Dedication of the new Sacred Heart Catholic Church, photograph ordered by the Catholic Northwest Progress. Prior to entering the church, the parishioners were invited to observe the blessing and laying of the cornerstone by the Most Rev. Thomas A. Connolly, Archbishop of Seattle. The new church and rectory were built of reinforced concrete with brick facing at a cost of $316,000. The church also had a convent and parochial school, run by the Sisters of Providence, on the grounds. In 1955, the parish had 600 families and the school had 376 pupils. (TNT 3/18/1955, pg. A-5)

Sacred Heart Church (Tacoma); Catholic churches--Tacoma;

On October 4, 1939, a men's group at First Methodist Church served dinner. They proudly hold aloft dishes used and the remaining leftovers. (T. Times)

First Methodist Church (Tacoma); Methodist churches--Tacoma--1930-1940; Waiters--Tacoma--1930-1940;

This is the First Congregational Church Choir as they posed before the large pipe organ in November of 1937. Director of music, J.W. Bixel, was experiencing his twelfth season as conductor with Mrs. Walter McHaney as organist. During his tenure, the choir had performed 150 anthems and choruses. Rev. Holland F. Burr was pastor of First Congregational. He and Mr. Bixel are standing in the front row.

First Congregational Church (Tacoma); Congregational churches--Tacoma; Choirs (Music)--1930-1940; Bixel, John W.; Organs;

First Congregational Church choir, circa November of 1937, with a pipe organ in the background. A cropped version of this picture appeared in the November 19, 1937 Tacoma Times. The choir was celebrating their 12th season with J.W. Bixel as conductor and Mrs. Walter McHaney as organist. During that time, the choir had presented 150 anthems and choruses, most of them by the master composers. In the photograph, Mr. Bixel and Rev. Holland F. Burr are standing in front of the choir. (T. Times 11/19/1937, pg. 3).

Congregational churches--Tacoma; First Congregational Church (Tacoma); Choirs (music); Bixel, John W.;

The Church of the Visitation in South Tacoma is full as parishioners and guests observe the first solemn high mass sung by a recently ordained young priest on May 16, 1954. All attention is focused on the activity at the altar. The Rev. Timothy Lamm, 26, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood at St. James Cathedral in Seattle the day before. Father Timothy was one of three Benedictine monks from St. Martin's to be ordained that day. This elevated view of the altar, church dignitaries, and kneeling crowd was taken from the back of the church, perhaps a choir loft. Photograph ordered by the Rev. Gabriel Donohue. (TNT 5-13-54, A-10)

Priests--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rites & ceremonies--Tacoma--1950-1960; Church of the Visitation (Tacoma); Altars--Tacoma;

A proud moment in the life of a newly ordained priest is captured in a May 16, 1954, photograph. A celebratory banquet in his honor is being held with family members as special guests. The Rev. Timothy Lamm, 26, son of Mr. and Mrs. David J. Lamm, Sr. of Puyallup, had just conducted his first solemn high mass at Church of the Visitation. Father Timothy, a Benedictine monk, had been ordained the day before in St. James Cathedral, Seattle. He was valedictorian of his 1950 graduation class at St. Martin's College and later studied theology at Mt. Angel Abbey, Oregon. From left to right in the photograph are: Mary Lamm, Mrs. Laurence Thielen, Sister Mary Alita, Mrs. David Lamm, Sr., Father Timothy Lamm, O.S.B., David J. Lamm, Sr., Sister Ruthella, Frank and Raymond Lamm. Photograph ordered by the Rev. Gabriel Donohue. (TNT 5-13-54, A-10, TNT 6-6-54, B-4))

Priests--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rites & ceremonies--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lamm, Timothy; Banquets--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A procession of priests stride along a brilliantly sunlit sidewalk on the way to a young priest's first solemn high mass. The mass will occur on May 16, 1954, at the Church of the Visitation on South 58th St. Some of the priests hold their hands together in a prayer position. The priest in the middle is wearing a dark cassock while two in front wear surplices. A few church parishioners watch and wait. Photograph ordered by the Rev. Gabriel Donohue.

Priests--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Easter Sunday at First Lutheran Church. Choir singing in alcove under stained-glass window.. Building by Heath and Gove, Architects; 1926. (T. Times)

Religious Buildings - Churches - Protestant Churches - Lutheran Churches - Tacoma - First Lutheran ChurchEvents - Holidays - Easter

Easter Sunday, April 9th 1939, at the Luther Memorial Church. Women and children dressed in Easter outfits, some with corsages, standing on church steps. The women on the left have been identified by a family member as (left to right) Grace Lundberg, Garnet Torgeson and their mother Lydia Torgeson. Luther Memorial had its last service after 112 years on November 9th, 2003.

Lutheran churches--Tacoma--1930-1940; Luther Memorial Church (Tacoma); Easter--Tacoma; Lundberg, Grace; Torgeson, Garnet; Torgeson, Lydia;

Easter Sunday. Choir sings in church alcove, wall of which is decorated with wood panels and a large, simplistic cross. Pews filled with members of the congregation. Stained-glass windows on right and left. Wall ending at coved ceiling is stenciled.

Religious Buildings - Churches - Tacoma Events - Holidays - Easter

On a sunny Easter Sunday in 1939, three boys struggled with a potted lilly in front of the Central Baptist Church at 1201 So. J St. The boys were, left to right, solemn Gerald Larson, Gene Johnson balancing the plant and a huge grin and Peter Larson. A female parishioner, with corsage, watched from the background. The Gothic wooden church in the background was built in 1900 as the First Swedish Baptist Church. In 2005, it was named to the Tacoma Registry of Historic Places and is currently being restored. (T. Times 4/10/1939, pg. 3)

Central Baptist Church (Tacoma); Baptist churches--Tacoma; Easter--Tacoma; Larson, Gerald; Johnson, Gene; Larson, Peter;

Easter Sunday in 1939 at churches. The congregation of the First (Evangelical) Lutheran Church is photographed after services and shown mingling on the sidewalks and steps. 1930s automobiles on street. General view of building with corner steeple, by Heath and Gove, Architects; 1926. Construction of the massive tapestry brick with Tenino stone trim building commenced in late 1925 and was completed in early 1929. It had a large Scandinavian congregation. (T. Times)

Lutheran churches--Tacoma--1930-1940; First Lutheran Church (Tacoma); Easter--Tacoma; Automobiles--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Dressed in their Easter best, nine youngsters enjoy Sunday School on Easter Sunday 1939 at the First Methodist Church. Pictured in the back row, left to right, are Shirley Ann Rice, Mrs. Marvin Schafer, June Carolyn Gragg and Barbara Kallmeyer. Front row, l to r- John Schafer, Norman Stephenson, Billy Kister, Stuart Gloyd and David Hein. (T. Times 4/10/1939, pg. 3)

First Methodist Church (Tacoma); Protestant churches--Tacoma--1930-1940; Methodist churches--Tacoma--1930-1940; Easter--Tacoma; Children--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Easter Sunday at various Tacoma churches. Worshipers gather on the steps of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 602 South 34th St, on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939. St. Joseph's was built by its congregation members and dedicated in May of 1912. It was the first Slovak Catholic church built in the Northwest.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Tacoma); Catholic churches--Tacoma--1930-1940; Easter--Tacoma;

ca. 1938. The First Presbyterian Church, showing its large stained glass window and dome. This lovely Romanesque red brick church was dedicated in September of 1925 and is on the Tacoma City Registry. It was designed by noted architect of churches Ralph Adams Cram, of Cram and Ferguson of Boston. The structure reflects Cram's interest in ecclesiastical symbolism. The design is heavy with religious symbols carved in stone, wood and metal, including its ornate dome with ancient Christian symbols and figures.

Presbyterian churches--Tacoma; First Presbyterian Church (Tacoma);

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. Members of all ages from the Tacoma Central and South Side Seventh-day Adventist churches spent a day in March, 1953, involved in a hands-on project of filling and distributing emergency disaster kits and practicing first-aid. Working on an assembly-line basis, these two boys and an elderly couple are pictured placing wooden splints into the white buckets marked SDA Disaster Kit(s). Piles of neatly folded bandages are shown on a nearby table ready for insertion into the kits. The objective of the kits and training was to hopefully equip every church member's home with a kit so they could be prepared to help themselves in case of disaster and also aid their neighbors. Most of the activities of this long 10-hour day were filmed for use as training for other Seventh-day Adventist churches. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. In March of 1953 Tacoma's Adventist churches spent a full day having their members demonstrate first-aid techniques and preparing emergency disaster kits filled with medicines, bandages and other supplies. Nurse Roberta Sharley is pictured above with two unidentified women as she looks over the items to be placed within the white SDA buckets. About $19 worth of first-aid items were placed in each emergency kit. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960; Sharley, Roberta; Nurses--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. Shown filling a special SDA Disaster Kit bucket with neatly folded bandages in March of 1953 were several members of Tacoma's Seventh-day Adventist Church. They were participating in a 10-hour day full of first aid training and stocking of emergency care kits. According to Pastor DeWitt S. Osgood, it was the church's objective to have a Red Cross first-aider in every home with every church a disaster depot and every home equipped with a disaster kit. The disaster kits would help not only the homeowner but their neighbors as well. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. Members of the Tacoma Central and South Side Seventh-day Adventist churches met in March of 1953 for a joint project in preparing for emergency disasters. Special SDA supply kits were filled for household use in case of disaster. Members lined up assembly-style to place about $19 worth of bandages, antiseptics, splints, dressings, water purification tablets and other useful items into each white can. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. An unidentified speaker addresses members of the Tacoma Central and South Side Seventh-day Adventist churches in March of 1953 as they spent a long day filling and distributing emergency disaster kits and practicing first aid. The Fifties were a time of anxiety for our nation and civil defense was highly promoted. The City of Tacoma had a Civil Defense Building on Fawcett Ave. which was constructed of concrete and considered bombproof and had its own local director of civil defense. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has provided emergency relief in times of disaster for over a hundred years. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Father Anthony Baffaro, pastor of St. Rita's Catholic Church, stands on the church steps with his confirmation class on April 12, 1953. The boys in the group, some in uniform, have been placed in front of the veiled girls in white. St. Rita's was founded by Italian immigrants; built in 1924 in the Mediterranean style, it was placed on the National Registry. Its parish priest, Fr. Anthony Baffaro, was the youngest Jesuit priest in history. He was very involved in encouraging youth activities in the church and organized a church baseball team. Fr. Baffaro died on February 17, 1979, after serving his parish since September, 1948. Photograph ordered by Fr. Baffaro. (History of Pierce County, Vol. 3, p. 87)

St. Rita's Catholic Church (Tacoma); Confirmations--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baffaro, Anthony;

Easter at the churches. The First Congregational Church, 209 South J St., is decorated with lilies and other flowers for Easter in April of 1938. This dimly lit view of the church's interior shows the choir singing for an appreciate audience from below the massive pipe organ where a floral cross has been placed. First Congregational Church, built in 1907, was later remodeled in 1925 and also in the 1950's. (Additional identification provided by a reader)

First Congregational Church (Tacoma); Churches--Tacoma--1930-1940; Congregational churches--Tacoma; Easter--Tacoma;

Men are adding window shapes to the plywood concrete forms at the new Central Seventh Day Adventist Church in this photograph dated November 3, 1952. The estimated cost of the new church was $150,000 and it was expected to be completed in March 1953. The congregation had outgrown their building at 923 South I Street that they had used for more than 30 years and had been renting the First Congregational Church since 1943. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (TNT, 9/28/1952, p.C-15)

Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Reinforced concrete construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silas E. Nelsen Architects (Tacoma);

Plywood concrete forms have been extended to prepare for pouring the walls of the second story of the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church. The modern design provided for a triangle shape measuring 154 feet on the Sprague Avenue side, 142 feet on the Sixth Avenue approach and 89 feet on the side facing Grant Avenue. The new church should seat 700. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (TNT, 9/28/1952, p.C-15)

Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Reinforced concrete construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silas E. Nelsen Architects (Tacoma);

Members of the committee planning St. Rita's annual church bazaar met to complete their plans. There were to be many well stocked booths and favors awarded hourly on the hour during the three-day event. L-R, are, seated Mary (Mrs. Fisher) Messina, Evelyn (Mrs. Joseph) Liberto and Caroline Turco. Standing, Mrs Louis Constanti, Amelia (Mrs. John) Mazzuca, and Cyrilla (Mrs. Leo) DiStafano. (TNT, 11/12/1952, p.15)

St. Rita's Catholic Church (Tacoma); Messina, Mary; Liberto, Evelyn; Turco, Caroline; DiStafano, Cyrilla; Mazzuca, Amelia; Women--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fund raising--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Dwight and Virginia Robinson stand outside St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Old Tacoma wearing some of the fall season's new fashions. Mrs. Robinson is wearing a coat of Bolivia cloth and a Canadian fox collar. Mr. Robinson, president of Western Furnaces, chose a conservative three-button lounge sack guit and a Dobbs hat. The exterior of St. Peter's has weathered and some of the windows are broken. Restoration of the early Tacoma church was begun in 1956. The small, 21 ft. x 45 ft., Carpenter Gothic church was built in 1873. It was designed by Rev. Charles Bonnell. The timber was donated by Hanson-Ackerson Mill and construction took 10 days. The building was placed on the National Register in 1975. Ordered by the Tacoma News Tribune for their fall fashion section. (TNT, 9/11/1952, p.C-7)

Episcopal churches--Tacoma; St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Tacoma); Aged persons--Tacoma; Robinson, Dwight; Robinson, Virginia; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1950-1960; Spouses--Tacoma;

Patricia Henry and Alvin Larsen wedding. The bride and groom sign their marriage certificate at St. Josephs while the maid of honor and best man look on. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Forest Henry and the groom was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Emile Larsen. The couple made their first home in Tacoma. (TNT 8/19/1952, pg. 11)

Catholic churches--Tacoma; Wedding costume--1950-1960; Brides--1950-1960; Weddings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Grooms (Weddings)--1950-1960; Henry, Patricia--Marriage; Larsen, Alvin;

Committee of four ladies for the Catholic Daughters of America.The Catholic Daughters of America was founded in 1903. The organization is made up of Catholic women involved in religious, charitable and educational projects. Pictured are Mrs. Alexander Brewuer, Mrs. Edward C. Grewich, Aimee (Mrs. M.J.) Kenney and Catherine (Mrs. Ashley K.) White.

Catholic Daughters of America (Tacoma); Kenney, Aimee; White, Catherine F.; Public service organizations--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Dorothy Hanson (far left) and Al Bellandi were crowned king and queen of the Young People's Fellowship's Mardi Gras carnival held on Friday February 22, 1952 at Holy Communion Church parish house. Toni Jones (right), president of the Young People's Fellowship, is helping arrange King Bellandi's royal cape. Booths, a box supper and games were followed by dancing and cards. Proceeds from the affair benefited the church. (TNT, 2/20/1952, p.A-12) TPL-10520

Church of the Holy Communion (Tacoma); Episcopal churches--Tacoma; Hanson, Dorothy; Bellandi, Al; Jones, Toni;

In October of 1951, Carol S. (Mrs. W. C.) Allen and Lloyd L. Wynans received their awards as national prize winners in a contest sponsored by the Kelvinator Division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corp. Mrs. Allen won a new Nash Rambler Country Club sedan for her completion of the statement, "I like the Kelvinator refrigerator because..." in less than 100 words. Mr. Wynans also received a new Nash Rambler from the Sanford Nash dealership for being the salesman at Harkness Rug and Furniture Company that demonstrated the Kelvinator appliances to Mrs. Allen. They are seen with their new cars in front of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Central Ward at 1201 So. 4th St. Pictured are, L-R, Lloyd L. Wynans, Harkness appliance manager; C.R. Manning, sales manager for Nash-Kelvinator Sales Corp.; Roger B. Trick, zone manager for Nash-Kelvinator; Mrs. Allen, Nash winner; and E.P. Christian, district manager for Nash-Kelvinator. (TNT, 10/14/1951, p.A-12)

Mormon churches--Tacoma; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Tacoma); Nash automobile; Automobiles--Tacoma--1950-1960; Awards; Wynans, Lloyd L.; Allen, Carol S.;