Bette Markley, 91, West Seattle

"The earliest and most important fact of my life is my father owned a grocery at Fauntleroy and Morgan Street on the southwest side of California where Starbucks now is. Dad had a three-bay store; one of the most noted stores in West Seattle, one of the finest, a delux store with the produce all laid out like at Pike Place market. It failed during the Depression; that was a pretty sad experience, to lose your entire lifetime efforts. The store fell from being a beautiful, prominent store to a one-stall store by the post office on California. It was called Roullard's Public Market. Roullard was my maiden name. We had a three-stall store with a place for a bakery with two bakers, a retail store and a lunch counter. We had a major produce sections, with some fine men who knew how to display it; these men were renown, they did a marvelous job. We had the most in West Seattle, believe me. The third bay was the meat department with two butchers.

"I revel in this history.

"My brother, who is seventeen years younger, didn't really experience it. It's been very meaningful to him to study the history.

"I just treasure the corner there. I think about the store and the memories very frequently as I pass the stores there today; a comparision notes in my mind. The group of stores are positioned differently now. A pharmacy took over that building; Mace Schooley, a big Seattle name, ran the place.

"I remember being in a kitty car, a three-wheeled gizmo, when I was about four. That is my first memory. I remember a vision. My grandma lived across the street.

"Those of us who grew up in the Depression see something we want, and we hold back. We have a very strong feeling inside, and save. My kids all save. I have three children: David, Shannon and Scott. They are in their fifties and sixties, and they are still my children. They're still full of mischief. My little boy is my dream of a child. He really respects me. We get along so beautifully.

"They are all outgoing with great personalities. My dad was personality plus; I take after him. He was very well respected, all over the city. He was part of the Puget Sound Quality Stores assocation. We waited on the people in stories; we loved our people. The office built up in the ceiling of the store. We had two full-time stenographers who worked full-time at the store.

"I take walks with my dog Pugzee. I can still walk by after all those years and know who lived in which house then. There was a lady on Ledroit Court who believed in a refined education for young children, so she took me downtown for musicals. I enjoyed that very much. I think her name was Irene Bather.

"I met my husband through my cousin. He's still alive, as old as me. I was a great shopper. I loved Frederick and Nelson. I still go downtown and love it. It's crazy what things mean a lot to us. I enjoyed very nice tailored clothes. I worked downtown, as a secretary on Fifth Avenue. Everybody was well-to-do among the clientele. They were respectful and educated. It was a wonderful time of life; I could have worked down there my whole life."

Lesley Holdcroft may be contacted via wseditor@robinsonnews.com