Im jamie colby, and today, im in seattle, headed toward the ballard neighborhood. Its an upscale area once known for sawmills and commercial fishing, and just down the road is one mans strange inheritance and a story with a hollywood ending. My names barry martin. I inherited a tiny, hundredyearold house from a little old lady. If there ever was a realestate niche, this is one. Hi, barry. Im jamie. Hi, jamie. Nice to meet you. I meet barry in front of this little house. Yep, this is it his strange inheritance. Its just 600 square feet, and its now surrounded by a huge Shopping Mall a mall that the unlikely heir in this story helped build. Who leaves this to somebody . Well, edith left it to me. Edith . Yep. Love to learn more. Okay. Come on. Barry explains that when this house was built over a hundred years ago, ballard, washington, was the shinglemill capital of the world, with 20 mills producing 3 million shingles a day. There was fishing on elliot bay there, and the shinglemill industry, all along shilshole avenue here. Cass ocallaghan from the Ballard Historical Society tells me more. Did the neighborhood really change over the years . In about the late 30s, early 40s, the commercial district moved north and businesses moved out. Nobody wanted to be here anymore. With the exception, that is, of Edith Macefield and her retired single mother, alice wilson. Ediths early life is a bit mysterious. We know she was born in august 1921, and that her parents divorced shortly thereafter. During her 20s, edith disappears to england, she says, where she seems to have gotten married once or thrice. But, again, its hard to tell fact from fiction. [ camera shutter clicks ] by the 1950s, shes back in ballard, single, and working as a store manager for spic n span dry cleaners. Edith buys this house for her mother and the two name it whitewood cottage. Edith is able to pay off the 3,700 mortgage in just a few years. In her off hours, she babysits for nextdoor neighbor gayle holland. Hi, gayle. You know why im here to hear about edith. Ive got a lot to tell you. Come on in. Our street was very quiet and edith would play games with us. So she was older, but she loved to hang out with children . Oh, yes. Everybody liked edith. She would play her saxophone or her trumpet outside. We would sit and listen to her, and shed let us blow on her instruments. What a character they ask her about her past, and, oh, the stories she tells. I know she had a son who died of meningitis. Edith shares only a few sketchy details that the boy was born out of wedlock, that his father was jewish, that james macefield, a much older englishman, married her to help save the boy from the nazis. Its all very complicated. You see, edith was spying on hitler for britain at the time. Is it all true . Who knows . Gayle just loves hanging out with her eccentric neighbor, until her family, like so many others, abandons the area. So, you left and edith stayed. Yes. It was the early 60s when we moved away. In 1976, ediths mother, alice, passes away on the couch in the front room. Not long after, edith retires and spends her days watching greta garbo videos and listening to big bands on vinyl. More and more, whitewood cottage stands apart her oasis amid urban blight. By the 90s, homeless living in parked cars provide an edgy backdrop for the grungerock scene. But all the while, developers are slowly gobbling up ediths neighborhood, says realestate broker paul thomas. Each time a parcel came up on the market, theyd just quietly acquire it and let it sit in an llc, and they assembled the whole entire block, except for her house. Its in early 2006 when edith gets the knock at her door. Its a representative of kg investment management, which wants to put up a Shopping Mall. The developer makes a proposal they think the 84yearold cant refuse 750,000 what do you think the house was worth . 150,000. [ chuckles ] it wasnt worth very much. Edith could buy five whitewood cottages. Even so, she does refuse the offer. And the bulldozers roll around her. I have a picture when they tore everything down in the whole block and it was just her house in the middle of the block. Reporters catch wind of the story and turn edith into a local folk hero a steadfast champion against yuppification, standing up for seattles old neighborhoods, defying the encroaching chain boutiques, food courts, and those 6 lattes. Thats how they portray edith. And thats exactly who barry martin expects when he becomes construction manager of the mall. How did you meet edith . I always go visit the neighbors and give them my card so that if they have any problems, they know who to get ahold of, and i walked past her yard and introduced myself. She was actually very pleasant and said she was looking forward to the activity. Turns out, edith wasnt watching garbo flicks because she vanted to be alone. That becomes clear with ediths beautyshop appointment. She needs a ride, so she calls barry. Not exactly what he was thinking when he dropped off his card, but what the heck . He drives her. They get to talking. A lot of people thought that she was against development, and that wasnt the case at all. It was more she just didnt want to go through the exercise of having to move. Indeed, edith actually makes fun of the antidevelopment types, who, among other things, are trying to get landmark status for the local dennys. Ediths view things get built, things get torn down. Thats the way of the world. It wouldnt be their last car talk. Soon, barrys coworkers call him driving miss daisy. Could you rattle off for me some of the errands you were asked to do for her . I would take her laundry out to be done. We would go get her lunch. I would take her to all of her doctors appointments. She didnt pay you. No. She just needed it. Youre not a saint. Nope. But his wife and two highschoolage children surely have the patience of job, when barry spends more and more time at ediths. I made her meals three times a day, seven days a week. On the weekends, basically, id stay there, and if not, then i had made sure that somebody else was there. Barry isnt there one night when edith falls and lands in the hospital with broken ribs and a platoon of social workers insisting she should no longer live alone. Then tagteaming executives from the Development Company show up again with a deed ready to sign and another big fat check. They offered her 1 million and actually offered to buy a house for her in ballard and she refused that, also. 1 million for a little old granny and a new house in her neighborhood, and she says no. Yes. What would you have done . I would have probably taken the money and had somebody fanning me with big feathers and feeding me figs. The 84yearold seen here turned down 1 million payout. It just adds to the Edith Macefield legend a story that cant help but go national. Whats infuriating barry is that he believes hes cast as one of the black hats, trying to manipulate old edith into selling out. The truth, he says, is just the opposite. I promised her that, um, i wouldnt let them take her away and that she could stay there and die in her house. Thats a really big promise. It is. And it became a lot bigger deal than, you know, i had originally anticipated. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question where was americas first indoor Shopping Mall built . The answer in a moment. Whatd we decide on the flyers again . Uh, fifteen minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. I think were gonna swap over to over seventyfive years of savings and service. What, were just gonna swap over . Yep. Pump the breaks on this, swap it over to that. Pump the breaks, and, uh, swap over . Thats right. Instead of all this that ive already . Yeah. What are we gonna do with these . Keep it at your desk, and save it for next time. Geico. Over 75 years of savings and service. Its b minnesota. The Southdale Center in edina, the countrys first fullyenclosed, climatecontrolled mall, opened in 1956. In 2008, 86yearold Edith Macefield and her whitewood cottage stand in the way of a Shopping Mall. Barry martins job is to build that mall. But hes also made it his lifes work to keep edith in her home. Barry didnt even know edith two years before. Now he just doesnt know what to make of her. She had a lot of stories to tell and she never really finished a story. But, boy, the way she drops names, youd think shes forrest gump. Like hitler she met him several times, ended up in a concentration camp, and was sprung by the fuhrer himself. Benny goodman her cousin, she claimed he gave her her clarinet. Tommy dorsey, the band leader once, when he was short on cash, she bought his sax. Mickey rooney she taught him dance steps. And so on. Barry has one thought ediths a wack job. I was thinking crazy old lady for a while. But in the winter of 2007, ediths health suddenly declines. Just as suddenly, the construction manager finds himself doing things he really never signed up for helping edith shower, use the bathroom, take her medicine, including insulin shots. A big question occurs to barry what happens when the mall is done and he moves to another job . What happens if edith lives to 100 . That wont happen. In april 2008, edith is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She declines treatment and, knowing shell soon need someone else to make her decisions, gives barry her power of attorney. Its a big responsibility. Did you really want it . I didnt really want it, and i didnt really understand exactly what all it meant. Uhoh. Yeah, uhoh. I said, do you understand the power youre giving me . And she said, why do you think i chose you . Did you know all along that you were going to get that house . No. I didnt know until after she asked me to become her power of attorney. Then she said that she wanted to redo her will at that same time. Barrys a bit sheepish, knowing many suspect him of angling for the house from the beginning. But thats her wish like her desire to die on the same couch as her mother three decades earlier. And on june 15, 2008, death does come as a friend to whitewood cottage. I promised her that i wouldnt let them take her away and that she could stay there and die in her house. Does it make you emotional . It does. Why . Um. Because i got to help her end her life the way she wanted to. The little house in the big mall is now barrys. But soon hell discover that, thanks to a hollywood blockbuster, Edith Macefield fans will claim it as their own. There were people out on the sidewalk taking pictures and leaving little notes and putting up balloons with messages on them. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. Youve met barry martin, the construction manager in this story. The answer after the break. vo the flock blindly falls into formation. Flying south for the winter. They never stray from their predetermined path. But this season, a more thrilling journey is calling. Defy the laws of human nature. At the season of audi sales event. Step up, please. Empty your pockets. Looks like youre all set for that business trip. Youve got your smartphone, laptop, your other smartphone. Woman is this all the devices you have . Your tablet. Seriously . Smartwatch, your backup tablet, and. Woman anything else in your bag . Whatever that is. beeping this isnt working. Introducing Samsung Mobile workspace solutions. With the galaxy note10 with dex software, you can run your entire business on the one device that does it all. Samsung business solutions. On the one device that does it all. As a doctor, i agree with cdc guidance. I recommend topical pain relievers first. Like salonpas patch large. Its powerful, fdaapproved to relieve moderate pain, yet nonaddictive and gentle on the body. Salonpas. Its good medicine. Hisamitsu. Its a, John Ratzenberger. Just a coincidence hes a dead ringer for barry martin, the heir in this strange inheritance story. Its spring 2009, and barry martin is trying to figure out what to do with his strange inheritance a house he helped build a mall around. The owner, Edith Macefield, had died the year before, and barry assumes memories of her will fade, too. But then disney comes acalling. Its ready to release an animated feature called up. Its about a crotchety old man who, just like edith, refuses to sell his house to a developer. Disney wants to use ediths house to promote the film. They wanted to put balloons on the house for their premiere here in seattle, so they came out and put balloons on the house and took a picture and thats how it became the up house. Did you think it was a good idea . I thought it was rather funny, myself, and then after i saw the movie, theres actually some photographs that look very similar to the picture in the movie. Soon, ediths cottage and that of character Carl Fredricksen are associated as one. There were people out on the sidewalk taking pictures and leaving little notes and putting up balloons with messages on them. And inspirational, it sounds like. Very. Inspirational to different people for different reasons. Kids loved it because they thought it was really the house from the movie. Youd see grownups crying on the sidewalk. She stuck to her guns, you know, even though she could have made a ton of money. This woman was kind of the last holdout. She wanted to keep her home, and thats huge. Its amazing. I cant believe that she held out. But by the time the movie up comes out, the nation is in a downer the great recession. And barrys real life is anything but a storybook fantasy. That was right about when we had our downturn. I was out of work. So, barry decides its time to sell ediths house. She once turned down 1 million for the place, but the window on that offer closed long ago. Did she tell you she would be okay with you selling it . Oh, yeah, and she told me to hold out until i got my price. What did you sell it for . I sold it for 310,000. [ Cash Register dings ] what did you do with the money, may i ask . Paid for my kids to go to school. I invested the money and got money back monthly, and it made my house payment. Thats not nothing. Plus, barry says the new owners planned in the spirit of up to raise ediths house 20 feet off the ground and make a public tribute to her below. But they run out of money, and the house falls into foreclosure. What was your role in all this . I was hired by the bank to sell the house for them. The bank includes a provision in the face of pressure from local Community Groups who want an homage to their folk hero. One of the terms of the sale was that each person was required to memorialize edith in some way. 38 offers come in, but its the 39th that wins at 450,000. [ Cash Register dings ] the buyer . The same folks who offered edith 1 million years before kg investments, now the manager of the Shopping Mall. They plan to knock the house down, eventually. So, ultimately, ediths house went to the organization that wanted to buy it all along. Well, its kind of neat in a way because she got what she wished for and the Shopping Center ended up being able to buy the property at a lot lower price than they originally had offered. Will they do anything to remember edith . The ownership has committed that theyll put up a brass plaque that memorializes edith. It will be just one more way the Ballard Community pays tribute to its folk hero. Theres also an annual Edith Macefield music festival. You can even get a tattoo of ediths house with the legend underneath steadfast. For the heir in this strange inheritance episode, thats further proof edith was misunderstood. Maybe even, hed discover, by himself. You must have learned an awful lot about edith once you started to go through her things. I learned a lot more than she had let me know. Thats next. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website strangeinheritance. Com. Its been reported that theres a cyberattack on business every 39 seconds. Ouch. I dont even want to think about it. Comcast business has a solution. We go beyond fast with a cloudbased Security System that automatically updates, so you always have the latest protection. Phishing. Malware. Risky sites. It can help block all of that. Its one less thing for us to worry about. Comcast business securityedge automatically protects all the devices on your network. Call 18005016000 today. But you dont feel good. 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Well, evidence that she was benny goodmans cousin this album, inscribed your cousin, benny goodman. And quite personal notes from alist actors clark gable, katharine hepburn, spencer tracy, and errol flynn. Theres charlie chaplin. Theres tommy and jimmy dorsey. Okay, okay nothing about meeting hitler or being a spy. Still, it dawns on barry that the most valuable thing edith bequeathed to him could be her story now his. I had an agent contact me about writing a book, and she actually talked me into doing it. You ever write a book before . No, never written a book before, and she got me a ghostwriter, and we did it that way. Whats the story . The story is basically about edith and myself and our little adventure and then the lessons that i learned. Under one roof gets barry a 75,000 advance from the publisher. And thats not all. Actually in the process of making a deal with fox searchlight. Did you ever think youd be making a book and a movie about all this . No. I just about fall down on the floor laughing because its hysterical to me. I think it could work. Im picturing a driving miss daisy type of guy meets a female forrest gump and they go on a reallife up adventure. And definitely got to give John Ratzenberger the lead. Theres a scene in the movie up that sounds exactly like one edith might have had with barry. Carl fredricksen, the man whose house the realestate Company Wants to buy, says to the construction foreman, tell your boss he can have my house. Really . Asks the foreman. Yeah, when im dead, growls carl and slams the door. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. Thanks so much for watching, and remember you cant take it with you. Shes raised in daddys junkyard. You would play here . This was the best playground any girl could ever ask for. That he fights city hall to save. John was absolutely the hell, no, i wont go center of the resistance. A oneman wrecking crew in more ways than one. Id wished him dead so many times cause i was so angry with him, but i never wanted that for john, never. I honestly still have a scar on my knee from sinking to the ground so quickly. He leaves her a mess. Can she make it her dream . The wedding was here on the junkyard. Excuse me . [ laughs ] [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]