Kaiser Aluminum, Tacoma Works rectifier station addition. Exterior of building with train tracks beside it. The Kaiser plants were taken over from the federal government in 1947 by Henry J. Kaiser. The plant in Tacoma was an aluminum reduction plant; it produced pig aluminum from treated ore and then sent it to a fabricating plant to be made into a finished product. The plant underwent a expansion and modernization program in 1952, at a cost of $2,850,000, to increase capacity by 1/3, an annual production of 66, 400,000 pounds.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Machine layout setup in plant of a "sealing spreader" for Globe Machine Manufacturing Co., Inc. Globe was located at 301 E. 11th. The company manufactured veneer, plywood and woodworking machinery. Calvin D. Bamford was President and Stuart Bryan Vice-president and secretary/treasurer.

Machinery industry--Tacoma; Machinery; Globe Machine Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1952. Unidentified machinery for Western Machine Works, 666 E. 11th St. Western Machine Works was owned by Frank Schmitz. The back of the machinery has been draped in white for the studio to shoot a close up of the machinery for a layout.

Machinery; Western Machine Works (Tacoma);

An engineer works on machinery, a paper "tensiometer," at the St. Regis Paper Co., Kraft pulp division. The equipment has been "locked out" with a key, so that it can not be started while the engineer is working. The two year old paper machine was approximately a block long. In 1952, St. Regis produced 400 tons of unbleached pulp per day. 160 of those tons were bleached and made into dried heavy sheets & placed together into 400 lb. bales, put into boxcars & shipped to other mills or the open market. The remaining 240 tons was used to make multiwalled bags in the company's bag plant or wrapping paper. Picture taken for General Electric Supply, Apparatus Department.

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mechanical systems--Tacoma; Machinery; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

Thirty year old WW II veteran Donald Dunn surrounded by reporters on his receiving a free 80 acre farm built in one day by the community of Moses Lake. The boosters of Moses Lake conceived "Farm in a Day" to promote the irrigation possibilities of the new Grand Coulee Dam. The VFW was asked to search for a worthy veteran recipient for the farm. Their search yielded Donald Dun, a decorated GI and top notch farmer who had been flooded out by the Cottonwood River in Kansas. Despite the farming skills of Dunn, the boosters had underestimated the amount of acreage needed for profit and the Dunn family returned to the Midwest after three years, unable to make ends meet. (Popular Mechanics "They Built Him a Farm in a Day" Dec. 1952, pg 118-22 +)

Agriculture--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Reclamation of land--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Irrigation--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Farms--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Dunn, Don;

Launching of the A.M.S. (motor minesweeper) 116, hull 29 at Pacific Boat Building Co. Pictured are the owners, Naval officers and Barbara Broback, 7 year old daughter of Bert Broback, holding the ceremonial bouquet of flowers. Carolyn D. Anderson, wife of mayor John H. Anderson, acted as sponsor. Co-owners A. Strom, center, and H. Dahl, left, held a contract with the Navy to construct five 144 foot minesweepers worth approximately five million dollars. Strom and Dahl were also co-owners in Tacoma Boat Building Co. (T. Reporter, 7/23, 1952, pg.1 & 7/8/1952, pg.8)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Pacific Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Dahl, Haldor; Strom, Arne; Launchings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Broback, Barbara;

Living room of the home built during the "Farm in a Day" project at Moses Lake, Wa. For Hal Hughes & Assoc. During a 22 hour period on May 29, 1952, 300 volunteers built a complete $75,000 farm- including seven room house, barns, livestock areas and planted fields- and gifted it to deserving WWII vet and farmer Donald Dunn. The house was designed with the farmer in mind. One of its main innovations was to place the fireplace in the dining room, so that the farmer could relax in the evening without changing clothes. The living room could then be kept in pristine condition for entertaining guests.Exposed beams and cedar walls gave a rustic but comfortable touch to the living room.All the furnishings and appliances for the house were provided, down to the food on cupboard shelves. (Popular Mechanics "They Built Him a Farm in a Day" Dec. 1952, pg. 118-22+)

Agriculture--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Reclamation of land--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Irrigation--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Houses--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Living Rooms--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Farms--Moses Lake--1950-1960;

Interior exposure of Nalley display with one woman by table filled with Nalleys products. Products also on shelves behind her. Nalley products featured are potato chips, mayonnaise, lumberjack syrup, chili and spaghetti dinner.

Nalleys, Inc. (Tacoma)--Products; Grocery stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Koppers Precipitator at St. Regis Paper Co. Interior of building with brick wall with several round tanks of various sizes on top with pipes and valves coming out - some marked "danger-high voltage." St. Regis completed an eight year expansion and improvement program in 1952. Included in that program was the construction of a new combustion engineering company furnace. The six story high furnace had a capacity of 225 tons and was built in conjunction with the Koppers electric precipitator. The precipitator collected odor bearing particles before they escaped the chimney into the air thus reducing pollution and odor. (TNT 2-17-1952, pg. C-14)

St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Two of Don Dunn's daughters enjoy two piglets housed in the new pig house that was included in the "Farm-in-a-Day" at Moses Lake given to Donald Dun, a decorated GI and top notch farmer who had been flooded out by the Cottonwood River in Kansas. Ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (Popular Mechanics "They Built Him a Farm in a Day" Dec. 1952, pg. 118-22+)

Farms--Moses Lake--1950-1960; Barns--Moses Lake; Dunn, Don--Homes & haunts; Families--Moses Lake; Swine; Girls--Moses Lake;

A man on the left operates a high line yarder to move logs onto railroad freight cars while another man standing on a log to the right directs his movements. Photograph ordered to show lumber camp activities.

Loggers; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hoisting machinery;

Men are loading logs onto railroad freight cars using a large crane. The cables for the high line yarder are attached to a tree behind the machinery and a wide grill has been set between two logs attached to the cables to protect the operator from a log swinging into him. Ordered to show lumber camp activities.

Loggers; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hoisting machinery;

An aerial view of St. Regis Paper Company plant showing the completed multi-wall bag plant (with the dark roof dotted with vents) and the narrow kraft-paper mill.

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma; Logs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

An aerial view of St. Regis Paper Company. Logs would be pulled up the ramp in the foreground from the log pond into the woodroom in the building close to the edge of Commencement Bay. TPL-5903

Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mills--Tacoma; Logs; St. Regis Paper Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

A man is straddling a crossbeam pointing at a hole in a row of holes below a series of pipes at Rayonier's Grays Harbor mill at Raymond, Washington. There are walls of pipes on three sides of him. The Grays Harbor mill went into operation in 1928 and consisted of both a pulp mill and a paper mill. This mill manufactured chemical cellulose for use in production of viscose rayon and tire cord, and also made the pulp required by its own paper mill producing fine papers for businesses. (Rayonier 1952 Annual Report)

Rayonier, Inc. (Raymond); Lumber industry--Raymond--1950-1960;

A close up of heavy, cast iron machines with stacks manufctured by Western Gear Works, Seattle, at Rayonier's Grays Harbor mill in Raymond, Washington. Rayonier completed many improvements at the Grays Harbor mill in 1952. A large high-pressure boiler was installed to serve the mill's increased capacity. The bleach plant was modernized, with new bleach cells; in making possible a wider range of refining procedures, this broadened the versatility of the mill and opened the way to production of new grades of chemical cellulose. (Rayonier 1952 Annual Report)

Rayonier, Inc. (Raymond); Lumber industry--Raymond--1950-1960;

This group of workers from the American Rock Wool Corporation posed in front of bags of insulation at their Tideflats plant located at 2301 Taylor Way in late September of 1952. John S. Tillman was manager of the Tacoma plant at this time. American Rock Wool Corporation bought the Feltrok Insulation Manufacturing Company in 1952. It, in turn, was purchased by US Gypsum in 1959, who bought all eight American Rock Wool plants nationwide. American Rock Wool manufactured rock wool insulation from slag obtained from the Tacoma smelter. The rock wool was used for home and industrial installation. (TNT 4-24-59, p. 1-article on US Gypsum purchase)

American Rock Wool Corp. (Tacoma)--People; Laborers--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960; Building materials;

Mrs. Frances K. Palmer was the sponsor of A.M.S. (motor minesweeper) 117 built by Pacific Boat Building Company. Mrs. Palmer was the bookkeeper at Pacific Boat and secretary to the company's manager. She has been presented with an engraved platter commemorating the launching of the new minesweeper.

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Pacific Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Launchings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Palmer, Frances K.;

The MSB #15 was one of two minesweepers launched at Tacoma Boat Building Company in September 1952. The MSBs were 57-foot minesweepers. Tacoma Boat would build five of the craft. (TNT, 9/21/1952, p.B-4)

Launchings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

The AMS 115 was the second 144 foot minesweeper to be built at Tacoma Boat Building Company in 1952. AMS 113 was launched in July 1952. The 115 is seen here as she was launched at the boatyard.

Launchings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

Two men are assembling rebuilt Ford "flathead" V8 engines in the rebuilding shop at TAM Engineering Corporation.

Machine shops--Tacoma; TAM Engineering Corp. (Tacoma);

A young man is building a cabinet. He is drilling holes in the top, opening corner of the two doors and will be attaching bumpers to keep the doors shut until the owner wants to open them. The legs have been added with a decorative U-shape on the outside of the box portion of the cabinet.

Plywood; Woodworking--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Kaiser Aluminum's Tacoma plant near the southeasterly edge of Tacoma's tideflats was expanded at a cost of $2,850,000 in 1952, increasing by one third the plant's aluminum output. November 1952 marked the fifth anniversary of the operation of the Tacoma plant. Four alumina storage towers are seen in front of the plant facilities. Mount Rainier is seen rising majestically over the Tacoma tideflats. (TNT Supplement, 11/2/1952, p.3) TPL-9617

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Nalley's returned to the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup in 1952 with their recognizable display booth. The name, Nalley's, is spelled out in large letters over a slight awning with cut outs of people holding oversized Nalley products.

Nalley's, Inc. (Tacoma); Western Washington Fair (Puyallup); Fairs--Puyallup--1940-1950; Merchandise displays--Puyallup; Condiments; Canned foods;

The interior Weyerhaeuser's bleached Kraft mill at Longview, Washington, showing the paper-making machine that would roll out 200 tons of bleached Kraft paper per day to be used for food containers. The machine was 500 feet long, weighed 4,621,311 pounds and required 80 freight cars for shipment to Longview.

Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Longview); Mills--Longview; Lumber industry--Longview; Machinery;

An operator for Douglas Fir Plywood is recording the results of a test performed on small plywood samples.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Testing--Tacoma; Recording & registration--Tacoma; Research facilities--Tacoma; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

An interior view of a fishing vessel showing the chart storage and navigation table next to the communications system in a newly completed ship by J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. TPL-9044

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fishing boats--Tacoma--1950-1960; J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Navigation;

Witte & O'Flyng have housed their offices on the ground floor of this building while retaining apartments above. The building has been built of concrete block and the ground floor is faced with brick. Ray O'Flyng was president of the building contractors, commercial and residential construction, remodeling, prefabrication, development building and property management company. Walter C. Witte served as secretary-treasurer. Ordered by Holroyd Company.

Concrete products industry--Tacoma; Holroyd Co. (Tacoma); Building materials; Concrete--Tacoma--1950-1960; Witte & O'Flyng, Inc. (Tacoma);

Ordered by Holroyd Company. The residence of Captain William E. Farrarof the fire department was built in 1946 using concrete block and stucco. Lumber for home construction was scarce during and after the war. The veterans' emergency housing program absorbed all construction materials available for house construction. The one-story, single-family residence was modern in every way. Its design is reminiscent of an art deco style with a large, curved bay window in the front, a curved, glassed-in area off the corner at the far right, and a flat roof. A covering over the porch is supported with two poles. (TNT, 7/14/1946, p.1; 9/9/1951, p.B-14)

Concrete products industry--Tacoma; Holroyd Co. (Tacoma); Farrar, William E.--Homes & haunts; Houses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Building materials; Concrete--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Mechanization could relieve men from heavy labor in the loading dock at the Sperry Mill. One man moves bags of flour from a rotating delivery platform to a wooden pallet. A man with a fork-lift can transport the flour directly to the loading dock at the Sperry Ocean Dock. Ordered by General Mills.

Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Grain industry--Tacoma; General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma);