These guys certainly don’t look like a Christmas story but in a way they are part of one. The men are dry farmers from Eastern Montana standing on the landing at Tacoma’s municipal dock in 1924. They come from five families who are relocating to Vaughn where they bought land and the hopes of a better future after one of them visited Puget Sound the prior Christmas. Nearby there is a boxcar filledwith family possessions, farm tools and two milk cows. They are waiting to have it all loaded on the steam ferry Burrows for the last leg of their long, uncertain journey. There are 14 people in the party, most of which have never seen saltwater or traveled by ship. They are standing in the most unfamiliar of surroundings halfway over water and halfway to new ground on Case Inlet where they plan on being in new homes before the next Christmas. Hard not to see some worry in their faces but with it excitement and even an optimistic smile about the seasons to come. Hard too not to wish them well on their leap of faith. Pictured left to right are C. Blydorp, John W. Walniewicz, Johnny Vanlamen, Charles Vitol, Ed Vanlamen and Hank Vandervan.
tacoma history 