Basement work continues. Focus on the remaining corner of the basement that hasn’t been swept. There are two “furniture” pieces in this area, an older shelving unit and a workbench. The workbench is really just a place to pile tools and associated stuff, especially after the flood, because it was high and dry.
Today’s work included the shelving unit and as an added bonus, the shelf over the basement sink.
I took everything off of those shelves, cleaned the dust and cobwebs away, and found a temporary holding spot for the moved items.
A few things got designated to the giveaway garage. Including a trophy for, “Top Camper Award” for a week-long baseball camp. Rey, the recipient, would have been 12.
And no, Rey doesn’t want us to send this to him.
Another set of artifacts that have been scattered around the basement are yardsticks. I found 4 different ones.
The Stancato School of Accordian intrigued me, cue a rabbit hole. Googling ensued.
“The Stancato School of Music, founded by Joe Stancato and rooted in Seattle before expanding.”
One bit of related information I was able to find from HistoryLink.org is about Lorraine McConnell, who was “discovered” in 1931 in Seattle by Zona Lillian McDonnell, as an 8-year-old busker.
From the HistoryLink.org article:
Lorraine McConnell would go on to graduate from Queen Anne High School and the Carolyn Leonetti modeling school, and also studied drama at the University of Washington, where she appeared in plays at the campus Showboat Theater. As a skilled accordionist, she was hired by Joe Stancato to serve as the National Supervisor of Training for his Stancato School of Accordion at 7405 Greenwood Avenue, and then traveled as its West Coast representative. In time she would meet and marry Dave Ballard, a grandson of Seattle pioneer Captain William Rankin Ballard (1847–1929). Dave Ballard was the classical music director at Los Angeles’ KGFS radio, while Lorraine worked as a jazz dancer and scat singer. Both were actors at the Pasadena Playhouse, and got bit parts in Hollywood movies.
There is a bookstore now at 7405 Greenwood Avenue, in theGreenwood neighborhood. The building may be the same, it’s only 2 stories tall, so not recently built – it would be taller.
Note that the Greenwood neighborhood is north of Ballard, named for the Seattle pioneer, mentioned in the article above.
All for today. Tomorrow’s goal is to clear the workbench. A bigger task than the shelves, if I get into the tools themselves.
Raincharm's Weblog 
January 28, 2026 at 9:53 am |
I love those yardsticks but like so much, I wouldn’t know what to do with them. I don’t like getting rid of cool stuff.
January 28, 2026 at 1:43 pm |
At least the yardsticks are relatively small. Long, but not wide. I’m definitely keeping them.
I’m really hoping that neighbors will see the coolness factor and that they just don’t fit in our house/life anymore.