Backlit in My Spring Hat
Yesterday morning, a blintz and coffee at the Full Circle Cafe with my writer friend Ruth. At noon, a burger at the Shelburne Pub with Steve and Denise of the Pacific County Historical Society. We talked about writing projects and the vagaries of history — my idea of the perfect way to while away the time. The sun was shining. I wore my new spring hat and life was good.
At the bottom of the pub menu, I noticed that it says The Shelburne Inn is the oldest operating hotel and inn in Washington State… and I pointed that out to the table-at-large. We thought about it…
“What about Dayton? Or LaConner? Don’t they have old hotels?”
“Or what about the Tokeland Hotel? It’s pretty old.”
“Maybe,” I said, “it’s one of those ‘oldest continuously operating’ deals. Like the Oysterville Post Office is the oldest continuously operating post office under the same name in the State. Those qualifiers make all the difference.”
“But I think it was closed in the fifties,” someone said.
My curiosity was peaked. The possibility of recidivist history is always challenging. So later in the day I looked up the Shelburne’s website and found that the hotel has operated continuously since 1896. There it was! That word ‘continuously!’
On the other hand, the Tokeland Hotel’s website says In 1889 the Kindreds expanded their farmhouse and opened the Kindred Inn. Okay. Earlier date. But no ‘continuously’ and the name was different in the beginning.
So… what’s the truth? And, at the end of the day, it probably doesn’t much matter to anyone but me. As long as the food is good and beds comfortable, feeling that they are staying at the “oldest” may give some satisfaction to visitors. Now if only they could say Washington slept here… Or maybe Lewis and Clark…
One of my fondest memories is of going to the Shelburne for dinner in the 1960s. Actually, it was my introduction to tapioca pudding for which I’ve had a fondness ever since. I went on a date with my Seaview boyfriend. In those days you had to make a reservation for a “seating.” The dinner guest (and probably hotel guests, too) gathered in the lobby. Christopher and I got there early enough for me to wander around and soak in the museum atmosphere. It was like stepping back in time. Then the sisters emerged from the dinning room and ushered everyone in and seated us at tables with white table clothes and nice china. What was for dinner was what you got to eat. You know, I don’t remember anything beyond the tapioca, but I kind of think the entre was salmon. The entire thing was enchanting and although I was only about 15 I felt very grown up and all the adults were very nice to us. I never go into the Shelburne but what I think about that evening so very long ago.