What folks call today “the Postnet building” was perviously Kneip’s Trucking Service.
This building has has a host of different tenants throughout the years. The following was provided by Rich and Ruthie Williams:
Charley Chamberland built this building in 1913. It was Eatonville’s first bakery. In the 1930’s, D.G. and Cloie Morgan purchased the bakery. In 1939, due to the expansion of the business, the bakery was moved to the “NAPA” auto parts building at 103 Center Street East. After the bakery move, the building had many uses. It was an undertaker’s parlor, a confectionary store and a warehouse.
In the late 1940’s, Nick and Grace (Krones) Kneip purchased the building and operated the Kneip Trucking Company. The trucking company operated four gas powered Ford dump trucks and sold and delivered sand and gravel throughout the area. The County also provided a regular job for Kneip’s trucks filling and refilling the slide areas on the Alder Cutoff road. Nick and Grace lived in the upstairs apartment and had their company office on the main floor. While Nick ran the trucking company, Grace did the bookkeeping and also operated the vehicle licensing department from her company office. Mrs. Kneip lived upstairs in her apartment until 2001.
After her death, a firm from Morton, Washington purchased and renovated the building. One of their tenants is Postnet operated by Diane Wisley.
Photo courtesy of the Baublits family.
Click on image to enlarge.
Eatonville To Rainier 
6 responses to “Postnet (ca. 1952)”
I thought there used to be a radio/TV store there at one time, maybe another building in that area. Toby Decker and I were walking down that street and noticed a football game between Washington and Cal. playing. We stopped and watched through the window for awhile. It was our first experience watching football on TV. They were probably using one camera as the players looked far off and the camera moved from side to side to follow the play. This was in the late forties, 1948-49.
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Yes, it was. This building been used for quite a bit. Here are some shots. https://eatonvilletorainier.com/?p=3175 Thanks!!!
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Thanks for clearing that up Di; my memory is not fading as bad as I thought.
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I’m assuming that the bakery mentioned was Sun’s Ray’s Bakery which was my great grandfather Frank Mensik’s business. He advertised the bakery in the Inter-Mountain Journal in December 1912. (Source-“History of Tacoma Eastern Area Vol. II”, pg. 92, The Years March By in Eatonville) He was a baker and confectioner in Austria before coming to America and worked in a bakery in Chicago (with his brother Charles) before coming to Pierce County. He is listed in the 1899 Tacoma City Directory as a baker in Tacoma at the Domestic Bakery on Pacific Ave.
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Hi, I think (and I’ll have to check) is that the bakery was located on Center near the intersection of Mashell. This may have been one of his ads. https://eatonvilletorainier.com/?p=4403
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[…] photos taken of Kneip’s Trucking don’t show Eatonville at its best, but you do get a glimpse of 1956 Mashell Ave. If you would […]
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