Charles Beffa Oral History

The following is a small excerpt from a BHS oral history of Charles Beffa. We think you will enjoy her memories and we thank her for sharing them with us.

WE KIDS PLAYED BASEBALL A LOT. There was a big open lot south of Sheehan’s, above Yeager’s house. We had a scrub baseball game there every night. There’d be as much as fifty kids there. We never played football, probably didn’t even know what that was. The rest of the time we stayed home, didn’t go out. We played games. We had crystal set radios. I built a couple of crystal sets. We’d go to town maybe once a month to buy all the parts we needed at Kress’ or Woolworth’s. And we’d come home, make a set and listen with headphones. I was branching out into a big league, and built a one-tube radio. On that set I listened to the news of Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic. I just laid in my bed up in the attic and listened to that news broadcast. We got our first television set about 1950.

I HAD A GIRLFRIEND NAMED MARGARET KNOFF who lived at the west end of 152nd just before you turn down on Maplewild. It was toward the water from Elliott Higgins’ house. Her father owned a printing business in Seattle. He bought a fancy Atwater-Kent radio, a thing that I marveled at just to look at it. He also bought bananas a stalk at a time. I used to talk Margaret into playing her radio and eating bananas.

THERE WAS A GROCERY STORE at 152nd and 21st SW. It was at the end of the street car line, just before the steep hill. I think the post office was later.

WE USED TO WALK TO SUNNYDALE with a bag full of apples and a bag full of popcorn to see a movie. We didn’t have any bus ride to school. We lived on 6th and 153rd. We walked to Lake Burien School every day, no busses. Margaret, who lived down at Three Tree Point, got a ride to school with her dad (up the hill) and then walked down the hill to go home.

THE BURIEN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WAS BUILT IN ABOUT 1928. Margaret’s father acted as general contractor, head carpenter, lead man. Her brother was the one youth that did the second amount of work on the church, and then I did the third amount. So when it was done and we were told what swell guys built the church, I was mentioned as the third. It took probably a couple of years to build. I remember when it came time to plaster the church they didn’t have any money to do it. So we conned Mr. Gertrua, who was a professional plasterer, and he did the work for free, I believe. The church just paid for the materials.

INCIDENTALLY, the ground that is now covered by the church used to be the scrub brush where many a fight developed. If anybody was mad at anybody we’d go through the woods there and catch up with whoever you were mad at, have your fight and then go home. And probably got licked when you got home because you got in a fight...