Archive for November 2019

The second annual Tacoma Fairyland and Christmas Parade was held on November 29, 1935. This tall Mother Goose figure with her billowing blue hoop skirt was actually a float. She was so tall that she could nod to the spectators in the second floor windows of the buildings she passed.This parade was the kick off…

Two of the Canadian troops at Fort Lewis wear berets while they carve several hams on November 24, 1950. The main body of the 25th Canadian infantry brigade and the Canadian Army's Special Force came to Tacoma aboard troop trains starting in October 1950. The troops, all volunteers, were scheduled to stay at Fort Lewis…

Al Capp's popular comic strip, "Li'l Abner" was the inspiration for the Sadie Hawkins dance sponsored by the Stardust Dance Club in November of 1946. To help advertise the dance Grace M. (Mrs. C. Nathan) Lynn, as "Daisy Mae" tugs on a suspender of Harold Tollefson, "Li'l Abner" while he tries to make his getaway…

Leonard O'Toole - Bostonian Irishman with his violin now calls Tacoma home. According to Rod Cardwell's "Faces and Places" column dated November 18, 1970, Mr. O'Toole called himself a dreamer and a wanderer. Originally from Boston, he came to downtown Commerce Street in 1968 and opened his coin and stamp shop which also sold antique…

In November of 1935, the Henry Mill Fuel Company avoided building a new office for the company by purchasing the old Puget Sound Lumber Company office and moving it, by barge, to their site. The 45 ft. by 28 ft. structure, which weighed between 60 and 75 tons, was pushed to its new home by…

Jack Beardswood (left) and Bob Collins prop up a 150-lb. cornice section that fell from the top of the National Bank of Washington during the November 12,1939 earthquake. The masonry fell 30 feet to the sidewalk in Court A. Occurring shortly before midnight, shocks were felt from Portland to Vancouver, B.C. It was thought to…