ca. 1930s. Rev. Jokatsu Yukawa, pastor of the Tacoma Hongwanji Buddhist Church, has donned protective gear and prepares to engage in kendo, a form of Japanese fencing. Rev. Yukawa is to the right in this sepia 1930's photograph; his masked opponent is not identified. The pair are practicing at the site of the Japanese Language School on Tacoma Avenue South, which had opened in 1921. Rev. Yukawa spent five years as the temple's minister, from 1928-1933. During his tenure, a $40,000 fund drive was initiated which culminated in the construction of the present church and junior members were organized in active Young Buddhist Association groups. He was promoted to serve a larger congregation in California and was replaced by Rev. Sensho Sasaki. (History of Pierce County, Vol. 1, p. 16) TPL-2008.

ca. 1930. Lutheran Free Church, 1423 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma. Built circa 1902 as the Norwegian Free Lutheran Church.

First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 524 So. I St., Tacoma. Photograph taken for Rev. S. G. Svenson in April of 1931. Construction began on this Gothic structure in 1925 and it was dedicated in 1929. The church was designed by Heath, Gove & Bell, architects, and was built of tapestry brick with Tenino stone trim.

Young evangelist Mary Agnes Vichestain on 1926 visit to Tacoma in full preaching pose. Described as a modern girl preaching the old-fashioned gospel, Pittsburgh's Mary Agnes Vichestain, age 18, preached to a full house at the Gospel Tabernacle on July 8, 1926. Accompanied by her newspaper publisher father, V.H. Vichestain, Miss Vichestain stopped in Tacoma on her way to the West Coast. Her father reminisced that her favorite occupation as a child was to corner a family member and vigorously preach. Her first public appearance as a preacher came at age 9; she has since then spoken to audiences as large as 25,000. Miss Vichestain devotes most of her efforts to work in missions in order to help the less fortunate find salvation. (TNT 7-9-26, p. 14)

Young female evangelist, Mary Agnes Vichestain and her father, wealthy newspaper publisher J.H. Vichestain, made a return visit to Tacoma in July, 1926. Pittsburgh's "girl preacher" was known for preaching the old-fashioned gospel. An ordained Baptist minister, she spoke to a full house at the Gospel Tabernacle on July 8, 1926. Miss Vichestain planned to go on to Everett and then spend a month in Los Angeles before returning to Pittsburgh for her college education. Preaching had been her passion since age 4 when she preached to her grandfather. Her first public appearance was at age 9 when a mission leader allowed her to preach before a congregation. She also had a deep interest in politics and contemplated running for the Pittsburgh mayor's position. (TNT 7-8-26, p. 11, TNT 7-9-26, p. 14)