Small window display at Rhodes department store, featuring slacks by Tacoma's Day's Tailor-D Clothing, for "Get Acquainted with Tacoma Products Week." The display mentions Day's College Cords, San Juan Slacks and the company's financial contribution to Tacoma, having one of its largest payrolls of over a million dollars. During "Get Acquainted with Tacoma Products Week", Sept. 7-12, several manufacturers had open houses and hundreds of stores donated windows for displays of goods manufactured here in Tacoma.

Window displays--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Clothing stores--Tacoma; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1950-1960; Clothing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Day's Tailor-D Clothing, Inc. (Tacoma); Trousers;

Brown & Haley Candy Co., for West Disinfecting Co. This appears to be a combination lunchroom and training area. In the back on the counter are a commercial coffee maker, a hot plate and a display of soup cans. There is a Coca Cola chest cooler with cases of empty bottles beside it. Brown and Haley was founded in 1913 by J. C. Haley, who in 1953 was still serving as president. Fred T. Haley was general manager and Richard G. Haley was production manager. The company's most famous product was Almond Roca, the most desired candy during W.W.II when it was shipped to the Armed Forces. (TNT 9/4/1953, pg. C-15)

Confections; Candy; Chocolate industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Brown & Haley (Tacoma); Cafeterias--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Offices at Brown & Haley Candy Co., for West Disinfecting Co. A young woman sits typing at a desk labelled "information." Surrounding her are office cubicles, separated by plate glass windows. Light fixtures are suspended from the ceiling. Brown and Haley was founded in 1913 by J.C. Haley and grew because of the company's insistence on quality. In 1948, the company underwent a 1/2 million dollar expansion. The company's most famous product was Almond Roca, but they also made the Mountain Bar, Olympic Mint and the Almond Butter Crunch Bar. The company pioneered packing in a vacuum packed tin for freshness. (TNT 9/4/1953, pg. C-15)

Confections; Candy; Chocolate industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Brown & Haley (Tacoma); Offices--Tacoma--1950-1960; Office workers--Tacoma--1950-1960;

New DFPA offices in the Fuller Building as pictured on September 18, 1953. This appears to be the mailroom. The Douglas Fir Plywood Association's headquarters in Tacoma was the center of the industry's national promotion of fir plywood. The cost of this promotion was over 2.5 million a year, much of it spent in postage. The DFPA was the highest volume customer of the Tacoma Post Office. TPL-8393

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

Interiors of new DFPA office in Fuller building. Originally the home of W.P. Fuller & Co., the Douglas Fir Plywood Association leased and remodeled this office building in 1953. They remained here until the 80's. From this location, the DFPA directed their national program of promotion, research and quality control. Around 1983, the building was remodeled by Bantz Trace Associates and renamed the Commencement Bay building. It houses office space and the Cliff Street Lofts. TPL-8394

Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Offices--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Interiors of new DFPA office in Fuller building. Switchboard operator & a man waiting with a briefcase for an appointment. The Douglas Fir Plywood Association was originated and financially supported by member and subscriber mills. Its purpose was threefold; to aggressively promote plywood as a building material, to fund research on improving and diversifying the product and for quality control of the product. This self regulation sparked the biggest industry growth in the Northwest of all times. TPL-8395

Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Offices--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Interiors of new DFPA office in Fuller building. Office workers at desk and counter, "Mr. Ritchie's" office in the background. The Douglas Fir Plywood Association began in 1938 when the original member mills banded together to promote and standardize their product. Under the able guidance of W.E. ("Diff") Difford, the handful of mills became an industry. By the forties, plywood boomed in housing and became the handiest building material ever devised. The Association later changed its name to the American Plywood Association, as more types of wood came to be used in the production of plywood. TPL-8396

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

Interiors of new DFPA office in Fuller building. Originally the home of W.P. Fuller & Co., the building was leased by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association in 1953 and remodeled for their headquarters. Plywood, the building material made of sheets of veneer glued together in multi plys, was the favored building material of the construction industry. This was mostly due to the self promotion of the Association, which was supported by member mills. The Association also sponsored research at its lab at 1214 A St. and standardized plywood and graded it for quality. TPL-8397

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

Church of God in Christ banquet. The congregation is gathered for a banquet to honor some occasion, possibly a wedding, as a woman in white formal dress sits left of the center column. The room can be divided into sections by curtains and framed photos adorn the back wall. This building was built in 1890 as a boarding house and in the 30's served as the location of the Japanese Baptist Mission. (building information from TPL building index)

Church of God in Christ (Tacoma); Churches--Tacoma--1950-1960; African Americans;

Holroyd Co.; exposure of five trucks in front of the plant at So. 52nd and Washington. Holroyd mixed concrete and manufactured concrete building units. These units were especially popular for building during the war when wood was in short supply. The large trucks are used for transporting materials. The company also had a gravel pit at Nisqually and another at Meadow Park.

Holroyd Co. (Tacoma); Concrete products industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. exterior, for the Condon Co. This facility was considered to be one of the most complete automotive centers in the U.S. Founded in 1916 at 8th and A, the company was still run by the Mueller family. In September of 1953, negotiations were underway to sell the family owned business to a Seattle automobile man. Effective October 1, 1953, the new owner was identified as E.H. (Gene) Brus, a prominent Seattle automobile man since 1921. (TNT 9/14/1953, pg. 1 & TNT 10/4/1953, pg. B5-B7)

Buick automobile; Automobile dealerships--Tacoma; Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. (Tacoma); Brus Buick Co. (Tacoma);

Ace Furnace & Steel, overall view of tanks. Ace manufactured items of metal, such as furnaces, tanks, stacks and industrial sheet metal. They also did electrical welding and manufactured steel products. The company was owned by Alvin T. Davies who also was president of Birchfield Boiler and Tacoma Boiler Works, as well as owning North End Lockers. The Davies family lived on Day Island.

Metalworking--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Steel industry--Tacoma; Iron & steel workers--Tacoma; Ace Furnace & Steel Co. (Tacoma);

Two women employees are working on the assembly line at Brown & Haley Candy Co., the "Home of Almond Roca". The crunchy, log-shaped, mostly butter, chocolate and almond coated delicacy was created in 1923 by an English candy maker working with Harry Brown. J.C. Haley delivered a pound of the company's new product to Tacoma's head librarian, Jacqueline Noel, who suggested that the Spanish word "roca" for rock seemed appropriate in light of the fact that almonds originated in the Mediterranean. Noel found a Sevillian coat of arms that inspired the Brown & Haley product logo. In 1926, Haley conceived the idea of packaging Almond Roca in cans and with the help of American Can Co., the candy was vacuum-packed. This kept the gold, foil-wrapped pieces fresh for up to three years. Today, Almond Roca is an international favorite and the Tacoma company of Brown & Haley is world renowned. TPL-5913

Confections; Candy; Chocolate industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Packaging; Assembly-line methods; Brown & Haley (Tacoma);

Although the company name "Brown & Haley" calls to mind their famous Almond Roca candies, the Brown & Haley Candy Company, 108-16 East 26th Street, has always made a variety of candy products. This photograph from September, 1953 shows seven women employees on the manufacturing line that made high quality, hand-dipped chocolates. The second woman on the line, counting from the right, has been identified as Katherine White. The last woman in the line has been identified as Mollie Tripple. TPL-8786

Confections; Candy; Chocolate industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Packaging; Assembly-line methods; Brown & Haley (Tacoma);

Unidentified Brown & Haley salesmen, January 3, 1939. (filed with Argentum)

Brown & Haley (Tacoma)--People;

Unidentified Brown & Haley salesmen, January 3, 1939. (filed with Argentum)

Brown & Haley (Tacoma)--People;

Cash registers and check out stands at Sib's Thriftway. The new market had eight check out stands with conveyor belts to speed checking. Little push carts were provided for children to shop with Mommy and small tables and chairs were available for children to sit and color. The interior decorating colors were yellow, green and brown and soft background music played. The window glass was frosted and the store had fluorescent lighting and air conditioning. The store had some of the first automatic opening doors in use. (TNT 9/2/1953, pg. C-1)

Sib's Thriftway (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cash registers;

Washington School, 6A Class, January of 1939. (filed with Argentum)

School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Public schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Washington School (Tacoma);

Attendance at the New Bible Prophecy Auditorium, the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church at 6th and Sprague, for the Spillman-Lyman Evangelistic Team. The best known West Coast Evangelistic team began their revival meetings September 27, 1953, sponsored by the Washington Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists. Don Hiatt Spillman was the director and speaker. Lewis Lyman was the singing evangelist and musical director. The pair, with their wives, sang as a mixed quartet. The first sermon was "Now that Stalin is dead and the Communists have the hydrogen bomb, what is the answer to the Russian Riddle?" Appearing in Tacoma after 66 weeks in Seattle, 38 in Spokane and 24 in Salem Oregon, the revival would meet every night except Monday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the new 1/4 million dollar building designed by Silas Nelsen. (TNT 9/25/1953, pg. 7)

Religious meetings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Revivals--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Bank of California- customer parking and drive up banking window. The Bank of California heavily advertised its convenience features- a free parking lot, drive up teller windows and a rear bank entrance just steps from the parking lot. The drive up windows now had two tellers, making banking quicker and easier. The banking institutions tried to make banking in the downtown area more attractive, as business deserted the downtown area for the suburbs. The fifties saw the beginning of the desertion of downtown Tacoma as a retail area. (TNT 10/11/1953, pg. A-4)

Bank of California National Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Banking--Tacoma--1950-1960; Parking lots--Tacoma;

First annual banquet honoring retired Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad employees. Banquet held at the Walker Apts. January 7, 1939.

Banquets--Tacoma--1930-1940; Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co.--Retirements; Walker Apartments (Tacoma);

Kitchen interior of new home in Skyline Terrace. In this home built by Fitzpatrick-McIntyre the modern kitchen features high-gloss natural finished cabinets, part of the blonde furniture trend. Four-by-four inch ceramic tile counters were indicative of the well-built home as were interior laundry rooms adjacent to kitchens. Modern washing machines with matching electric dryers replaced the wringer-style washers and clothes lines. The "model housewife" performs her housework in apron and high heels.

Kitchens--Tacoma--1950-1960; Housing developments--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Garage in new home in Skyline Terrace. This brand new attached garage, designed by Fitzpatrick-Mcintyre, is empty except for the single car. It appears large enough to shelter two cars. Garages became an essential component of new homes in the fifties, as most families now owned 1-2 cars.

Garages--Tacoma--1950-1960; Housing developments--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Bathroom in new home in Skyline Terrace. This home was built by Fitzpatrick-McIntyre. To the right is a shower/tub enclosure and to the left are floor to ceiling drawers and cabinets. The room opens up at the rear of the picture where the lavatory and mirror are. The bathroom construction materials appear to be very glossy and storage is ample.

Bathrooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Housing developments--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Living room in new home in Skyline Terrace. In this home designed by Fitzpatrick-McIntyre, the living room appears to be very narrow and to combine the living and dining areas. The fireplace fits into the floor to ceiling brick wall on the right. The ceiling and floor have a tiled pattern of wood squares of different colors and grains & the walls appear to be wood paneled. Skyline Terrace was the home to many large show homes on view lots as well as economical models such as this home.

Living rooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Housing developments--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exterior of a new building at 3101 South Tacoma Way, constructed for B. Wingard and Sons. In the 1950's the structure became the home of Johnson Paint Co. (filed with Argentum)

B. Wingard and Sons (Tacoma);

Mueller-Harkins Buick Agency. Staff group photo on roof parking lot; building's pylon sign in background. Medical Arts, now Tacoma Municipal, building visible at far left in photo. In October of 1953, The Muellers retired and sold their company to E.H. (Gene) Brus from Seattle. The other founding owner Leo W. Harkins had retired in 1931. There was no change in personnel or policies, but the company now became Brus Buick Co. Brus would also take over the used car lot at 8th and Tacoma Ave. (TNT 10/4/1953, pg. B-6 - B-7)

Automobile dealerships--Tacoma; Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. (Tacoma)--Employees; Brus Buick Co. (Tacoma);

Aerial view of the residence of Reno Odlin, President of Puget Sound National Bank. Home designed by Lea, Pearson & Richards. Reno Odlin was a ninth generation American, whose family had a background in the ministry and banking. Reno was well educated, thanks to his strong willed ex -school teacher mother Jessie Odlin, and was preparing for a career in law when he joined the army in WW I. After the army, he learned banking from the bottom up as a cashier in the Citizens Bank in Anacortes that his father was reorganizing. In 1928, he took a banking job in Seattle and later in Olympia. He was running the Seattle-First National Bank in Olympia when he was contacted by Puget Sound Bank. Against all advice, he took the job running the small unprofitable bank. By skill and personality, he rescued Puget Sound Bank from the Depression and guided it through wartime & peacetime prosperity. ("Banking on Independence" Provorse)

Odlin, Reno, 1897-1979--Homes & haunts; Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma)

ca. 1953. New fifties era elementary classroom. Blackboards line two sides of the room and windows line another. The teacher's desk sits at the front of the room with student's individual desks facing it. Student desks appear to be metal with wooden chairs. The classroom's school is unidentified, although it is probably one of the new schools that opened in 1953 to relieve the elementary school overcrowding by baby boomers. TPL-5789

Classrooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Desks;

Sib's Thriftway. The 52nd Thriftway store to open in Washington and Oregon was on No. 26th & Pearl in the Westgate addition. Sib Carstensen was the operator. The store was one of the largest supermarkets in the Northwest. The market sold food, magazines, comic books, housewares, greeting cards and some drugs. It featured a 1,000 car parking lot with 10 feet available between parked cars. The store was the crown jewel of the Westgate Suburban Shopping Center. When all of the stores in the center were complete, they would represent an investment of over one million dollars. The market opened with a three day Grand Opening, with free orchids, coffee & cookies and rides on the merry-go-round ponies for the kiddies. (TNT 9/2/1953, pg. C-1)

Sib's Thriftway (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;