From Tacoma Historical Society Twitter/X feed.
100 years ago today! Employees of the Walker Cut Stone Company stand outside their new plant located at 2403 Center Street on August 21, 1923. The sandstone was brought in from the company’s quarry near Wilkeson and then cut and formed by workers in Tacoma.
“Made in America”.
When that changed, the culture died.
I remember when I arrived here to Washington in 1986 with the army.
The WW2, Korean War, and Vietnam war vets were still with us.
The elders still had a strong attachment to to their fishing and logging ancestors.
Hippies and soldiers and regular folks alike, shared time and space easily, with a mutual love of freedom.
There was a sense of place and culture.
It was fun; it was free; and people knew they had to earn their way, one way or another.
We had a justice system, though not perfect, that dealt firmly with those who sought to do harm to our peaceful diverse citizenry.
We were more prosperous and less tolerant of the blight that has crept over us of late.
They say politics is downstream of culture.
Having seen our last connection to a cultural identity around here turn to tribal zero-sum think, I really miss it.
Most of the people I talk to miss it as well.