The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1915-10-26
5Y FRED L. BoAlT

~ FRED l.. BoAlT
The MacDongall southwick Co
IS celebrating It's 10th anniversary
this week II Is the oldest retail
concern In Seattle.
am the proud owner OF small
parcel OF land on the outskirts Of
the city When tho MacDougRl+
Southwick Co was baby. my
land-which. OF course. WASH (
mine then-was In the bowling viii
derness.
Now hardy real estaters and ad-
venturous commuters have pcne.
trated as far into the hinterland as
my land. and even little farther
That land OF mine cost mo q lot
OF money. Twohundred and fifty
dollars. 10 be exact And q pile %
worry pawned a watch ! didn't
actually need % make the first pay.
meut After that vent on short
rations
Anything Possible Here
Now It's paid for Sometimes.
when I'm liyerlsh. and start the
day badly by getting out on the
wrong side OF the bed. am In
clined TO take pesslmistic view
OF my Investment This Is especial
w true when am asked to pay
taxes.
hut today there Il no room IN
my heart for pessimism. The sun
Is shining My liver Is functloning
nicely And ! have before me a
photograph showing the first Mac
Dougall .Southwtck store.
When look az that old. yellow
photograph. I laugh aloud Any
thing Is possible In this mans town.
That land out In the suburbs Will
make me rich some day,
"out In Country" Now
"Out tn the country = Now Il II.
admit. But how about 10 years
/ from now or even tive7
Wasn't Second and Pike "out In
tho country oncer
The picture have before me
shows a tvo-story frame structure
with one Of those false fronts
which are characteristic or frontier
towns. a sign protrudes over the
rough board sidewalk. on which IL
lettered san Francisco store
On the walk I'm front Of the store
stand men in the habilaments % a
bygone fashion and juvenile
dummy" and mangrown
dummy"
Calico Heaped In Door
cannot say much for the artist
who displayed the goods In the
windows Of the San Francisco
store. Rolls OF cloth. shirts. blank.
cts. suspenders. spools Of thread
and knick.knRcks are piled In any
old how. Calico Is heaped in the
doorway.
Very rough and primitive Is tho
San Francisco store. very ram
shackle aid dilapidated But from
II grew tho great store which now
stands "out IN the country" at Sec
ond and Pike.
Large oaks from little acorns
grow.
Lsro. streams from little fountains
flow"
The reason why am optimistic
about my suburban lot II that the
San Francisco store 80 years ago
stood on First ave s.. between
Washington and Main II was then
IN the heart OF the retail district
History OF the store
The village became a town, the
town a city The tide OF popula-
ton flowed northward With Il
Travelled the heart And always In
the heart was MacDougallSouth
wick. growing bigger all the time
TokIas 4 SIngerman owned the
store In the early days. They
moved to roomier quarters across
First ave. I'm what was then the
squlres opera house. about 1882. II
was then that j. r. MacDougall
Joined the nrm as a salesman
Stlll larger quarters were need
cd. and the second move was TO
First ave. S. and Washington. In
1885. Again In 1883 the stock was
moved TO First and Columbia. Now
/ II was a department store In a
small way. The number OF en-
I ployeB was increased
The stock was enlarged Some
folks said Toklas & Singerman
we're out Of their senses TO move
80 FAR uptown
The big fire left nothing NJ the