Archive for August 2016

All eyes were on the board as two unidentified men faced off in the National Checker Association's second annual title tournament at the Winthrop Hotel on August 31, 1939. Expert players from throughout the US poured into Tacoma to be in the competition. The tournament, which began on August 28th, had a record entry of…

This group of newly minted mermaids was photographed in the Y.W.C.A. pool, 405 Broadway, on August 27, 1942. For the first time that year, the pool remained open for the whole summer to expand the recreation facilities available to children spending their vacation at home. The youngsters pictured could not swim at all at the…

The 19th century melodrama "United by Love" was presented on August 23, 1938 on a Works Progress Administration (WPA) traveling stage in Tacoma's South Park. The "Theater on Wheels," a joint enterprise of the WPA and the Metropolitan Parks Board, featured more than 100 performers in a variety of productions accompanied by the 6-piece professional…

Three men sport large grins as they examine the Quaker brand of heaters at Rowell's appliance store on August 19, 1957. The Quaker heater, labeled "America's Most Beautiful Heater," promised to deliver warmer floors at a warm up time 5 1/2 times faster than old-fashioned cast iron. It had "twin" automatic floor level blowers. Rowell's…