« Society and Culture Collection

Vern C. Gorst Photographs

A Pacific Northwest adventurer and transportation pioneer, Vern Centennial Gorst was born on August 18, 1876 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1888, the Gorst family relocated to the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State. From an early age, Gorst displayed an entrepreneurial spirit and a fascination with transportation. He began his first transportation business at age 13, moving chickens across Port Orchard bay using a log raft he had constructed himself.

As a young man, Gorst spent several successful years prospecting in Alaska during the gold rush. Later he returned to Puget Sound to invest his gold earnings in the arena of transportation. Over the next several decades, Gorst set to work building a number of transportation companies, with his focus eventually shifting to aviation when, at age 38, he became a self-taught pilot.

In 1925, Gorst's interest in flying won him a bid for the first contracted airmail service between Seattle and Los Angeles, and Pacific Air Transport was born. Gorst continued to be an entrepreneur of aviation, starting Seattle Flying Service in 1928, and creating other airline companies including Gorst Air Transport in 1929, Barnes and Gorst Air Mail, and Victoria Air Mail. Vern Gorst died in Portland, Oregon in 1953.

Scope and Content

Photographs by Vern C. Gorst documenting Pacific Northwest events between 1929 and 1932. Includes images of events such as Coupeville’s Indian Water Festival, the Ben Paris Fishing Derby, girls modeling spruce bathing suits to promote Hoquiam, Washington's wood week, and the making of the world’s largest omelet in Chehalis, Washington in 1921. Also contains images of early aviation pioneers including Harold Bromley, Reginald Robbins, Captain Frank M. Hawks, Clyde "Upside-Down" Pangborn, Cecil Allen and Don Moyle. The collection is also peppered with occasional images of local and national celebrities including Helene Madison, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Doloros Del Rio, and Jack Dempsey

Some of our favorite images are below. You can also browse all 245 images. 1. Boxer Jack Dempsey posing without a shirt, probably Washington State, ca. 1929-1932 2. Canoes participating in the two-man Native American canoe race at the Coupeville Native American Water Festival, Coupeville, Washington, ca. 1929-1932 3. Cecil Allen standing at the propeller of an airplane, probably Tacoma, Washington, ca. 1929-1932 4. Coach Ray Daughters and swimmer Helene Madison on a dock giving swim instruction to four children, Washington State, ca. 1929-1932 5. Cricket batter watching Vern Gorst prepare to throw the ball back to the bowler, probably Washington, ca. 1929-1932 6. Crowd surrounding a woman skating around a giant skillet with slabs of bacon tied to her feet, holding a giant wooden spatula, Chehalis, Washington, ca. 1929-1932 7. Dolores Del Rio with her mother on the steps of a train, holding a bouquet of roses, ca. 1929-1932 8. Five "Spruce Girls" holding spruce veneer bathing suits while a sixth girl sits at a sewing machine, probably near Hoquiam, Washington, ca. 1929 9. Five "Spruce Girls" wearing spruce veneer bathing suits standing on railway car, possibly Washington State, ca. 1929 10. Four jockeys kneeling in the grass in front of a stable, Washington State, ca. 1929-1932 11. Four men standing in front of a fishing boat on a dock, holding a net full of salmon, Washington State, undated 12. Four Native American girls sitting on a dock to watch the canoe race at the Coupeville Native American Water Festival, Coupeville, Washington,, ca. 1929-1932 13. Girl in bathing suit posing in front of window near Mt. Baker, Washington, ca. 1929-1932 14. Girl wearing hat and pants seated in the grass holding a lamb and puppy, possibly Washington, ca. 1929-1932 15. Harry Anderson, the founding father of the Ellensburg Rodeo, sitting on horseback and waving his hat at the rodeo crowd, Ellensburg, Washington, ca. 1929-1932 16. Helene Madison in a bathing suit with Seattle Park Board President Simon Burnett in a suit, standing on a dock on a lake, Seattle, Washington, ca. 1929-1932 17. Ivan Novikoff dancers in swimsuits posing by and reflected in a lake, Washington State, ca. 1929-1932 18. Looking up through a hole in an ice cave, probably Washington State, ca. 1929-1932 19. Ma Kennedy handing a coin to an elevator operator, probably Washington State, ca. 1929-1932 20. Man and woman in bathing suits in a rowboat near Tacoma, Washington, ca. 1929-1932 21. Man and woman standing in a clearing, holding up a chinook salmon, probably Washington, 1929-1932 22. Man and woman standing in a clock shop holding a giant wrist watch, probably Washington, ca. 1929-1932 23. Man and woman surrounded by other horse race attendees cheering in the stands, Washington State, ca. 1929-1932 24. Man carrying a woman through knee-deep snow near Mt. Rainier, Washington, ca. 1929-1932