An Army of Caterpillars Invades the North End
Thousands of hungry pests swarm Tacoma’s trees, leaving residents fearful for the city’s greenery.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Residents of the north part of town are alarmed over the ravages of a band of caterpillars which have lately made their appearance there and are eating up everything in the shape of vegetation. The greatest devastation has taken place in the section north of Tacoma Avenue and between Eighth and Eleventh Streets. There, the pests are so numerous that in some instances they cover the trunks of the trees so completely that it is impossible to see the bark. The caterpillars appear to be young, measuring from a quarter of an inch to an inch in length. State Horticultural Commissioner Van Holderbeke has taken the matter up, and effort is being made to exterminate them before they reach maturity to prevent a true plague next year.
“The pests are so numerous that in some instances they cover the trunks of the trees so completely that it is impossible to see the bark.”
Ecological threats in urban neighborhoods have been a perennial concern in Tacoma for over a century. While today the city manages invasive species through different environmental frameworks, the anxiety of residents seeing their local canopy defoliated remains a familiar neighborhood issue.
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