Northwest Room

On May 16, 1974, at Richards Studios, an unidentified model is demonstrating how the Rug Doctor can thoroughly clean carpets. The Rug Doctor product, at that time, was only two years old. Photograph ordered by the Boedecker Co.; Boedecker's would deliver the Rug Doctor to a customer's home without an extra charge. See more featured…

A glitter covered clown sought to draw attention to Weyerhaeuser's 2 x 4s on May 17, 1964. He is holding an "engineered 4-square" believed to be stained while a taller regular 4-square stands next to it. Both are kiln-dried. See more featured images and posts…

Tacoma distance swimmer Bert Thomas is embraced by his mother, Nadine (Mrs. Fred) Dimond at the end of his swim from West Seattle to Old Tacoma in May, 1956. Thomas swam the 18.5 miles in 15 hours, 23 minutes. He was determined to complete the swim on his third try as a belated Mother's Day…

Five local women pause to pose for the camera at Union Station prior to leaving Tacoma May 6, 1943 to begin their careers as members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Pictured are, left to right, Agnes Dittbenner, Mary Dittbenner, Ellen V. Vail, Tacoma recruiter Dorothy Kerr, Grace Garner and Marie J. Stith. The bill…

Minuet at Washington School. Eight boys and eight girls perform in Colonial era costume in May of 1927. See more featured images and posts…

In mid-April 1937, Tacoma General Hospital bested their old record when 37 babies were born there in one week. Eighteen of the little ones posed for this picture from inside their glassed-in ward. Student nurse Maxine Balschley, left, held two of her charges up for the camera while Lorraine Greenough, supervisor of the maternity ward…

April 21, 1925, saw the return of former hometown girl, Mildred Davis, and her movie star husband, Harold Lloyd. Miss Davis had been a student at Stadium High School prior to her acting career. She and her husband (on right) are posed at Union Station along with Director Joe Murphy and Mr. Murphy's wife. The…

On April 15, 1931, after spending two weeks loading lumber and timber at the Defiance Mill, 4601 Ruston Way, the four-masted "Commodore" left port in Tacoma for the Hawaiian Islands. It was towed to the Straits of Juan de Fuca by the tug Goliath. The last of the off shore sailing fleet in regular service…

Norman "Benny" Behnke ,  45-year-old Tacoma scuba diver, was photographed in April of 1964 with the 102-pound octopus he wrestled out of the Sound. Mr. Behnke, a civil engineer at McChord AFB, began scuba diving three years ago. This happens to be the third octopus he has brought to shore in less than six months…

For 56 years, in 2008, the annual Marine Parade has brought the Daffodil Festival season to a close. Entry #99 in the 1954 Puget Sound Daffodil Regatta was covered with literally thousands of blossoms, including windshield, making it truly a floating garden of daffodils. The boats passed, one by one, in front of a reviewing…