Red Cross activities, Mrs. Strong. By February of 1944 there were over four million Red Cross volunteers throughout the United States. Although many worked as typists, clerks, and ambulance drivers, there were also volunteers that supported the war with needle and thread. These Tacoma women, seated at tables fitted with sewing machines, standing at an ironing board and seated with hand sewing, are sewing garments for hospitals and refugees. Several finished garments are hanging at the back of the room. (T.Times, 2/29/1944, p.1)

Women--Tacoma--1940-1950; American Red Cross Pierce County Chapter (Tacoma); Sewing--Tacoma; Sewing machines;

Red Cross activities, Mrs. Strong. Many women wearing red cross uniforms are seated at tables with small pieces of fabric and templates folding bandages. This is the surgical dressing room. Two other women are seen through a doorway working with ledgers. Red Cross workers make surgical dressings, drive ambulances, work as typists, clerks, and visit the sick in their efforts to help people in need. (T.Times, 2/29/1944, p.1), (TNT, 2/27/1944, p.1)

Women--Tacoma--1940-1950; American Red Cross Pierce County Chapter (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Social aspects--Tacoma; Medical equipment & supplies--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Leo Olsen lost the use of his legs to infantile paralysis when he was 9 years old, but he was determined to be part of WWII. Although a tailor by trade, and a pianist, he found work at the Olin Coporation aluminum plant, on the tide flats, running one of the giant cranes that towered over the electric furnaces. This photograph of Mr. Olsen at the controls of his crane was taken in June of 1944 for the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce. (T. Times, 6/27/44, p. 2). Tacoma Chamber of Commerce Manpower publicity at Olin Corp.

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Handicapped persons--Tacoma; Olin Industries, Inc. (Tacoma); Olsen, Leo;

Henry Mill test assembly of J. O. 240. Henry Mill & Timber Co. is a leader in pre-fabricated lumber materials. They have several Army and Navy job contracts and through their well established assembly line they are able to speed up the needed materials for the war effort. View of assembly line for pre-fabricated lumber orders.

Assembly-line methods--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Henry Mill & Timber Co. (Tacoma);

Tacoma ball park signs for Mr. Moriatarty. In February 1944 Tacoma attempted to get back the Pacific Coast League it gave up 40 year ago. Home games would have taken place at this location. Unfortunately the deal fell through, Sacramento, CA. retained the league. View of ball park signs printed by Mr. William P. Moriatarty.

Athletic fields--Tacoma; Baseball--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Tacoma Athletic Grounds and Baseball Park signs. View of ball park score board with local businesses that helped support the athletic field. For Mr. Moriarty.

Athletic fields--Tacoma; Baseball--Tacoma--1940-1950; Scoreboards--Tacoma;

AAA Synthetic Tire Caravan. National and state American Automobile Association officials gather around a Pontiac and inspect the evenness and tire wear of synthetic and recapped tires. Tacoma is one of the stops on an around-the-nation testing tour. (T. Times, 3/3/44, p. 3).

Automobile equipment & supplies; Tire industry;

General Petroleum exterior of 3 plants. Maxwell Petroleum Co. is well known for their modern gasoline outlets. View of the 910 Puyallup Ave. station, which ranks with the nation's most modern, and has been featured in newspapers and magazines as the only one of its kind in America.

Automobile service stations--Tacoma; General Petroleum Corp. (Tacoma); Maxwell Petroleum Co. (Tacoma);

Boys Club team pictures. Tacoma Boys Club was founded in 1942, and since then its membership has grown to 1103 boys. Members participate in many sports teams and activities. Group portrait of nine unidentified basketball team members wearing Tacoma Boys Club uniforms and the team coach.

Basketball--Tacoma; Boys--Societies & Clubs--Tacoma; Tacoma Boys' Club (Tacoma);

Comedian and actor Jack Benny shakes hands with fan Donna Mae Murphy at Tacoma's Union Station on April 18, 1944. Benny's wife, Mary Livingston, former Seattle showgirl, is to his left, Eunice Sumblin is at front right. Even though Mr. Benny's train only stopped for two minutes in Tacoma and was not publicized, his fans, reporters and photographers somehow managed to arrive at the scene in time for greetings. The Benny troupe was on its way to British Columbia to open a War Bond show. Also aboard and playing pinochle when the train pulled into the depot were bandleader Phil Harris and comedian Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. (T.Times 4-19-44, p. 1) ALBUM 7.

Benny, Jack, 1894-1974; Actors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Comedians; Livingston, Mary; Shaking hands--Tacoma; Murphy, Donna Mae; Sumblin, Eunice;

Tacoma Sportmen's Club sponsored the annual bird house building contest. One hundred and eighty five children between the ages of six and sixteen participated in the fun event. The grand prize was awarded to Don Hansler of Parkland. The awards ceremony took place in the Tacoma Sportmen's Clubroom. View of seven of the bird-home builders who participated in the contest, imaginative and creative bird houses are displayed in foreground (T. Times, 5/1/44, p. 11).

Birdhouses--Tacoma; Birds; Contests--Tacoma; Children--Arts & crafts; Tacoma Sportmen's Club (Tacoma); Hunting trophies;

Tacoma Boat Facilities. Interior of Tacoma Boatbuilding Co. plant. Elaborate machiery was used for boatbuilding. TPL-6651

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

Tacoma Boat Facilities. Meeting the Army and Navy compliance for the wood and diesel type ships is an important part of the building process for Tacoma Boatbuilding Co. TPL-8862

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

Tacoma Boat Facilities. Wood and Diesel ships were built by Tacoma Boatbuiling Co. for new Army and Navy fleets. This view shows stockpiles of lumber at Reliance Lumber Co. adjacent to Tacoma Boatbuilding Co.

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Lumberyards-- Tacoma; Reliance Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Puget Sound Boat. Puget Sound Boat Building received many military contracts. They were building ocean going tugs and self propelled barges for the Army. View of boat built by Puget Sound Boatbuilding Corp. on Puget Sound for ship trials.

Boats--Tacoma; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Puget Sound Boat Building Corp. (Tacoma); Ship trials--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Boys Club team pictures. The Tacoma Boys Club was founded in 1942 by Superior Court Judge Fred G. Remann. E. S. Ostberg is the Executive Director of club and Remann now serves as the president of the club. Eight unidentified boys from the boxing team and their coach.

Boxing--Tacoma; Boys--Societies & clubs--Tacoma; Tacoma Boys' Club (Tacoma);

Lakewood Log picture of boy and articles from India and China. View of an unidentified Boy Scout handling Chinese and Indian artifacts. Photo was taken for the Lakewood Log, a weekly newspaper based out of the Lakewood Community Center, on May 8, 1944.

Boy Scouts (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Arms & armament--Chinese; Lakewood Log (Lakewood);

Henry Mill test assembly of J. O. 240. Henry Mill & Timber Co. is a leader in pre-fabricated lumber materials. They have several Army and Navy job contracts and through their well established assembly line they are able to speed up the needed materials for the war effort. View of nine unidentified men inspecting assembled pre-fabricated lumber order.

Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Henry Mill & Timber Co. (Tacoma);

On Tuesday May 9, 1944, as a tribute to their mothers, the cadets of Bellarmine High School's R.O.T.C. battalion staged a military review and parade for the Philomanthea Mothers' Club. Following the review, awards were presented to individual cadets who's records in school warranted special recognition in the areas of academic excellence, leadership and marksmanship. Eleven of the participants shown in this photograph are identified in the Tacoma Times of May 10, 1944 on page 5. (T. Times, 5/10/44, p. 5).

Cadets--Tacoma; Military education--Tacoma; Bellarmine High School (Tacoma);

Tacoma Camp Fire Girls to celebrate 25th anniversary. The Tacoma Camp Fire Girls will be celebrating the 25th anniversary with the Seattle troop at Camp Sealth on Vashon Island in June of 1944. Left to right view of Claire Shotwell, Marilyn Stier, Beverly Shotwell and Muriel Thorpe rolling their sleeping bags (T. Times, 7/1/44, p. 3).

Camps--Vashon Island; Sports & recreation facilities--Vashon Island; Camp Fire Girls (Tacoma); Camp Sealth (Vashon Island); Shotwell, Claire; Stier, Marilyn; Shotwell, Beverly; Thorpe, Muriel;

The Girl Scout Council of Tacoma was honoring Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, with an afternoon tea party at Mrs. Buckmaster's home. View of Juliette Low Girl Scout Troop representatives and Dorothy G. Buckmaster, Juliette Low Girl Scout Council representative, seated second from left. Names of girls given in article (T. Times, 5/18/44, p. 8).

Children--Organizations--Tacoma; Girl Scouts (Tacoma); Tea--Tacoma; Children's tea parties; Buckmaster, Dorothy G.--Homes & haunts; Buckmaster, Dorothy G.;

Mrs. Jones and Mrs. W. H. Mierow home picture. Inez A. Jones, left, and Violet H. Mierow have just returned from a Camp Fire Girls intensive training course at Camp Sweyolaken in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. They are volunteer leaders for the Tacoma Camp Fire Girls (T. Times, 7/1/44, p. 3).

Children--Organizations--Tacoma; Jones, Inez A.; Mierow, Violet H.; Camp Fire Girls (Tacoma);

Tacoma Credit Women (6) in studio. View of five unidentified women and Signe Sutherland (third from right) were members, and possibly the officers, of the Tacoma Retail Credit Association. They are wearing stylish business suits with open-toe shoes; their hats, handbags, gloves and furs make these women look quite distinguished.

Clubwomen--Tacoma--1940-1950; Women--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fur garments; Business people--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Retail Credit Association (Tacoma);

In March of 1942, the Skookum Slope coal mine, which had been closed since 1883 was re-opened by the Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. The U.S. Defense Plant Corp. had signed an agreement with the Wilkeson Products Company to develop a mine near Wilkeson to produce coal for the industries in the Pacific Northwest. Named for "Skookum" Smith, who made history by bringing the Northern Pacific rails into Tacoma just one day before the line's charter expired, the mine produced thousands of tons of coal from March 1942 to November 1944 when it was once again closed.

Coal mining--Wilkeson; Coal miners--Wilkeson; Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. (Wilkeson); Skookum Slope (Wilkeson);

Pacific Carbide exterior and interior for record. On March 4, 1944 E. F. Goodner of Pacific Carbide & Alloys Co. announced that the plant would close down for an indefinite amount of time. The plant employed 65 people. Exterior view of plant.

Coke industry--Tacoma; Pacific Carbide & Alloys Co. (Tacoma);

Coke plant interior and exterior for Wilkeson Products. The Wilkeson Products Coke plant is an affiliate of the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company and only uses Wilkeson coal, the only coking coal in Washington. TPL-7988

Coke industry--Tacoma; Wilkeson Co. (Tacoma);

Series of Wilkeson Products interior and exterior mine photographs. Jim "Corkie" Kelly, miner's lamp shining, was pictured at the working face of the Wilkeson Products mine on March 18, 1944. The ladder to the right accessed a chute which was being driven up the coal seam. The large heavy sawn timbers held up the roof above Mr. Kelly's head. The Wilkeson Products mine had a short life span of less than two years. The U.S. government had pumped in money to support the coal industry during WWll with the intention of helping the war effort. The mine was built in 1943 using the best construction and equipment possible but was only able to produce 54,000 tons of coal. Two miners, Jack Cloves Smith and Harold E. Barber, lost their lives at the mine. (Kombol, Bill, "When Coal Was King," Voice of the Valley, p. 5, 1-3-2012) TPL-6618

Coke industry--Wilkeson; Coal mining--Wilkeson; Coal miners--Wilkeson; Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. (Wilkeson); Kelly, Jim; World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Wilkeson;

Wilkeson Products interior and exterior of mine. In 1888 Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. began producing the best grade of coke available in the West. Wilkeson Co. mine employed 200 employees, they lived with their families in Wilkeson, Washington, a small mining town in eastern Pierce County. View of filled coal cars at Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. TPL-6615

Coke industry--Wilkeson; Coal mining--Wilkeson; Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. (Wilkeson);

Wilkeson Products interior and exterior of mine and coke plant. Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. had the largest coal and coke mine in the State of Washington. They were one of the only completely electrified mining plants in the world, and always had the most modern machinery available. (previously numbered G75.1 image 142)

Coke industry--Wilkeson; Coal mining--Wilkeson; Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co. (Wilkeson);

Ab Jenkins at Ed Griffin's home. Ed Griffin, left, is a prominent Tacoma fuel dealer and longtime friend of Ab Jenkins, right. Ab is a famed international auto speed driver and ex-mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. View of Ed and Ab in a 1908 Palmer & Singer automobile (T. Times, 7/11/44, p. 9).

Convertible automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950; Griffin, Edwin L., 1908-1955; Jenkins, Ab; Business people--Tacoma--1940-1950;