Mayor George A. Smitley shakes hands with J. Lee Kress at his office in (Old) City Hall while congratulating the businessman on the opening of his new Malt Shop in the Bostwick Building. Young Mr. Kress' new Tacoma establishment would be located at the front of the flatiron building. It would serve 40 in both private booths and counter service. The Kress Malt Shop is owned solely by Mr. Kress and will be union operated. Mr. Kress was educated in Tacoma schools and has had much experience in the food and fountain service business. He already owns two other Kress Malt Shops in Olympia. (T. Times 7-2-37, p.4) ALBUM 11.

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Smitley, George A., 1872-1956; Kress, J. Lee; Shaking hands--Tacoma;

ca. 1935. Mayor George A. Smitley with Ethlynne "Skit" Smith (later Babson) and Ellis-Ayr Smith at his office in (Old) City Hall circa 1935. The Smith sisters were noted local skiers, Ellis-Ayr being a U.S. team member for the 1936 Winter Olympic Games at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Smitley, George A., 1872-1956; Skiers; Babson, Ethlynne; Smith, Ethlynne; Smith, Ellis-Ayr; Families--Tacoma--1930-1940;

A wide variety of flower arrangements were sent to City Hall when Mayor John C. Siegle was installed as the city's chief executive on June 6, 1938. The mayor appears to be leaning forward, perhaps in response to a question, when photographed between his two nominees for city posts, William J. Ganz and C. Amos Booth. The floral pieces were transferred from council chambers to Mayor Siegle's private office. Dr. John Charles Siegle was a well-known civic leader and leading dentist before becoming mayor. He was a prime supporter of the city and sought to develop tourism and industry. ALBUM 11. (T.Times 6-6-38, 1, 14).

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Siegle, John C., 1885-1939; Ganz, William J.; Booth, C. Amos; Flower arrangements;

Following the administering of oaths, Mayor John C. Siegle's name was inscribed on the door of room 303, also the office of C. Amos Booth, Refuse Superintendent. The name of his secretary, William J. Ganz, was also inscribed. Both Mr. Booth and Mr. Ganz were Dr. Siegle's personal appointees. Dr. Siegle's name would remain here only a short time; he died while serving as mayor the following year. ALBUM 11.

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Siegle, John C., 1885-1939; Signs (Notices);

This photograph taken in 1938 shows Mayor George A. Smitley buying a "Buddy Poppy" from Mary Lee Burrows (left) and Elizabeth Armstrong, the youngest members of the American Legion Rhodes Post Auxiliary, at his office in (Old) City Hall. Mayor Smitley was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1872, and although his formal education was limited to four years in a country school, he went on to be a successful businessman and Mayor of Tacoma from 1934 through 1938. Buddy poppies date to the early 1920s. They were inspired after WWI by the poem "In Flanders Fields" and are sold by the VFW to raise funds for disabled and needy veterans and their dependents.

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Smitley, George A., 1872-1956; Patriotic societies--Tacoma; American Legion Edward B. Rhodes Post No. 2 (Tacoma); Girls--Tacoma--1930-1940; Burrows, Mary Lee; Armstrong, Elizabeth;

Six days after Pearl Harbor, Eleanor (Mrs. Franklin D.) Roosevelt, Assistant Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, speaks to Tacoma Mayor Harry Cain and local Civilian Defense leaders about wartime issues in the Mayor's office at City Hall. Mayor Cain appears to be diligently taking notes on Mrs. Roosevelt's speech. After her stop in Tacoma, she went to another conference on civil defense in Seattle. (T.Times, 12-13-41, p. 1) ALBUM 1

Presidents' spouses; Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor, 1884-1962; Visits of state--Tacoma; Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; World War, 1939-1945--Civil defense--Tacoma;

Drum majorettes Phylis Scott (left) and Marilyn Nelson sold Mayor Harry P. Cain a "forget-me-not" or "Buddy Poppy," for the benefit of Disabled American Veterans, at his office in (Old) City Hall in early September of 1941. The annual fund raiser was directed by chairman Floyd Brassfield of the Tacoma Chapter No. 1, Disabled American Veterans. The proceeds from the sale were used to support various veterans' relief programs; the VFW made no profit from the sale. (T.Times 9-4-41, p. 2) ALBUM 12.

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Fund raising--Tacoma--1940-1950; Disabled American Veterans, Tacoma Post No. 1 (Tacoma); Scott, Phylis; Nelson, Marilyn; Drum majorettes--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Mayor Harry P. Cain makes a broadcast appeal over station KMO for the Tacoma Community Chest from the Mayor's Office in (Old) City Hall. The Community Chest preceded the United Way. ALBUM 13. TPL-10183

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

Tacoma Mayor Val Fawcett, son of the celebrated Mayor A.V. Fawcett, at (Old) City Hall for his swearing in ceremony on June 3, 1946. Members of the city council flank the mayor. They are: (l-r) L.W. "Roy" Craig, Abner R. Bergersen, Robert S. Temme and C.A. "Clif" Erdahl. (T.Times 6-3-46, p. 1)

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Craig, L.W.; Bergersen, Abner R.; Temme, Robert S.; Erdahl, C.A.; Municipal officials--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Newly sworn in mayor Val Fawcett posed proudly with his immediate family on June 3, 1946. This is a cropped version of D22427, image 6, with the portrait of Mayor A.V. Fawcett nearly removed. Mayor Val Fawcett is holding his granddaughter Linda Knecht, and is flanked by wife Linda (with orchid corsage) and mother Margaret, widow of A.V. Next to Margaret Fawcett is Val's daughter, also named Margaret and her husband, Norbert Knecht. ALBUM 14.

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965--Family;

In December of 1945 Mayor Harry P. Cain returned to Tacoma to once again take up his mayoral duties. In 1943 he had taken a leave of absence from his elected office to enter the Army as a major. He left the city in the capable hands of C. Val Fawcett, who had previously served as Commissioner of Finance. By the end of the war Mayor Cain had risen in rank to Lieutenant Colonel. Once back in office he served as mayor of Tacoma until June 15, 1946, when he chose to run for the U.S. Senate. Album 13.

Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Military uniforms--United States;

Mayor Val Fawcett, seated center, and city Public Utilities Commissioner C.A. "Clif" Erdahl (seated foreground) listen patiently to delegations from church groups and others, who have just delivered petitions calling for the outlawing of pinball machines. A city Legal Department memo, dated 12/29/1946, is on the table in foreground. Despite two hours of fervent protest by council visitors, the mayor and council would go on to pass an emergency ordinance on December 30, 1946, amending pinball regulations in the city. Pinball machines would not be outlawed but instead have a 5% tax on these "payoff" machines. ALBUM 14. (T.Times 12-30-46, p. 1, 14-article; TNT 12-30-46, p. 1-article)

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Petitions--Tacoma;

Tacoma Mayor Val Fawcett wears a Hawaiian lei in a publicity photo for KVI Radio taken at his office in (Old) City Hall. ALBUM 14.

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Leis;

Mayor John H. Anderson is shown here issuing a proclamation setting aside the period from January 14 to 21, 1951, as Junior Chamber of Commerce week. With him in his office are L-R, G. Hanley Barker, Jaycee director; Fred F. LeVeque, local president; Warner Matson, first vice president; Marc H. Miller, award chairman; and Howard Perkin, secretary. John H. Anderson was one of the partners in Anderson Construction Company. (TNT, 1/14/1951, p.A-4)

Anderson, John H.; Mayors--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Junior Chamber of Commerce (Tacoma); Barker, G. Hanley; LeVeque, Fred F.; Matson, Warner; Miller, Marc H.; Perkin, Howard;

Mayor John Anderson, in his office at (Old) City Hall, admires a bouquet of rhododendrons held by Mrs. John Skupens of the Washington Rhododendron Society. Mrs. Skupens had called on the mayor to invite him to the upcoming 9th annual Tacoma Rhododendron Show. The two day show would take place at the Oakland Community Center with free admission. Publicity photo for Tacoma Rhododendron Society. (TNT 5-9-57, C-6) ALBUM 14

Mayors--Tacoma--1950-1960; Anderson, John H.; Rhododendrons; Skupens, John--Family;

Mayor John H. Anderson meets with Elder Osgood of the Seventh Day Adventists and several others for a publicity picture on March 26, 1953. There are several large white cans marked "SDA Disaster Kit", holding emergency supplies for household use in case of disaster, while Mayor Anderson displays an American Red Cross medical kit. DeWitt Osgood is the pastor of the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church. His and other Seventh Day Adventist churches worked together to assemble these emergency kits; bandages, antiseptics, splints, dressings, and water purification tablets were some of the supplies contained in each kit. (TNT 3-22-53, A-15)

Anderson, John H.; Osgood, DeWitt; Disaster relief--Tacoma;

On October 29, 1924, a group of city and railroad officials met in Mayor A.V. Fawcett's office in (Old) City Hall, 625 Commerce St., to sign Belt Line contracts. The municipal carline was now the industrial belt line, effective November 1st. Mayor Fawcett is seated at far left; also seated are City Attorney E.K. Murray and chairman Ernest Dolge of the traffic bureau. Among others present was the mayor's son, and future mayor, Val Fawcett, second man standing in rear at left. The sole woman in the group is city clerk, Genevieve Martin. (other officials are listed in the Tacoma Daily Ledger article, 10-30-24, p. 4) TPL-10461

Mayors--Tacoma--1920-1930; Fawcett, Angelo Vance; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Municipal officials--Tacoma--1920-1930; Contracts; Martin, Genevieve; Dolge, Ernest; Murray, E.K.;

Public Safety Commissioner Holmes Eastwood, Finance Commissioner Val Fawcett, Mayor John C. Siegle, Public Works Commissioner Abner R. Bergersen and Utilities Commissioner Ira S. Davisson following swearing in ceremony at (Old) City Hall on June 6, 1938. Flowers offering congratulations fill the tables to the rear of the city council. ALBUM 11. (T.Times 6-6-38, p. 14)

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Municipal government--Tacoma; Eastwood, Holmes; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Bergersen, Abner R.; Davisson, Ira; Siegle, John C., 1885-1939;

Posting big grins, Mayor John C. Siegle (center) and two associates pose next to an impressive array of flowers sent to congratulate the newly sworn-in mayor. Standing next to the new mayor are William J. Ganz and C. Amos Booth, Dr. Siegle's nominees for Secretary to the Mayor and Superintendent, Refuse Collection Division. Both nominees would be approved by the new council. Mr. Ganz, age 32, was active in Dr. Siegle's campaign. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1925. Mr. Booth, age 31, graduated from both Lincoln High School and the College of Puget Sound. He was a past president of the city civil service commission. John Charles Siegle, a dentist by profession, was Tacoma's first native-born mayor. Illness cut short his only term of office; he died in April 12, 1939, ten months after his installation date. (T.Times 6-6-38, p. 14) ALBUM 11.

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Siegle, John C., 1885-1939; Ganz, William J.; Booth, C. Amos; Flower arrangements;

Mayor George A. Smitley hands J. Lee Kress a letter at his office in (Old) City Hall congratulating the businessman on the opening of his new Malt Shop in the Bostwick Building. Mayor Smitley is a personal friend of Mr. Kress; the letter welcomed him back to Tacoma and thanked him for the improvements to the area. He wished Mr. Kress a successful career. This is the third Kress Malted Milk Shop in the Puget Sound area with two others in Olympia. (T. Times 7-2-37, page 4.) ALBUM 11.

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Smitley, George A., 1872-1956; Kress, J. Lee;

Mayor George A. Smitley and businessman J. Lee Kress in a July 1, 1937, photograph taken at (Old) City Hall. Mr. Kress, a personal friend of the mayor's, was opening a new Malt Shop in the Bostwick Building. The men are holding a letter from the mayor that welcomes Mr. Kress back to the Tacoma area. He also owned two other Malt Shops in the Olympia area. (T.Times 7-2-37, p. 4)

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Smitley, George A., 1872-1956; Kress, J. Lee;

Tacoma City Council at (Old) City Hall. Interested observers listen intently to council proceedings in April of 1937. (T. Times)

Municipal officials--Tacoma--1930-1940; Meetings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Old City Hall (Tacoma);

Tacoma City Council at (Old) City Hall. Men in conference at table. (T. Times)

Municipal officials--Tacoma--1930-1940; Meetings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Old City Hall (Tacoma);

Tacoma City Council at (Old) City Hall. As the seating arrangement indicates, officials did not face the audience as they met. This photograph was part of a series taken in April of 1937 for the Tacoma Times newspaper but apparently not run. (T. Times)

Municipal officials--Tacoma--1930-1940; Meetings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Old City Hall (Tacoma);

On August 19, 1941, Tacoma Mayor Harry P. Cain prepared to cut the 40 lb. cake decorated with the city seal presented to him in his office in (Old) City Hall. Pictured, L to R were Mayor Cain, city health officer Dr. Leland E. Powers, Corporation counsel Howard Carothers, Public Utilities Commissioner R.D. ("Bob") O'Neil, chef John Carrion of C&H Sugar, Robert Abel of the C of C, Edgar Densmore of Johnson-Leiber Co. Chef John Carrion, chef training instructor of the bakery service department of the California & Hawaiian Sugar Refining Corporation, created an exact replica in sugar of the city's official seal. While in town, he conducted demonstrations for bakers at the Federal Baking Co. ALBUM 12. (T.Times 8-21-41, p. 12)

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; Cakes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cooks; Powers, Leland E.; Carothers, Howard; O'Neil, Robert D.; Carrion, John; Abel, Robert B.; Densmore, Edgar M.;

Eleanor Roosevelt thanks a delegation of young Japanese-Americans for their support as "loyal Americans" following a meeting of local civil defense officials at Mayor Harry Cain's office. Although the Japanese-Americans were not present during the actual informative meeting, Mrs. Roosevelt asked that "every consideration" should be given to American born Japanese and even long-time Japanese nationals. Mayor Cain was later one of the very few opposed to the internment of Japanese-Americans on the west coast. (TNT 12-13-41, p. 1) ALBUM 1. TPL-9780,

Presidents' spouses; Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor, 1884-1962; Japanese Americans--Tacoma; World War, 1939-1945--Civil defense--Tacoma; Tamaki, Shigeko; Wakamatsu, Shigeo; Oyanagi, Waichi; Nakamura, Ted;

Six days after Pearl Harbor was attacked in December of 1941, Eleanor (Mrs. Franklin D.) Roosevelt visited Tacoma in her role as the Assistant Director of the Office of Civilian Defense. In the Mayor's office at City Hall she spoke to Tacoma Mayor Harry P. Cain and local Civilian Defense leaders about wartime issues. She repeatedly emphasized the importance and necessity for all citizens to register for volunteer work. Her boss, Director Fiorello LaGuardia, the Mayor of New York City, had visited Tacoma just prior to Mrs. Roosevelt's arrival. After her stop in Tacoma, she went on to another conference in Seattle . (Tacoma Times, 12-13-41, p. 1-article) ALBUM 1

Presidents' spouses; Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor, 1884-1962; Visits of state--Tacoma; Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979; World War, 1939-1945--Civil defense--Tacoma;

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) cropped version of D12299 image 4

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;

City officials contributing to Drama League on January 24, 1940, at (Old) City Hall. Left to right are members of the city council: C. Val Fawcett - Finance Commissioner, Mayor J. J. Kaufman, Mrs. Hugh J. Rosellini, Controller Tom Swayze, Public Safety Commissioner Holmes Eastwood, Public Works Commissioner Abner Bergersen and Public Utilities Commissioner Ira Davisson. All dug deep in their pockets for funding for the proposed Tacoma Little Theater to be built on No. "I" St. Mrs. Rosellini was one of the sixteen members of the Drama league who participated in the fund raising. She indicated that the new Little Theater would have a revolving stage, only the second in the West following Seattle's Showboat. (T.Times 1-27-40, p. 3) ALBUM 11.

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Kaufman, Joseph J.; Municipal government--Tacoma; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Swayze, Tom; Eastwood, Holmes; Bergersen, Abner R.; Davisson, Ira; Tacoma Drama League (Tacoma); Fund raising--Tacoma--1930-1940;

City officials donating to Drama League on January 24, 1940, at (Old) City Hall. Left to right: Public Safety Commissioner Holmes Eastwood, Public Utilities Commissioner Ira Davisson, Finance Commissioner C. Val Fawcett, unidentified woman representing Tacoma Drama League, Mayor J.J. Kaufman, Public Works Commissioner Abner Bergersen and City Controller Tom Swayze. Mayor Kaufman appears to be examining the blueprints for the proposed Tacoma Little Theater to be constructed at No. 2nd and "I" Streets. The (Tacoma) Drama League sent out eight teams comprised of two members each to solicit donations for the new endeavor. (T. Times 1-27-40, p. 3) ALBUM 11.

Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Kaufman, Joseph J.; Municipal government--Tacoma; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Swayze, Tom; Eastwood, Holmes; Bergersen, Abner R.; Davisson, Ira; Tacoma Drama League (Tacoma); Fund raising--Tacoma--1930-1940;