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    The Old Stuff

    The Stubborn One

    I would have loved to have met this woman! What a striking photo...


    'The epitome of vintage Ballard' dies

    By KOMO Staff & News Services

    SEATTLE -- An 86-year-old Seattle woman who refused to sell her little house in the Ballard neighborhood to developers has died.

    The King County medical examiner's office says Edith Macefield died Sunday of pancreatic cancer. She died at home.

    A wind chime hangs in the archway and kitten figurines sit on the windowsill of Macefield's small home. The two-story, two-bedroom house has stood for more than 100 years and she had lived there since 1966. It was assessed at $8,000 with the lot valued at $120,000.

    Although developers reportedly offered her as much as $1 million, she said she didn't want to move and didn't need the money."

    I think it's just representative of good ol' Edith," said Joel Niemeyer, who lives nearby.

    Everyone knew about "ol' Edith" who refused to back down even when big business stopped playing nice. The developers built a grocery store, fitness center and parking garage around her home, surrounding it with five story-high cement walls.

    But in the middle of the battle, Ballard's soldier in the fight against change died Sunday, leaving many to wonder what will happen to her historic home now.

    "She was just sort of the epitome of vintage Ballard. That's what Edith was," said Niemeyer.

    Friends and strangers have dropped off flowers, taken pictures of her home and even cried for ol' Edith, concerned her century-old home won't be here another 100 years.

    The developers had no comment on the future of the home. Macefield said her only child died when he was 13.


    Song Title: The Stubborn One by Trace Adkins

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