DID YOU KNOW?
Tacoma’s story spans more than two centuries from the time Captain George Vancouver anchored off Tacoma’s north shore in 1792.
In 1870, Tacoma’s natural deep-water port became an attraction that the Northern Pacific Railroad couldn’t pass up, when it made Tacoma a stop on its transcontinental line.
Old Tacoma and New Tacoma merged in 1884 and incorporated as Tacoma. By 1890, the population reached 36,000 people.
Tacoma is home to the Port of Tacoma, the seventh-largest container port in the United States, and it is within 20 miles of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and 36 miles of the city of Seattle.
Tim McGrath,
Athletics Staff
Tim McGrath teaches physical education in all three divisions at Charles Wright.
“Last year, during the fourth grade fitness run, I decided to run along with the students and I set an eight-minute-mile pace,” says McGrath. “A group of kids wanted to tag along, using me as their pace-setter. They knew running an eight minute mile would be a stretch for them, as most of them had never run that fast before. Or at least that was their thought at the beginning of the run. All along the way we talked about how the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day; a ‘great day to be a Tarrier.’ Before we knew it, we were almost done with the mile. As we ran the last 200 meters, a girl looked up with a huge smile on her face and said that she really wasn’t even that tired despite having run faster than she had ever run before. What a joy for me!”
McGrath graduated from Principia College in Saint Louis after spending six weeks studying in South Africa. He earned his graduate degree from Southern Illinois University. He joined the Charles Wright faculty in 2003 and has coached football, basketball and track and field. He enjoys reading and spending time with his wife, Mindy, and son, Zane, whom he swears is the “cutest little guy in the world.”
“Last year, during the fourth grade fitness run, I decided to run along with the students and I set an eight-minute-mile pace,” says McGrath. “A group of kids wanted to tag along, using me as their pace-setter. They knew running an eight minute mile would be a stretch for them, as most of them had never run that fast before. Or at least that was their thought at the beginning of the run. All along the way we talked about how the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day; a ‘great day to be a Tarrier.’ Before we knew it, we were almost done with the mile. As we ran the last 200 meters, a girl looked up with a huge smile on her face and said that she really wasn’t even that tired despite having run faster than she had ever run before. What a joy for me!”
McGrath graduated from Principia College in Saint Louis after spending six weeks studying in South Africa. He earned his graduate degree from Southern Illinois University. He joined the Charles Wright faculty in 2003 and has coached football, basketball and track and field. He enjoys reading and spending time with his wife, Mindy, and son, Zane, whom he swears is the “cutest little guy in the world.”
