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Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.

Silhouettes of lumberjacks stand around and lounge on a log in the forest. HistoryLunch 2023: The Tremendous Tale of Timber is printed across the top.

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This Week Then

9/21/2023

Elevated view of the unveiling of Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, sitting on tarmac surrounded by crowds of people looking at its four propeller engines, armaments, cockpit windows, and other features.

Life During Wartime

This week HistoryLink looks at three events from September 1942 that highlight Washington's significant role in the World War II home front. The first two took place on September 21, 1942, beginning with the maiden flight of Boeing's B-29 bomber, a top-secret aircraft that the company had been working on before America's entry into World War II. Although the project later suffered a setback, thousands of B-29s were eventually used in the Pacific theater, and the Superfortress became the first, and so far only, aircraft to drop atomic bombs during war.

The same day Boeing engineers watched the prototype B-29 take to the air, military brass were gathered near Oak Harbor for the opening of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. During World War II, NAS Whidbey was used to train fighter and patrol-bomber crews, and it remains the navy's principal air facility north of San Francisco and west of Chicago.

The day after the B-29 launch and the opening of NAS Whidbey, one more event took place that few knew about at the time. President Franklin Roosevelt made a secret visit to Washington that the press was ordered not to report. He arrived by train on September 22, stopping first at Fort Lewis. From there he traveled north to tour the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard near Bremerton, then viewed Boeing bombers being assembled in Seattle. After spending the night at his daughter's home on Mercer Island, he traveled with her the next day to Vancouver in Clark County, where they toured the Alcoa plant before heading off to a ship launch at the Kaiser shipyard in Portland.

Holdups and More Crime

On September 24, 1892, five armed robbers hit the Benjamin E. Snipes and Company Bank in Roslyn and made off with a few thousand dollars. And on September 27, 1938, an armed man held up Seattle's Green Lake State Bank by threatening bank teller Dorothea Pfister (later Nordstrand) with a pistol, but escaped with only $581 in currency.

But the biggest "take" from a bank this week in Washington history was not made by robbers or bandits. On September 25, 2008, federal regulators stepped in and seized Washington Mutual due to the bank's overzealous marketing of subprime mortgages and other poor-quality loans. WaMu was immediately sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co., bringing to an ignominious end its 119-year run as a Seattle banking institution.

News Then, History Now

Mission Site

On September 25, 1838, Protestant missionaries Elkanah Walker and Cushing Eells chose Tshimakain plain as the site for a mission for Spokane Indians. Eells was later instrumental in the creation of Whitman College, and in 1907, his son Myron – who was born on the Tshimakain mission – donated a significant collections of books, papers, and artifacts to the college, where they became important nuclei of Whitman's library, archives, and museum. 

Opening Night

On September 24, 1926, thousands celebrated the grand opening of the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. The lavish playhouse was the creation of architect Robert Reamer, known for his designs of the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park, Spokane's Fox Theater, Bellingham's Mt. Baker Theatre, and Seattle's Edmond Meany Hotel and 1411 4th Avenue Building.

Airmail Flight

In 1927, Boeing won a U.S. Post Office contract to carry airmail between Chicago and San Francisco. This and similar contracts laid the foundation for today's airline industry, and led directly to the development of United Air Lines. Seven years later, on September 26, 1934, federal trustbusters cancelled the lucrative airmail contracts and broke up the Boeing-United conglomerate.

To and Fro

On September 23, 1954, President Eisenhower dedicated McNary Dam. And on September 26, 1963, more than 30,000 people greeted President John F Kennedy at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, where he participated in groundbreaking ceremonies for the N Reactor. The next day, an equally large crowd came to hear him speak at Tacoma's Cheney Stadium.

TV Show

On September 25, 1968, Here Come the Brides debuted on ABC-TV. The show was loosely based on Asa Mercer’s recruitment of marriageable women for Seattle bachelors back in 1864, but that wasn't its only Northwest connection. One of the stars, Bridget Hanley, grew up in Edmonds, and one episode featured Bruce Lee playing a Chinese immigrant.

On the Go

On September 27, 1987, more than 2,000 people marched in Seattle's first AIDS walk to raise money for AIDS treatment and research. The event raised more than $335,000, and later AIDS Walks, held annually in September, have raised as much as $1.5 million. 

 

Today in
Washington History

Federal anti-trust actions cause United Aircraft and Transport, a Boeing conglomerate, to dissolve on September 26, 1934.

Several thousand people tour house built in Spokane to promote the RKO movie Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House on September 26, 1948.

President Kennedy participates in groundbreaking ceremonies for construction of N Reactor at Hanford on September 26, 1963.

Five Puget Sound Women's Peace Camp protesters are arrested inside the Kent Boeing Aerospace Center's cruise missile facility on September 26, 1983.

The Evergreen State College's Tacoma Program holds first day of classes as an official part of the college on September 26, 1983.

First Port of Chehalis commissioners are sworn in on September 26, 1986.

Eric Liu completes two five-year terms on the Seattle Public Library Board of Trustees on September 26, 2012.

New On HistoryLink

Tacoma voters recall five city council members on September 15, 1970.

Images of the Pandemic: When Seattle Artists Made Plywood Their Canvas

Bonker, Donald Leroy (1937-2023)

Clemans, Carl Lane (1871-1941)

Washington rodeo star Wade Leslie records the first perfect, 100-point bull ride in professional rodeo history on October 6, 1991.

Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve (Whidbey Island)

Image of the Week

Dramatic photo of junked tires stacked as far as the eye can see at a dump in Everett, with bright orange and yellow flames and oily black smoke billowing in the near distance and blocking the sky. The fire would burn and pollute the air for six months before being extinguished

On September 24, 1984, a heap of four million used tires caught fire in Everett and continued to burn and pollute for more than 6 months.

Quote of the Week

"There is one front and one battle where everyone in the United States – every man, woman, and child – is in action, and will be privileged to remain in action throughout this war. That front is right here at home, in our daily lives, and in our daily tasks."

–Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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