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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
August 22, 1974     Shelton Mason County Journal
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PAGE 41     (41 of 44 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
August 22, 1974
 
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.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