Jump to Elsie Claussen

To Doris Brown Heritage, daughter of Henry and Villa Severtsen of Gig Harbor, running is an expression of freedom. Her preference is for long-distance events. She excelled in cross country. From 1967 to 1971, she was the USA and World Cross Country champion ­ the only person to win this event five times in succession. Doris always liked to run. Growing up, she was hampered by the usual stereotype, "Girls don't do that," and official rules, "Girls are not permitted to use the track." There were no school track teams or meets for girls. With parental support, monetary contributions from teachers and friends, and a male track coach who bent the rules a bit, Doris overcame these roadblocks. The people of Gig Harbor helped her go to her first Olympics. Her coaching experience spans three decades starting at Seattle Parks Department. She still coaches at Seattle Pacific University and has coached teams in Finland, Canada, England, Japan, and Nepal. She has coached men's and women's university track and cross country teams, USA track, USA Olympic, and USA World Championships teams.

Doris is currently an assistant professor in the School of Physical Education and Athletics at Seattle Pacific University. She is the head cross country coach for both men and women and the assistant track coach for men and women in the 800-meter and longer events. Recently she was honored as a Pioneer of Women's Track and Field. Her definition of a pioneer is "doing it before it was there to do."

 
Elsie Claussen (1898 - 1935)
Captain, Elsie C II, 1930-1934

Elsie Claussen on the Elsie C II, 1933	When steamboating was in its heyday on Puget Sound, a number of women worked on the boats, usually as pursers or cooks. Only a handful of women operated their own craft. Elsie Claussen was one of them. When her father, Herman Claussen, died in 1930, Elsie replaced him as captain of the passenger launch, the Elsie C II. To the year-round residents at Sunrise Beach, the waters of Colvos Passage were as familiar to them as their front yards. It was easier to take a boat to Tacoma than to go overland to Gig Harbor. Elsie made the run on weekends between the Pavilion at Point Defiance Park and the three docks at Sunrise Beach. Many Tacoma people rented cottages and summered at Sunrise Beach. In the summertime, the Elsie C II made the round-trip daily.
In her jodhpurs and hiking boots, with her braided hair wound round her head, Elsie was a well-known personality along the Tacoma waterfront. She was known as a determined young woman who accomplished anything she set out to do. No on was surprised when she took over her father's business. For four years she ran the service, occasionally including trips to Vashon Island or taking passengers on other excursions. In 1934, fire destroyed her boat. Captain Elsie ordered a new boat, a 56-foot passenger launch. Elsie C III was completed in 1935. Elsie did not live long enough to put this boat into service. Shortly after taking it on a trial run, she died.		The Elsie C III picks up passengers at Point Defiance, 1947/8

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