Airguide Compass - Centennial Flouring Mills Co.

Airguide Compass - Centennial Flouring Mills Co.

Case - 3"
Compass - 2"

This Airguide Compass is an advertisement item from the Centennial flouring Mills company.

This is an incredible story....On Thursday, January 30, 1947, the Tacoma, Washington flour mill was involved in one of the largest fires in state history. A spark from a transformer started the fire. There were several factors involved that made this a huge disaster.

The City’s 1929 fireboat, with its powerful 4 inch Big Bethra Nozzle that could deliver 6500 gallons of water a minute, was getting its first overhaul in 18 years. Just two days before, the main engine and propellers had been disassembled.

The main rail lines and roads that ran along the narrow strip of waterfront were cut off by the fire.

The giant 16 inch water main that ran under the Northern Pacific tracks from Old Town was out of service to fix leaks.

The 6 inch residential waterline above could not supply pressure to the nine hoses tied into hydrants. More than 150 firefighters were poised on three sides of the monstrous fire and none had enough water.

They actually ended up towing the fire boat with a tug as maintenance workers worked to fix the boat on the way to the fire.

I will add the links to the story in the comments section below. It's a fascinating read and part of history.** The link even includes a video made from still photos.**

FLOUR MILLS
There have been nearly 160 flour mills in the state of Washington. In 1870 there were 22,573 in the United States.
As settlers began to appear, the growing of grains and their milling was of great necessity. The pioneers craved flour-mill flour because homemade, mortar-and-pestle flour was not well suited for bread, but rather gruel, pancakes and hard biscuits.

AIRGUIDE
Airguide has its origins at the dawn of the Depression, 1930, when Richard Fee and Albert L. Stemwedel launched their business, manufacturing battery maintainers for the growing home radio market. By 1932, they’d expanded into hygrometers and thermometers, landing a big contract to manufacture the latter for Marshall Fields. Their first main headquarters was located at 219 W. Chicago Avenue, but by World War II they’d taken over buildings at 4949 N. Pulaski Road and their eventual long term home, 2210 W. Wabansia Avenue. Both locations are still standing.
In 1956 Dick Fee sold his interest in the company and the name was changed to Airguide Instrument Company.