Ya gotta love Seattle’s Edith Macefield!

Friday night I was lucky enough to catch the story of 86-year-old stick-to-her-guns Edith Macefield during a Steve Hartman segment on the CBS Evening news, and what a character (what we got to see/hear of her) she is! This gutsy lady has steadfastly refused to sell the tiny Ballard (neighborhood of Seattle) home she has lived in for over fifty years, despite a lucrative deal from area developers, and is now surrounded by intense construction which will ultimately result in her home being enveloped by five-story high office buildings. For those who have seen the movie Stuart Little, the small Little home, sandwiched between enormous buildings, is to me the fictional version of Edith and her real life abode. Talk about your David and Goliath!

I certainly hope that when I have lived as many years as Ms. Macefield has, I will have at least a fraction of the tenaciousness and gumption that she has exhibited. Perhaps it’s that independent spirit Pacific Northwesterners are known for, and something I hope is in my genes since I was born in Seattle. Regardless of what it is, or how one gets it, I think we all could use a healthy dose of the fortitude Edith Macefield possesses. Kudos to you, Ms. Macefield–you go girl!

• Here’s the Steve Hartman CBS News segment The Woman Who Wouldn’t Sell with text and accompanying video
• Two articles about Edith’s situation by Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times
  • Big offer for tiny home leaves woman unmoved
  • Edith’s admirers speak up
• More detailed account of Edith Macefield by Kathy Mulady of The Seattle P-I
  • Old Ballard’s new hero digs in as retail project envelops her home

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