By the 1960’s, Eastside Drive/Marine View Drive was repaved. A better organized fire department was functioning. Two community clubs were at their heights with alternating summer dinners and festivals. There was a grocery store on Browns Point while another was available on Dash Point. There was one drug store. There were two gas stations, one providing groceries and dispensing gas with no repair services and the other furnishing mechanical services, gas, and light groceries. There were two elementary schools and a middle school. Five churches were thriving. Last, but not least, there were two working bridges, the Hylebos and Blair, taking the points’ commuters across the tideflats on the 11th Street corridor into Tacoma.

Dash Point State Park

One of the main events of the 1960s was the dedication of Dash Point State Park. The property for many years had been platted as a housing development called Woodstock. A second owner had dreams of a hotel. It is said that after drilling hundreds of feet the owners could not reach water. After trying and failing to get Tacoma water, both the dream for a housing development and a hotel proved impossible. In the late 40’s, the property was sold by the McLeod estate to Modern Home Builders, a company owned by George Medak, Ray Bishop and Cecil Hall. In 1958 it became the property of Washington State for the purpose of a state park. It was dedicated in June 1962. It included at that time 272 acres and 3,100 feet of sandy beach.

Dash Point Post Office & Burton’s Gas Station Close

The Dash Point Post Office was closed August 17, 1962. Postmaster or postmistresses through the years included Linna Churchill, Hans Peterson, Thomas Hutchinson, William Muehlenbruch, Harold Captlin, Alfred Stocks, Don Martin, Alfred Swanes, Quentin McEathon, Clella Steele, Kenneth Slaughter, Harry Flippin, Eugene Shannon, Mary Trier and Katherine Shannon. On Browns Point in 1968 Ernie and Marie Burton retired. They closed their gas station.

The Hotfooters

The “Hotfooters” of Browns Point and Dash Point began their fire protection duties in 1967 under the tutelage of Fire Chief Howard K. Jones. The “Hotfooters” were 18 ladies who were dedicated volunteers for Fire District No. 13. They were ready and on call during the day when their male counterparts were at their daily jobs. The ladies became experts at handling ladders, ropes, stretchers, and axes. They mastered pumps, hose couplings, pressure gauges and drove the fire trucks. Another part of their instruction was an intensive first aid and resuscitation course. Their uniforms were daffodil yellow coveralls, rubber boots, and helmets.