Montlake - 2021 and Way Beyond by William Goodrich Bellman Chapter 38 - The Benbow Inn

In the summer of 1926, my parents were planning a vacation, by themselves, to Los Angeles. They made reservations for me to go to Benbow Inn, near Kapowsin, a little known village near Orting, WA. This was where the inn, run by Mr. Benbow and his family, was situated, on a small fishing lake, with cabins along the waters edge, and in the background. I had a small, beachside, one room cottage to myself, plus the full use of a rowboat. I ate my meals in the kitchen with the Benbow family and their hired help. The food was delicious and bountiful, being the same as that served to the inn guests. The cook was Louie Benbow, the son of the Benbows. Louie weighed upwards of 275 lbs., was a voracious eater, and thought that everyone should eat like he.

The hired hands consisted of 4 chambermaids, who doubled as waitresses, and a young Norwegian man, who was studying for his naturalization. I remember him particularly, as he wasn't well versed in the English language, and asked me to help him write love letters to an American girl he had met in Tacoma. Imagine, me, 15 years old, writing love letters! However, he did get one reply from her while I was there, and she indicated that she was pleased with his writing and profession. I wondered how he would reply to her when I left Benbow Inn?

Confession: I had been wetting my bed for 15 years, and nothing anyone suggested, eradicated the situation. It was a terrible problem as I could never spend a night with boy friends for fear of wetting. At Benbow, the chambermaids made up all the residents beds each day. Not wanting to be found out, I made my bed each morning, and my chambermaid thanked me in front of one and all at lunchtime. Bed changing was done once a week on Saturday, something I hadn't given thought to. The following Saturday, at lunchtime, my maid, in front of everyone, said "You know why Bill makes his bed, because he wets it". I was so ashamed and embarrassed that I left the table and ran and hid in one of the barns. Mr. Benbow found me there and gave me enough sympathy that I found the nerve to return to the inn and eat with the group that night. Nobody said a word about the bed wetting. Later on, I thanked the Lord, and the maid that spoke up, as I never wet my bed after that day.

During my stay at Benbow two young couples rented side by side cabins next to mine. I became acquainted with them and they would ask me in to visit. I thought it strange, that several times, they seemed to have changed partners. One day with one girl, then the next day with the other. But that was none of my business. In the course of our conversations, they mentioned that they would like to find a source to purchase liquor, prohibition was in force at the time. For some reason - perhaps I was trying to impress them - I said that my father was a bootlegger, and they could get some from him, when he came back from California. What a preposterous lie!

I had forgotten that conversation, when my father came to take me home the following weekend. Immediately those men saw him, they asked if they could get some booze from him. Dad was incensed, and asked them where they got the idea that he could provide it. They pointed to me. I don't recall what my punishment was, I was too old for a paddling so was probably restricted at home for the rest of the summer. In the 25 years that I lived at home, I never saw or heard of my parents drinking the hard stuff.

While still at Benbow, Mr. Benbow asked me if I would give up my cabin for a night, as he was overbooked, and needed room for a guest. He said I could sleep in the Inn with Louie. I saw nothing wrong with that, so agreed. That was a mistake. Louie was some kind of a pervert, which I found out, shortly after I had fallen asleep. He started fondling me and made attempts to kiss me, which scared the hell out of me. He got completely aroused and then, instead of ejaculating, as would be normal, he peed all over the bed, then fell asleep. I often wondered how Louie explained the (HIS) wet sheets to the maids.

After that vacation at Benbow, when I started school as a freshman at Garfield High, I made friends with a boy, Jack Travis, who lived up the hill from Montlake on Capitol Hill. In one of our conversations, he asked what I had done that summer. I told him of my vacation at Benbow. "That's where I spent mine also," he said, "by the way, did you have to sleep with Louie?" I told him of my experience, which was just like his. We concluded that Louie really had some marbles missing and also that his dad knew of this and provided Louie with young kids to keep him there to do the cooking.

I've always wanted to go back to Benbow Inn and see what has taken place during the many years since my boy hood vacation there, so in early July of 1993, Cha and I drove from our Poulsbo home, south to Tacoma, then easterly through Puyallup and Orting to the little town of Kapowsin, looking for the site of Benbow Inn. In the 67 years since I was last in Kapowsin I found that the town has changed but not grown. In fact it is not as large as I remember it. The main-stay, Kapowsin Lumber Mill, apparently burned down and left the town with no means of support. I stopped at the only grocery outlet and made inquiries about getting to Benbow Inn. Was told that it was just down the road about four miles, but was now called Benbow Camp, a privately owned RV park, together with rental cabins.

During that four mile drive we passed a multitude of small lakes, most of them with homes along the shoreline, although there were several lakes with no noticeable residences, which made us wonder why??? The entrance to Benbow Camp, on Lake Tamrac, is pleasant in appearance, with green grass on either side of the driveway. We noticed a large sign stating that the camp was AAA approved. Driving into the RV parking area and cabin sites we stopped in front of a trailer house that appeared to be the manager's home. A heavy set, boozy faced man came out and somewhat belligerently, asked what we wanted. I think he was in his cups. I explained that I had vacationed there many years before and was on a nostalgic trip to see Benbow again. He, rather reluctantly, allowed us to park and walk around.

There were quite a few trailers that appeared to be there on a semi-permanent basis, and other, smaller ones that could have been daily or weekly visitors. I don't know how the place got its AAA approved rating as we found the rest rooms needed cleaning and sanitizing and the public areas needed a general pick-up. The big changes I saw at Benbow were that the original inn and all the cabins, I remembered, are gone. My little cabin on the lakeshore is no more. Barns, chicken houses and out buildings are also things of the past. Where there used to be cabins, RV spaces have taken their place. Where the inn used to sit there is now a large community room with stoves and tables for large groups. Sixty-seven years ago there was not a house or cabin along the lakes shore. Now their are beach homes on every lot with more on the hillsides above. All in all I found that Benbow had changed and had lost its rural charm.