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Tillie
Hausler is the woman standing in the doorway with her
daughter Louise standing at her left. If you look close
you can see half a lamb hanging on the door casing at
Dillies right. Like the sign across the front of the store
indicates it was also a meat market. The small rectangular
sign under the "Market" on the big sign says: "Prudent
People Purchase Pearline." Under that sign is another,
smaller sign promoting "99" brand coffee.
On the left end
of the wooden porch are four crocks, all a different
size. They could be filled with bulk foods for sale
but are more likely for sale empty for the customer
food storage needs at home. On the porch, under the
window, are open wooden boxes, tilted on edge, displaying
potatoes, vegetables, fruit, grains and etc., a typical
display for grocery stores in the early days.
The Hauslers operated the store for three years and
were able to put some money aside with the plan of moving
into a larger building. When land developer C.D. Hillman
opened his Atlantic City Addition in 1905 they purchased
some land at Rose Street and moved into their new, two
story wooden building. They added a hardware store and
had an apartment for themselves on the second floor.
The name of their business was changed to "Atlantic
Market and Grocery" and they had added a delivery service.
If you look close in the photo below you can see there
are two delivery wagons, the one on the left had one
horse and next to it was a wagon pulled by two horses.
Business must have been good for them.
Two horse drawn delivery wagons are standing side by
side on the wood planked Rainier Avenue at Rose Street,
in front of the "Atlantic Market and Grocery." Mr. Hausler
is on the far right next to his wife Tillie. (95.27.17)
Hillman's
Atlantic City Addition does not, as most people assume
when they hear the name "Atlantic", have anything to
do with the Atlantic Street center on Rainier Avenue,
about four miles north. That area was more often referred
to as "Garlic Gulch", the Italian community, centered
around Mt. Virgin Church.
We
don't know why Hillman named his new development Atlantic
City. It was on land located on Lake Washington adjacent
to Pritchard Island extending south almost to Rainier
Beach Station and west to Rainier Avenue.
Hillman
always pulled out all the stops in advertising his land
developments and exaggerations were part of it. The
buyers were promised a park and of course it was to
be named Atlantic City Park. When all the lots were
sold he moved on to another area, with the same promise,
a park. Unfortunately no park showed up in either of
the developments. But that is a story for another day.
The
Hausler's new business was also located on the Southeast
corner of Rainier and Rose Street but in front of their
other building. "Tillie" was quoted in an article from
the January 8, 1922 Post Intelligencer written about
this second building of theirs. She was talking about
their years in this building and their future plans.
"Things weren't half bad and little by little the amount
in our savings bank grew until, while we didn't feel
rich, still we felt safe. Then we began to plan for
the new (brick) building and count on its construction.
It came to be a hobby with us, planning it."
And
build the building they did and like Hillman's Atlantic
Addition story it will have to wait until my next article.
Buzz Anderson
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