Told by the Pioneers - Washington Secretary of State

Told by the Pioneers
The beautiful little park between Main and Washington, Sixth and
Seventh Streets was called the"Public Square", and was just a bare
block with a fence around it with turnstiles at each corner. When a
circus came to town, the Public Square did duty as circus grounds.
When the young men played Townball, the game which later developed
into the national game of Baseball, they played in the Public
Square. On Fourth of .Tuly, when the little girls were so excited because
we could ride in the'Liberty Car' with white dresses, red sashes
and blue crowns, the exercises for the day were held in the Public
Square, so it was well named.
I remember that some of the men wore shawls with fringe around
them. My father wore one and Mr. Huntington and. Mr. Giddings wore
them, maybe others, but I remember only these three.
The first dancing teacher I remember was Professor White and he
played the violin for the parties for a long time. :Miss Mary O'Neil
was the real pioneer school teacher for younger children. She had a
private school for years in a room in the Odd Fellows Building on
Washington Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets.
When I was fifteen years old, in 1881, we moved to Seattle and remained
there two years, when we went to Fort Steilacoom, where my
brother, Sam Woodruff, had a position as accountant. The Superintendent
and Accountant were the only officials there at that time and
the buildings of the old Fort were used. During our residence there,
six years altogether, the first unit of the present buildings was erected.
While we were there, the .,Annie 'Wright Seminary" was built in Tacoma
and I attended there for the first year. When my mother went
to make arrangements for my going, the principal, Mrs. Wells, said,
"Mrs. Burr, your daughter will have the honor of being our first
boarder," and I always have been proud of this fact. Now they have
a beautiful new building and lovely grounds, and the" old girls" are
always welcome there. '1'wo years ago the school celebrated the
"Golden .Tubilee" and we had a wonderful pageant, etc. We wore
costumes of the period when we attended, and there were five of us
who went the first year, present.
I was married Sept. 19, 1892, in Olympia to Mr. Thomas Frederick
Basse, by Rev. Lemuel H. Wells of Tacoma. He was Chaplain at the
seminary when I attended, and our marriage was the last act he performed
before he was made Bishop of Eastern Washington.
~lr. Basse and I resided in Seattle for 41 years and returned to
Olympia in 1933. He was struck by an automobile and instantly killed
December 5, 1935, on the Pacific Highway. .
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