Anna Clise and the Seattle Children's Hospital

L 88.40.01 - James and Anna Clise, with dog Toby, at Willowmoor.

Anna and James Clise had lost their son, Willis, to juvenile arthritis in 1898. At that time, there were no hospitals in the Seattle area to treat children. In her grief, Anna sought a way to ease the suffering of other mothers and children. After visiting Dr. John Musser at Philadelphia Orthopedic in 1906, Anna was moved to action. In 1907, she organized a group of 23 other wealthy Seattle women to establish a hospital of their own.

Anna was elected the first President of the Board of Trustees of Children’s Orthopedic Hospital Association. They started with a seven bed ward in Seattle General Hospital and had an all-female board. In their first year, the Association was approached by the Dorcas Society about a 14-year-old black girl with tuberculosis of the knee. When asked if they would help her, the Association pledged to accept any child, regardless of race, religion, or the parents’ ability to pay. That year the doctors of the ward treated 13 children and performed 7 operations.

The Clise’s owned the property that is today known as Marymoor Park, in Redmond. There they hosted many lavish parties to help fund this new hospital. Guests were met at the ferry dock with a four-horse tallyho and transported to the 350 acre estate. Anna’s daughter Ruth recalled, “Gaily colored Japanese lanterns holding lighted candles were strung between the trees in the garden and down to the river, where their reflections created a romantic setting. The large rooms of the house and the spacious verandas provided ample room for dancing, the music drifting out over the garden.”

As word spread about the work they were doing, the Association quickly outgrew the ward at Seattle General. In 1908, they opened the “Fresh Air Cottage” on Queen Anne Hill with 12 beds. In 1911, they built an even larger 50-bed hospital next door. The hospital remained there until 1953, when it moved to its current location in the Laurelhurst neighborhood.

By 1917, Anna had lost her eyesight to glaucoma and the couple decided to retire to their property in California. She maintained an interest in the Children’s hospital throughout her remaining years and her daughter and granddaughter served as trustees. Anna died of cancer in 1936.

Anna Clise was included in the Washington State Centennial Hall of Honor in 1989.

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To learn more about the Clise family and their Willowmoor estate, visit our latest online exhibit: Willowmoor.

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Resources

"The Washington State Centennial Hall of Honor." Columbia Magazine. 3.2 (Summer 1989): 36­39. http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/magazine/articles/1989/0289/0289­‐a2.aspx.

Woman's Place: a Guide to Seattle and King County History, by Mildred Tanner Andrews, Gemil Press, 1994, pp. 154–155.

Johnston, Helen, and Richard Johnston. Willowmoor: the Story of Marymoor Park. King County Historical Association, 1976.

Eastside Stories: Postal Women of the Eastside

Eastside Stories is our way of sharing Eastside history through the many events, people places and interesting bits of information that we collect at the Eastside Heritage Center. We hope you enjoy these stories and share them with friends and family.

Article from the Eastside Heritage Center

The month of March is Women’s History Month starting in 1986 when Congress adopted the holiday from several states who were already celebrating it. 1987 marked the first year with an official, nationally recognized month honoring women. Here on the Eastside of King County we have a history of remarkable women who rose to the occasion when their family and community needed them. One of the ways was ensuring that packages and correspondence made it to residents who were often far from friends and families as they started a new life. Without email or social media, letters were the only way to get news of the loved ones and keep up with business in other regions. This article discusses some of the women who helped keep the post going since the 1880s.

Isabella Bechtel was the widow of Isaac Bechtel who moved his family from Ontario, Canada after purchasing land in Bellevue. Isabella and her six children arrived in 1885. In 1886 Isaac became the postmaster for the growing town soon to be known as Bellevue, so that correspondence could reach the residents, and importantly, the school. At the time the post office did about $100.00 in business a year.

 On November 14, 1890 Isaac was caught in a logjam near Wildwood Park and killed. The next day Isabella declared that she would take over his duties as postmaster for the region. Isabella retired as postmaster only on a disputed date sometimes between 1891-1895 probably due to the financial hardship she faced after her husband’s death. In spite of having to leave the cabin where the Bechtel home and the first post office was located, Isabella landed on her feet, moving her family to a 40 acre tract of land she bought outright. Isabella Bechtel also is sometimes credited with naming Bellevue although the origins of the name is disputed. Because her post office needed an official designation when two postal inspectors visited, they titled the location based on the beautiful view from her house.  

After Isabella Bechtel stepped down as postmaster a man named William Ivey took over. Although he held the position for 23 years, under his guidance women were still a part of delivering the post. May Johnson, a Prussian immigrant carried mail from Houghton to Bellevue twice a week. Starting at the age of 41 she carried the mail for $50 a year. May traveled the almost 4 miles armed with a can of pepper to ward off animals.

Likewise, it is said that a woman ran the first post office in Northrup.  Ann Dunn named the location herself after a pioneering family and ran the post office out of her home. In addition to her post office Northup had a school, small store, and a railway stop.

 After these first post offices and basic routes on horseback women continued to make correspondence possible on the Eastside. In 1920 Regina Blackwood became the second woman to run the Bellevue Post office.  During World War One, Donald A. Wilson recalled having to moonlight at other jobs and being assisted by Mrs. Le Huquet for 6 weeks on his route from Newport Shores to Phantom lake and then Lake Sammamish.

Adelaide Belote also assisted him in the early years of the 1900s as he made the move from Seattle to the Eastside. She became in some ways locally famous for her long stint working in the post office all the way into the 40s and 50s. Adelaide Belote served as assistant postmaster for several generations continuing the long history of women in the postal service on King County’s Eastside.

Isabella Bechtel and her two daughters , Maude to her left and Jesse to her right, stand outside of the family home and the first post office in Bellevue.

May Johnson on her horse. The photo was taken near what is now the intersection of NE 8th and 100th NE.

United States Post Office employees on Nov. 9, 1956. Adelaide Belote sits in the front row four from the right in a collared dress.