On October 22, 1942 a large group of Horace Mann students posed in front of a new billboard advertising the November school levy election. An earlier ballot in the spring was lost because not enough people had voted. The Tacoma school district was seeking an increase in funding because increasing costs and a shrinking budget had necessitated cuts in some school programs. (T. Times 10/23/1942 p.10)

School children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Billboards--Tacoma; Horace Mann School (Tacoma)--School children; Advertisements--Tacoma;

On April 18, 1941, Bobby Gosselin and John Comfort, students at St. Patrick's Parochial School, were putting the finishing touches on their entries in the 6th annual Rotary Club Hobby Show, to be held at the Winthrop Hotel April 26th. The boy at the left (probably Bobby Gosselin) was hard at work finishing a handcrafted chair. The boy at the right was using a wood lathe to make a wooden plate or tray. The contest was open to all Tacoma students 18 and under. Prizes were given in numerous hobby classifications, including model making, stamp collection, handicrafts and nature study. (T. Times 4/21/1941, pg. 2)

Church schools--Tacoma; St. Patrick's Parochial School (Tacoma); Rotary Club of Tacoma (Tacoma); Boys--Tacoma--1940-1950; Gosselin, Bobby; Comfort, John;

1942 Rhythm class in drumming at Central School. Nearly 40 students stand by their desks with music books open and drumsticks in hand. Music was an integral part of Central School's curriculum as the school believed that every student should have the chance to learn to play an instrument or to sing. Lennard Anderson was the director of music at Central School for many years.

Central School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; School children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Music education--Tacoma--1940-1950; Classrooms--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Students at Annie Wright Seminary watch a slide presentation shown by one of their teachers. The teacher handles the slide projector from a table in the middle of the class. A movie projector stands at the back of the room. Sound panels have been attached to the back wall.

Private schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Uniforms; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Group portraits; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Motion picture devices; Transparencies;

Robert Gray Junior High School, 9th grade graduating class. Five rows of students in front of school building, designed by Emanual J. Bresemann, Architect in 1925. Ordered by Mr. Paine.

Public schools--Tacoma; Gray Junior High School (Tacoma);

Junior Prom at Annie Wright Seminary. Chaparones and a few students are seen in a receiving line for the Junior Prom in this photograph from April of 1950. Head Mistress Ruth Jenkins is seen on the far left. Ordered by Tribune, Barbara Dana. (TNT, 5/7/1950, p.D-6)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Balls (Parties)--Tacoma--1950-1960; Teenagers--1950-1960; Couples--Tacoma--1950-1960; Students--Tacoma--1950-1960; Jenkins, Ruth;

Participants in the 1950 May Day Program at Stewart Junior High School, possibly the seventh-grade flower girls. The festivities included a procession for the queen and her duchesses and their escorts, the coronation, a program by the 71-piece Stewart band, the flag salute, tumbling and acrobatics, a track meet for ninth-grade boys, and the May Queen's ball in the gymnasium. Ordered by Miss Helen Andres. (TNT, 4/30/1950, p.C-12)

Public schools--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Events--Tacoma--1940-1950; Holidays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stewart Junior High School (Tacoma);

A group of 260 school children from the Silverdale School in Kitsap County and Bainbridge Island School visited the Washington State Historical Society in June 1950. Chapin D. Foster (right foreground), Secretary and Director of the Washington State Historical Society museum, was giving a talk on Washington history prior to conducting them through the building. This was the largest school group in the building at one time in 1950. During the school year more than 200 bus loads of pupils totaling more than 6,000 students visited the Historical Society building as part of their study of Washington history. (TNT, 6/4/1950, p.A-4)

School children--Tacoma; School field trips--Tacoma; Art exhibitions--Tacoma; Galleries & museums--Tacoma; Washington State Historical Society (Tacoma); Foster, Chapin D.;

Thirty-four children in one of the lower grades at the Dupont School. Two cub scouts in the front row are wearing their scout uniforms. The children sit with their hands folded in their laps in front of a North Pole scene on a bulletin board. Dupont had an elementary school enrollment of 376 students for the 1950-1951 school year. Lulu Bennett, Ida Franklin and Alma Hanson taught 1st grade.

Schools--Dupont--1950-1960; School children--Dupont--1950-1960;

Twenty-four children in one of the younger classes at the Dupont School pose outdoors with their teacher. Two girls in the front row wear their Brownie Scout uniforms. Robert Zurfluh taught 5th grade during the 1950-1951 school year.

Schools--Dupont--1950-1960; School children--Dupont--1950-1960; Teachers--Dupont--1950-1960;

Twenty-six children in one of the younger classes at the Dupont School pose with their teacher. Silhouette drawings hang on the wall behind them. Dupont school children were combined with Steilacoom and Clover Park schools sometime later in the 1950's.

Schools--Dupont--1950-1960; School children--Dupont--1950-1960; Teachers--Dupont--1950-1960; Classrooms--Dupont;

Annie Wright Seminary. Members of the drama club, the "Masque Club", are dressed in sweaters with emblems, skirts, and saddle shoes and are standing on the basketball court. The student in front is holding a Theater Arts sign. Names are listed in The Shield, 1951.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Activities at Annie Wright Seminary. In November of 1949, three students were photographed taking a break from studies in one of the large dormitory rooms at Annie Wright Seminary. One of the girls sits at a desk with a book open. Another student leans against one of the dressers in the room while sitting on the arm of an upholstered chair. The other girl sits on the end of her bed with stuffed animals. An Annie Wright banner is hung on the wall and there are also two bulletin boards hung on the walls. Annie Wright Seminary was a private school for girls, many of them boarding, which had been established in September of 1884.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Teenagers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Dormitories--Tacoma; Stuffed animals (Toys); Banners--Tacoma; Desks; Beds; Dressers (Furniture);

Some of the hi-jinks of the annual Annie Wright Seminary's Dad's Day. Five upper class girls in matching dark blouses and white shorts and one brightly attired Dad perform a high kick routine to the delight of uniformed girls, their Dads and Headmistress Ruth Jenkins, at the bottom right of picture. Families were invited to the school for this special annual event and activities were planned for the students and their Dads.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma;

Dupont School, Ft. Lewis Midget Team. The baseball team, the "Tigers," pose in uniform with their coach in the center of the back row. By 1975, DuPont students no longer attended high school in their own hometown. Ft. Lewis now sent all of its students to Clover Park. DuPont's school Laughbon High, a victim of boundary disputes with Clover Park school district and declining enrollment, closed on June 11, 1975. Weyerhauser bought the land and demolished the buildings.

School children--Dupont; Dupont School (Dupont); Baseball--Dupont; Baseball players--Dupont;

Two Annie Wright Seminary students stand at the net along with two men, perhaps their fathers, preparing to play tennis in May, 1957. Annie Wright traditionally had an annual Dads' Day when fathers spent the day with their children participating in various activities on school grounds. All four people pictured in this May 18, 1957, photograph are clutching wooden rackets; they are much smaller than the aluminum rackets used today. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Tennis--Tacoma; Tennis rackets;

Keys for the new Peninsula School District buses are exchanged between the foursome standing in front of the buses on July 25, 1954. Five International Harvester buses were purchased by the school district to transport their growing enrollment. Photograph ordered by International Harvester Co.

School buses--Gig Harbor; Peninsula High School (Gig Harbor); Public schools--Gig Harbor; International Harvester Co. (Tacoma);

Exterior of school. Various local schools were photographed on October 24, 1954, on behalf of Ostruske-Murphy, Inc., contractors. This may be part of Browns Point School on 51st St. N.E. The buildings were constructed with flat roofs, long rectangular lines, and many multi-paned windows. A sign urging voters to cast their ballots on behalf of good schools is already on site despite the fact the election is not until May 18th.

Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices); Ostruske-Murphy, Inc. (Tacoma);

A proud and happy group of school patrol leaders pose in front of Dupont School on October 1, 1954. The boys and girls all sport sashes with patrol badges pinned on them. School patrols provided protection for children walking to school by keeping a close eye on oncoming traffic; they may have had other duties as well. School administrative staff and honored guests were invited to join the children in the above photograph. One man seated in the front row holds a plaque with engraved names.

School children--Dupont; Dupont School Patrol (Dupont);

Annie Wright Seminary girls skiing at Mt. Rainier. Photos ordered by the Tacoma News Tribune. In 1954, winter sports attracted around 59,000 enthusiasts to the Paradise area during the prime season of December-April. In 1955, the visitor count for the first 3 months of the winter season was 56,789; an increase of 170 %. 35 % of these guests were bound for the Cayeuse Pass Winter use area, primarily to ski. On weekends and holidays, the park service operated two ski tows, a warming shelter, public toilets, lunch and first aid service. The ski facilities at Paradise were operating for the first time since the severe winter of 1948-49. Rainier never developed as a skiing area, like the surrounding smaller mountains, because the National Park Service forbade the erection of chair lifts or an aerial tramway, feeling that it would negatively impact the natural beauty of the area.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rainier, Mount (Wash.); Skiers; Skiing; Winter sports; Snow;

Each year the students of Annie Wright Seminary held a May Day festival to welcome back the blooming life of spring to the cool and gray Northwest. The ceremony in 1959 was held on a bright, sunny May 9th with the air stirred by a stiff breeze. 1959 was a special year, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the school, which opened in 1884 with a class of 93 from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Since most of the upper class girls were directly involved in the pageant, the entertainment was usually provided by the lower and middle school classes. This group appears to be performing a folk dance, perhaps from the Netherlands. Some girls are dressed in full skirts with aprons and boxy bonnets, some are dressed as boys in knee length pants and vests.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Private schools--Tacoma; Festivals--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Sixteen youngsters pose outside Annie Wright Seminary in March, 1963, for annual class pictures. These were members of the K-5 kindergarten group as eight little boys are included. Annie Wright accepted boys in this age group but girls only in later grades. L-R listed from the 1963 Annie Wright yearbook: First row: Nicholas Malden, William Rabe, Paul Rush, Caroline Wiborg, Rebecca Scott, Valerie Graves, Ann Rhea, Steven Crounse. Second row: Courtney Reid, Katherine Hokanson, George Buell, John Holl, Rodney Rosenthal, Jan Savini, Scott Dickman, Greta Simonson. (1963: The Shield, p. 29)

School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma;

The Nell Hoyt Primary School., as pictured in September of 1959. The school was built as an addition to the Washington School at 3701 No. 26th St. It was designed by award winning architect Robert Billsbrough Price. The dome roofs on this portion of the school were pre-fabricated. TPL-10160

Nell Hoyt School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1964. Students at Annie Wright Seminary. Small classes were the norm at Annie Wright. These 13 little girls were in the lower school at Annie Wright. Dressed in school uniform and saddle shoes, they posed for their Class 2 picture in early 1964 in the school library. According to the Shield yearbook, they were: (L-R) Katherine Wilson, Deborah Owen, Thea Wickstrom, Laura Jones, Wendy Sanford, Lisa Weyerhaeuser, Susan Ellison, Margaret Ann Swain, Christina Gratzer, Jaynee Crepin, Lorie Long, Elaine Cashar, and Elizabeth Merrill. With the group was Mrs. J.C. Chapman. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary. (1964 Shield, p. 10)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; School children--Tacoma--1960-1970; Uniforms;

Children at Sherman Elementary School, 4502 No. 39th St., squint smilingly into the sun on a bright spring day in 1968. The school, designed by Robert Billsbrough Price, had opened in 1954, replacing outdated facilities near the same location. The old school had been razed in July, 1953, to make room for playgrounds. In the late 1990's, the "new" Sherman would suffer the fate of its predecessor and be demolished for a newer version opened in 1998. Photograph ordered by Citizens Committee for School Support and used in an ad in the May 7, 1968, News Tribune asking for passage of Proposition A to build new schools and remodel several others. The caption in the ad read "Good classrooms do make a difference...End overcrowding." Passage of the school bond would not mean that taxes would increase. (Olsen: For the Record, p. 67; TNT 5-7-68, p. 10) TPL-10523

Sherman School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1960-1970; School children--Tacoma--1960-1970;

St. Leo's 1965 graduating class. 40 young boys and girls, all neatly dressed in Sunday attire, are recent graduates of St. Leo's Elementary School. Many of them will probably go on to Catholic high schools. All are holding diplomas and beaming happily on this sunny June day.

St. Leo's Parochial School (Tacoma); Church schools--Tacoma;

Dance at Annie Wright Seminary. Annie Wright students and their dates clasp hands and parade in circles under flower garlands during their Junior Prom on April 30, 1966. This is possibly the "Grand March." The girls are dressed in long evening gowns with many wearing elbow-length gloves. The boys have tuxes or suits; all seem to have flower boutonnieres. The large room is believed to be the school's Great Hall. Photograph ordered by Annie Wright Seminary.

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1960-1970; Private schools--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1960-1970; Balls (Parties)--Tacoma--1960-1970;

A large group of women who are studying to be dental assistants take a class on X-ray techniques from instructor Wayne E. Hampton, standing at far left. The Tacoma location and school have not been identified in this 1931 portrait by photographer Chapin Bowen.

Senior play at Annie Wright Seminary. Wearing makeup and garbed in costume, these twelve Annie Wright seniors are posed on June 22, 1919, on the school grounds in preparation for their senior class play. Since Annie Wright had an all-female population in 1919, all roles were played by girls including the male parts. The private school was located at that time in modified Queen Anne buildings at 611 Division Avenue. G64.1-054

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1910-1920; Private schools--Tacoma; Students--Tacoma--1910-1920; Actresses; Theatrical productions--Tacoma;

8A Class - Sheridan School. On January 19, 1925, the 8A class of Sheridan School posed for what was probably the class graduation picture. Its teacher and/or school principal are also included. Sheridan (Elementary) School was located at 5317 McKinley Ave. The school, which had been built in 1908 to replace an older building, was named in honor of Civil War General Philip H. Sheridan.

School children--Tacoma--1920-1930; Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930; Sheridan School (Tacoma);