As a flower, dahlias are fancy, brilliant, and burst with color typically from mid-summer to the first hard frost. As a result, many gardeners love to cultivate this gorgeous flower. This photo of Mrs. Gene Haney showing off her dahlias appeared as an advertisement in the Aug, 18, 1949 edition of the Enumclaw Courier-Herald. The ad copy read: “You can have big dahlias like this in your yard.” Mrs. Haney operated under the business name, Dahlia Dell. The Haney’s residence was located on Route 3, Box 60, just off Hwy. 410 about 600 feet south of the former Wishbone Inn.
Mrs. Haney was born Sada Violet Allen in Oklahoma in 1895. Following the death or her first husband, she married Clarence Haney in Klamath Falls in 1928. The couple moved to Enumclaw in the 1940s. Clarence worked as a janitor in a restaurant while Sada’s occupation was listed as raising and selling flower bulbs. Sada Violet Haney died in Enumclaw on May 17, 1992 at age 97.
The Wishbone Inn was a popular nightclub and tavern located on the corner of 244th Ave. S.E. and S.E. 440th Street just west of current Enumclaw city limits. The Wishbone was in later years owned operated by Anton and Sofie Susanj both Croatian immigrants. Helge Forss was the Wishbone’s proprietor in the early years. This photo # EPL0014-372a was taken Aug. 8, 1949 and comes courtesy of Schlotfeldt-Pioneer Special Collection / Courier-Herald. Research into the life of Sada Haney was provided by Donna Brathovde, a Ravensdale historian.
