ca. 1952. For eight years, beginning in 1949, "Raye & O'Dare," also known as the "Heidelberg Harmonaires," were the voice of Tacoma brewed Heidelberg beer on radio and television. Claude "Raye" Frankforter, at the piano, and Scott O'Dare (whose original name was believed to be Easton Skogsbergh) were heard from three to five nights a week on over 31 radio stations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. Sponsored by Columbia Breweries, the Harmonaires provided song, patter and piano and signed off as "Your Tacoma Neighbor, the Columbia Breweries." Claude (Raye) Frankforter died in 2001. Photograph by Robert Dudley of Seattle and believed to be dated around 1952. Copies of prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954. (information on Raye from online quote of Skagit Valley Herald obituary)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Pianos; Music ensembles--Tacoma; KOMO-KJR Radio Station (Seattle); Radio broadcasting--Tacoma--1950-1960; Raye, Claude; O'Dare, Scott; Advertising--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1949. This aerial photograph featuring Columbia Breweries (center) was taken either in December of 1949 or early January of 1950 as snow has blanketed the rooftops and surrounding streets. It appears identical to C87485, image 8, except for the missing Heidelberg logo in the upper left corner. The massive plant had opened in 1900 as the Columbia Brewing Co., underwent several remodels and expansions and purchases, and would survive until 1979 when it finally closed.

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Aerial views; Aerial photographs; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Seven men and women are operating machinery at St. Regis Paper Company's new bag plant. Rolls of brown paper are seen on the far right. The paper is fed into folding machines which eject the multiple-layer tubes onto a conveyor belt on the left. Here women are removing and stacking the brown paper tubes ready for the next operation in completing the bags, sewing the ends closed.

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

Exterior of St. Regis Paper Company's new bag plant on the Tacoma tideflats with Tacoma in the background.

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

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington; yard employees' Christmas party. The lone female at this gathering laughs out loud while the man behind her seems to be offering to help her with her soup. The Pennsalt plant manufactured chemicals used in industrial processing, sanitation and also insect irradication. The company later changed its name to Penwalt.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--Employees; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Presentation of award to the president of U.S. Plywood, Tony Antoville (on right.) Photograph ordered by the DFPA. United States Plywood Corp. was one of the first companies to build after the industry was decontrolled. It opened a 36 million foot capacity plant at Mapleton, Oregon in 1948. By 1955, the firm controlled four plants with a total capacity of 342 million feet annually.

Plywood; Lumber industry--Seattle--1950-1960; United States Plywood Corp. (Seattle); Antoville, Tony;

Birchfield Boiler; heat exchanger and casing. This huge condenser is one of a pair manufactured by Birchfield Boiler for the St. Regis Paper and Pulp plant. The condenser is used to recover waste heat from pulp digesters. Because they come in contact with corrosive substances, the tubes are stainless steel. There are 1184 of them, more than 3 1/2 miles of tubing in each unit. The shells and ends are made of 1 1/2 inch steel plate. Each condenser was valued at $25,000. (TNT 3/13/1955, pg. B-17)

Birchfield Boiler, Inc. (Tacoma); Boilers; Boiler industry--Tacoma; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Launching of the AM 504, the second of three 171 foot minesweepers to be launched at Tacoma Boat Building. The keel was laid on the AM 504 October 25, 1953 and expected delivery to the Tacoma Naval Station for outfitting was November of 1955. On completion, the ship would be turned over to a foreign nation. Mrs. Charles S. Weeks, wife of the commander of the Tacoma Naval Station, would be the sponsor and her seven year old daughter June would be the flower girl. (TNT 3/20/1955, pg. B-6)

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

Plywood displays for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A cabinet is viewed from above topped with an assortment of power tools, hand tools and plywood trim pieces. These are the materials and tools used in a woolworking display captured in this photographic series (D89928.) This cabinet would be perfect for the home handyman to store his tools and small materials or for the hardware store to shelve small items. The DFPA, located in the Fuller building in Tacoma, was constantly promoting its product and its myriad uses. The plywood industry exploded in the Northwest thanks to this dedicated self promotion.

Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Drills (Equipment); Hammers; Woodworking--Tacoma;

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. At Kaiser's Tacoma reduction plant, ore is carefully analyzed. Dick Hildebrandt, plant chemist, performs an analysis of petroleum pitch, used in the production of carbon anodes for the electrolytic aluminum reduction process. One of the plant's largest regional purchases in 1954 was $214,000 worth of petroleum pitch. (TNT 5/16/1955, pg. 11)

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

Acceptance trials of the minesweeper U.S.S. Conquest, hull #488, built by J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding. Several high ranking Navy officials were present for the test. The Conquest is the first of the 171 ft. minesweepers of the "88 Class" to reach trials. After successfully completing the trials, the ship will be delivered to the Tacoma Naval Station, the 5th AM type minesweeper to be delivered. The USS Pledge (AM 492) will be launched July 20, 1955, the 9th and last under the current contract. (TNT 7/3/1955, pg. B-8)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Ship trials--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Acceptance trials for the minesweeper U.S.S. Conquest, hull #488, built by J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding began in late June of 1955. After successfully completing its preliminary acceptance trials, Martinac delivered the AM type minesweeper to the Tacoma Naval Station and it was commission on July 20th. As the first 172 foot minesweeper of the "88 Class" to reach trials, the trials were attended by several high ranking officials. The Conquest was one of the first ships involved in the Vietnam war; it swept the Saigon River and helped to establish control in the "Tonkin Gulf". Twenty-five years later, in 1987, it was sent to the Persian Gulf where it helped to clear mines that were threatening oil tankers. (TNT 7/3/1955, pg. B-8)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Ship trials--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The Douglas Fir Plywood Association's (DFPA) annual meeting in 1955. The Golden Jubilee Convention was held in Portland, Oregon, celebrating 50 years of the plywood industry from its inception in 1905 to 1955. Over 12,000 plywood manufacturers and distributers attended the meeting. One of the highlights was the unveiling of the Plywood Memorial at the Forestry building in Portland. The Memorial was designed around the original sheet of plywood manufactured in 1905 for display at the Lewis and Clark International Exposition in Portland.

Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Portland); Exhibition buildings--Portland; Exhibitions--Portland; Plywood;

Launching of the MSO 505 at Tacoma Boat Building. Photo ordered by the Industrial Development Service. Grain elevators in the background. The Navy's newest minesweeper, the 171 foot MSO 505, was launched Saturday August 6, 1955 at Tacoma Boatbuilding. Mrs. C. E. Trescott was the sponsor and Miss Irene Trescott was the attendant. They were introduced by Capt. James R. Davis, USN. The 13th Naval District band played. (TNT 8/8/1955, pg. 9)

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

ca. 1959. Harmon Manufacturing Co. of Tacoma, in business here since 1909, built classroom furniture as well as that for the home. The company was located at 1938 Pacific Ave.This studio setup is of portable lab equipment, the answer for a school that is pressed for space. The teacher model illustrates chemical formulas on a rolling blackboard, while she rests a glass of soda on the ledge at the top. The blackboard also appears to slide open, to access storage space inside. Beside her is a portable lab table with a faucet and small sink and bunsen burner on top. There is plenty of storage space inside the cabinet for chemicals.

Furniture industry--Tacoma; F.S. Harmon Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma); Cabinets (Case furniture);

Kaiser Aluminum used models to demonstrate safety programs. The model pictured in this November 18, 1955, photograph is wearing a hard hat but otherwise is barefoot and dressed only in a two-piece bathing suit. She is grasping a long metal apparatus which may have been used as a raking tool. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum.

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

ca. 1955. Two tall brick storage tanks appear as stark monoliths against the hazy blue skies in Acme, North Carolina. These were part of the Riegel Carolina Paper Co.'s plant. Railroad cars are in the photo's background; Riegel Paper apparently had easy rail access for transporting their paper products. Photograph ordered by Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Seattle.

Riegel Carolina (Acme, N.C.); Paper industry--North Carolina--Acme; Industrial facilities--North Carolina--Acme; Storage tanks; Stebbins Engineering & Manufacturing Co. (Seattle);

Two employees of the U.S. Plywood Corporation examine sheets of plywood in their Seattle plant on January 6, 1956. They were manufacturers of the "Weldwood" brand of Douglas fir plywood. U.S. Plywood had two locations in Seattle including a lumber division on E. Marginal Way. It also had plants in Mapleton, Oregon, and a 60 million foot capacity mill in Anderson, California. By 1954, with the addition of Associated Plywood Mills' two holdings, U.S. Plywood was capable of 342 million feet annually. (Cour: Plywood Age, p. 158-59)

Plywood; Lumber industry--Seattle--1950-1960; United States Plywood Corp. (Seattle);

Company officials and contractors stand in front of a sign welcoming Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.'s Tacoma plant on February 15, 1956. Reichhold were manufacturers of chemicals for Pacific Northwest industries. In the background is the first train to run on a new railroad spur into Tacoma from the chemical plant. Those in the photograph are: Richard Rose, Tacoma representative for Reichhold, Ernie Skyeta, general manager of the Northwest Division of Reichhold, Harold Warner, Seattle plant manager in charge of construction, and Ed Ekrem, general contractor. Photograph ordered by Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.

Reichhold Chemicals, Inc. (Tacoma); Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

Ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association; plywood being used in the construction of a commercial "chicken house." Plywood is being attached to the exterior of the beams to form the curved roof of the chicken house. The entrance area and a ventilation window can be seen. This is the back of the house. This is possibly the Fife farm of the Guy Conine family. The family raised poultry in three chicken houses, one conventional and two of the quonset hut design. They raised Van Tress hybrid crosses, Washington Whites and Lancaster Whites. The laminated beam construction of the two quonset hut variety eliminated the need for posts for support. All feeding and watering was automatic. (TNT 10/28/1956, pg. B-6)

Plywood; Construction; Poultry houses; Poultry industry;

Kaiser Aluminum; Arc building, looking southeast. The Kaiser Aluminum plant was located about 5 miles north of downtown Tacoma. It had been obtained in 1947 by the huge Kaiser business conglomerate built by Henry J. Kaiser. It was purchased from the Defense Plant Corporation. Kaiser modernized the closed plant and began a series of expansions. In 1956, a $2,000,000 expansion was complete with the creation of 18 new "super size" reduction cells. The improvement also included the erection of a mill-type building to house the 420 ft. potline, office and laboratory buildings, an added electric substation and installation of aluminum bus bars and auxiliary electrical equipment. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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

Kaiser Aluminum; new pot room; Interior view, Arc building. A man drives a modernistic piece of equipment, a mechanical arm with a tractor base. This new 420 foot potline at the Tacoma plant has 18 "super-size" reduction cells, increasing primary aluminum production by 15%. The Tacoma plant is a reduction plant, it uses power from hydro electric sources to reduce alumina to aluminum. In 1947, Kaiser bought the Tacoma plant from the Defense Plant Corporation which had operated it as a war emergency plant and closed it after VJ day. Its proximity to plentiful electric power, supplied by the Bonneville Power Administration, made it the perfect location for creating aluminum "pigs" by electrolysis. The plant on the Tideflats ran on a 24 hour, around the clock basis. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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

The busy mail room of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A large mailer is being prepared. Some women fold the materials to be mailed and others stuff the envelopes. One of the jobs of the association was the promotion of the plywood product and the industry itself. One of the association's main sources of self promotion was the U.S. mail and the company maintained a large mail room to meet its demands.

Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Offices--Tacoma--1950-1960; Office workers--Tacoma--1950-1960; Correspondence;

Cheney Lumber Co.; packages of two by four "Cheney Studs" being readied for shipment in the railroad cars behind. Ben Cheney got his start in the lumber business in 1936 during the depression. By the late 1930's, he was supplying railroad ties nationally and internationally. Cheney was wholesaling the production of 140 portable mills throughout the northwest, selling their ties on a commission basis. As timber became more difficult to obtain cheaply, he became concerned over the side-cut slab wastage, often 2/3 of the log. He came up with the idea of supplying the housing market with standard 8 foot studding, the same length as railroad ties were cut. He even obtained a lower transportation cost from the Interstate Commerce Commission, making production even more economical. Cheney renamed the "shorts," as these 8 foot pieces had been called, "Cheney Studs." Studs became the standard in the building trade and Cheney is credited with standardizing the roof height in US residential construction. ("The Sou'wester" Volume xxxv, Number 3, Fall 2000)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1956. Aerial view of Washington Steel Products Inc. at the intersection of 11th Street and Milwaukee Way. The company was the only manufacturer of builders' hardware in the Pacific Northwest. This plant was constructed in 1948, with additions in 1950, 1952 and a million dollar expansion in 1953. In 1956, the plant occupied 120,000 square feet and turned out more than 450 products for national and foreign markets. The company manufactured small hardware such as drawers, knobs, pulls and hinges. Also pictured on 11th Street is Blake, Moffitt and Towne at 1157 Thorne Rd. Blake, Moffitt & Towne were wholesale distributors of printing and wrapping paper and stationery and were formerly located on Jefferson Avenue. (TNT 9/3/1956)

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma); Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hardware;

The sea trials of the "Sea Babe" for Kazulin-Cole Shipbuilding Corp. Kazulin-Cole was located at 2002 Marine View Drive. Mike Kazulin was president and Anthony M. Ursich was the secretary-treasurer. The "Sea Babe" was a sports fishing boat. It was designed and built by Mike Kazulin. Built for Leroy Powell of South Bend, it would be based in Raymond. The craft could carry 10 fishermen and was powered by a 144 horsepower General Motors diesel motor. (TNT 6/17/1956, pg. B-2)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Kazulin-Cole Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Ship trials--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fishing boats--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1956. Kaiser Aluminum plant. Molten metal is being poured from a vat into a mold to form "pigs." The Tacoma plant was an aluminum reduction facility. It produced the pig aluminum from treated ore. Each "pig" weighs 50 pounds and contains higher that 99% pure aluminum. The Bonneville Power Administration provided the abundant power needed to produce the metal by electrolysis. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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

Cheney Lumber Company's booth at the 1956 Greater Tacoma Home Show. A young Cheney Studs football player poses in uniform with one of the trophies. His uniform features the Cheney "stud" horse logo on the chest. "Studs" were what Cheney renamed the 8 foot 2 x 4 lumber "shorts" that revolutionized the building materials industry. On the back wall are photos of the young man's football team mates, as well as other Cheney teams. One sign points out that the amateur Cheney Studs baseball team was the national runnerup in the 1955 American Baseball Congress.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Greater Tacoma Home Show (Tacoma); Awards; Football players--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A model of one of Ben Cheney's lumberyards is displayed at the Cheney booth at the 1956 Greater Tacoma Home Show. Miniature stacks of Cheney "studs" dot the landscape. The Tacoma Home Show was held May 11-20, 1956 at the College of Puget Sound Fieldhouse. Over 100 local and national companies set up exhibit booths emphasizing products for the home. Cheney "studs" were 8 foot lengths of 2x4 timber that established the residential ceiling height in America.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Greater Tacoma Home Show (Tacoma); Models;

R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie. This is possibly the office for the paper company. As of 1965, the company was still operating in Longview and making specialty, such as waxed, papers.

R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960;