Charles V. "Tom" Gibbs (1932-2019) was an engineer whose historic projects in the 1960s ended the constant flow of raw sewage into Lake Washington and Puget Sound. Born in Oregon and raised in Winlock, Washington, Mr. Gibbs received civil engineering degrees in 1954 and 1966 from the University of Washington (UW). He and his wife, Jean C. Gibbs, later endowed the UW Presidential Fellowship in Environmental Engineering, designed to support graduate level studies for engineers who would in turn help develop clean water and functioning sanitation systems for rural populations in their home countries.
In this image Tom Gibbs, then director of technical services for Metro, points to an indicator on a new automatic water quality monitoring system for the Duwamish River as Molly Boone, Metro employee, listens. Later in his career, Mr. Gibbs led the startup of Metro Transit, helped write the federal Clean Water Act, and served on boards including the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and the public-facilities district that oversees the Mariner's baseball Stadium.
Caption information source: "Passages," The Seattle Times, August 4, 2019, p. B&; "Tom Gibbs, leader of Lake Washington cleanup," The Seattle Times, August 8, 2019, p. A 11; and https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?n=charles-v-gibbs-tom&pid=193335401 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 ; 8 x 10 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, 2000.107.074.15.01, photo by Stuart B. Hertz
