I lost my beloved Elsbeth on July 2.
She was a remarkable and loving woman. She was not only a wonderful wife and mother but also of tremendous assistance in the family business.

This is a very difficult period for me but life must go on.

Here's some thoughts I've been having about Burien's possible annexation of White Center:

I don't think Seattle ever wanted to annex White Center but was playing a poker game with Burien. King County officials tried for years to get Seattle or Burien to annex the territory from Roxbury Street, Seattle's city limits.

It was no secret. County officials led by the Executive Ron Sims felt it was a servicing cost that it wanted to push on to Burien or Seattle. Seattle is still playing games pretending like it wants to annex out to the Burien city limits.

Can Burien offer advantages to the citizens of the territory? It would mean being responsible for fire stations, police, roads and parks and playfields and permitting for businesses. Water and sewer service would remain under existing control.

What advantage is it to Burien? Does size make it better for the average citizen? Show me.

I started out in White Center in 1950, just as several chain grocery stores looked for expansion. It had Safeway but most popular was the Ranch Market on 16th S.W.

In four years it gained five chain groceries: A and P, Tradewell, Prairie Market, Marketime and Albertsons.

White Center also had two men's shops, three women's shoes stores, three new car dealers, three hardware stores, paint stores, a shoe repair, 10 restaurants, seven taverns, six real estate offices, three drug stores, one theater, six attorneys and three dentists.

Our paper provided the ideas and the manpower to build extravagant floats (winning one grand Seafair sweepstakes award in 1958, a governor's trophy and one other.) We built the floats in our office driveway three years in a row.

Our local Highline girl won Seafair queen one year.

I don't know what annexing White Center would do for Burien or for White Center. We lived in White Center in three different houses as the kids grew. They went to White Center schools-Evergreen, Sealth, Hazel Valley and Beverly Park.

We built three different offices and printing plants and eventually moved into a huge plant in Tukwila.

I still love White Center. But I am not sure Burien can do much for it. It has good streets, fire engines, city water, a great playfield and baseball park with tennis courts, two fine swimming pools and some wonderful elementary schools.

It could do with fewer taverns. But hey, they once again have a fine roller rink.