This file contains recollections of the West Seattle Ferry by West Seattle residents Carroll Mage and George Shephard. They recall the days before the West Seattle Bridge existed -- when the quickest way to get to downtown Seattle was by ferry. They are taken from oral history interviews conducted in 1999 by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Carroll Mage was interviewed by Lois Watkins and George Shephard was interviewed by JonLee Joseph.
Ferry Catching Recalled by Carroll Mage
"My mother belonged to the Seattle Theosophical Society and attended their meetings regularly. I can remember that she would have to go down California Avenue to Atlantic Street, down Atlantic to California and run down California Avenue to catch the ferry.
"She knew how to dress, in beautiful clothes. But I can remember at the last minute, she'd get all four of us kids, 'I gotta have my gloves. I gotta have my gloves.' And all four of us would look for her gloves. She had to wear her gloves or at least carry them. And then she would trot off in a dead run in her high-heeled shoes down California Way to catch the ferry."
Ferry Catching Recalled by Lawrence Pierce
"When I first came out here, there was a story that Lawrence Coleman came out of his house waving his hand to get the ferry to wait for him. Having owned the Coleman Dock, he could do that. Yes, I can see him now, coming down the incline, running, running as fast as a man of 70 years of age could. To get the ferry to wait for him."
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