Exterior -Packard Bell Co. Delivery trucks and vans stand ready at the Packard Bell Co., 2515 Tacoma Avenue South, on April 17, 1957. They provided in-home factory service and repairs of Packard Bell televisions. According to the 1957 City Directory, Hjalmer E. Olson was manager of the store. Packard Bell shared space in the building with the T.W. Heckel Co., also dealers in television equipment. Packard Bell had previously been located nearby at 2329 Tacoma Avenue South. Photograph ordered by Bozell & Jacobs.
Packard Bell Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Televisions--1950-1960;
Service Hardware & Implement Co.; well drilling equipment and trucks. Merlin W. and LeRoy Gunarson were the owners. Puyallup Ave. bridge over Puyallup River in the background. Railroad cars behind building. Sewage treatment plant, 1241 Cleveland Way, beyond the bridge.
Service Hardware & Implement Co. (Tacoma); Wells--Tacoma; Trucks--1950-1960;
Exterior of bulk feed truck, labelled Larro Feeds, at General Mills, on Schuster Parkway near 6th. The truck is a White truck 3000. General Mills, Sperry Division, grain elevators can be seen in the background. The White truck will be loaded with grain that will then be delivered to area farmers for feeding their livestock.
General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); White trucks--Tacoma; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960; Grain elevators--Tacoma--1950-1960; Grain industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Mrs. Ralph Chantry is pictured in August of 1955 with two unidenfied men admiring the new 1955 Custom Royal Lancer Dodge she recently won as the grand prize in a U & I Sugar contest. She had previously received the keys to the automobile from C.M. Young of B & Y Motors, Dodge representatives. She was especially happy to get a new car as her 1949 vehicle had just been sent to the garage for repairs. In addition, Mrs. Chantry, with her husband, would be going on an all-expense-paid trip to Hollywood as guests of the sugar company. Mr. and Mrs. Chantry resided in a newly built home in Bonney Lake, four miles from Sumner. Photograph ordered by David Evans & Associates. (Puyallup Valley Tribune, 8-11-55-alt. photograph & article)
Two trucks hauling two caterpillar tractors at Northwest Hauling Co., 2318 South Tacoma Way. Photos ordered by Holte Trucks. In the 1956 City Directory, they described their services as "expressing and moving." In 1957, they described their services as "Rigging and hoisting, heavy hauling, house moving and crane service."
In the early 1950s, Arden Farms took over the building at 824 Martin Luther King Jr. Way that had been the home of the Olympic Dairy Products Co. The large milk bottle on the roof made the building immediately identifiable. This photograph from February of 1953 shows four Arden Milk drivers standing proudly by their new Ford delivery trucks. The men are all dressed neatly in striped overalls, ties, and caps with the company's logo on them. Arden Farms was well known for their milk, "flavor fresh" ice cream, butter and cottage cheese. TPL-8203
Twenty logging trucks, photograph ordered by International Harvester. The trucks are fueled by propane and owned by Cotten Brothers in Spanaway, Washington. International Harvester sold and serviced large trucks. Here the trucks are posed in front of a large propane tank.
Ordered by International Harvester, a single logging truck. The truck is fueled by propane and owned by Cotten Brothers in Spanaway, Washington. The truck is posed in front of a large propane tank labelled "Propane, the modern motor fuel." The back portion of the truck where the logs are usually loaded has been unhooked and now sits on the bed of the truck. International Harvester sold and serviced large commercial trucks.
A small vehicle, resembling a jeep, is parked inside the Mt. Rainier Ordnance Depot on November 2, 1954. This possibly could be a paint spray booth located within a warehouse on Fort Lewis. Hoses are attached to the sides of the booth which has doors that close. Photograph ordered by Sprayking, Inc., Los Angeles.
Sprayking, Inc. (Los Angeles, Calif.); Military vehicles--Fort Lewis;
An enormous steel tank rests on its side as it is hauled by a Sunnen heavy hauling truck to St. Regis on December 14, 1954. Star Iron & Steel Co., Inc., steel fabricators, manufactured the tank. Star Iron had been located at 435 E. 11th in the Tideflats since 1918; it was owned by Roy N. Allen, president with Edward N. Allen as vice president and E. Leo Curry as secretary. Besides tanks, the company also manufactured heavy cranes and logging machinery.
Storage tanks--Tacoma; Star Iron & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Steel industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Sunnen Auto Freight & Heavy Hauling Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Rows of repair vehicles, with ladders attached, are parked in a large garage/carport in a July 19, 1958, photograph. Floor of the unit appears to be concrete; the ceiling and beams are made of laminated wood. Lamps dangle from the glue-lam beams. Photograph ordered by Woodlam, Inc.
Garages--Tacoma; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Woodlam, Inc. (Tacoma);
Several Wonder Bread delivery trucks are parked in a basement possibly belonging to Continental Baking Co. Metal carts full of loaves of bread are lined up behind the trucks. Heavy wooden beams hang from the ceiling of the brick basement. The large beams bisect smaller laminated joists. Photograph ordered by Woodlam, Inc., manufacturers of laminated wood products.
In November of 1961, Shirley Fopp, the 1942 women's national combined champion and now head of the ski school sponsored by the VIP Sport Center in Lakewood, and her associate Bill Fundy, posed with skis and poles in front of the new VIP Sport Center tour bus. The bus is parked outside Ben's Trucks Parts on South Tacoma Way. VIP Sport Center was located in Villa Plaza and sold sporting goods and toys. Their new bus would make two trips a week to Snoqualmie Pass and two trips to White Pass. Riders could rent essential equipment from the store or presumably bring their own. The new bus service launched by E.L. Hagenau of VIP Sport Center provided air conditioning, radio, public address system, and was custom equipped with extra-large capacity for skis and overnight luggage. Shirley Fopp and Gretchen (Kunigk) Fraser went to Stadium H.S. together and spent their weekends skiing on Mt. Rainier. (TNT 11-30-61, p. A-22) TPL-9864
Truck #520 is loaded with logs and on its way to St. Regis' Tacoma plant in July, 1962. The harvested logs were taken from the company's tree farms in the Mineral-Morton area. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie, industrial consultant, New York. This picture was used in the St. Regis Paper Co.'s 1962 Annual Report. (1962 St. Regis Paper Co. Annual Report, p. 25)
Trucks--1960-1970; Logs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral);
John Wallerich and his antique automobile were surrounded by fellow South Tacoma businessmen advertising the district's "Old Fashion Sidewalk Sale" to be held on July 19-20, 1963. The 1914 Chevrolet Royal Mail was parked outside of the new Food King supermarket at 3510 So. 56th St., near Puget Sound Avenue. Admiring the car were: Jake Schwitzer, Bob Briem, Wayne Hogan, Sgt. Carl Parker, Ray Harver, Fred Ludvig, Chuck Stanley, Lloyd Owings, Dr. M.A. Twiet, Mickey Hogan, and Bob Robinson. Photograph ordered by the News Tribune. (TNT 7-18-63, B-4)
Automobiles--Tacoma--1960-1970; Publicity photographs; Wallerich, John; Food King (Tacoma);
An unidentified worker in hardhat leans against a truck which is parked near the runways of McChord Field on August 21, 1963. He may be an employee of Warren Northwest, a member of the Contractors of America Association. Photograph ordered by Blau-Knox, Mattoon, Illinois.
Esther Williams Girls in front of the Cotton residence, a large one-story home, at 402 - 160th St. in Spanaway. Sports cars in foreground are an Austin-Healey (right) and a MG. Jaguar roadster is at far right to the rear. Several admirers are seated on the steps to the home which was just up the road from Spanaway Lake. The Girls were in Tacoma as part of the publicity surrounding the Washington Sports Shop being selected as Tacoma's exclusive dealer for the "Esther Williams Living Pool." (TNT 8/2/1959, pg. A-10) (Additional information provided by a reader)
Sports cars--English; Publicity; Bathing beauties; Esther Williams Girls;
Ernie Grindley, advertising manager for Washington Sports Shop, stages publicity for the store by bringing the Esther Williams Girls to Tacoma. In addition to showing-off their swimsuits, the women are showcasing foreign automobiles--a Jaguar roadster, Austin-Healeys and MGs. The Washington Sports Shop had recently been selected as the exclusive Tacoma dealer of the Esther Williams Living Pool. (TNT 8/2/1959, pg. A-10)
Sports cars--English; Publicity; Bathing beauties; Esther Williams Girls; Washington Sports Shop (Tacoma); Sporting goods stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;
ca. 1906. A fleet of new Ford automobiles is lined up outside the Washington Automobile Co., 710-12 Pacific Ave., circa 1906. The firm, operated by W.W. Pickerill, was the first automobile dealership in Tacoma. Prior to being occupied by the Washington Automobile Co., the building had been the home of the Tacoma Athletic Club and also served later as the Odd Fellows Temple.
Ford automobile; Washington Automobile Co. (Tacoma);
ca. 1920s. Buses of the Sumner Tacoma Stage Co. parked in front of the bus depot on Main St. and Ryan Ave. in Sumner, Washington in the 1920's. The bus company was owned by Peter "P.O." Conlon and his brother John W. Conlon. The people who can be identified in this picture are (l to r) Pete Gratzer, Frank Conlon, Peter Conlon, John W.Conlon, Charley Marquardt, and Mac Wilson. The small buses at the far right in the picture were tourist buses that were used to take riders to Wilkeson and Carbonado, Washington. (Photograph courtesy of the Jack Conlon collection)
On October 17, 1926, the Tacoma Sunday Ledger ran a picture of the Peninsula Stage Company's 17-passenger coach parked outside the First Baptist Church, 902 Market St. The new bus chassis was built by the Studebaker Company which already had a fine reputation in passenger cars. The Peninsula Stage Company had three buses on the Bremerton-Tacoma run, with stops in Gig Harbor, Purdy, Burley, and Port Orchard. Owner R.L. Stubbs indicated that his prior experience with Studebaker cars prompted him to purchase the new bus. Photograph ordered by the B.H. Kennedy Co. (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, October 17, 1926, G-7) G66.1-078
Buses--Tacoma--1920-1930; Studebaker automobile; First Baptist Church (Tacoma);
Gesturing toward an oval advertisement on the back of a parked sedan in April of 1928 are three well known hotel managers: (l-r) Emerson Wakefield of the Carlton Hotel, A.C.C. ("Al") Gamer of the Olympus and Ray Clark of the Winthrop. The sign invites "Hotel-men" to convene in Tacoma, the "Lumber Capitol of the World," May 8-9th. "Al" is the "official scout." He would be making a tour throughout California in the vehicle to invite other hotel managers to the convention. The gathering will take place at the Winthrop Hotel. G31.1-103 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 5-6-28, 4-A)
A Dodge Victory Six from Burns-Campbell Motors, South Tacoma dealers, is parked adjacent to a Bergen Bromley Flying Service airplane on June 23, 1928 that had Tommy Burns in the rear cockpit. The other man was not identified but may have been Harold Bromley, Mr. Burns' flight instructor. Tommy Burns had just completed his solo flight that day. The Bergen Bromley Flying Service operated out of the Tacoma Municipal Airport in Lakewood. TPL-1667; G12.1-040 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 7-8-28, 2-G)
Dodge automobile; Airplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930; Bergen Bromley Flying Service (Tacoma); Burns, Tommy;
Fleischmann's Yeast vehicle parked outside of Mutual Motors, then at 816-24 South "K," on May 8, 1929. The shiny Ford, recently purchased from the agency, was decorated with the familiar yeast box as advertisement along with the saying "Eat it for health." Photograph ordered by Mutual Motors. G11.1-017
Ford automobile; Mutual Motors (Tacoma); Fleischmann's Yeast (Tacoma);
In September of 1928 the Tacoma News Tribune in partnership with the Colonial and Rialto Theaters sponsored a promotional contest in conjunction with the release of Bebe Daniels newest movie, "Hot News." Nine pretty young Tacoma misses posed with a new Durant-Star coupe, one of the contest prizes, in front of the Central Motors building at 605 Saint Helens Avenue. Prizes in the contest totaled $2,600, a tidy sum in 1928. The girl standing in the rumble-seat of the new car (third from the left) has her hand on the crank of a newsreel movie camera. As a side note, a new 2-door Durant Star could be purchased in 1928 from Central Motors, a Star and La Salle dealership, for $628 with delivery in Tacoma.
Legendary fighter pilot and race car driver, Eddie Rickenbacker, established his own automobile manufacturing company for a short time which produced coupes and sedans named after himself. To drum up publicity for his new car, three local women drivers were used to handle a seven-day continously run endurance marathon as pictured above in December of 1923. Margaret Hickey was the first driver when the endurance run began at 12:31 p.m. in front of City Hall on December 3, 1923. Irma Mottau and Helen Selden would take over at 4-hour intervals. The women did not break speed limits and were not limited to particular routes so drove from Des Moines to Olympia and points between in often rough weather. To ensure that the motor was not tampered with, and not turned off, Sheriff Tom Desmond and Police Captain Fred Gardner sealed the hood of the Rickenbacker coupe prior to the start of the run. The seal would not be broken until the end of the run, at 12:31 p.m. on December 10th. The three women, with Helen Selden as the finishing driver, were greeted at the finish line by over 500 people at the conclusion of the 2,642 mile marathon. A classic 4-passenger coupe like the above sold for $2325 at the time of the race. Local distributor of the Rickenbacker was the Sound Motor Co., Sixth & Tacoma, who sponsored the race. G11.1-006 (photograph is also labeled B9060) (TDL 12-11-23, p. 5)
ca. 1915. Firestone tire service truck at Tacoma Speedway circa 1915. The location was the Tacoma Speedway, about seven miles from Tacoma. The occasion was probably the three auto races which composed a great part of the summer Montamara Festo. The Firestone service vehicle was there in all likelihood to supply replacement tires to the cars which raced 100, 200, and 250 miles respectively. A new "lattice" track was in use. It had replaced the old dirt track in 1914 but racers still had to deal with unexpected difficulties such as splinters. Two million feet of lumber, board measure, consisting of Washington fir, were used for the new track. Speedway construction was a relatively new process at that time. (speedway construction information: Standard Oil Bulletin, Vol. 3, ca. 1915)
ca. 1916. J.E. "Ed" Hahn and Bill Gray (behind steering wheel), foreman and sales manager, respectively, of the Gerlinger Motor Car Co., are seated on a Gersix truck ca. 1916 while a band plays in the rear. The Gerlinger Motor Car Company, 3011 South Fife Street, manufactured 6-cylinder, structural steel trucks in Tacoma beginning in 1915. This particular truck may have been the third truck manufactured by the Tacoma Company. Gerlinger Motor Car Co. eventually became the Kenworth Motor Truck Co., a leading producer of custom trucks. A Kenworth dealership opened in Tacoma in 1929 and both Bill Gray and Ed Hahn worked there for many years. Mr. Gray left in 1940; Mr. Hahn stayed until 1950. Photograph provided by Robert (Bob) Hahn, Ed Hahn's son.
Hahn, J.E.; Gray, Bill; Trucks--Tacoma--1910-1920; Gerlinger Motor Car Co. (Tacoma);
ca. 1990. Color photograph, taken circa 1990, of a heavy-duty truck adorned with the Rainier Beer label parked on Center Street. The familiar big red "R" and view of The Mountain were on many delivery trucks carrying the popular brew. The Cammarano Brothers were longtime distributors of Rainier as well as Hamms, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and carbonated beverages. (Photograph courtesy of the William Cammarano Collection) (no copy negative on file)
