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RSN-24

Interior of the machinist room of the McNeil Island Federal Prison. Prison guard and two men can be seen speaking around a work desk at the right side of the room.

RSN-26

Exterior of facilities at McNeil Island Federal Prison. Prison yard, dock and smoke stack are visible.

Washington Corrections Center Shelton, WA. - 8

Back of Photo:
Warden Kurt Peterson stands in the shadow of tower #5, an unmanned guard tower at the Northwest corner of the Reception Center Recreation Yard where last week three inmates escaped by crawling over the 12 foot high security fence pictured to his right. (left in photo)
News/Mike Gilbert
Photo by Russ Carmack

D22833-1

On Wednesday July 3, 1946, Frank Casey (left), a Tacoma Fabricating Company millworker, found a large military flare which had washed ashore in the Old Town area of Tacoma. Not sure whether it was a flare, or a bomb, Casey called the Tacoma police. Officer Frank Pim (rt) was dispatched to the scene. Later, a demolition team from Ft. Lewis disarmed the flare, which had been removed from the protective casing, held by officer Pim, by children. Had the children pulled the flare's safety pin, they could have been seriously injured. (T. Times, 7/4/46, p. 11).


Police--Tacoma; Signals & signaling--Tacoma; Explosives; Tacoma Fabricating Co. (Tacoma);

D23441-7

During the summer of 1946, while Tacoma's school age children were on vacation, a group of police candidates were taking classes at Stadium High School. At the end of August, 37 of the candidates received diplomas and were declared full-fledged members of the Tacoma Police Department. Attending the graduation were a number of veterans of the Tacoma and Seattle police departments including: Police Captain A.E. Farrar, third from the left in the front row; Police Chief P.G. Gregg, in a dark suit and white hat; Safety Commissioner R.S. Temme, in light colored suit and "skimmer"; and Seattle Police Captain Emile Vallet, next to Temme. Others names are listed in Tacoma Times. (T.Times, 9/4/1946, p.16.)


Police--Tacoma--1940-1950; Law enforcement training--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Stadium High School (Tacoma); Portraits; Graduation ceremonies--Tacoma--1940-1950;

D28493-1

Safety Award being presented in Mayor Val Fawcett's office to Police Department and other city departments by the American Automobile Association. The Pedestrian Protection Award was presented to the Tacoma Police Department and citizens for their reduction in pedestrian accidents. (T.Times, 6/24/1947, p.3)


Police--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Safety; Accidents; American Automobile Association (Tacoma); Awards; Fawcett, Clarence Valdo, 1900-1965; Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950;

D34398-2

Tacoma-Pierce County Blood Bank was located on 726-28 Saint Helens Avenue in downtown Tacoma. The center opened in July 1946, in 1947 they were receiving blood donations for industrial plants throughout Tacoma. View of prisoner donating blood at Pierce County Jail, the jail was located on the first floor of the building; nurse from Tacoma-Pierce County Blood Bank is helping the patient with the donation.


Prisoners--Tacoma; Prisons--Tacoma; Blood donations--Tacoma; Medical equipment & supplies; Blood; Nurses--Tacoma; Pierce County Jail (Tacoma); Tacoma-Pierce County Blood Bank (Tacoma);

D37347-6

Hillcrest detention center is a brick, fireproof building, the inside is made of concrete and steel, with a modern steel kitchen, classrooms and court rooms. The building was initially designed by Rueger and Rueger in 1944, building did not begin until May 1947. Judge Fred G. Remann has been watching the building progress, and is ready to move in and get to work; Judge Remann handles the juvenile cases. Exterior view of the new Hillcrest Detention facilities for Pierce County, located on Sixth Avenue and Pearl Street (T. Times, 1/2/49, p. 9).


Detention facilities--Tacoma; Justice facilities--Tacoma; Juvenile delinquents--Tacoma; Reformatories--Tacoma; County government--Tacoma; Hillcrest Detention Home (Tacoma); Remann Hall (Tacoma);

D10495-3

Lee York, left, and H.E. Wood being given Civil Service Examination for city patrolmen. The men were undergoing physical fitness tests on November 28, 1940.


Police--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Wood, H.E.; York, Lee;

D10495-4

Two city employees appear to be doing chin ups on the muscular arms of Lee York during the Civil Service Examination for city patrolmen. Eighty job seekers undertook the rigorous testing to become Tacoma's finest. Those passing the physical tests would undergo further mental evaluation. (TTimes 11/29/1940 p.3)


Police--Tacoma--1940-1950; York, Lee;

D7006-3

ca. 1937. Sentencing of Stanley G. Morrison, Tacoma real estate and investment broker tried for mail fraud in 1937. Four men crossing the street at 9th Street and Court A on their way to the Federal Courts. Mr. Morrison would end up serving three years of a five-year term at McNeil Island federal penitentiary. In October, 1941, he would be summoned to Superior Court on eleven counts of grand larceny in the alleged misappropriation of $30,000 entrusted to his firm by Frank Berry, fisherman. (T.Times, 10-14-41, p. 1, 10-16-41, p. 1)


Crimes--Tacoma; Morrison, Stanley G.--Trials, litigation, etc.;

D7006-4

ca. 1937. Sentencing of Stanley G. Morrison, Tacoma broker tried for mail fraud, 1937. Three men standing in the doorway to the Federal Building. Mr. Morrison would be sentenced to a five-year term for using the mails to defraud. He would be released on parole from McNeil Island federal penitentiary after serving three years. He then would be tried in Superior Court on 11 counts of fraud in 1941. (T.Times 10-14-41, p. 1)


Crimes--Tacoma; Morrison, Stanley G.--Trials, litigation, etc.;

D7355-3

Mental patient Frank Olson, also known as Lester Mead and Charles Thorp, wearing a cap and soiled jacket, caused a stir when he confessed to kidnapping Charles Mattson. Charles Mattson was kidnapped 12/27/1936; his body was found 1/10/1937 and his murder unsolved. It was later learned that Olson was an escaped mental patient from Medical Lake Asylum. Medical Lake staff told the FBI that Olson had been at the asylum since 1925, and had walked off before. He was also considered harmless and liked to pretend that he was a wanted criminal. Prior to his exoneration, however, special editions of the Tacoma News Tribune and a Seattle morning paper were released proclaiming him as the culprit in the heinous crime. He did fit the description of the kidnapper given by the Mattson children present at the kidnapping. He was held by the state patrol at the Hotel Winthrop for two days of questioning before the case fell apart, then returned to Medical Lake. (T. Times 7/13/1938, p.1).


Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Olson, Frank; Mattson, Charles--Kidnappings;

D7355-4

Frank Olson, also known as Lester Mead and Charles Thorp, poses for the police photographer without his hat. He bore a startling resemblance to the kidnapper of Charles Mattson, as described by the other children present at the event. He stunned the community when he confessed to the crime. Charles Mattson was kidnapped 12/27/1936; his body was found 1/10/1937 and his murder unsolved. The Tacoma News Tribune and a Seattle morning paper released special editions proclaiming that the case had been cracked. It was later learned that the 32 year old male was an escaped mental patient from Medical Lake Asylum. He was held for a few days for questioning at the Hotel Winthrop, then returned to the Asylum. He apparently liked to pose as famous criminals. (T. Times 7/13/1938, p.1).


Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Olson, Frank; Mattson, Charles--Kidnappings;

D7036-4

Attempted robbery at Hunt and Mottet Company. Office interior. Police officer, or security guard, pointing out something to inspector who is taking notes. (T. Times)


Police--Tacoma--1930-1940; Robberies--Tacoma--1930-1940; Hunt & Mottet Co. (Tacoma);

D376-4

Mattson kidnapping case. Two boys standing on a path leading up the hillside below the Mattson home. Photograph ordered by the Seattle Star. On a peaceful post-Christmas night in 1936, the Mattson children and a family friend were watching area motorists drive up to view the Christmas light display in the front yard of the Mattson home at 4605 No. Verde. An armed and masked man broke in through a rear entrance of the home and seized Charles Mattson, the smallest of the group of children. He left a ransom note for $28,000. He then, it is believed, carried Charles down this path behind the Mattson home, down a steep bluff to Ruston Way and a waiting get away car driven by an accomplice. (T. Times 12/28/1936 - 1/25/1937, pg. 1)


Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Mattson, Charles--Kidnappings;

D376-6

Mattson kidnapping case. View of Ruston Way and Commencement Bay from hillside below the Mattson home. On December 27, 1936, an armed intruder abducted ten year old Charles Mattson from his parents' home at 4605 No. Verde. He then carried the boy down the steep cliff behind the home leading to Ruston Way and the waterfront. A ransom note was left behind at the crime scene, demanding $28,000. Up to this point, no less than 12 well publicized kidnappings had occurred since the 1934 kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. The previous year, 1935, young George Weyerhaeuser had been kidnapped and returned following payment of the ransom. Charles Mattson was murdered and his body dumped in a wooded area 200 feet off of the Edmonds-Everett Highway, 6 miles south of Everett. Despite an extensive manhunt, and numerous suspects, his murderer was never found. (T. Times 12/28/1936- 1/25, 1937, pg. 1)


Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Mattson, Charles--Kidnappings;

N602-3

A child's dial typewriter used for ransom note, with a hand operating it. Photograph ordered by the Seattle Star. On December 27, 1936, Charles Mattson was kidnapped by an armed and masked intruder at his parents' home at 4605 No. Verde. The ransom note left behind appeared to be typed on a child's typing machine or made with a child's letter stamps. The note contained less than 25 words and demanded $28,000 ransom. Misspellings were corrected with pen and ink. (T. Times 12/28/1936- 1/25/1937, pg. 1) (filed with Argentum)


Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Mattson, Charles--Kidnappings;

N603-4

Charles Mattson, on right, tied to a telephone pole while playing "G-men" with another boy. According to the Tacoma Times, FBI men were Charles' heroes and he and his friends often played "kidnap" where Charles doubled as the victim and the G-man. Later, in December of 1936 at the age of ten, Charles Mattson was kidnapped from his parents' Tacoma home and murdered. Despite the questioning of numerous suspects across the country the following month, the case was never solved. This photograph shows a younger Charles and appeared on the front page of the Tacoma Times December 30, 1936. (T. Times 12-28-1936 - 1-25-1937, pg. 1) (filed with Argentum)


Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Mattson, Charles;

D376-8

Mattson kidnapping case. Warehouses and shoreline along Commencement Bay. Photograph ordered by the Seattle Star. On December 27, 1936, at around 9 p.m., ten year old Charles Mattson was abducted from his parents' home by an armed intruder. The man left a typed ransom note demanding $28,000. He then, it is believed, carried the 70 pound boy down a steep cliff behind the Mattson home, across the railroad tracks and to a waiting car on Ruston Way. The following day, the area was crawling with press attempting to fill their front pages. It was hypothesized the the abductor could have hidden the boy in one of the warehouses along the waterfront. (T. Times 12/28/1936- 1/25/1937, pg. 1)


Waterfronts--Tacoma--1930-1940; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1930-1940; Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Warehouses--Tacoma--1930-1940; Mattson, Charles--Kidnappings;

2700-14

This vacant and boarded up home stood about 200 feet from the home of the J.P. (Phil) Weyerhaeuser, Jr. family at 420 No. 4th. The Weyerhaeuser home is the one behind the tree at the right rear of the picture. The police suspect that the abandoned home may have been used a a hideout where the kidnappers could observe the Weyerhaeuser family prior to the May 24, 1935 kidnapping of nine year old George Weyerhaeuser. This theory was later abandoned and footprints attributed to an overly ambitious photographer trying to get a different viewpoint of the Weyerhaeuser home. (T. Times 5/28/1935, pg. 1 plus succeeding months)


Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Abandoned buildings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Weyerhaeuser, George H.--Kidnappings;

2700-16

In May of 1935, a group of newsreel cameramen and reporters were staking out the home of J.P. Weyerhaeuser Jr. at 420 North 4th Street waiting for a break in the George Weyerhaeuser kidnapping case. Nine year old George Weyerhaeuser was abducted around noon on May 24, 1935 as he walked from Lowell School at 1210 North Yakima to Annie Wright Seminary at 827 Tacoma Avenue North to meet his sister and go home for lunch. By May 25, 1935, the kidnapping had become a front page story across the United States. Reporters streamed into Tacoma. The boy was reportedly being held for $200,000 ransom, truly a fortune in the depression strapped times. The kidnapping remained a front page story until George was released on June 1, 1935, despite the fact that very little information was being released by either the police or the family. Most stories published were filled with speculation and conjectures. (T. Times 5/25/1935, pg. 1 plus succeeding months)


Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Reporters--Tacoma--1930-1940; Photojournalists --Tacoma--1930-1940; Cameras--1930-1940; Weyerhaeuser, George H.--Kidnappings;

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