Morty Comix # 2687

Morty Comix # 2687 was left in a real estate brochure distribution box at a gas station/minimart in McCleary, Washington.

By a strange coincidence, it wasn't until I posted this that I saw the mention of Windermere Real Estate in Centralia, Washington. Their HQ is in the house where my great-great grandfather's ghost still lurks, where my grandparents were married, where my mother was born. So many stories connected with that place. These kind of things happen when you are a 5th generation Washingtonian.

Frank Reeves

Pressed into lower right is the name of the photographer. Hard to read, but I'd guess it says: B. McArdle, Centralia, Wash.

Walter Francis "Frank" Reeves photo probably taken between 1910-1916. Those who remember him told me that at this point in his life, Frank was cranky and plain spoken, yet would cry at weddings. He was my great-great grandfather.

The old Union Army veteran lived with the family of his daughter, Jennie Hoss. He died suddenly at the breakfast table, Dec. 11, 1916. The former family home in Centralia served as a bed and breakfast under a few owners for a time and is now the local headquarters down there for Windermere Real Estate. It has been reported over the years that Frank, along with a child, are still hanging around the building in the form of ghosts.

Postcard - Centralia, Washington

"Centralia, Washington, and Mt. Rainier. Centralia, founded in 1852 by a freed Negro slave by the name of George Washington, is in the middle of Lewis County, serving as the hub of the Evergreen Country."

Looks like this dates back to the 1960s. On my Mom's side of the family I have ancestors who were living here dating back to the territorial era. In fact, the house where they lived, and where my Mom was born, is visible in the lower center portion of the card. Today the building is the local headquarters for Windermere Real Estate.

Phone photo 1911

The Windermere Real Estate headquarters in Centralia, Washington

In the early 20th century this was the home of my great-grandparents, Theodore and Jennie Hoss. My Mother was born in this place. Supposedly, the ghost of my great-great grandfather, Walter Francis "Frank" Reeves, a crusty Wolverine Civil War vet, and later a civilian Custer scout (according to family lore) who came to Washington before statehood, died at the breakfast table in this house in 1916 and is still hanging around as a ghost there. Frank saw some horrible stuff in the Civil War, being at Cold Harbor and The Wilderness. He was also at Appomattox. I'm told he considered U.S. Grant, quote, "A drunken butcher."

I am so grateful to Windermere for preserving this structure. They did a beautiful and impressive job. This home was, I'm told, designed by the same architect who created Hoquiam's Castle.