Eleanor Roosevelt, Assistant Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, makes an impromptu address over Radio Station KMO from the Mayor Harry Cain's office at City Hall on December 13, 1941. Mrs. Roosevelt answered questions over the air as presented by civilian defense council members. She was reportedly very affable and willing to be photographed and interviewed. She urged all Americans to assist in civil defense, stating that "defense is not a question of one individual or one organization." She repeatedly stressed the importance of volunteer groups and the invaluable assistance they could render. (TNT 12-13-41, p. 1) ALBUM 1.
Presidents' spouses; Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor, 1884-1962; Visits of state--Tacoma; World War, 1939-1945--Civil defense--Tacoma; Radio broadcasting--Tacoma; KMO Radio Station (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Communications;
On April 4, 1942, after several aborted attempts, the Northwest Hauling Company successfully raised a 150 foot smokestack at the new plant of Puget Sound Plywood located at 230 E. "F" Street. The huge steel stack weighed 13 tons and was constructed by Seattle Boiler Company. Once lifted into place on its 30 foot tall base, it jutted 180 feet into the air over the tideflats. The plant was expected to be fully operational in 30 days. The erection of the stack required several days of planning by the hauling company owned by Dan Cooney. Puget Sound Plywood, the first cooperative plywood plant in Tacoma, opened June 1, 1942. It had 298 members who each contributed $1,000 and received the same hourly pay and percentage of the company's profits. It was built on 3 1/2 acres at the mouth of the City Waterway. (T. Times 4/6/1942, pg. 2)
Tacoma's Washington State College (now W.S.U.) alumni association borrowed two cougars from the Washington state game farm near Steilacoom and paraded them through the streets of Tacoma in December of 1941 to drum up excitement for the big W.S.C. - Texas A&M football game held on Saturday afternoon, December 6th. The big "cats" were housed in a cage mounted on a gaudily-painted truck. The "Evergreen Bowl" game, Tacoma's first brush with big time college football, was attended by 30,000 screaming fans who watched the Southwest Conference Champ Aggies defeat the Cougars 7-0. (T. Times 12/4/1941, pg. 13-alt. photo)
Pumas; Mascots; Football--Tacoma--1940-1950; Washington State College (Pullman)--Associated objects;
Safeway Store, new building at Sixth and Pine. Front view of modest Art Deco style concrete store. The store opened October 10, 1941, the 7th Safeway store to be opened locally since May of 1941. The modern store had 6500 square feet of floor space, indirect lighting and lots of parking. (T. Times 10/09/1941, pg. 13; 10/16/41, pg. 13- ad)
Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Shipyard bowling teams. Painters and fitters from the Seattle Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. Portrait of the champion team identified as (standing) Roy Besam, captain, Frank LaFleur and Al Levorson. On the front row are Jack Olson and Robert Robbins.
Sea-Tac Shipyard bowling teams. Painters and Fitters. Back row, standing: Pip Koehler, C. Skidmore, Jim Cartwright. Front row: George Winegarden, Ralph Conklin (captain)
On January 19, 1942, hard hatted workers at the Seattle-Tacoma shipyard lined up to purchase Red Cross buttons from two lovely female volunteers in a booth. Genevieve Hyde is pictured pinning a button on Rudolph Wolfe. The shipyard's goal was to raise $10,000 for the Red Cross emergency war fund. (T. Times 1/21/42, pg. 3)
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); American Red Cross Pierce County Chapter (Tacoma); Fund raising--Tacoma--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Social aspects--Tacoma; Hyde, Genevieve; Wolfe, Rudolph;
Workers at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipyard are serenaded by the shipyard band during the kickoff for the Red Cross button sale. The shipyard had pledged to raise $10,000 for the Red Cross emergency war fund. For Keel Magazine. (T. Times 1/21/1942, pg. 3)
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Charitable organizations--Tacoma--1940-1950; American Red Cross Pierce County Chapter (Tacoma); Fund raising--Tacoma--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Social aspects--Tacoma;
Crowd of men reporting to work at the Seattle-Tacoma shipyards. During World War II, the shipyard was Tacoma's biggest employer. By June of 1942, over 20,000 persons were employed, with plans to add another 5,000 in July. Nineteen thousand of those were directly involved in the production of ships, with 1,000 more working in the office. Tacoma had to make special arrangements for transportation and construct housing for the influx of workers. The original houses at Salishan off Portland Ave. were built to house war workers. For a work force the size of a small city, the shipyard even had its own police force totaling 130. The private uniformed police force was the same size as that of the city of Tacoma. For Pacific First Federal Savings window display.
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Tacoma; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation. Highway traffic on Tacoma tideflats. A bus can be seen in the middle of the picture. The city was running three 60 passenger World's Fair buses, three 23 passenger, six 25 passenger and three 36 passenger buses. The buses were also getting stuck in the traffic congestion, slowing down their schedule. Plant personnel at the yard was expected to double by years end. (TT 5/8/1942, PG. 1)
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--War work--Tacoma; Automobiles--1940-1950; Traffic congestion--Tacoma--1940-1950;
This photograph shows the corner of South 19th and Pacific as it looked in August of 1940. The Shaub-Ellison "super-service station" at 1902 Pacific opened in 1932. Directly behind it is the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company Transfer House. South 19th Street between Pacific and Jefferson was closed to traffic and the Shaub-Ellison building was demolished to make way for the University of Washington - Tacoma Campus. The Power Company building was incorporated into the campus library.
Shaub-Ellison Co. (Tacoma); Automobile service stations--Tacoma; Snoqualmie Falls Power Co. Transfer House (Tacoma); University of Washington (Tacoma);
In October of 1940, laborers were hard at work, converting the old Interurban Depot at 702 A St. into the Soldiers and Sailors Clubhouse. The Mission style building had started life in 1902 as the depot for the Puget Sound Electric Railroad. In 1937, it became the new home of the Washington State Patrol. Around 1974, the building was restored once again and renamed the Park Place Building.
New recruits at McChord Field rest during a training session, the moment caught by a military photographer. 900 new volunteers were undergoing six weeks of rigorous training at the site of the old Tacoma Field hangar, deeded in 1938 to the US government and now part of McChord Field. (T. Times 11/27/1940, pg. 1)
Soldiers--Tacoma--1940-1950; McChord Field (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Military training; Military life;
Recruits drill up and down the runways of McChord Field. They are part of the current group of 900 receiving training at this location. Although never intended to serve as a training location, McChord is being utilized as such as the armed services expand in preparation for war. These volunteers will receive six weeks of intensive training at this site. (T. Times 11/27/1940, pg. 1)
Soldiers--Tacoma--1940-1950; McChord Field (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Military training; Military life;
The officers who will run the new Recruit Center at McChord Field pose for the camera. They are, left to right, Capt. Charles A Green, Capt. W.J. Herlihy, Col. B.T. Burt- Commanding Officer, 1st Lt. James R. Williams and 1st Lt. Jack E. Rowley. The center will be training new volunteers in specialized branches of the service. (T. Times 11/27/1940, pg. 1)
Soldiers--Tacoma--1940-1950; McChord Field (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Military training; Military life; Green, Charles A.; Herlihy, W.J.; Burt, B.T.; Williams, James R.; Rowley, Jack E.;
Privates B.J. Larson, William P. Biggs and Gale Sersain scrub the concrete outside the temporary headquarters of the new Recruit Center at McChord Field. Sgt. L. T. Thomas looks on approvingly. As the Air Corps and the other branches of the service struggled to expand, more centers were needed to train volunteers, and later draftees. This center was set up around the location of the old Tacoma Field hangar, now part of McChord Field. (T. Times 11/27/1940, pg. 1)
Soldiers--Tacoma--1940-1950; McChord Field (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Military training; Military life; Larson, B.J.; Biggs, William P.; Sersain, Gale; Thomas, L.T.;
On November 25, 1940, Staff Sgt. James E. Phillips addressed a portion of the 900 new recruits undergoing intensive training centered at the old Tacoma Field hangar, now part of McChord Field. The Air Force Base was never intended as a training location, but as the Air Corps has expanded and the armed forces make the transition from peace to potential war, the area has been adopted for this purpose. The recruits are destined for specialized branches of the service, for example air corps, signal corps, ordinance or medical corps. They will undergo six weeks of intensive training. Unlike the selective service volunteers who serve for one year, these recruits will serve for three. (T. Times 11/27/1940, pg. 1)
Soldiers--Tacoma--1940-1950; McChord Field (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Military training; Military life; Phillips, James E.;
Student cast of Stadium High School's production of "The Merry Widow." The opera would be produced March 13, 14 & 15th, 1941. It was the 29th annual production of the music department. Donna Mae Jaden (center, back row) had the starring role. She would go on to Hollywood fame as actress Janis Paige. (T. Times)
Stadium High School (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Operas & operettas--Tacoma--1940-1950; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Jaden, Donna Mae; Paige, Janis;
In this photograph from January, 1941, Harry Stearns, a driver for the Washington Co-op Farmers Association, delivers "Co-op Eggs" using the association's almost egg shaped delivery van. The van is parked in front of the Safeway Store at Puyallup Avenue and Bay Street, 1424 Puyallup Avenue.
Stearns, Harry; Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Poultry industry--Washington--1940-1950; Washington Cooperative Farmers Association (Tacoma);
Birdseye view of ditch digging operation - loading soil into dump truck. The work was being performed outside the Royal Beauty School in the 1100 block of Broadway on July 24, 1940.
Street maintenance & repair--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery; Digging--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950;
View of city street with ditch; ditch digger, crane, dump truck, workers, bystanders, etc. Street repair has drawn an interest from people in the downtown business district as work continues on a section of Broadway in July of 1940. Among businesses visible are the Royal Beauty School, Mierows Jewelry and the Blue Mouse Theater on the left.
Street maintenance & repair--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery; Digging--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Track removal on Center Street and Tacoma Avenue. The last streetcar was removed from service in 1938. By 1941, the city had taken over the job of removing the rails and repaving the streets. They were within a few months of completing the job. (T. Times 2/26/1941, pg. 44)
Street railroads--Tacoma--1940-1950; Street railroad tracks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Demolition--Tacoma--1940-1950; Mass transit--Tacoma--1940-1950;
ca. 1941. Unidentified Clover Park High School students posed with a school bus, operated by Lake Shore Stage Line, in this photograph used in the advertising section of the 1941 CPHS yearbook "The Klahowya."
Students--Lakewood--1940-1950; Clover Park High School (Lakewood); Lake Shore Stage Line (Lakewood); School buses--Lakewood;
Posing with their bicycles outside the Lakewood Community Center in September of 1940 were seven Lakewood-area music lovers: (in no particular order) Mrs. R.W. McMahon, Mrs. Bert Sweeting, Mrs. William Panman, Mrs. George Hellyer, Mrs. Brian Shera, Mrs. W.W. Williver and (believed to be) Anne Baker. These ladies were part of a volunteer committee involved in the Tacoma Philharmonic Association membership drive. Several of them were also part of a local music appreciation study group and they used their bicycles to travel to each other's homes for meetings. (T.Times 9-14-40, p. 5)
Tacoma Philharmonic Association (Tacoma); Membership campaigns--Lakewood; Bicycles & tricycles--Lakewood;
Social critic Dr. Francis Townsend, creator of the Townsend Plan to end the Great Depression by providing pensions to senior citizens, speaks with Tacoma Mayor Harry P. Cain on October 11, 1940. His supporters formed Townsend Clubs; five million members were counted at the cause's peak. Dr. Townsend was in Tacoma to address his followers at the Jason Lee auditorium. He was opposed to Franklin D. Roosevelt's run for a third term and advocated voting Republican. (T. Times 10/8/1940, pg. 2)
Townsend, Francis Everett, 1867-1960; Activists; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Standing just south of the corner of So. 19th St. and Pacific Avenue on the west side of the street, this was the view looking north on January 22, 1941. Two sets of streetcar tracks, set in brick and cobble stones, run down the center of the street toward downtown Tacoma. The Goodyear Tire sign on the right marks what is now the main entry way of the University of Washington - Tacoma campus. The Union Station is at the right. For United Pacific Insurance Company.
United Pacific Insurance Co. (Tacoma); Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cityscapes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Union Station (Tacoma);
