The Fish family, a cooperative working group, decided upon a hotel as a
business venture and the "Lake House" was purchased from a man by the name of
O'Connor. Bessie loved the Northwest right from the very start although the
new venture meant plenty of work for this young girl, her mother and her
sisters. The father was fast losing his eyesight, which meant increased work
upon the family, but they faced their task and handled it admirably. The
venture proved to be successful and their cash increase came rapidly. The ten
acres and the Lake House had been purchased at a price of $3,000 and in less
than three months, two acres of the land was sold for more than they paid for
the original ten acres.
Mrs. Erasius Kirtley, whose children and grandchildren still live in the old
Lake House on Lake Weshington Boulevard. She came to Houghton with her family
from Maine in 1887. Mrs. Kirtley is now 80.
Not An Easy Job
Managing and running a hotel in the old days was not easy, Bessie's mother was
up at 5 a.m. and worked straight through until 9 p.m.. There were chickens,
cows, pigs, and a garden to be taken care of in addition to running the hotel.
Raising their own .food was a part of their success story. Everyone loved to
eat at the Lake House. Mrs. Fish was famous for her delicious doughnuts and
the Lake House prices sound unbelievably attractive 50 cents for a room and 50
cents for meal. There were five rooms upstairs, each room having two beds and
many times when there was an overflow of customers, the neighbors would open
their Home to take care of the guests.
Captain Anderson, the man who started the Shipyard, was a profitable and
steady customer at the Lake House. He ran excursions across Lake Washington on
Sunday and also maintained a large picnic ground nearby, however, it was his
own personal pleasure to bring his friends to the hotel for some of Mrs.
Fish's delicious baked beans.
There was a mixture of Joy and sorrow in this pioneer family. Will Fish, who
married beautiful Susie Houghton, lost both his wife and child during the
first years of their marriage. Although he married again, the fame of
his first wife's beauty was to stay a reminder of her during the lifetime of
those who had known her.
Little Bessie Fish, in spite of her busy time at the hotel, did manage to
squeeze in a few parties and it was at one of these that she met her future
husband, Erastus Kirtley. Mr. Kirtley had an intense dislike for the name,
Erastus, and always referred to himself as E. Kirtley. Bessie Fish was married
at the age of 19 to Mr. E. Kirtley. Her husband was in various types of
business … logging, running a daily stage between North Bend and Houghton, and
finally, when Mrs. Fish wished to take life a little easier, he and Bessie
took over the management of the Lake House
Ladies Brought Horses
There were stables at the back of the hotel which housed not only the Kirtley
horses, but these of the ladies from Snoqualmie and Duvall who would ride in
on horse-back, their best clothes neatly packed in a pillow case. A room at
the Lake House would provide a place for "dolling up" and from there they
would board a boat for a two or three day stay in the big city of Seattle. At
that time the road ran very close to the house and you could almost board a
ferry from the front yard. . It was before Lake Washington was lowered.
As time went on Mr. and Mrs. E. Kirtley became the parents of Frank and Earl
Kirtley, and eventually grandparents to eight grandchildren. The Frank Kirtley
'family who occupy the old family home at this time is composed of Frank, Jr.,
Marlyn, Bob, and Wayne. The Earl Kirtley family are Donald, Jean, Janet, and
Donna. True to their ancestory, all of them are residents of the East Side.
Yes, the Kirtley home was a hotel, •'but it bears no resemblance to one unless
its spacious-
Gracious, dark-eyed Bessie Kirtley, who is now a mellow 80 years old, sits by
a large window and looks toward her beloved Madrona tree and over Lake
Washington. Close by is a handsomely carved marble-topped table, the first
piece of furniture purchased by her husband after their marriage, same having
been selected at an auction for a price of $5. It was from this same Lake
House that young Bessie watched the smoke trail upward from the destructive
Seattle fire of 1869, and it was within these same walls that the unfoldment
of a dream took place.. the establishing of a home on the Northwest Frontier
and the creation of a family to carry on a cherished dream.