Celebrating a life of standing one's ground

Edith Macefield, 1921-2008: Ballard woman held her ground as change closed in around her

Kathy Mulady,
Seattle P-I

"Edith Macefield died at home, just the way she wanted. ...

"The Ballard woman who captured hearts and admirers around the world when she stubbornly turned down $1 million to sell her home to make way for a commercial development died Sunday of pancreatic cancer. She was 86.

" 'I don't want to move. I don't need the money. Money doesn't mean anything,' she told the Seattle P-I in October.

"She continued living in the little old house in the 1400 block of Northwest 46th Street even after concrete walls rose around her, coming within a few feet of her kitchen window. Cranes towered over her roof. Macefield turned up the television or her favorite opera music a little louder and stayed put.

" 'I went through World War II, the noise doesn't bother me,' she said in October. 'They'll get it done someday.' ..."

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