foreground), General Manager of the Pleasure Boat Division are inspecting the new "Holiday" aluminum cruiser. "Holiday" aluminum cruisers are 23 feet, all welded mass produced aluminum, 65 horse power marine engine, will perform at 25 mph, 8 foot beam and 24 inch draft. The boat will have sleeping accommodations for 2, a small galley and bathroom (P.M.B., 1/48, p. 51).

Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Construction industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Motorboats--Tacoma; Product inspection--Tacoma; Pacific Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Breskovich, Robert; McCarty, Ray M.;

I. W. Johnson Engineering were well known specialists in the designing and building of sawmill machinery. In 1938 they designed and built the innovative sawdust making machine. View of sawmill designed, built and manufactured at the I. W. Johnson plant.

Machinery industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery; Engineering models; Equipment; Saws; I.W. Johnson Engineering Co. (Tacoma);

Hooker fine and heavy chemicals included: Acid chlorides, bleaching powder, metallic chlorides, muriatic acid, naphthalene derivatives, sulfide derivatives, toluene derivatives, hydrogenated products, fatty acid esters, chlorine liquids, chlorinating agents, chlorinated paraffins, caustic soda, aliphatic chlorides, benzene derivatives and benzoates. Interior view of plant and chemical producing machinery.

Machinery; Equipment; Chemicals; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma);

On May 15, 1947, employees of the Carstens Packing Company gathered around their new Kartridg-Pack machine. Some of the women were working on the sausage packing line, while other employees were admiring the end product. The new machinery packed the wieners side-by-side, bound together by paper loops instead of the usual method of stringing them tail-to-tail. The Kartridge-Pack had the ability to pack 3,200 pounds of wieners per 8 hour shift. (T.Times, 5/21/1947, p.7)

Carstens Packing Co. (Tacoma); Meat industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Frankfurters--Tacoma--1940-1950; Publicity; Bundling (Packing)--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Cheney Lumber Mills could be found throughout Washington, Oregon and California. The Tacoma plant had a sawmill, dry kiln, planning mill, log sorting area, storage facilities and loading areas. This plant employed approximately forty people. Exterior view of Cheney plant, laborers appear to be stacking and moving studs by using equipment.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Loading a shipment of lumber from Cheney Lumber Company was made easier by the Cheney's facilities and dock on Sitcum Waterway. Cranes could load directly from railroad cars that had tracks on the dock. TPL-5676

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Cheney Lumber Co. was founded by Ben B. Cheney. Ben Cheney, although a well respected lumberman and a pioneer in his field, is also known for his interest in sports. The Cheney Stud teams participated in baseball, football, soccer and basketball. Ben Cheney was instrumental in bringing the Pacific Coast Baseball League to Tacoma and the Tacoma Cheney Stadium was named in his honor. A view of Cheney Lumber stacked on the dock ready for loading into a ship tied-up at the company dock.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Piers & wharves--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Interiors at the Buffelen Lumber plant on the Tideflats. The immense plant was located on Lincoln Ave at Taylor Way. It was one of the earliest producers of fir plywood; beginning plywood production in 1916. In this photograph, two employees, one of them a woman wearing slacks, stack sheets of plywood. Plywood was an important World War II material, used in boats as well as buildings. During and after WWII, it was used for pre-fab housing. ("The Plywood Age" Robert M. Cour)

Buffelen Lumber & Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma); Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

O'Connell-Ragan, Carstens fleet of trucks at plant, Corey Wilbur. Carstens added refrigerated trucks to their fleet. Glenn Gray, supervisor of Carstens sausage sales, packs a delivery basket with sausages, ham, and other wrapped items from the air conditioned compartments to fill an order. The entire truck interior was lined with separate compartments. The temperature was maintained at 34 - 38 degrees. (T.Times, 6/18/1947, p.7)

Carstens Packing Co. (Tacoma); Meat industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Meat; Sausages--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Gray, Glenn;

Cheney Lumber Company. Large logs felled by the Cheney Lumber Company dwarf the man standing on a bulldozer and another standing on top of one of the logs. Lesser trees are still standing in the now bleak landscape.

Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trees; Logs; Woodcutting;

Chicago-Milwaukee Railroad officials and christening of the Olympian. A large crowd gathered to see the Olympian Hiawatha, Milwaukee's new diesel liner, christened on June 28, 1947. Its inaugural trip to Chicago was June 29, 1947. The new train cut the time of the Tacoma to Chicago service to 45 hours, 14 hours faster than formerly. (T.Times, 6/27/1947, p.1) TPL-9765

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma); Railroad companies--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Chicago-Milwaukee Railroad officials and christening of the Olympian. Dignitaries at the Union Station. Mr. M.H. McEwen, Seattle, Western Traffic Manager, addresses the crowd gathered to christen the Olympian Hiawatha on June 29, 1947. All members of the train's crew wore fancy dress for the occassion. Others on the platform are, L-R, Mrs. Harold A. Allen who christened the train, Joshua Green, Seattle, Pioneer Transportation Executive and Capitalist; F.N. Hicks, Chicago, Passenger Traffic Manager, L.K. Sorensen, Seattle manager, J.B. Johnson, fireman, R.V. Hanicker, engineer, Mayor C. Val Fawcett and R.B. Craig, conductor. (T.Times, 6/30/1947, p.1) TPL-9764

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma); Railroad companies--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Johnson, J.B.; Hanicker, R.V.; Craig, R.B.; McEwen, M.H.; Sorensen, L.K.; Green, Joshua;