During World War II, thousands of service men and women served in or passed through Seattle. In 1941 the Service Men's Club opened, providing free stationery, game rooms, dorms, and showers, and free or low cost snacks and meals. By 1945 Seattle had 13 additional service and recreation clubs, including the large United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) Club in the Rialto Building at 1102 Second Avenue.
In this image several junior hostesses and servicemen tie balloon decorations in preparation for the last dance to be held at the USO club, which would cease operations at midnight, having served five million servicemen and servicewomen since 1943. The women in the image are identified as, left to right, Ellen Osborn, Pat Dalpay, Terry Sloan, Shirley Schneider, and Peggy Brown.
Handwritten on negative: U.S.O. Closing Dance 12-26-47, 2nd Madison
Caption information source: "Seattle opens Service Men's Club on May 1, 1941," by Duane Colt Denfeld, Ph D., HistoryLink.org Essay 9406 Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff.
Physical Description: 1 acetate negative: b&w ; 4 x 5 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, PI28227, photo by Ed Watton
