August 22, 1974 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 41 (41 of 44 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
August 22, 1974 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
.Carpet &
Care Equip.
SHEL TON'S COMPLETE RENTAL STORE
1209 Olympic Hwy. $.
im
1st Cota
L
' Journal 22, 1974
R
Unique rotary food press hell~ you rice
Dotetoes. strain vegetables, wash berries.
Wooden pestle fits rounded bottom ot sieve
so it's easy to press small qu~tities. Non-
spill top; seamless aluminum. 104-3363
\-e\o
2 FOR88¢ ~11~
ALUMINUM BAKEWARE SALE
A. 9" laver cake Dan. 125-6247
O. Small bread Dan. 1~
YOUR CHq OF ALARM CLOCKS...
BOTH GREAT BLIYS AT THIS LOW PRICE
A. Springwound Apollo ivory alarm clock. 4-3/4 x 4-1/4 x 2-3/16" deep. Easy to
read dial. Molded ivory case. 166-1446
B. Ingraham Astra electric clock. 3" high, 4" wide. Color coordinated dial and
case. Black hands, brass sweep second hand, and alarm indicator. 166-3400
YOUR CHOICE
123 S. 2nd Ray Prouty
COAST TO COAST
ir
• • •
¸
|
426-8104
When Gladys Wildey first viewed the old, old
house on a tiny tide-washed Pickering Passage
peninsula, her search was ended.
With her husband she wandered through
waist-high grasses to rub the grime from a
window pane of the abandoned building. She
saw a huge, old-fashioned fireplace and she said:
"This is it?"
"Are you sure," her husband asked, "that
you can be happy here? The place is so old, so
inconvenient, so isolated... "
"I could be happy here forever?" she told
him.
These words were exchanged 41 years ago.
Gladys Wildey, now almost 79 years old and
widowed, still makes her home on the little
long-sought farm-on-the-water and she is still
contented. Her lifestyle has changed very little
with the passing years.
The house had been vacant for a decade
when the Wildeys purchased the property. Not
until 1939 did Gladys Wildey actually reside in
her rural home.
To the original two-room dwelling Mr. and
Mrs. Wildey added a small sitting-room and a
big, comfortable country kitchen. There is a
fireplace in every room. Bare wood floors are
made of planks; walls and ceilings are fashioned
from shiplap.
"I oiled each board before my husband
nailed it in place," Mrs. Wiley remembers. "We
had to build in the cheapest way possible."
The result is a home of picturesque beauty
whose charm has been enriched by time. A
pot-bellied stove heats the sitting-room, and here
Giadys Wildey lives throughout the winter
months, closing off the large living room and
beautiful old bedroom. She utilizes an adjacent
kitchenette when the weather is severe, but
much prefers the spacious kitchen with its
friendly hearth.
French doors open to a patio where Mrs.
Wildey takes her meals in summer surroundings
of shrubs and flowers, sun and water. Geraniums
wintered in a bay window move to outdoor beds
when spring has warmed Gladys Wildey's world.
Her companion and protector is a collie dog,
and Mrs. Wildey mourns the recent death of a
Gladys Wildey
pet goose.
"She was just like a person to me. Her name
was 'Tyler,' and she came when I called her. She
followed me everywhere, all day long."
Mrs. Wildey has a way with birds and
animals. Two seagulls perch upon her doorstep
to be hand-fed, and a flock of Mallards swim to
her feet for daily handouts.
A wide foot-bridge approximately the length
of a city block extends across the waters to
connect Gladys Wildey's peninsula home with
the mainland. Near the road a heap of coal is
periodically deposited, and obliging visitors often
trundle a wheelbarrowful across the bridge.
For many years Mrs. Wildey carried water
from a hillside spring.
"I finally had water piped into the house,"
she says, "but the pipes froze and broke and I
never did get them fixed."
Sanitary facilities are housed in the
traditional old-fashioned outdoor type of
structure.
"1 like the way I live," she declares, "and I
don't find it inconvenient. I'd rather have my
beautiful view of the water, my lawns and
garden, the trees, my own dear old house than
the most modern apartment in town?"
Born in Virginia, Gladys Wildey came with
her parents to the Olympia area.
"That was almost 70 years ago," she
reminisces. "1 remember when the sidewalks in
Olympia were only boards. We used to go from
Olympia to Seattle on stern-wheelers - the only
way to travel?"
"i've always loved the water," she continues,
"and during the many years I lived in cities, I
always dreamed of owning a little waterfront
farm."
Taxes take a big bite out of a meager budget.
Upkeep and repairs on her property present
problems. Mrs. Wildey is a diabetic, and her
strength is limited. Nevertheless, she is happy.
Although she dwells alone, her sister and her
brother-in-law live next door, sharing the
pleasant peninsula.
"They are always close at hand if I need
help," Gladys Wildey assures her friends, "but
like my independence."
i ~ ~.,: ...........................
¥
j