This 1944 photo is from the Wilkeson Products Company coal mine. The mine was supported with government funding, as was much of American industrial expansion during World War II.

This photo shows large sawn timbers holding up the roof. Most mines used round timber, not milled lumber, due to cost considerations. Because this mine was built with government dollars, frugality in construction costs was not a concern. The mine closed in less than two years, producing a paltry 54,000 tons of coal yet claiming the lives of coal miners Jack Cloves Smith and Harold E. Barber. Pictured here is miner Jim “Corkie” Kelly. To the right is a ladder accessing a chute which is being driven up the coal seam.

This March 18, 1944 photo comes from the Richard Studios Collection, courtesy of Tacoma Public Library, image number D17170-19.