Montlake - 2021 and Way Beyond by William Goodrich Bellman Chapter 39 - Downtown Montlake

In the small business district of Montlake, the Royal Drug Store was located on the southwest corner of 24th and McGraw streets. It was owned by a very pleasant gentleman Mr. Merritt, who operated it for many years till his retirement. As I've related previously, on rainy or very cold days we could wait just inside the store's front door, and watch for the school trolley to come. It was also a good spot to filch cigarettes, while the owner was working in the back of the store. For several years there was a young lady soda jerk who had the brightest, whitest teeth of any girls around. I asked her how she kept them so nice and she told me that she was using a tooth polishing product that she had gotten through a mail order house. I visited the store several years later and found her still working there, however her teeth were no longer bright and shiny, but dark and decayed, a result of the mail order product. She told me that she was going through the process of having them capped. So much for mail order products.

On the southwest corner of 24th and Lynn there was originally a hamburger shop, that was around 1933, then H.B. (We called him “Happy Bottom”) Cunningham, who taught wood-working and also was boy's adviser at Garfield High, built and opened a ski shop, which had previously been in his basement, up the street on Lynn at 2314. When Cunningham retired from teaching, his ski shop was going full blast. Presently a bike shop occupies that corner location.

The only tavern presently in Montlake hasn't always been one. The first occupant of that space was Kefauver's Grocery Store that had its demise in the 30s. A restaurant was then opened on the premises and remained there for some years, when the tavern took over, perhaps in the early 40s. Charlotte's uncle, Gerard Peabody, with the license in his son Chuck's name, owned that tavern for some years. Gerard had spent nearly 40 years in the pen and wasn't eligible for a liquor license, thus the reason for it being in Chuck's name.

Thinking of that location, (when it was a restaurant) reminds me of when I used to frequent it in the mid 30s. I became acquainted with a couple of guys that were merchant patrolmen on Capitol Hill and Montlake. The younger of the two, a nice looking and pleasant fellow, lived in an apartment above the restaurant. Also had a live-in girlfriend, who worked in the restaurant below. Anyhow, these guys would patrol the neighborhood and watch your house for $1 a month. It sounds cheap and it was, even in 1935. If the home owner was going on vacation, the patrolmen would give the house special attention, and even check the doors. At the time I knew the patrolmen they had over 600 accounts, which gave them a gross income of at least $600 per month, a healthy figure in a depressed economy.

The story I got from neighbors, was that the older of the two, a short, slobby sort of a guy, who patrolled the Capitol Hill area, would occasionally, rob the residences of those that he knew were on vacation. The younger man was not a party to this, and had no knowledge that it was going on. Someone became suspicious and had the short guy tailed and caught him inside one of the homes. The revelation that one of the trusted patrolmen was robbing the homes that he was paid to protect, had quite a media coverage, and as a consequence, the other patrolman, even though he was not implicated, lost so many customers that he had to curtail operations. So ended what was an easy and profitable avocation.

Prior to the demise of those two patrolmen, while having lunch in the restaurant with the younger of the patrolmen and his girl friend, a woman friend of theirs came to our booth and sat down. She was introduced to me as Sylvia Bekins, and so happened to be a cousin of my friend Claude Bekins. Quite an attractive girl, however a little thin for my taste. Before I knew what was happening she had her hand on my leg pretty close to where it joined the other. I had never before had such an instant come on. She certainly had experience and knew the moves to quicken my heart beat. She asked the patrolman if she could borrow the key to his apartment upstairs. The rest is history. That affair lasted a short while as I found her too easy and always ready, and I worried about how many guys she was sleeping with.

There was a period of time in the little business district of Montlake, when it was not safe to loiter on the streets after dark. The neighborhood character had changed a great deal from when I was a youngster. The influx of many nationalities had something to do with that. During a visit, 15 years ago, with Ed Wilmot, who lived at 1922-25th Ave. East, we decided to go to the Montlake tavern for a beer. Ed told me not to dilly dally when we got out of the car but to go directly to the tavern, and when we left there, use the same precautions. He said, "several patrons had been accosted and robbed when leaving."

During that same visit with Ed he told me that my old home on Lynn street was now occupied by a Black family by the name of Bell. Their son and a friend used to wait for slightly inebriated tavern patrons to leave and would shake them down. One patron resisted, and the Bell boy, shot and killed him. I never told my mother that Negroes were living in her old house, the thought of it would have really bothered her.

Across the street from the Montlake Tavern, in the space now occupied by an apartment complex, was the Montlake Theatre. I recall going to the theatre one afternoon and while there striking up a conversation with a young gal, Jessica, who I knew was the sister of Ronnie, a boy just a year younger than I. I had never, in the past paid particular attention to Jessica, as she was several years younger, but by the time of this meeting, she had grown into an attractive young girl. When the movie was over she invited me to walk her up 24th to her home on Boyer Ave. When we arrived there she invited me in. From the conversation we had during our walk, I had some idea of what was going to happen if I went in. So of course I went in. One thing led to another and soon we were rolling around on the daveno. I was worried about the maid, who I knew was in the kitchen, but Jessica said, "not to worry", she had told the maid that she was entertaining(?) and not to interrupt. When all was said and done I asked her where she had learned such tricks and she said "I've only done it with my brother". That remark really got to me and put a hold on any ideas I might have had of continuing the relationship.

It wasn't until 1943, ten years later, that I saw Jessica again. I was working at the Pasco Holding and Reconsignment Point and when delivering some invoices to the Quartermaster Corps, who should I see, as the new telephone girl, but Jessica. We exchanged greetings and I told her that I was the manager of the firm that contracted with the Army to perform services related to unloading and loading freight cars. The telephone in my office was connected to the switchboard operated by Jessica. Any calls to or from my office had to go through that switchboard. As time went on it became apparent that Jessica wanted our one night stand of many years ago to continue. I still was not in the least bit interested, particularly since I was very happily married. My situation simply did not register with her. Every time I picked up the phone, there was Jessica and I'm sure she listened in on any conversations I had. While going to work one morning, Jessica was killed by a freight train as she attempted to cross the tracks at the entrance to Pasco Holding and Reconsignment point. I didn't like to admit it, but I was relieved.

I don't know when the Montlake theatre closed for good, and the apartment complex was built, because I had left the area and was out of touch with neighborhood doings. Bill the barber had a shop where the entrance to the apartments is now located, but Bill had to move when the movie house was built. He moved north a few doors and was in that location for many years till his retirement. Bill cut my hair when I was very young, and whenever possible I would return to Montlake, and whether or not I needed a hair cut, would go to Bill. He knew about most of the old-timers in Montlake and would fill me in on what was happening and what so-and-so was doing.

North of Bill's barber shop, on the corner of 24th and McGraw was a bakery that existed for many years, starting when I was 9 or 10. Sunday morning the baker sold all the left-over sweets for half price. Sorry to say, my Sunday School 25 cent tithe, usually went to the bakery.

Sunday school, a Presbyterian unit, was at this time located on the southwest corner of Boyer Ave. and 24th. Later, an Associated Gas Station was located there, and the school moved to the southwest corner of 23rd and Boyer. About the only thing I liked about Sunday School was singing in the choir. I must have had a fair voice as I was always picked to join the choir.

Shell Oil Company had the first station in Montlake at the northwest corner of 24th and Boyer. My best memory of that station is, that every Christmas, the attendants, gave away little boxes of Christmas hard candy, with the bright yellow Shell logo emblazoned on the box sides. That station was there for years, empty for many, and I believe a private residence is on the site now.

Most of the streets in Montlake have been name-changed from north to east. Like 23rd Ave. North is now 23rd Ave. East. The house at 2022 23rd East was the location of McVetty's (sp.?) Chocolates. They had a small factory in the basement, where they manufactured chocolate candies. The kind with soft centers. We found that, sometimes, when they were cooking chocolates, if we knocked on the basement door, we could get a broken chocolate or two. Sometimes they would shoo us away, but not always, and it was good for a try.