When Enumclaw’s new high school was erected on Porter Street at the site of the former Pioneer Cemetery, several changes were set in motion. The year was 1921 and the new, three-story brick building was needed to supplement a similar brick structure, just two blocks away, called J.J. Smith Grammar and High School. The town’s population was growing and so were the surrounding farming areas whose schools began closing and merging into Enumclaw’s. After a Junior High wing was added to the Porter Street building in 1928, the student population nearly doubled. By 1940, the combined junior high and high school, with teachers and administrators numbered 734.
With a large number of hungry students just one block away, Louie Anderson saw an opportunity so built a confectionery at the northwest corner of Porter Street and Wilson Avenue. Anderson’s Confectionery sold pop, ice cream, candy, confections, groceries, and even picnic supplies. He advertised his business as “the biggest little store in Enumclaw,” and was open from 7:30 am to 10 pm, seven days a week.
Louie Anderson built this 200-square-foot building in 1938, giving up his job as a mill worker for the White River Lumber Company to become a merchant. Together with his wife, Edna, and four children, Dorothy, Darold, Edna, and Lou, the family lived across the street from their store. Being open 14.5 hours per day, seven days a week, provided plenty of employment opportunities at the store.
About 1947, Anderson sold his lot to Earl and Karlotte Lofthus who built a much larger store where they operated a business for nearly 25 years. Next week, more about the Lofthus store on this same lot where Anderson’s Confectionery stood for nearly a decade. Jim Puttman, a lifelong resident of Enumclaw who frequented Anderson’s during his junior high and high school years, provided background information for this column. Anderson was also a member of the Enumclaw City Council from 1943-46 and again from 1949-53. He served as acting Mayor in 1946.
This King County Assessor photo of tax parcel #570650-0025 (now 3004 Porter St.) is dated August 17, 1939, and comes courtesy of the Puget Sound Regional Archives located on the campus of Bellevue College in Eastgate. Photo enhancements to remove Assessor notes and improve the image quality were undertaken by Doug “Boomer” Burnham, a Tahoma High School photography teacher. He also operates a private business, Boomers Photography which specializes in senior photos, sports pictures, team posters, and family portraits, at www.BoomersPhotography.com
