A pile of slot machines awaits the sledgehammer of Chief Deputy Sheriff John Piper on October 9, 1929 at the county courthouse. These were a sample of the 39 slots ordered destroyed following seizure by county officers from various places of businesses in Pierce County. A total of $244.85 in nickels, dimes and quarters was taken from the machines. This amount, less $10 for trucking, was turned over to the county school fund. The machines, minus their cash, were taken to the waterfront and dumped into Commencement Bay. (TNT 10-10-29, p. 17) TPL-8466;

Pierce County Sheriff Tom Desmond stands next to the what is left of a $12,000 still at the County Courthouse on October 23, 1930. Somehow thieves managed to spirit away part of the still, a seven-foot contraption with twelve compartments and twelve faucets. The grain alcohol still, capable of producing 250 gallons of grain alcohol a day, was seized in a raid at Point Fosdick on October 18, 1930. It was put in a corridor of the courthouse near the entrance of the jail. The seven-foot part went missing on the night of the 20th. Consequently, two deputy sheriffs were fired for "gross carelessness." (TNT 10-23-30, p. 1)

ca. 1949. Called both a "wonder of the age" and "an architectural monstrosity" the old Pierce County Court House stood at 1012 South G Street just northeast of the Armory. Modeled after the courthouse in Pittsburgh, PA, the brick walls were faced with stone quarried in Tenino and sandstone from Wilkeson. Included in the building plans were secret stairways, hideouts, a hanging room and dungeons that would have done credit to a 15th century castle. The four clock faces in the tower were each 8 feet in diameter and had concealed lights which enabled Tacomans to read the time by day or night. The county commissioner moved his offices in the as yet unfinished building on June 21, 1893. It was demolished in 1959. (TNT 4/7/1959 p. C-16) Bowen # 1062-1

The uniformed graduating class of Federal Protective Officers posed for a group portrait on April 16, 1971, at Fort Lewis. The United States Federal Protective Service was formally established in 1971 as a law enforcement organization within the U.S. General Services Administration. Its duty was to protect the federal communities controlled by GSA nationally, including federal employees, visitors and billions of dollars in assets. In 1971, total employment of Federal Protective Officers exceeded 4500. Photograph ordered by General Services Administration, Auburn. (www/house.gov/transportation/pbed/09-06-01/09/06/01memo.html- article)

Law enforcement officers;

On January 12, 1965, Tacoma police counted coins from five confiscated slot machines on a makeshift table in the basement of the County City Building. According to a News Tribune article the following day, Detective Ritchie Mace, City Prosecutor Jack Majeres and Captain John Gookins tallied the coins from slot machines seized in a September 15, 1964, raid on Tacoma barber George Parrott's residence. The slots had been opened and smashed by police per court order. The two 25 cent slots, one nickel slot, and two penny slots had coins totaling $117.33. (TNT 1-13-65, A-3)

Slot machines--Tacoma; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1960-1970; Coins--United States; Gookins, John; Mace, Ritchie; Majeres, Jack;

An unidentified Tacoma police officer uses a hand sledge to smash the inner workings of a slot machine on January 12, 1965, one of five confiscated slots demolished in the basement of the County City Building per court order. The exposed reels show the familiar fruit symbols of cherries, plums and oranges. The non-uniformed man in the photograph has his hand on a 25 cent "Club Chief" slot; that machine has a jackpot of $25. The quarter, nickel and penny slots yielded a total of $117.33. Former owner George Parrott, a Tacoma barber, paid a $100 city fine in addition to a federal gambling tax of more than $1,000. He did, however, get back the $117.33 in coins which were turned over to his attorney, Martin Potter, for return to Mr. Parrott. (TNT 1-13-65, A-3-article & alt. photo)

Slot machines--Tacoma; Gambling--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hammers;

City manager David Rowlands (second from left) and Police Chief Roy Kerr pose with visiting Vietnamese Army officers Lts. Nguyen Ngcoc Tien, 26, and Pham Ngoc Thinh, 32, in August of 1960. The visitors, representatives of the civil guard of the Vietnam National police forces, were in Tacoma to take a two week police training course before returning home. They had spent most of the year studying police work back East. (TNT 8-16-60, p. 2-article)

Foreign visitors--Vietnam; Rowlands, David; Kerr, Roy; Municipal officials--Tacoma--1960-1970; Police--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Law enforcement training--Tacoma--1960-1970;

H.L. Phillips and Willliam Farrar of the city dry squad are shown emerging from the tunnel dug under the home at 7813 A St. on September 6, 1924. The residence was raided that Saturday afternoon and after two hours of searching, elaborate moonshine stills were discovered and confiscated. Barrels, bottles and other distillation apparatus along with a shovel are pictured above. The stills and other equipment, including 200 gallons of finished moonshine, were taken as evidence. One man was arrested in the raid. (TDL 9-8-24, p. 1) G24.1-073

Stills (Distilleries); Phillips, H.L.; Farrar, William; Tunnels--Tacoma;

On September 6, 1924 the Tacoma "Dry Squad" dug out an elaborately concealed illegal bootlegging operation that was hidden in a "cave" under the house at 7813 A Street. Two stills were found, each with a capacity of 50 gallons. One man was arrested and 200 gallons of finished moonshine seized. The Dry Squad members who took part in the raid were: (l to r) Captain Adam Wiley, R.C. Mowre, H.L. Phillips, William Farrar, William Blacksmith and W.H. Warren. The Dry Squad had been in business since May 15, 1923. (TDL 9-8-24, p. 1) TPL-9488; G24.1-078

Stills (Distilleries); Wiley, Adam; Mowre, R.C.; Phillips, H.L.; Farrar, William; Blacksmith, William; Warren, W.H.;

Inexperienced safecrackers failed to blow open the massive safe at Bye Thompson Motor Sales, 3320 South G Street, on early Friday morning, December 5, 1924. The thieves abandoned their efforts when the explosives they used broke the windows in front of the safe and threw the office into disarray, but only succeeded in blowing off the combination dial on the safe's door, not in releasing the bars holding the door in place. This was the second time in less than a year that Bye Thompson Motors had been robbed; on December 18, 1923, thieves somehow carried away the company's 1000 pound safe and blew it open several blocks away. That robbery netted the thieves $362. This photograph was taken at the scene of the crime on December 5, 1924. G24.1-056 (TNT 12-5-24, p. 1)

Safes; Robberies--Tacoma; Bye Thompson Motor Sales Co. (Tacoma);

Prohibition actually began early in Washington state where saloons were ordered to close at midnight on December 31, 1915. However, alcohol was soon readily available as enterprising entrepreneurs produced "moonshine" from homemade distilleries, "stills," like the one pictured at (Old) City Hall in August of 1920. A long tube comes to a narrow point, allowing the liquor to drip conveniently into a bottle. (TDL 8/15/1920, pg B-5) G24.1-076

Prohibition--Tacoma; Stills (Distilleries);

Prohibition came to Washington State early, with its passage taking effect at 12:01a.m. on January 1, 1916. By 1920, local entrepreneurs were very savvy at brewing "moonshine" in homemade distilleries, or "stills." This pile was only the most recent installment of confiscated stills in Pierce County. (TDL 8/15/1920, pg B-5) G24.1-072

Prohibition--Tacoma; Stills (Distilleries);

At midnight on January 16, 1920, the United States went "dry." Overnight, breweries and distilleries closed their doors as the 18th Amendment made the manufacture, sale or transport of alcohol illegal. America was thirsty and enterprising individuals stepped forward to fill the void with alcohol made from home made distilleries, or "stills." Many of these apparatus, such as the one pictured at (Old) City Hall, were confiscated in Pierce County. (TDL 8/15/1920, pg B-5) G24.1-077

Prohibition--Tacoma; Stills (Distilleries);

Although this April, 1923, photograph resembles a scene from a cops-n-robbers movie, these six policemen from the Tacoma Police Department were not pointing their guns toward an unseen quarry but instead were practicing for a sharpshooting competition. Only the best shooters would be selected for the revolver team that would represent Tacoma in the Northwest Police athletic meet held later in June in Portland. From L-R: night patrol driver Lee Kane; motorcycle officer A.E. Paul; sponsor of the team Sgt. Charles Rohrs; Detective C.W. Brooke; "Dead-Eye Dick" Greenwood -in charge of the local elimination shoots; and "Two-Gun" Hubbard. Kane, Rohrs, Greenwood and Harry Shaner (not pictured) were members of the previous year's team which narrowly lost in Seattle. TPL-2053; G42.1-018 (TNT 4-20-23, p. 14)

Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1920-1930; Firearms; Sharpshooting; Kane, Lee; Paul, A.E.; Rohrs, Charles; Brooke, C.W.; Greenwood, Dick;

Still. The man only partially seen on the left is Pierce County Sheriff Tom Desmond who along with Deputy Sheriff Theodore Mohrbacher of the county "dry squad" stands next to a large still recently confiscated deep in the woods east of McKenna. It was the biggest copper still ever unearthed locally as of May, 1923. 200 gallons of "moonshine" ready for sale were found close to the still and destroyed. The perpetrators vanished before they could be apprehended. People were still making illegal homemade hooch and daily newspapers of the '20s regularly reported upon the discovery and arrest of these liquor manufacturers. Stills and their products were then generally destroyed. G24.1-075 (TNT 5-12-23, p. 2)

Stills (Distilleries); Mohrbacher, Theodore; Desmond, Tom;

Illegal stills at courthouse. Theodore Mohrbacher, Joe Desmond and Jack Bodaylea, left to right, of the county dry squad examine confiscated stills at the county courthouse on January 19, 1924. These are just a few of the dozens of huge liquor stills that will be converted into junk by jail trustees in the near future. The stills are now piled up in the lobby of the county jail. Stills can range in size from small tea kettle types to huge commercial boilers capable of holding hundreds of gallons of mash. The manufacture of alcohol was made illegal by the passage of the 18th amendment and the Volstead Act, which went into effect in January of 1920. Prohibition was abolished with the passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution in 1933. (TNT 1-19-24, p. 1) G24.1-074; TPL-9895

Stills (Distilleries); Mohrbacher, Theodore; Desmond, Joe; Bodaylea, Jack;

Six plain clothes detectives from the Tacoma Police Department stand next to a uniformed officer, perhaps the police chief, on March 18, 1927. The building to the rear is possibly the Elks Club on Broadway. Boland B16553, TPL-9068

Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Parked outside the Colonial Hotel, 701-05 Commerce St., on August 31, 1926, were a Tacoma motorcycle policeman and a very small open top automobile with its driver squeezed in. Several Tacoma police officers were included in the photograph. The minute car was being used to advertise the impending arrival of the silent film, "The Wise Guy," starring Mary Astor and James Kirkwood. The name of the film was prominently displayed on the hood of the automobile. G42.1-014; TPL-3553.

Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1920-1930; Motorcycles--Tacoma--1920-1930; Signs (Notices); Colonial Hotel (Tacoma); Automobiles--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Large barn on J. Thomas Benston's Farm in Graham that held a bootlegging operation that operated for 6 months undisturbed before it was raided by federal agents in July of 1931. The barn was in clear view of the highway and received frequent shipments of fuel oil, sugar and supplies. It is estimated that it took 25 tons of sugar to produce 1 filling of mash for 1 of its 8 redwood vats. The highway also carried frequent shipments from the farm, trucks loaded with cans and kegs of alcohol. Little trouble was taken to disguise the enterprise and its operation was common knowledge in the neighborhood. The still operated for 6 months and produced over a half million dollars worth of alcohol before it was raided by federal agents. (TNT 7-17-1931. pg 1)

Benston, J. Thomas--Homes & haunts; Barns--Graham; Prohibition--Graham; Stills (Distilleries); Police raids--Graham;

Unidentified men pose with several of the large redwood fermenting vats used in illegal alcohol production in the barn located on the property of J. Thomas Benston in Graham, WA. The barn contained eight of these huge circular vats, each having a capacity of over 5,000 gallons. It is theorized that the operation could produce $20,000 of alcohol every 24 hours. Little effort was made to disguise its operation, and it managed to remain in business six months before it was raided. Operators were said to have paid up to $8,000 a month in protection. In an odd twist of fate, the operators were producing their last batch and getting ready to clear out when the barn was raided. Benston maintained his innocence, stating that he only rented the barn and was not aware that it was being used for illegal purposes. (TNT 7/17-19/1931, pg. 1)

Benston, J. Thomas--Associated objects; Prohibition--Graham; Stills (Distilleries); Police raids--Graham;

An insider's view of some of the details of the bootlegging operation at Benston's Farm raided by Federal agents in July of 1931. One Federal agent, in his sleeveless T-shirt, inspects a pipe on part of the still. Another agent climbs a wooden ladder. There are metal beds in the middle of the "room". The fire for the still had to be maintained 24 hours a day. There is a large stack of metal containers waiting to be filled with alcohol, the still actually used an automatic filler system. The distillery operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Ironically, the actual dismantling was done by inmates of McNeil Island, some of them incarcerated for bootlegging. The copper and vats from the distillery became the property of the prison and were put to legitimate use. (TNT 7/17-19/1931, pg. 1)

Benston, J. Thomas--Associated objects; Prohibition--Graham; Stills (Distilleries); Police raids--Graham;

Two men believed to be Federal Prohibition agents worked on July 17, 1931, at dismantling the boiler from the still found in the barn at a Graham, Washington, farm. The illegal operation was as modern and complete as a commercial pre-Prohibition distillery. It was estimated to have been built for $50,000, was in clear view of the highway and operated for six months. The owner of the farm, a Pierce County road district employee, maintained that he rented out the barn and was not aware of the illegal activities. In fact, this location was probably chosen in part due to the respectability that the farmer lent to the operation. In an odd twist of fate, the bootleggers were preparing to abandon the still, or dismantle and move it, and were making their last batch when the raid was made. It is estimated that the operators manufactured over a 1/2 million dollars of alcohol before the still was shut down. 52,000 gallons of mash were seized in the raid. (TNT 7/17-19, 1931, pg. 1-various articles)

Prohibition--Graham; Stills (Distilleries); Police raids--Graham;

A federal agent stands beside one of the huge redwood vats found in the July 1931 raid of Benston's Farm in Graham, Wa., to demonstrate its awesome size. This vat was calculated to hold 7,500 gallons of fermenting mash. The Prohibition era illegal distillery set up in Benston's barn contained a total of eight of these vats. The still operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week and could manufacture 100 gallons of pure alcohol every hour. At a market value of $10 per gallon, the feds estimated that the plant produced $20,000 worth of alcohol every 24 hours. It was reported that the operation was set up by a California syndicate, that rented the barn from Benston, and that it was backed by local capital. (TNT 7/17-19, 1931, pg. 1)

Benston, J. Thomas--Associated objects; Prohibition--Graham; Stills (Distilleries); Police raids--Graham;

Garnet J. Cratsenberg was a police officer for the Tacoma Police Department. Cratsenberg lived at the Florence Apartments located at 414 Tacoma Avenue South, apartment 4. Garnet is wearing a houndstooth check jacket, tie and white shirt.

Police--Tacoma; Portraits; Portrait photographs; Posing; Men--Clothing & dress--Tacoma; Cratsenberg, Garnet J.;

Police Desk Sergeant, Art Gilbo, dispatched Tacoma Police Department's detectives and patrolmen when he received a call that Puget Sound National Bank was being robbed in December of 1948. Detective Lesnick and Policeman Hager apprehended Donald Anderson while he was attempting to rob the bank of $20,000. Law enforcement officials also found a kidnapping note in Anderson's pocket, this matter is under investigation by the FBI. Left to right, Detective Walter Lesnick, Patrolman George Hager, Donald Charles Anderson, Detective Jack Thore, and Jailer Don Hutt (T. Times, 12/23/48, p. 1). TPL-9071

Detectives--Tacoma; Investigation--Tacoma; Criminals--Tacoma; Robberies--Tacoma; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Anderson, Donald Charles--Capture & imprisonment; Lesnick, Walter; Hager, George; Thore, Jack; Hutt, Don;

Pierce Country's new detention home, Hillcrest, was built in a joint effort by the Pierce County and Washington State governments. Pierce County furnished the site and half of the money, the State provided the other half of the money; the building cost approximately $285,000 to build. Interior view of one of the classrooms in the new Hillcrest Detention facilities for Pierce County, located on Sixth Avenue and Pearl Street. The structure has modern school rooms, which will have tables and benches instead of desks; a vocational work room will be located by the classrooms (T. Times, 1/2/49, p. 9).

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

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);

Tacoma's police department just bought a new modern and well equipped ambulance; the department is now properly training the police ambulance staff. View of George Paul, former police ambulance driver in stretcher, Wilson Miller, police ambulance conductor putting the stretcher in the vehicle, Jesse Eastman, in charge of the police garage is in the ambulance, R. V. Larsen, police ambulance driver, and Arthur Gilbo, former police ambulance driver, both looking on (T. Times, 1/9/49, p. 36).

Police--Tacoma--1940-1950; Litters; Law enforcement--Tacoma; Emergency medical services--Tacoma; Ambulances--Tacoma; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Paul, George; Miller, Wilson; Eastman, Jesse; Larsen, R.V.; Gilbo, Arthur;

The City of Tacoma's off duty Police officers were taking a short break to celebrate Christmas and the holiday season with the Police Chief. The Tacoma Police Department had recently increased the size of their motorcycle cops unit. View of Tacoma Police Chief, Robert C. Marshall (left) and unidentified man, who is presenting a "Merry Christmas Chief Marshall" and "Better Known as Little Napoleon the Slave-Driver Superb" poster to him.

Police--Tacoma; Christmas--Tacoma; Signs (Notices); Municipal officials--Tacoma; Law enforcement--Tacoma; Marshall, Robert C.; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma);

The City of Tacoma's off duty Police officers were taking a short break to celebrate Christmas and the holiday season with the Police Chief. The Tacoma Police Department had recently increased the size of their motorcycle cops unit. View of Tacoma Police Chief, Robert C. Marshall (center) surrounded by his policemen; the police officers are wearing leather jackets and boots, they are likely the motorcycle unit.

Police--Tacoma; Christmas--Tacoma; Signs (Notices); Municipal officials--Tacoma; Law enforcement--Tacoma; Marshall, Robert C.; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma);