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| The Ryther Home in 1935 (Seattle Archives) |
Hello. You are looking at what used to be the Ryther Child Center, also known as the Ryther Home, here on 4416 Stone Way. Now the home is located in Lake City at 2400 NE 95th. It was run by a woman named Olive Ryther for over 50 years. She died in 1935. She was a caring, motherly woman who took many orphans into her home. Although the building is not here, this location is significant because many people were cared for and were helped in this home. The Ryther Child Center was a home for children with special needs.
Mr. Anthony had the opportunity to come into contact with a few of the Ryther home occupants in his own junior high school, Hamilton, during the 1940s.
[TRACK 2: AL ANTHONY]
Mr. Ramsey, also a student in the 1940s expressed a different view of the center.
[TRACK 3: DAVID RAMSEY]
Some say the Ryther Home was built in the fall of 1919, while other sources say it was built in the spring of 1920. The confusion probably stems from the fact that Mother Ryther was not good at keeping records of the center. Mr. Ramsey says that he has memories of the home being there when he moved to Wallingford.
[TRACK ?: DAVID RAMSEY]
We were wondering how other kids in the community treated the Ryther children, especially their peers.
[TRACK 13: RAMSEY]
Now that you know how they were treated by their peers, I bet you’re curious about how they were treated by their parents before they came to the Ryther Home, and what kinds of family situations they were involved in.
[TRACK ?: ANTHONY]
This reminds me of a story written in Life magazine about a boy named Butch who grew up in the home. In the 1940s, Butch, who was a young boy has a story similar to most kids who came to the Ryther Home. He came from a broken family and after trying out different orphanages and foster homes that couldn’t control his wild spirit, he came to the Ryther Child Center. There, for the first time, he felt loved which finally transformed him into a polite young individual. Although there was some mystery and confusion behind the history of the Ryther Home, this is not the big idea. The most important thing is that these innocent children have finally found a home and a place to call their own.