Greetings from the State of Washington

Summer time is vacation time! My Facebook feed is full of images from folks traveling the world.

During World War 2 there was a series of postcards for servicemen to use for free. The back includes this statement:
"Greetings from the State of Washington - This card is furnished for convenience of men in the armed services by the Washington State Progress Commission, P. O. Box 907, Olympia, Washington. Write the Commission for any information desired about the state or for Victory File for use in planning your first after-war vacation"
While these are promoting tourism in to Washington state after the war since this isn't the year for an international travel vacation for me, I can look for destinations in my own backyard.


"Mount Rainier - rising 14,408 feet into the sky, Mt. Rainier is spectacularly beautiful and the crowing triumph of the Evergreen State of Washington. Here it is only two hours from sea level to ski level."


"Rosario Beach - This beach is at one of the gateways to the San Juan Islands, in the scenic State of Washington. There are 172 islands in this large group in Puget Sound."


"The Peace Arch - This peace Arch at Blaine, Washington on the international boundary between Canada and the United States, commemorates 100 years of friendship along 3,000 miles of unfortified border, between peoples of a common origin."


"Mount Saint Helens - Majestically rising above Spirit Lake in Southwest Washington, is one of the state's four major peaks in the Cascade Rage. Other are Mount Rainier, Mount Adams and Mount Baker, all over 10,000 feet."


"Columbia River - The Beautiful - Second only to the Mississippi, flows for 750 miles through the state of Washington. On the Columbia are the Grand Coulee and Bonneville dams."


"Dry Falls - Situated in Dry Falls State Park, in Central Washington, near Grand Coulee Dam, is on of the geological wonders of the world. Over the brink once roared a prehistoric falls of the Columbia, forty times greater than Niagara."


"Grand Coulee Dam - This Dam on the Columbia River in the State of Washington, is man's biggest job. It is four times larger than the Great Pyramid, and as high as the Washington Monument"


If you have shared any Washington State postcards from this series, I would love a link in the comments to see your collection.

Burial Flag

My Mother-in-Law, Viola Andersen Robertson, was given a burial flag when my Father-in-Law, Walter Stanley Robertson who served in the US Navy was interred at Tahoma National Cemetery in 1998.


She passed away a year-and-a-half later in 2000 and is interred with him.


The burial flag has since been in the possession of my Brother-in-Law who served during Vietnam.  Last month, their home was destroyed by the Taylor Bridge fire in Cle Elum, WA..  We are so very grateful my Brother-and-Sister-in-Law are safe; my Brother-in-Law was told to evacuate only fifteen minutes before their home went up.  It gives me chills.  Almost all their worldly possession are gone.  But when my Sister-in-Law blew out her birthday candle earlier this week, she said, "I have nothing to wish for because I still have everything that really matters to me."

A couple of weeks ago I thought I would contact someone from VFW Post 1373 Douglas A Munro Post in Cle Elum. Burial Flags are not replaced by the Veteran's Administration but their website said that often local VFW posts can do that.  At the post's last meeting, they agreed to replace Walt's burial flag.  The contact person seemed honored and excited to be able to do this for our family.  This flag was used in another veteran's funeral but for some reason they ended up with two so when I contacted him, he felt it was meant to be for us to have it.  We drove to Cle Elum today to pick up the new burial flag.  It's not the same thing as the original given to my Mother-in-Law, but we are thrilled and humbled to have a flag that was given to our family in honor of Walt's service and life.

Flak over Esbjerg Denmark

Part two of "War is Scary". 

From Maren Nielsen Andersen's album

From Maren Nielsen Andersen's album

From Maren Nielsen Andersen's album

These photos, too were in Maren's photo albums.  They are scary yet eerily beautiful.  I can't imagine what it would be like to be close enough to photograph an event like this.  Last night I e-mailed The Archives of Danish Occupation History (thankfully they have information posted in English!) to find out if these photos could be dated and already heard back from Henrik Lundtofte Head of Archives.  He wrote that this was probably April 20, 1943.  I have a lot to learn about World War II and I especially don't know much about the war as it impacted Denmark except that Denmark was occupied by Germany.  I did find this information about Halifax II JB930 crash landed near Esbjerg 20/4-1943 which once I have time to read all the pages I will be very helpful to learn about the night.

After the war, the German mines were blown up and she also had a photo of that.

From Maren Nielsen Andersen's album

Maren and Hans Andersen had been in the United States since the first decade of the 1900's but they still had relatives in Denmark.  I can assume that it was a relative of Hans that sent these photos to America.  And again, I am so grateful to Maren for keeping them.

Walt and the US Navy

Like many boys his era, my father-in-law Walter S. Robertson joined the military as soon as he graduated high school in Mount Vernon, Washington at age eighteen. It was 1936.

He enlisted in the US Navy. Training camp was in San Diego.

From Walt's Navy Photos

Walt was sent to Panama Canal aboard the USS Bushnell (more here) in 1937, Guantama Bay as a Submarine Tender and Norfolk, Virginia to service subs.

From Walt's Navy Photos

From Walt's Navy Photos

From Walt's Navy Photos

He developed pleurisy which was worse in the tropics and was discharged due to the illness in 1938 from Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Virginia.

Walt then met Vi when on a double date - Walt was with Wilma and Vi was dating Gordon Shea - both couples switched partners. Vi and Walt married August 31, 1941. Walt joined the Naval Reserve in 1943 when World War II was in full swing.

From Walt's Navy Photos

He went through Hospital Corps School at Farragut, Idaho

From Walt's Navy Photos

From Walt's Navy Photos

From Walt's Navy Photos

From Walt's Navy Photos

and was stationed at the United States Naval Hospital in Seattle (Fircrest). He received training as a pharmacist mate - the doctor in charge was Wendell G. Scott who wrote text on Radiology.

From Walt's Navy Photos

From Walt's Navy Photos

From Walt's Navy Photos

From Walt's Navy Photos

After his tour was over in 1945, he returned to Mt. Vernon to his wife and baby daughter, Judy. They moved to Yakima, Washington where Walt worked as an X-Ray technician for St. Elizabeth's Hospital and four more children were born.

From Robertson, Fey, Noakes

His career then took his family to Bellevue, WA where he became the manager of the Xonics Inc. X-Ray Co. in Seattle. He retired from there in 1982.

More Navy photos
If anyone can confirm that the beginning photos of this album are in-fact San Diego, I would appreciate it (they weren't labeled).

Clean and Dry

It used to frustrate me to try to take scenic photos where I couldn't avoid cars being in the shot.  Then I noticed I really appreciated seeing old photos that DID have cars in them so I don't let myself get as bothered by them anymore since perhaps I will feel the same way about cars in my own photos in the future.


In browsing these old "The American Home" magazines issues this past week, I've realized the same thing about all the advertisements.  Reading current magazines, I've been annoyed that they are half full of ads. But now that I'm enjoying the vintage ads, I will assume that sometime in the future someone will enjoy the ads that irritate me.


These are probably four of my favorites.  I'm not alone - people framed the Swan Soap ads for wall decor.  I also notice a coupon to order the print without the ad.


Get clean and dry!

From Vintage Goodness

From Vintage Goodness

From Vintage Goodness

From Vintage Goodness

"Ask the neighbors in for 'burger barbecue'"

While we are eager to kick summer off this weekend, we should by no means forget what Memorial Day is all about.  Please remember to honor those who served and sacrificed for our country.

With an extra day in the weekend many choose to have a party!  Check out these vintage World War 2 era food ads (click on the image and find the magnifying glass to enlarge):

Not just for breakfast - appetizer recipes for entertaining:

From Vintage Goodness

"Ask the neighbors in for 'burger barbecue'"

From Vintage Goodness

Salad recipes to brag about:

From Vintage Goodness

From Vintage Goodness

And keep this canning calendar handy since it's almost that season:

From Vintage Goodness

And whether for your own entertaining or for the June brides in your life:

From Vintage Goodness

Patriotic Home and Appliance Care

More WW2 ads in honor of Memorial Day Weekend.


Taking care of your home and your appliances was the patiotic duty of early 1940's Americans.  Families learned to live without or make due with what they had so that resources could be used for the War Effort to bring our men home.


Protect your home's exterior!  Be sure to use lead based paint!

From Vintage Goodness

From Vintage Goodness

Properly maintain your heating system!

From Vintage Goodness

"Uncle Sam says 'Keep homes in good repair'!"

From Vintage Goodness

Use your refrigerator appropriately!

From Vintage Goodness

From Vintage Goodness

And you can dream of your future kitchen!

From Vintage Goodness

"Let's Hasten the Day"

On Memorial Day Weekend and always, heartfelt thanks to those who have served and who are serving our country defending our freedom.

Some more vintage World War 2 advertisements from "The American Home" magazine.  Sacrifices on the homefront didn't match those overseas but Americans stateside were trying to do their part.

From Vintage Goodness

From Vintage Goodness