1937 Ford Coupe, license A132701, at White Arrow Service Station on Seattle Highway for Loyalty Group, Seattle. Mr. Waters, attorney. 1937 Ford automobile heavily damaged on passenger side. Photograph taken on November 21, 1941.

Ford automobile; Traffic accidents; Wrecks;

Tank maneuvers at Fort Lewis where Mayor Harry P. Cain was guest of honor on October 21, 1941. Some of the 41 tanks are pictured during the one-day exercise. 4,500 men participated in the "battle" where everything, but the shells, was real. Spearheaded by the 10-ton armored tanks, the "Blues" traveled across rolling and rough terrain to engage the "Reds" in combat. (T. Times 10/22/1941, pg. 1)

Tanks (Military science)--Tacoma; Military maneuvers--Fort Lewis;

Automobile at Stevens Motor Company for Morrell Pride Meats. Automobile Number 162.

Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950;

1942 Plymouth coupe from Steven Motor Company, Chrysler-Plymouth dealers, for Morrell Pride Meats. Automobile Number 162 is a two-door sedan. Photograph was taken outdoors on August 21, 1942. Cars were one of the items regulated by the War Price & Rationing Board during WWll and only a limited number of people were able to get permits to buy them. The News Tribune would publish the names and addresses of the lucky buyers which also included purchasers of bicycles, typewriters, passenger tires, passenger recaps and tubes. (TNT 8-26-42, p. 5-list of purchasers) This car is what has come to be called a "Black Out" model. The Federal Government mandated that after 12/15/1941 manufacturers had to replace most of the chrome trim and other parts due to war requirements. Trim was either painted or, if it was from chromed stockpiles, it was painted over. The only chrome parts allowed were bumpers and windshield wipers.

Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950; Steven Motor Co. (Tacoma);

Young boy wearing a WW I helmet operates a tractor pulling another piece of farm equipment. Three adult men stand talking in the background in this photograph dated July 9, 1941.

Tractors; Rural areas;

Bunk and galley area in front of engine in fishing boat

Galleys (Ship kitchens); Boat engines; Fishing boats--1940-1950;

Mack truck & trailer from Northwest Hauling Co. for Tacoma Truck Sales. Industrial Tacoma and Albers Mill in the background.

Northwest Hauling Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Scene of Accident. View of Pacific Avenue near South 19th Street taken on August 31, 1940 for United Pacific Insurance Company. Union Station on right, American Plumbing and Steam Supply, Shaub - Ellison Company and Garretson - Woodruff - Pratt Building on left. Wreckage of the fatal automobile-truck accident had already been cleared away by the time of this photograph. A Portland-Seattle Auto Freight truck had collided head-on with a Packard coupe the late evening of August 30th at South 19th & Pacific Ave. This caused the 11th traffic fatality of the year when Tacoma boilermaker Virgil Jones, along with his three passengers, was thrown from his vehicle. Although his passengers, and the truck's occupants, were injured, they did survived. A coroner's jury the following week found the accident to be "unavoidable" and no charges were filed against either driver. (T.Times 8-31-1940, p. 1+, article-only; T.Times 9-7-1940, p. 8-article only on coroner's inquest)

Traffic accidents--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Union Station (Tacoma); American Plumbing & Steam Supply Co. (Tacoma); Shaub-Ellison Co. (Tacoma); Garretson-Woodruff-Pratt Building (Tacoma); Street railroad tracks--Tacoma;

Scene of Accident. View of Pacific Avenue near South 19th Street. Union Station on right, Shaub - Ellison Company and Garretson - Woodruff - Pratt Building on left. Photographed on August 31, 1940 for United Pacific Insurance Company. Virgil Jones became the city's 11th traffic fatality on August 30th when his Packard coupe collided head-on with a Portland-Seattle Auto Freight truck. Mr. Jones, along with his three passengers, was hurled from his vehicle from the collision's impact. (T.Times 8-31-1940, p. 1+ -article-only)

Traffic accidents--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Union Station (Tacoma); Shaub-Ellison Co. (Tacoma); Garretson-Woodruff-Pratt Building (Tacoma); Street railroad tracks--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Griffin Fuel Company truck and employees. Coal bunkers, Snoqualmie Falls Power Company Transfer House, 250 So. 19th St., on right.

Griffin Fuel Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Snoqualmie Falls Power Co. Transfer House (Tacoma);

Truck loaded with castings at Atlas Foundry.

Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Atlas Foundry & Machine Co. (Tacoma); Foundries--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Flatbed truck with large casting on back in front of Atlas Foundry.

Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Atlas Foundry & Machine Co. (Tacoma); Foundries--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Aerial views of Evelyn Burleson in her airplane, "Miss Liberty," in flight from Canada to Mexico. Tacoma aviatrix Evelyn Burleson was influenced by aviation pioneer Ruth Elder. She learned to fly in 1928 in Lincoln, Nebraska and embraced aviation as her career. At the time of this October 1, 1941 flight, she was a freelance pilot but she was previously a flight instructor in Oregon. (T. Times 10/2/1941, pg. 1)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

Lt. Col. Charles W. Goodwin is pictured arriving by plane in Seattle on Northwest Airlines on February 9, 1941. He will travel from Seattle to Tacoma, where he is taking over the command of the 103rd Anti Tank Battalion. The 103rd is composed primarily of Tacoma men and is the last reserve unit to be inducted into regular Army service. The military men are, left to right, Capt. M.B. Benjamin, Capt. Lawrence J. Nelson, Lt. Col. Goodwin, Capt. Jesse Haire and Capt. T. Hadley St. Claire. (T. Times 2/10/1941, pg. 2)

Airplanes--1940-1950; Goodwin, Charles W.;

Doug Oldershaw of the New York Giants football team (far left) was one of five professional football players who donated their time in February of 1941 to help raise money to buy ambulance planes for the Royal Air Force - the RAF. An unidentified member of the Tacoma chapter of the British-American War Relief Committee is pointing to an ambulance airplane on the poster being held by Doug in this photograph from February 10, 1941. Five ambulances comprising a "thumbs-up" cavalcade left San Francisco, each by a different route in a cross-county tour. The ambulance on display in Tacoma, driven by Doug Oldershaw, could be seen in front of the British American War Relief Office at 914 1/2 Broadway. (T. Times 2/8/1941, pg. 3)

Ambulances--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Ambulances--Tacoma; British American War Relief Committee (Tacoma);

Small black automobile stopped at railroad crossing, sign and light, tall tower building at right, industrial area in background. Photograph taken on July 24, 1940.

Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad crossings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Traffic signs & signals--Tacoma--1940-1950;

This covered steel barge was launched on January 25, 1941 at J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp., 1501 Railroad Ave. It was ordered by the Navy and was fabricated by Birchfield Boilers. The barge was 110 feet long and 34 feet wide. It was the second ship to be delivered to the Navy in 1941. [T Times, 1/27/1941, pg. 12].

Barges--Tacoma; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Waterfronts; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1940-1950;

The U.S.S. Laffey was on display at Tacoma Municipal Dock after being hit by five Japanese kamikaze planes and four bombs in an attack 30 miles north of Okinawa. The crew suffered 103 casualties--32 dead and 71 wounded. The destroyer, "riddled like a sieve above the water-line"--the hull and superstructure twisted by the impact, was drydocked at Todd Shipyards for repairs. In 1946, she participated in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini. (T.Times, 5/26/1945, p.1; Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. IV, pp. 16-19).

U.S.S. Laffey (Ship); 11th Street Bridge (Tacoma); Vertical lift bridges--Tacoma; Ships; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations; Piers & wharves--Tacoma; Municipal Dock (Tacoma);

Destroyer U.S.S. Laffey at 11th St. The USS Laffey was on display at Municipal Dock. The destroyer survived an attack by six Japanese suicide planes and two bombs sixty miles off Japan. The hull and superstructure were grotesquely twisted by the impact. (T.Times, 5/30/1945, p.9)

U.S.S. Laffey (Ship); 11th Street Bridge (Tacoma); Vertical lift bridges--Tacoma; Ships; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations; Piers & wharves--Tacoma; Municipal Dock (Tacoma);

Destroyer U.S.S. Laffey at 11th St. Miss Marie Ruedin and Miss Doris Long inspect the battle-scarred aft gun turret of the U.S.S. Laffey. The destroyer was on display at the Tacoma Municipal Dock after it was hit by six Japanese suicide planes and two bombs. F 1/C Maurice Miller, showing the damaged gun to the women, was on the forward deck gun when Laffey was struck. One of his companions was killed, one wounded. (T.Times, 6/1/1945, p.1)

U.S.S. Laffey (Ship); Ships; World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations; Ruedin, Marie; Long, Doris; Miller, Maurice;

The "Marauder". A view of her bow pushing up furls of water, a "rooster tail". TPL-9118

Fishing boats--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Tacoma Boat, interior and water shots of "Sogn". The captain, Hans Akse of Seattle, is at the helm. "Sogn" is a 70 foot combination fishing vessel. Tacoma Boatbuilding Company has a reputation for skilled craftsmanship in designing and building all types of fishing boats. TPL-8895

Fishing boats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Akse, Hans; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

The "Marauder". Water shot; a view of the starboard side. She carries two smaller boats in her stern. "The Marauder" was the fastest in the sardine fleet at the time she was built by Peterson Boat Building. She was built for John and Paul Puratich and had a 400 hp Enterprise diesel engine, an 85 hp Chrysler diesel auxiliary, a Northern Dragger winch, and an Intervox radiophone. (T.Times, 8/12/1946; Pacific Fisherman Yearbook 1946, p. 233 & 430) TPL-8898

Fishing boats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Peterson Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Ship trials--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Truck and tractor, Buck & Bowers. A man wearing a soldier's uniform is driving a Ford tractor with a large blade on the front. Directly behind him is a flat bed truck with side. A sign for Ford Tractors-Ferguson System is painted on the side boards and Buck & Bowers is painted on the truck's door.

Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tractors--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Buck & Bowers picture of truck. Buck & Sons was owned and operated by Parker J. Buck. They manufactured farm machinery, sold tractor tires and did tractor repairs. View of Ford truck with Buck & Sons information painted on side.

Ford trucks; Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Buck & Sons Tractor & Implement Co. (Tacoma);

Phil Seymour, a North End auto mechanic, built this cabin cruiser, "Sea-More", with friends in their idle moments over a period of nine months. Seymour finishes the project as he paints number 4212CGA on the side of the boat. Officially launched on April 24, 1943, she was used by the Coast Guard as an auxiliary during World War II. (T.Times 4/26/43 p.1.)

Boats--Tacoma--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Transportation--Tacoma; Coast defenses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Seymour, Phil;

A spray of water calls attention to a May 7, 1943 fire fighting drill off the Old Town Dock. Participating are Tacoma's Fireboat #1 and five Coast Guard fire barges assigned to Tacoma. Together the vessels can pump over 23,000 gallons a minute. (T. Times 5/8/1943, pg. 3)

Fireboats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commencement Bay (Wash.);

One of the three Coast Guard fire barges stationed to protect Tacoma's waterfront showed off its water pumping abilities in May of 1943. U.S. Coast Guard inspectors were visiting Tacoma to look for fire hazards and award "Good Housekeeping" pennants to the waterfront businesses that had eliminated fire hazards on their property. Accumulations of waste wood and bark, drifting logs and oil on pilings and bulkheads were the most serious problems found. The fire barges were propelled by two engines at the rear and could scoot around the waterfront at very rapid speed. (T. Times 5/10/1943 p.14)

Fireboats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commencement Bay (Wash.);

These two members of the Coast Guard took part in the May 7, 1943 fire fighting drill off the Old Town Dock. The pair are aboard one of the smaller CG fire barges. These smaller barges were designed to fight fires under the docks. They could pump 600 gallons a minute. (T. Times 5/8/1943, pg. 3)

Fireboats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Waterfronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commencement Bay (Wash.);

The three larger Coast Guard fire barges assigned to Tacoma are photographed in formation on May 7, 1943. They were taking part in a drill along the Tacoma waterfront. The Coast Guard had a total of five barges assigned to Tacoma. (T. Times 5/8/1943, pg. 3)

Fireboats--Tacoma--1940-1950; Waterfronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commencement Bay (Wash.);