TacomaLibrary_NW_History

In December of 1950 Sonia Sawyer, at the Washington State Employment Services office in Tacoma at 112 South 12th Street was photographed demonstrating the department’s large Kardex card file. The system of file cards could be used to quickly match job applicants with employment openings. The Kardex system for storing and retrieving information goes back…

Although threatened with both humiliation and physical harm by his fraternity brothers, Herman Kleiner survived "Hell Night" at the College of Puget Sound and became a member of Delta Kappa Phi. In this photograph from December of 1939, Johnnie Esthen (left) and Norman Burke force young Mr. Kleiner to board a Tacoma bus dressed in…

An employee of Lyon Van & Storage carefully wraps a chair for transport from Fort Lewis in December, 1951. Sheets of heavy duty wrapping paper were used to swathe furniture prior to it being placed into a large wooden crate filled with soft packing material. The heavy crate could be easily moved by the use…

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…

Ho, Ho, Ho... workman reinforces a plywood Santa, so that he can stand guard at the shopping areas, advising how many shopping days are left till Christmas. The Santa holds childrens' letters in one hand, helping him to make a list and check it twice. From the date of the picture, November 10th, it appears…