Shipyard workers waiting for buses.

The Ladies Aid group of the Fern Hill Methodist Church met at a private residence near South 78th Street and Pacific Avenue in 1908. The women planned ice cream socials, bazaars and other church activities. Some of the women in this portrait were later identified as: Mrs. A. Hartley, Ms. Cooper, Mrs. Gibson, Mrs. Brill, Mrs. Chenowith, Mrs. Wilhelmi and Dorothy, Mrs. Clarkson and little Mildred.

The roadway of the first Narrows Bridge, the Galloping Gertie, hangs in shreds after the collapse of the bridge in high winds on November 7, 1940.

Bridges--Tacoma--1940-1950; Suspension Bridges--Tacoma; Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma);

The roadway of the first Narrows Bridge, the Galloping Gertie, hangs in shreds after the collapse of the bridge in high winds on November 7, 1940.

Bridges--Tacoma--1940-1950; Suspension Bridges--Tacoma; Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma);

The First Tacoma Narrows Bridge, affectionately known as "Galloping Gertie," collapsed on November 7, 1940, just over four months after it was dedicated. The road bed, which was not reinforced with stabilizing girders, twisted and bounced in the winds that swept through The Narrows. Ultimately, the attractive slender design of the bridge proved to be structurally unsound. TPL-4540

Bridges--Tacoma--1940-1950; Suspension bridges--Tacoma; Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma);

Narrows Bridge - View across bridge showing "Gertie's" famous "Gallop." Roadbed twisting in the wind at about 10:45 a.m., just prior to collapse.

Bridges--Tacoma--1940-1950; Suspension bridges--Tacoma; Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma);

This is what the First Tacoma Narrows Bridge, "Galloping Gertie", looked like on the morning of November 8, 1940. The bridge had opened on July 1, 1940. It collapsed in a wind storm just over four months later.The failure of the bridge was credited to a faulty design which the engineers of the Washington State Highway Department declared was fundamentally unsound.

Bridges--Tacoma--1940-1950; Suspension Bridges--Tacoma; Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma);

Baby in portable seat. This little one appears to be enjoying the view while seated in a padded contraption in this undated photograph. He has a comfortable cushion to steady his back. His feet are able to touch the ground but it seems unlikely that this is a type of "walker" since the wood or plastic appears to be bolted down. It may be more of an old fashioned "bouncer." The springs on the bouncer have padding so that the baby can grasp them.

Infants;

ca. 1959. Women and girls sit huddled under umbrellas, their hats covered with scarves, against the inclement Pacific Northwest weather during a service at the Mountain View Memorial Park. The event was most probably the Easter sunrise service held each year out of doors at the Park.

Memorial rites & ceremonies--Lakewood; Commemoration--Lakewood; Morgues & mortuaries--Lakewood; Events--Lakewood; Easter--Lakewood; Mountain View Memorial Park (Lakewood);

Undated photograph of curly-haired moppet measuring herself against a wooden yardstick. She appears to be the length of the yardstick, three feet tall. The little girl is believed to be Fredrica Ann Hess. She is comfortably dressed with only briefs along with socks and sturdy walking shoes

Children; Measuring;

An unidentified new mother watches intently as a visiting nurse shows her how to make up baby formula in this February, 1944, photograph. The nurse carefully pours the mixed product into a clear bottle. Several clean bottles on the kitchen table await the new formula. The first commercial infant formula was developed in 1867, however it was the availability of evaporated milk and refrigeration in the 1930's that made homemade formulas popular. By 1950, approximately one half of US babies were fed evaporated milk formulas. By the 1960's, the use of commercial formulas such as Similac and Enfamil exceeded that of evaporated milk. By the 1970's, the use of evaporated milk in formula had almost disappeared.

Mothers & children; Nurses; Milk; Bottles;

ca. 1941. Drawing of Tacoma skier Gretchen Kunigk Fraser. In 1948 she became the first American to medal in Olympic skiing as she won both gold and silver at St. Moritz. Prior to her Olympic victories, she won the national downhill and Alpine combined championships in 1941 and the national slalom championships in 1942. She was the daughter of W.A. and Clara Kunigk; her father was head of the Tacoma Water Department for 25 years. The sketch was by Clarence R. Mattie of Santa Barbara and is inscribed "To my friend Gretchen Fraser." ALBUM 9.

Skiers; Fraser, Gretchen Kunigk, 1919-1994; Drawings;

ca. 1934. Golfer and track star Babe Didrikson ( Zaharias ) with three other women. Didrikson won two gold medals at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and won the US Women's Open three times.

Athletes - Golfers - Track and Field - Olympic Medalists - (Mildred Ella) Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1914-56)

ca. 1930. Aerial view of old Hylebos Waterway bridge in the closed position. Industries including abandoned mill and many logs on mudflats at right in photo. City Light Steam plant at lower left, Hooker Chemicals at upper left. This single leaf bascule bridge was built in 1925 by Pierce County for approximately $75,000. The original plan to build a $150,000 bridge with Tacoma footing half the bill was buried when Tacoma pulled out because the area was out of the city limits. The County proceeded with the funds it had available. On July 20, 1927, the bridge came under the supervision of the city of Tacoma with the annexation of the area. The bridge had a horizontal clearance of 80 feet and in 1931, the War Department refused to proceed with plans for dredging Hylebos Waterway south of the bridge until a new bridge with adequate clearance could be built. That new bridge would be opened in 1939.

Bridges--Tacoma--1920-1930; Hylebos Bridge (Tacoma); Vertical lift bridges--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1934. Golfer and track star Babe Didrikson ( Zaharias ) swings a golf club as she takes a golf shot in Tacoma. Didrikson won two gold medals at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and won the U.S. Women's Open three times.

Athletes - Golfers - Track and Field - Olympic Medalists - (Mildred Ella) Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1914-56)

ca. 1948. Governor (or Republican candidate) Arthur Langlie and his wife Evelyn, Congressman Thor Tollefson, and Puget Sound National Bank chief Reno Odlin on the platform at the Tacoma Armory, likely during the 1948 Republican State Convention.

Governors; Langlie, Arthur B., 1900-1966; Legislators--Washington--1940-1950; Tollefson, Thor C., 1901-1982; Political elections--Tacoma;

On August 22, 1942, Mayor Harry Cain asks a large crowd in front of Victory House in Los Angeles' Pershing Square for "all-out war aid." Cain was in town to address California members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors at their mid-summer session. He spoke on August 21st on "The Civilian Defense Program in Oregon and Washington." A month later he returned to LA to keynote the California Mayors' Conference. ALBUM 13 (T.Times 8-20-42, p. 9; T.Times 8-25-42, p. 1-articles on Mayor Cain's trip)

Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Public speaking--Los Angeles;

ca. 1940. Mayor Harry P. Cain with personal secretary Pearl Rehbock at his office in (Old) City Hall. A Washington Association of Cities publication is on his desk blotter, City of Atlanta Traffic Study in his "IN" box. Mrs. Rehbock appears to be taking the mayor's dictation in this ca. 1940 photograph. ALBUM 12.

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Rehbock, Pearl; Office workers--Tacoma--1940-1950;

ca. 1940. Mayor Harry P. Cain with personal secretary Pearl Rehbock at his office in (Old) City Hall about 1940. She appears to be taking dictation. There is a copy of a Washington Association of Cities publication on his desk blotter and a City of Atlanta Traffic Study in his "IN" box. By the 1942 City Directory, Mrs. Rehbock of the Steilacoom Lake area, was listed as the office manager of the USO-YMCA. ALBUM 12.

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Rehbock, Pearl; Office workers--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Sailors salute as photographers film General Douglas MacArthur climbing a ladder aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. He was there to accept the surrender of Japan, ending the Second World War. Copy of snapshot or film frame. ALBUM 2.

MacArthur, Douglas, 1880-1964; Military officers; Generals; U.S.S. Missouri;

ca. 1950s. Copy portrait of NBC-TV news anchor David Brinkley. Date of original photograph not given but probably in mid-to-late 1950's. By then, Mr. Brinkley was already well known as a journalist who, along with Chet Huntley, had anchored NBC's television coverage of the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions. The Huntley-Brinkley Report debuted in October, 1956 and ran successfully until 1970. The show pioneered a new method of reporting the news, giving both a global and national feel, with the two men broadcasting from different cities. After Mr. Huntley's 1970 retirement, Mr. Brinkley proceeded to comment on NBC's Nightly News and then anchor This Week with David Brinkley until 1997. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush in 1992. ALBUM 7.

Brinkley, David; Television broadcasting;

Mrs. F.F. Paige, the grandmother of the actress Janis Paige, was shown a special screening of the movie "Her Kind of Man" on Friday May 3, 1946 at the Music Box Theater in Tacoma. Warner Brothers sent a special print of the film to Tacoma because Mrs. Paige had been seriously ill. Janis Paige, the former Donna Mae Jaden, was a 1941 graduate of Stadium High School. "Her Kind of Man" was her first feature film to be released. (T.Times, 5/4/1946, p.4) Album # 5

Actresses; Paige, Janis--Family; Music Box Theatre (Tacoma); Motion pictures--1940-1950;

ca. 1930. Actor and comedian Buster Keaton with a group of men. Wearing his well-known deadpan expression, Mr. Keaton poses with seven unidentified men. One man is wearing a police cap sideways while another has a cigar jauntily protruding from his mouth. With the exception of the man in tie and Mr. Keaton, most appear to be casually dressed. ALBUM 5.

Keaton, Buster; Actors;

ca. 1940. Mayor Harry P. Cain takes notes with a very long pencil during a meeting a few months after he had won election as the city's chief executive. All eyes -and grins- are directed toward the man seated at the extreme right next to Mayor Cain. ALBUM 13.

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Meetings--Tacoma--1940-1950;

First broadcast from new studio at Labor Temple. Mayor Harry P. Cain is pictured at the microphone in mid-March of 1942 at the Labor Temple's new studio. L to R: Unidentified, Dr. Warren E. Tomlinson of College of Puget Sound, Marjorie Cain, Mayor Cain, Norman Schut, Building Service Workers Union #38 President. Photograph ordered by the Building Service Workers Union #38. ALBUM 13

Radio broadcasting--Tacoma--1940-1950; Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Cain, Marjorie Dils, 1908-1994; Tomlinson, Warren E.; Schut, Norman; Labor Temple (Tacoma);

First broadcast from new studio at Labor Temple. Mayor Harry P. Cain participated in the first broadcast from the Labor Temple's new studio in March of 1942. L to R: Edward J. Jansen, Dr. Warren E. Tomlinson of College of Puget Sound, Marjorie Cain, Mayor Harry P. Cain, Norman Schut, Building Service Workers Union #38 President. Photograph ordered by the Building Service Workers Union #38. ALBUM 13 (Additional identification provided by a reader)

Radio broadcasting--Tacoma--1940-1950; Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Cain, Marjorie Dils, 1908-1994; Tomlinson, Warren E.; Schut, Norman; Jansen, Edward; Labor Temple (Tacoma);

Future Tacoma Mayor "Big John" Anderson (seated) sells tickets for a group excursion. Buyers look at Northern Pacific Railroad timetables. This undated photograph was possibly taken in the late 1930's or early 1940's. ALBUM 14.

Anderson, John H.;

Future Tacoma Mayor "Big John" Anderson (right) shows off his watch to Dewey Busch. Mr. Busch was a past post commander of the V.F.W. Post 2329. This undated photograph was possibly taken in the early 1940's. ALBUM 14.

Anderson, John H.; Busch, Dewey; Clocks & watches;

ca. 1941. Harry Cain, Mayor of Tacoma and later United States Senator, talks with a group of men. Mayor Cain is standing, third from the left. ALBUM 13

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Audiences--Tacoma--1940-1950;