The workforce and economy of Seattle from WWII through the 1970s was largely dependent on the Boeing Company and the commercial-airplane market. In 1957 business was booming due to the rise of the jet airplane. At the time Boeing employed about 100,000 people, including half of King County's manufacturing workers, while the Seattle's total population was only 550,000.

This program for the annual Boeing Children's Christmas Party highlights that year's theme of "Santa's Circus." Held December 12-13 at the University of Washington Pavilion (now Hec Edmundson Pavilion) on the UW campus, the circus featured such acts as "Madison's Dogs" and "The Flying Hartzell's."

Caption information source: "Boeing and Washington's Aerospace Industry, 1934-2015," by Jim Kershner, HistoryLink.org Essay 11111.