Tacoma-born Dixy Lee Ray (1914-1994) held many prestigious posts in Washington State: first woman on the Atomic Energy Commission, director of the Pacific Science Center, and longtime University of Washington professor. A political novice, Ms. Ray served as Washington's first female governor from 1977-1981, gaining popularity as an outsider and a non-politician. Her blunt style won her as many enemies as supporters, and her unique personality generated a myriad of conflicting descriptions, from brash and abrasive to courageous and heroic.
In this image Harry Bridges (1901-1990), president of the International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), pins a convention badge on Dixy Lee Ray's jacket after she was introduced to the union's convention delegates in Seattle. The ILWU is a labor union established in 1937 which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada.
Caption information source: https://www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/biographies/dixyleeray.aspx Caption information source: "Union chief calls for strong merchant fleet," The Seattle Times, April 19, 1977, p. 8. Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 10 x 8.25 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.026.32.01, photo by Tom Barlet
