Spokane in 1940.

Having this wonderful postcard of Spokane in the 1940s, I got to thinking. What was Spokane like in the 1940s?? These were the war years and Spokane benefited greatly from helping in the war effort:

During World War II, Spokane was home to the Velox Naval Supply Depot, the massive Galena Army Air Corps supply and repair depot (later Fairchild AFB), Geiger Field, Fort George Wright, and the Baxter Army Hospital. In addition, two federally owned aluminum plants at suburban Mead and Trentwood proved crucial to the war effort. Some 15,000 Spokane residents served in the armed forces and many were employed in war-related industries.
(www.historylink.org)

Population of Spokane in 1930 was - 128, 795
Population of Spokane in 1940 was - 141,370
Population of Spokane in 1950 was - 161,721

So you see that our Lilac City had a manageable growth rate during these war years. Did your ancestors live in the area then??

June is the month for weddings, today as in days of yore.

This is a favorite photo of my maternal grandparents in as near-as-I-know their wedding photo. George Louis Gurney was in the U.S. Navy, stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Training Facility (in Michigan), preparing for World War I. Lucky for me, the war ended before his training did; he never served. He married Clara Magdalen Joseph in 1918. The purpose of this post is that sometimes our ancestors just got married; they had no "big deal" with special clothes, parties or ceremonies. 

Do you have a photo of your grandparent's wedding? What were they wearing?

Needing censuses for your Washington research?

If you're wanting and needing census information from the late 1800s until Washington became a state, they are available. The above heading was for a complete, full page, county by county, of what state censuses were taken for which counties and for which years.  Yes, most of these are for counties on the west side of the state. This is because the state was eagerly counting and re-counting its people waiting to reach the "magic number" of citizens that would qualify Washington for statehood. Spokane did have an 1885 and 1887 enumeration. 

Did your ancestors use Bromo-Seltzer?

At a flea market recently, I spent 25cents for a little blue bottle having  the embossed words "Emerson Drug Company, Baltimore, Maryland." Intrigued, I asked Google's help to learn more. And the likely answer to my question above is YES, my ancestors (post-1888 ones) probably had access to the miracle upset stomach pain reliever called Bromo-Seltzer. Think yours were too?