Discover Walla Walla

When I say Walla Walla Sweets, I am not referring to baseball or onions. I am talking candy. Residents and visitors certainly appreciate Bright's on Main Street and many remember fondly the many years Russell's Candy was in business. But there is a "ghost sign" on an elegant brick building at 108 South Third that marks Walla Walla Candy Co., an important business in our town's candy history. The sign is faint, but one can make out "Manufacturers and Jobbers." The candy made in this factory was sold wholesale -- all over town and beyond. This company existed for years with various owners and different names, but maintained the tradition of supplying the sweet stuff to young and old.

An 1889 ad says that the Walla Walla Candy Company (then on Main Street) are "Manufacturers of the Finest French and American Candies and Confectionery. Tropical and domestic Fruits and Nuts. Arctic Soda, Ice Cream and Oysters in their Season." Oysters? Yes, oyster sales often went hand in hand with candy, and many places that you could buy candy sold tobacco too. The vocation of candy maker could be a prestigious one. The Walla Walla Candy Company brought Earl Remington Davenport and his family all the way from Seattle in 1927 to be "head confectioner" and manage their company. By this time the company was owned by two gentlemen whose names Bybee and Burton merged into Burbee, and the Burbee Candy Company became famous not only for their chocolates, but also, for their Bingo Bar. (I'd love to know what a Bingo Bar consisted of).

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There is a fond place in the hearts of many Walla Walla folks for the Bee Hive Building on the corner of First and Main. Built of dark red brick and featuring tall, gracefully curved upstairs windows, it now houses several businesses. It's really the Sayer building, named for the man who built it in 1890, but everybody calls it "The Bee Hive" because they remember the department store that was there for so many years. "You could buy anything you wanted at The Bee Hive," June told me. June's 88, but younger people, too, have vivid memories of what they bought there as late as the 70's. "Blue Bell Jeans," says Ron. Tina (too young to have any Bee Hive experiences herself) says her grandma went there every Christmas to buy still another Mr. Potato Head for Tina's father. "Oh, yes, the toys," says Diane, "all displayed upstairs at Christmas time on huge tables, and downstairs, way at the back, you sat on little metal tools to try on shoes."

That's what people told me about the Bee Hive Department Store, but when I shared my findings that the building was for many years also a lodging house, most were surprised. The 1892 city directory tells me that at first several separate businesses operated from the Sayer Building: Mr. Lynch, Steamfitter, Mrs. Howells of the Elite Dressmaking Parlor, and Regal Shoes with Mr. Schumaker (I am not making that up) in charge. Kind of an early mini-mall. The directory also says that Mrs. Howells and Mr. Schumaker had their "res" in the building as well as their businesses. I had trouble imagining Mrs. Howells setting up a cot amongst her dressmaker forms and sewing machines. And how could one have as many as seven men and women living in one building without "facilities" and privacy and some kind of communal space for Alonzo Robbins, "horsebreaker," and John Clary, "marker" at the Walla Walla Laundry, to have a friendly chat at the end of the day?

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Photograph of Henrietta Baker Courtesy of Ft. Walla Walla Museum

If you were to be invited into the parlor of Henrietta Baker's house, you might not be able to stand upright--that is if you were older than ten or eleven. When Henrietta's parents, Henry and Clara, built the playhouse for Henrietta in 1905, she was 11 years old and an only child. A Victorian-style home in miniature, Henrietta's house was situated beside the Baker family home at 428 Crescent Street. The playhouse was fashioned with horizontal siding below and scallops under the sharp peaks of the roof. Inside all was gracious and elegant. It was furnished with child-sized furniture, the walls were papered with colorful spidery flowers, filmy curtains were hung at the windows, and small-scale oriental rugs were laid on the floors. And there were dolls. Lots and lots of dolls. The black and white photo featured here (used with permission from Fort Walla Walla Museum) shows Henrietta and many of her doll friends standing on her house's front porch, probably soon after the house was completed.

The Baker name is a familiar one in Walla Walla. Henrietta's grandfather, Dorsey Syng Baker, was a pioneer doctor and railroad builder. He organized the company that built a line from Walla Walla to Wallula and he was a prominent local business man.

Now her lovely little playhouse stands at Fort Walla Walla Museum and is one of many fascinating buildings in their Pioneer Village. I visited the museum when I first moved to town a few years ago and was intrigued by its small-scale design and charming furnishings. Buildings are of course more than structures; they are manifestations of the people who built them or inhabited them. I wondered what the story was with this very cherished and privileged little girl.

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No one who knew Isabella Kirkman would ever think of her as having potential to "haunt." Isabella and William Kirkman were, as most locals know, the hardworking wealthy citizens who built the Kirkman House on the corner of Colville and Cherry. Their elegant home was finished by 1880 and the Kirkmans lived there until the 1920s when Isabella gave it to Whitman College. It was a dorm for a few years and then an apartment for many more, and was pretty much a disaster when rescued in the 1970s--just before it was about to be demolished--by a group of history-conscious citizens.

The restored home is a now a charming museum furnished with Kirkman belongings and those of their era. William died in 1893 and was so admired that mourners filled the front yard and spilled into the streets. Isabella lived until 1931, a supportive wife, a loving mother and grandmother.  The Kirkmans did have their share of family heartaches. Isabella gave birth to 10 children but only four of them lived to grow up. Photos of Isabella show a round-faced rosy looking woman who was content with her lot in life. Like I said, not a scary lady. And yet, there are frequently "occurrences" at Kirkman House--noises, voices, footsteps--and some hold Isabella responsible.

I asked around, questioning Kirkman House Museum staff and board members. I was intrigued by the idea of Kirkman "ghosts." Yes, some folks had heard "things" in the house, but the "voices" one person heard turned out to be just the whine of the paper shredder. Another noted the sensor going off at the front door when no one was around, but it was just the wind leaking in and setting off the motion detector. Those are the spooky happenings that can be explained, but there are occurrences that have no easy explanation.

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I can't walk by the elegant mauve and gray Baumeister Building without rapping one of its columns with my knuckles. Each rap is answered by a gratifying metallic clunk because this building is a "Mesker" and that means it's faced by a "galvanized storefront system."  All its lovely ornamentation that looks carved and handmade is actually pressed sheet metal, a combination of galvanized steel and cast-iron. A small plaque affixed to the column identifies it as such. "Mesker Bros, Front Builders" it says. The manufacture of metal fronts for buildings began in the eastern U. S. in the 1840s and by mid-century there were foundries throughout the United Sates. The builders of the Baumeister Building  ordered its sheet metal facade from the Mesker Brothers Ironworks of St Louis. A builder chose a front from a catalog, had it shipped by railroad, and--voila--he had a ready-made, durable and attractive front ready to affix to the structure.

Also fabricated in metal, over the second story windows, is stamped big and bold that Max Baumeister built this structure and he did it in 1889. When it was first built the address in the city directory was listed as  "between 2nd and 3rd" but now we find it by going to 27 West Main. Max Baumeister was a real estate and insurance agent in partnership with Harry Reynolds. You might expect that Mr. Baumeister would set up his own office in his handsome new building, but  he worked from 8 E. Main and later he occupied space in the impressive Die Brucke building, which he also built.

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Photo courtesy Brian Gaines Photography

It brings me a few goose bumps, when sitting in my car at the stop light heading north on the corner of First and Main, thinking that just a few weeks ago I was standing in the middle of the same street under a large tent with chandeliers above me. And even better I was holding a glass of Walla Walla wine and noshing on a crepe. Okay, so that wasn't a dream. It was a feast - - a big party in a tent!

It was the second annual Feast Walla Walla located in the beautiful and historical downtown Walla Walla. Inside the large tent, bringing tourists and locals together, there was an assortment of talented winemakers, chefs and artists showing their best and allowing us a taste or two - - or three... Proceeds from this fabulous event went the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation to continue their work.

This is the kind of event that makes me happy. It adds to my faith that the survival of downtown Walla Walla will continue to flourish.

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Many moons ago back in high school, I remember reading about the Great Depression and the increased demand for luxury items such as alcohol, tobacco, cosmetics and silk hosiery. These items had little decline in sales and at times sales were even greater during those difficult years of American history in 1929 to 1933. Having that knowledge, during our recent development of the American economy, it made me reflect back to the Depression era. With the chance of history repeating itself, it gave me hope that wine sales will not take a nose dive. But, we may have to re-think how we purchase wine.

After daily chores and long work days filled with stress, we need to have a bit of self-indulgence and a reminder of why we work so hard. If you are a lover of fine wine, and especially wines produced in the Walla Walla Valley, there are affordable treasures to be found featuring great value without sacrificing quality. To name a few local labels, look to the wines of Balboa, Boomtown, Couvillion, Helix, Lowden Hills, Mannina, Walla Walla Village Winery and Waterbrook for wines priced $25 and under. Also, check out the table blends that several Walla Walla wineries are offering. Satisfying and well-constructed unique red blends for under $20.

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When Annie and I first moved to Walla Walla, our daughter Jolie was a senior at Whitman College here in town. She worked part-time as a teacher’s assistant in a local kindergarten classroom and invited me to visit her class one September day. I arrived in time for lunch, which was served at 10:30am if I remember correctly.

Joel was my guide to all things kindergarten. He had a lot to say, but went quiet as we made our way through the cafeteria line, approaching the lady serving the hamburgers. She wore clear plastic gloves and an institutional-green hairnet and asked whether we wanted onions on our burgers. That’s when Joel held up his hand to stop me from answering. He said he’d handle it.

He turned back to the lady and asked, “Are they Walla Walla Sweets?” ’Cause we only eats Walla Walla Sweets.”

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