Annie Wright Seminary senior Erin Lombard was chosen the 1953 Queen of May. She has evidently been crowned as she is already wearing her tiara. She is flanked by two beaming kindergarteners in white who were possibly herald and crown bearers. May Day festivities were well attended by alumnae, students and friends. Activities were held both on the seminary lawns and within the school buildings.

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

Annie Wright Seminary had a large Lower School in the 1950's. Most students would attend school functions such as the annual May Day festival and probably perform in some capacity. Here a group of nineteen little girls smile happily, and in some cases shyly, for the camera. They may have been dressed to participate in a program of modern dance which was presented before the Queen and her court.

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

A smiling Kai Wonderly poses on the lawn of Annie Wright Seminary, 827 Tacoma Ave. No., as she waits to be introduced to the many parents and students during the school's 1968 May Day festival. Her long white train is being carefully tended by two young girls, members of the school's lower division. Kai, a senior at Annie Wright, is holding a ribboned bouquet of daisies. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary. (TNT 5-26-68, D10, 11)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; May Day; Wonderly, Kai; Festivals--Tacoma--1960-1970; Students--Tacoma--1960-1970; School children--Tacoma--1960-1970;

The timeless beauty of Tudor Gothic-style architecture is reflected in the ivy-covered columns of Annie Wright Seminary. The school was designed by the architectural firm of Sutton, Whitney & Dugan and built in 1924 by J.E. Bonnell, contractor. In 1957 Annie Wright grew to include the construction of new classrooms and a music room. It was primarily a girls' school and attracted students from as far away as Hawaii. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary.

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

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 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;

Mrs. William A. Merrill and Mrs. Gardner's class of sixteen young pupils at Annie Wright Seminary smile for the camera on February 19, 1966. The children's names are written on railroad cars that decorate the blackboard. This was probably a pre-kindergarten or younger-aged kindergarten class. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary. TPL-8732

Private schools--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970;

March 13, 1961, photograph of twelve small girls in classroom. Scholastic Magazines news map dated 1959-60 on blackboard wall behind them. These children, wearing school uniforms, were from the Lower School of Annie Wright Seminary.

School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; Classrooms--Tacoma--1960-1970; Maps;

ca. 1934. Annie Wright Seminary. A group of young girls in school uniforms, sailor dresses, pose in front of the fireplace in the school's "Great Hall." Building by Sutton, Whitney and Dugan, Architects, 1924. (filed with Argentum) (same group in photograph labelled series 888 image 3)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary May Day activities, May 1, 1935. Processional, many girls in dresses on lawn, audience in folding chairs. (filed with Argentum)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; May Day--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary May Day activities, May 1, 1935. Little girls in short dresses dancing on lawn. The dance is a modern one, utilizing white scarves.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; May Day--Tacoma;

The culmination of the festivities on May day at Annie Wright School, located at 827 Tacoma Avenue North, is the winding of the May Pole. In this photograph from 1935 the school's younger pupils dance around the pole to the approving gaze of upper classmen, friends and relatives. Originally known as Field Day, the May Day celebration included music, dance, sports and the crowning of the May Queen; it is one of the most treasured traditions of the school. In 1935 Marian Guyles was crowned May Queen.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; May Day--Tacoma; May poles--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary Field Day, also known as May Day, 5/1/1935. Girls leaving pitch after playing Field Hockey.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Field hockey; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

A young man with a tennis racquet, tentatively identified as Weyerhaeuser acquaintance Bob Taylor, poses on a path at Annie Wright Seminary, near the area where 9 year old George Weyerhaeuser was kidnapped on May 24, 1935. The path was possibly used by the kidnappers. The Weyerhaeuser kidnapping was the second most famous in the nation and Tacoma's most sensational crime. It had everything to make newspaper headlines, a handsome grade school boy and a moneyed family desperate for his return. The retiring Weyerhaeusers however spoke only to the police and moved secretly so that publicity did not prevent George from being released. By June 1, 1935, George had been released. The first set of suspects was arrested within weeks, a former Puyallup couple named Harmon and Margaret Waley, and they identified the third suspect, William Dainard, who was arrested almost a year later. (T. Times 5/26/1935, pg. 1 plus succeeding months.)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Weyerhaeuser, George H.--Kidnappings;

Steps and hedge at Annie Wright Seminary, one of the possible locations for the abduction of George Weyerhaeuser on May 24, 1935. He was kidnapped from the grounds of seminary, near the tennis courts, as he walked at noontime from Lowell Elementary to meet his sister at the seminary and travel home for lunch. The boy was held for $200,000 in ransom. (T. Times 5/26/1935, pg. 1 plus succeeding months.)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Weyerhaeuser, George H.--Kidnappings;

1936 Annie Wright Seminary Field Day. Girl performing somersault off diving board into indoor swimming pool. Other girls watch.

Private schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Events--Tacoma; Swimming--Tacoma--1930-1940; Swimming pools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Diving--Tacoma--1930-1940; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940; Diving--Tacoma;

The Annie Wright Seminary Junior Prom, held Saturday April 17, 1937 in the Great Hall at the school. The dance had a Dutch theme and was scheduled to honor the senior class before their graduation in June. Three couples were photographed wearing formal attire and standing in front of a fireplace. The room was embellished with elaborate decorations. Pictured left to right are Robert Cowden, Barbara Bogan, Betty June Howe, Clinton Campbell, Elizabeth Post and Gordon Ketring. (T.Times 4/24/1937, pg. 9)

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Dance parties--Tacoma--1930-1940; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary May Day activities. Girls in dark hooded costumes dancing in circle around witch. Large crowd and school building dominate the background.

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Holidays--Tacoma; May Day--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary May Day activities. Parents and friends gathering for May day performance. Rows of wooden folding chairs have been placed on the lawn by the school building.

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Holidays--Tacoma; May Day--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary May Day activities. Pages and queen procession walking through divided line of students. Photographer, wearing a beret, is positioning a large format box camera. Spectators and building in background.

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Holidays--Tacoma; May Day--Tacoma; May poles--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary May Day activities. Procession of young women, wearing long, formal dresses and carrying floral bouquets, walking between divided lines of students.

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Holidays--Tacoma; May Day--Tacoma; May poles--Tacoma;

Annie Wright Seminary Christmas Doll Bazaar held December 4, 1937. The Senior girls have arranged baby dolls in an old shoe; the theme is based on the nursery rhyme "Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe." Standing L to r: Margaret McGinnis, Shirley Robbins, Frances Young; kneeling, Ann Murray and Martha Turner. The seniors received an award of merit for their dolls and exhibit. Left corner torn on photograph. (T. Times, 12/11/37, p.7)

Private Schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Holidays--Tacoma; Bazaars--Tacoma; Dolls; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940; Young, Frances; McGinnis, Margaret; Murray, Ann; Robbins, Shirley; Turner, Martha;

ca. 1925. Annie Wright Seminary under construction. The Tudor Gothic building was designed by Sutton, Whitney & Dugan, architects. The Seminary first opened in 1884 at 611 Division Street. The school on Tacoma Ave No., which opened to students in the Fall of 1924, appears barren without its lush green lawns and landscaping. (WSHS- negative A852-0)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1920-1930; Private schools--Tacoma; Building construction--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Annie Wright Seminary annual doll bazaar. Eight girls around table with dolls, sign "8th Grade". The exhibit theme is a school classroom. Some dolls appear to be Madame Alexander dolls. Mrs. Wilson was in charge. (T.Times Society, 12/5/1938, p. 9)

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Holidays--Tacoma; Dolls; Bazaars--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Annie Wright Seminary 1940 May Day activities. Mary Kent Hewitt, Queen in bamboo chair, surrounded by her Royal Court. Flag bearer at far left. The Queen's Court included maid of honor Elizabeth Ann Love, pages Anne Mueller and Patricia Davis, heralds Dick Pessemier and Patricia Pinches, flower girls Madeline Merrill and Judith Ann Whitney, scepter bearer George Bianchi, crown bearer Janit Schimke and train bearers Sharon Connor and Ann Rowland. (T. Times, 5/11/1940, p. 5-article).

Private schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Holidays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hewitt, Mary Kent;