13 National Park buses parked compactly inside Stadium Bowl in June of 1925, just in time for the 26th opening season of Mount Tacoma and Rainier National Park. Each vehicle had four rows of seats where passengers could get plenty of fresh air and unrestricted views of The Mountain. The park buses were equipped with General Tires. Photograph ordered by General Tires. TPL-6199; G70.1-130

Buses--Tacoma--1920-1930; Stadium Bowl (Tacoma);

A 25-ton reel of specially constructed flexible steel cable is hoisted by a heavy Hart Construction Co. derrick from the freighter "J L Luckenbach" at the Port of Tacoma pier on June 13, 1925. The reel was too heavy to be handled by the Luckenbach's tackle. Valued at $4,850, the cable will be used as cable line by the Tacoma Railway & Power Co. It has a length of about 3 1/2 miles. G50.1-007 (TNT 6-12-25, p. 21-article; TNT 6-13-25, p. 14)

Hoisting machinery; Cargo ships--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930; Port of Tacoma (Tacoma);

Three ships on Commencement Bay visible through the trees. They are the battleships Tennessee (foreground) and Maryland along with U.S. supply ship, Arctic, who were all in town for a three-day visit in late July of 1926. In addition to the above three, six destroyers (not pictured) were tied up at Commercial Dock. The supply ship Arctic was commanded by Commander J. N. Ferguson and Captain G.L. P. Stone was in charge of the Tennessee. All ships sailed for Port Angeles on Monday, July 26th. G71.1-025 (TDL 7-24-26, p. 1-article; TNT 7-24-26, p. 1)

Government vessels--Tacoma; Commencement Bay (Wash.);

A Tacoma bus, utilizing a Mack body, is parked near the North Star Mfg. Co., 2317-19 Pacific Ave., on August 13, 1926. A sign on the bus indicates that it travels to South Tacoma. Some of the windows are open on the steel bus; the driver does not appear to be present. Photograph ordered by Mack Truck. G66.1-028

Buses--Tacoma--1920-1930; Mack trucks;

Shown at the rear of their two-ton White truck with attached 800-gallon tank are Thompson Lubricating Co.'s owners, H.E. Thompson (left) and his father H.A. Thompson, on August 31, 1926. The delivery truck was built 18 months ago for the firm and purchased from the J.F. Hickey Motor Co., the second White owned by the Thompsons. The company used Red Hat Gasoline for its customers and a retouched photograph of this gasoline truck with heavy use of emblems was used for national advertising. In 1926, Thompson Lubricating had four service stations in Tacoma. G35.1-043 (T.Times, 9-4-26, p. 10)

Thompson Lubricating Co. (Tacoma); Fuel trade--Tacoma--1920-1930; Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; White trucks; Thompson, H.E.; Thompson, H.A.;

Cargo handling at the Milwaukee Dock. A large wooden crate is being either unloaded or loaded onto the unidentified vessel at the Milwaukee Dock in March of 1919. The shipment is either headed for or came from Yokohama, Japan, according to printing on the crate. G49.1-204

Cargo ships--Japanese; Shipping--Tacoma--1910-1920; Containers; Crates;

Waldren Flying Machine Hoquiam This three-wheeled flying contraption was piloted by a Mr. Waldren in Hoquiam on the 4th of July in 1910. Among those standing near the "flying machine" was John A. ("Jack") Croston, who is believed to be second on the right of the pilot. Mr. Croston operated a garage and Chevrolet agency at 1135 Tacoma Avenue South, across the street from the Tacoma Public Library, during the years 1917-19. Copy of photograph made on February 19, 1928. TPL-2688; G71.1-141

Airplanes--Hoquiam; Croston, John A.;

Ambassador ready for launching. The motorship "Ambassador" was built for the Chichagof Mining Co. of Alaska in 1919. She was 112-feet long and would be used by the company for transport between Chichagof, Juneau, and Tacoma. In 1924 she would be sold to Alexander & Baldwin Ltd. for service in the Hawaiian coastal trade. The "Ambassador," launched on September 11, 1919, was built by the Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. She was the only boat built by the firm since the cancelling of contracts by the Emergency Fleet Corporation. G37.1-119 (Newell: " Maritime Events of 1924;" T.Times 9-13-19, p. 14-article)

Launchings--Tacoma--1910-1920; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Tacoma Shipbuilding Co. (Tacoma);

The Tacoma Grain Co. had recently taken delivery of a new Reo two-ton heavy duty Speed Wagon. The vehicle, advertising Pyramid Flour, was parked outside of local Reo dealer Winthrop Motor Co., 201-07 Saint Helens Ave. on October 1, 1926. The Speed Wagon had a special body built by Standard Auto Works of Tacoma. Tacoma Grain superintendent P.W. Jochimsen (seated behind the wheel) stated that his company had used Reo equipment for years and when it became necessary to purchase another delivery truck, the firm chose this capable vehicle. The man standing behind the vehicle was not identified. TPL-239; G34.1-131 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 10-10-26, 6G)

Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; Winthrop Motor Co. (Tacoma); Pyramid Flour (Tacoma); Jochimsen, Peter;

Side view of stage from the Motor Transit Co. as photographed on October 8, 1926. Called a "chain car," it provided transportation from LaGrande to Enterprise to Wallowa Lake. Luggage may have been carried on top of the vehicle with a tarp for protection from the weather. Photograph ordered by Modern Auto Body. G66.1-032

Buses--1920-1930;

Several fishing boats stream into the calm waters of Gig Harbor's protected waterfront on December 26, 1926. Mt. Tacoma (Rainier) blends with the cloudy skies beyond the darkened forests. TPL-691; G72.1-125A

Harbors--Gig Harbor; Waterfronts--Gig Harbor; Fishing boats--Gig Harbor--1920-1930; Rainier, Mount (Wash.);

Fleet in Commencement Bay. This long-distance view of several ships cruising about Commencement Bay was taken in July of 1927. Twelve American warships were due the weekend of July 16th including nine vessels of the destroyer squadron No. 11 and three battleships. The fleet would make Tacoma headquarters until August 20th and would cause the city's population to swell temporarily by the addition of 300 officers and 5000 enlisted men. G71.1-036 (TNT7-16-27, p. 1-article)

Commencement Bay (Wash.); Ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Warships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Government vessels--Tacoma;

Fair-haired actress Ruth Taylor, currently in Tacoma promoting her new film, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," rides aboard the "City of Tacoma" airplane on February 8, 1928. The aircraft is parked outside the hangar of the Olympic Aeronautical Corporation (which had succeeded the Eagle Rock Sales Corporation) at the Mueller-Harkins airport. Photograph ordered by the Olympic Aeronautical Corporation, newly organized and headed by J. Barton ("Jack") Story, president and well known pilot. (TNT 1-31-28, p. 1-article on Olympic Aeronautical Corporation; TDL 2-8-28, p. 2-article on Miss Taylor's visit)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930; Olympic Aeronautical Corporation (Tacoma); Taylor, Ruth; Actresses;

On March 24, 1928, 10,000 cases of eggs were loaded onto the Blue Star liner "Gothicstar" bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina. The eggs were delivered by the Washington Cooperative Egg & Poultry Assn. to its dock, "Co-op Dock" (formerly the Milwaukee dock). "Gothicstar" was one of the biggest refrigerator ships traveling between South America and the United States. It was scheduled to pick up another 40,000 crates of eggs from other ports nearby. This was a new egg market for Northwest producers as previously the East Coast had provided South America with eggs. G6.1-095 (T.Times 3-23-28, p. 10-article)

Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Washington Co-op Egg & Poultry Association (Tacoma); Eggs; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

75-year-old James Mayne, a pioneer lumberman, posed proudly with a new Graham-Paige four-passenger coupe on July 12, 1928. He selected the "614" recently from Angle-Mulligan Motor Co. Mr. Mayne, a 50-year local resident, was very active and used his car to cover his entire southwest Washington territory. G11.1-047 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 7-22-28, G-7)

Graham-Paige automobile; Mayne, James;

A tow truck from the Rialto Garage is prepared to haul away a small airplane on July 19, 1928, from the Fircrest golf course. It was apparently the first wrecked airplane transported by an auto wrecker locally. The biplane from Victoria, B.C., was damaged when it made a forced landing. The plane, piloted by A.H. Wilson and accompanied by Ernest Eve, president of British Columbia Airway, Ltd, was northbound following the national air tour stop here. It is unknown how badly the airplane was damaged. L-R are pilot Wilson, Gordon Hager and Lawrence Aus of the Rialto Garage, and Mr. Eve. TPL-2023; G12.1-026 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 8-12-28, G-3)

Wreckers (Vehicles)--Fircrest; Towing--Fircrest; Rialto Garage (Tacoma); Airplanes--Fircrest; Aircraft accidents; Wilson, A.H.; Hager, Gordon; Aus, Lawrence; Eve, Ernest; Fircrest Golf Club (Fircrest);

Fishing boats are moored at the Port of Tacoma piers in November of 1928. Fishermen were returning to Tacoma after the salmon season in Puget Sound and Alaska waters. 22 stalls for boats had been created by the Port with more to be added. For additional close-up view of boats, see Boland B19715. G27.1-073 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 11-11-28, p. 1-article)

Fishing boats--Tacoma--1920-1930; Port of Tacoma (Tacoma); Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Parked directly in front of the Boland photography studios on August 6, 1929, was a gleaming black Washington Cooperative Egg & Poultry Association truck. Per the advertising on the truck, the co-op's eggs went directly from the farm to customers. G6.1-093

Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; Washington Co-op Egg & Poultry Association (Tacoma); Boland The Photographer (Tacoma); Photographic studios--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Line of Foss tugboats, from big to small, next to dock. TPL-7093, TPL-9073

Foss Launch & Tug Co. (Tacoma); Tugboats--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Crew from Japanese cruiser, probably either the Idzumo (sp) or the Iwate, meet with a delegation from the local Japanese community on the deck of their ship in Tacoma. Photograph taken on September 6, 1932. TPL-7101

Cruisers (Warships)--Japan--1930-1940; Japanese Americans--Tacoma; Japanese--Tacoma;

Model Bakery truck on display. This Model Bakery delivery truck was parked outdoors on March 26, 1923. It had recently been purchased from Griffith Motor Co., the downtown Dodge dealership, and joined a fleet of Dodge Bros. cars operated by the bakery. Model Bakery was located at the corner of South 38th and Yakima Avenue and was owned and operated by Gus Westerdale. Their motto was "Where Quality and Purity Counts." TPL-3198; G33.1-003 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 4-22-23, C-5)

Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; Dodge trucks; Model Bakery (Tacoma);

Sheriff Tom Desmond and Police Captain Fred Gardner were photographed in early December, 1923, sealing the hood of a black Rickenbacker coupe with General Cords that bears the sign "Non-stop Endurance Run Car/Seven Day Continuous/Driven Only By Women/Rickenbacker of course." The seal on the hood would not be broken by the police officers until the end of the race at 12:31 p.m., 7 days later. The engine would run continuously. The Rickenbacker was named after war ace and racer, Eddie Rickenbacker. Three women, Margaret Hickey, Helen Selden and Irma Mottauare are seated in the car. All daughters of prominent Tacoma families, they would each take 4-hour driving shifts during the 7-day/168 hour endurance run. Women were chosen instead of more experienced male drivers to prove the Rickenbacker's reliability and ease of handling. TPL-180; G11.1-052 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 12-2-23, G-5, 8-G, 9-G-articles; Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 12-9-23, G-3; TDL 12-11-23, p. 5-article)

Rickenbacker automobile; Signs (Notices); Desmond, Tom; Gardner, Fred; Hickey, Margaret; Selden, Helen; Mottau, Irma;

The ferry "City of Tacoma," which operated between Point Defiance and Gig Harbor, underwent a major remodel in January of 1924. The ferry was taken to Western Boat Building at 2505 East 11th to have 34 feet added to her length and her carrying capacity increased to 50 automobiles. She was opened up midship and the added length was inserted just aft of her engine room. The reconstruction job was estimated at $15,000 and the ferry out of service for 30 days. Photograph ordered by Western Boat Building. (TDL 1-16-24, p. 4, TNT 1-24-24, p. 24) G66.1-115

Boats--Tacoma; Ferries--Tacoma--1920-1930; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Three F.S. Harmon Co. delivery trucks are on display in early February of 1924. Each has a different billboard on one side: Upholstered furniture deluxe, Day-An-Nite davenport and Blabon linoleums. The F.S. Harmon warehouse is visible in the rear. G66.2-130

Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; F.S. Harmon Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma);

A Garford Motor Co. truck is parked outside a General Petroleum Corporation facility in downtown Tacoma on February 14, 1925. The truck appears to be doorless with an extended open bed. Garford Motors was located nearby at 313-15 Puyallup Ave. G66.2-093

Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Staff Sgt. Nicoll (no first name given in Tacoma Sunday Ledger article) posed with his two-door Ford coupe near the gates of Camp Lewis in June of 1926. He is standing with one foot on the running board and partially concealed by the open driver's door. Sgt. Nicoll had bought his car from the Edward P. Leonard Co., South Tacoma Ford dealers, and had recently completed a 6000 mile trip to San Antonio. He camped out nightly and slept in his car, removing the back cushion for a comfortable resting spot. A new timer was the only repair needed for the entire trip. G69.1-158 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 7-11-26, 10-G) TPL-10314

Ford automobile; Military personnel--Camp Lewis; Camp Lewis (Wash.);

Four of Dairy & Producers Market fleet of "Step-In-And-Shop" trucks on display on July 6, 1926. The market itself was located at 1117 Market St. in downtown Tacoma but these rolling stores would "Stop-At-Ur-Door" for more convenient shopping. Customers would find the some of the same items on sale as in the market itself. G6.1-074

Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; Dairy & Producers Market (Tacoma);

Unidentified Carstens Packing Co. employee stands in front of a heavy duty truck with trailer on July 10, 1926, at the company plant, 1623 East J St. in the Tideflats. The truck and accompanying trailer are labeled "Carstens Products" and state that the U.S. government has inspected meats processed by the firm. Customers could be assured that the meat was safe to eat, no small worry after the horrors of the meat packing industry uncovered decades before by novelist Upton Sinclair.

Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; Carstens Packing Co. (Tacoma); Meat industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

This ship may be the "Lewis Luckenbach" from the Luckenbach Line which had previously been taking on lumber at the Port of Tacoma dock on June 24, 1924. It has now have moved onto the St. Paul & Tacoma dock for more shipments. The "Lewis Luckenbach," largest vessel of the entire Luckenbach Line, had already loaded 5,780,000 feet of lumber at the Port piers. Another 1,300,000 feet would be taken on board at the St. Paul & Tacoma dock. The lumber would be carried to the Atlantic coast by Captain Read, master of the ship for the last 15 years. G49.1-095 (TNT 6-18-24, p. 16-article; TNT 6-19-24, p. 5-alternate photograph)

Cargo ships--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Aboard the "City of Steilacoom" ferry. This is believed to be the car holding area of the new ferry as pictured above on July 21, 1924. She had a 30-car capacity. The "City of Steilacoom" was designed to replace the present ferry operating between Long Branch and Steilacoom. She was 110-feet long with a 34-foot beam and could travel at 14 mph. G66.1-095 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 4-13-24, A-11-article)

Ferries;