If You Grew Up Near Renton Washington, Maybe You'd Remember This!

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Vintage Sears photo courtesy of Anne Garber's Pinterest page.
I grew up in the Seattle area - moving around a bit, but staying within the general area.  One of the things my family liked to do, was visit Newberry's and Sears in Renton, WA. 




I have VERY fond memories of the candy counter at Sears - where a kid with a quarter could buy a little bag of candies...yum!



Newberry's Soda Fountain
Photo courtesy of The Daily Journal.com



Newberrys had a soda fountain (cafe) which was my mother's favorite place to get a hot dog - because they made buns out of folded, toasted bread. 




But my very favorite thing to do - was to play
on the cement turtles outside.  There were little turtles and big turtles.  You could step from turtle to turtle and climb the big ones.  They were there for years, after newberry's left..and even after Sears left.  Then they disappeared.
BUT guess who I found on the grounds of the Renton Highland's Library??  YUP! One of the original turtles!!

Tommy the Turtle - outside of the Renton Highlands Public Library
Apparently someone made a bunch of these (dubbed Tommy the Turtle) and sold them to a mall developer who put them in various malls across America in the 1960's.  

Personally, I LOVE those turtles... and I would happily have them all in my yard if I could!!  Thank you to whomever was the artist who created them!!  You brought a lot of fun to my young life, and happy memories now!

Comments

  1. Mike GMay 28, 2017 at 5:20 AM

    The turtles were designed by Milton Hebald (1917-2015) and produced by the Play Sculptures division of Creative Playthings. We know of about 60 still standing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rebecca WachtmanMay 28, 2017 at 5:50 PM

    I didn't realize there were that many still around. I LOVE them - such good memories from my childhood!! Thanks for the information Mike G!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brian BackmanJuly 13, 2018 at 8:44 AM

    Wow! I grew up in Renton, and I remember climbing on that turtle. I seem to remember that there were other very smooth stone animals too --possibly a seal?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 1, 2018 at 2:45 PM


      I remember the”seal” thing? Anyone know where it ended up?

      Delete
  4. AmyOctober 28, 2019 at 10:03 PM

    I've been looking for a picture of this turtle for years. Thank you! I work just a few blocks from that library so I'm heading over there tomorrow. Hope it's still there!

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownJanuary 19, 2020 at 1:33 PM

    it was a dolphin, not a seal :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownOctober 19, 2020 at 2:33 PM

    My Aunt worked at the soda fountain, I was a little kid in the 60s. My mother and I would visit her and of course that meant ice cream, Happy Days and great memories.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousNovember 25, 2020 at 9:52 PM

    Does anyone remember a little café outside of the horse racetrack called the White house? I used to go there after school with my brother to watch the jockeys eat a ton of food then throw it up. When your 11-12 years old that was fascinating stuff. I hear the track was torn down. but I wanted to locate pictures of the café.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ReneMarch 3, 2023 at 1:26 PM

    I grew up just a couple of blocks west of the Renton Center in Earlington and remember when it was built. My Mom worked at Sears for several years in ladies fashions. I miss that shopping center and really liked Sears and Newberry's. We spent a lot of time there as kids.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousAugust 13, 2023 at 7:04 PM

    Diana
    I grew up in Skyway, I remember walking down what was then Empire Way, with my brother & sister, I loved going to Sears & Newberrys, also a children’s shoe store, we’d walk in the little kids door, the stone animals were always fun to play on, another thing was going to Sears to watch the 4th of July fireworks show….thanks for the memories

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2024 at 7:49 PM

    So neat to see these comments. My aunt was the secretary to the owner of the Renton Shopping Center when I was a kid. It was a Mr. Edwards who owned it. My aunt & uncle had no kids. My mom was a single mother & someone at the shopping center gave my aunt her daughter's outgrown clothing a couple times, which I just LOVED. The most beautiful hand-me-downs. Loved the candy counter too. Malt balls & bridge mix still a favorite now that I'm an ole Baby Boomer. Aunt long gone, Alzheimers.

    ReplyDelete

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