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Topic: Betty's U-District Home is Threatened!

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Last Reply: Sep 20, 2012 9:59 PM
Joined: May, 2009
May 18, 2009, 8:13 PM
The house that Betty and her family lived in during the time of "Anybody Can Do Anything" is still standing and in pretty good shape, but a builder is threatening to level this house and much of the surrounding neighborhood for an unpopular development. We need to pitch in to help save Betty's old home. It would be a great museum or visitor's center!
Joined: Feb, 2005
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
May 18, 2009, 9:43 PM
It is a shame that this building is being left in such a state of disrepair. I agree, it would be a great Betty MacDonald museum.
Joined: May, 2009
May 20, 2009, 7:47 PM
If you want to read about this house and neighborhood (as well as the other place the Bards lived) check out the link.
Joined: Feb, 2005
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
May 22, 2009, 10:56 AM
Hi Beacon Hill Betty fan,

thanks for the link. If you are in the Seattle area and close to the University District maybe you could take a couple of pictures of the house as it stands today and share them with our readers.

john
Joined: May, 2009
May 27, 2009, 6:13 AM
Hi John,

The house is hard to photograph: The trees around it have grown up and cover a lot of the lower front part, and there is a large bus shelter in front of it, but I'll see what I can do.
Joined: Dec, 2007
Location: Pacific Northwest
Sep 20, 2012, 2:32 PM
I just posted a new topic and can't find it anywhere now, but this is related, so I'll type it again and stick it in here. I just found an article on line by Knute Berger, suggesting that one of the two new Washington state ferries be named for Betty. I would love to see this happen. At the end of the article are some comments, both pro and con, about naming one of the ferries Betty MacDonald. Among the comments is one by someone who says Betty's U-District house has been torn down. The comment was posted in August. If it's truly gone, I'm so glad I got to see the house in March of 2012. Here's a link if you want to vote for the ferry naming; there's an email link in the text of the article for sending in your name request: The deadline is September 26th.
Joined: Dec, 2007
Sep 20, 2012, 5:01 PM
Here is a link re: Betty's house
Joined: Dec, 2007
Location: Pacific Northwest
Sep 20, 2012, 9:59 PM
Pat, thank you so much for posting this. It was bittersweet. Paula Becker did a fine job. She's a wonderful writer. Betty would have been pleased.
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