[arista]

Edith's home became a symbol of resistance






[When Barry Martin took on the role
of construction supervisor of a
huge Seattle shopping complex,
he never imagined that he would
end up caring for Edith Mcefield,
a stubborn 84-year-old who had
refused $1 million from the developer
to move house. Here he describes
their unlikely friendship]

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/...#ixzz2soyI5YPV

[Josy]

Nice story.

She should have took the money to make the last few years of her life more comfortable though IMO, memories are with you forever not just in bricks and mortar.

Also why is this published now if she died in 2008?

[lostalex]

Old people are terrified of change.

Moving is a pain in the ass though. I think about moving sometimes, and then I think about everything that entails, and then I stop thinking about moving.

[Kizzy]

Imagine the dirt and the noise of them constructing that so close to her home.
I admire her spirit but the last few years of her life must have been hell putting up with this.

[lostalex]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Imagine the dirt and the noise of them constructing that so close to her home.
I admire her spirit but the last few years of her life must have been hell putting up with this.

she probably found it exciting. so many old people just die alone in a room without anything going on around them, everyone treating them like they are already dead. at least she had something going on around her. I don't want to be sheltered and treated with cotton wool when i'm that age. I would be much more depressed being treated with kid gloves, and having nothing exciting going on around me.

[Marc]

Now build on her grave

[Z]

That was nice to read

[lostalex]

we're all going to be rotting in the ground eventually. deal with it.

[Kizzy]

One pic doesn't say 'unlikely friendship' to me she could have been threatening to stab him for being outside her house?

[Jake.]

Aw i would have taken it though

[lostalex]

look at that hunch back, posture is important.

[user104658]

I would absolutely love to live in that house now!! It's practically art. Genuinely beautiful.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Josy

Nice story.

She should have took the money to make the last few years of her life more comfortable though IMO, memories are with you forever not just in bricks and mortar.

Also why is this published now if she died in 2008?

Having just moved house - and only 6 miles from my old house - and to a nicer house in a MUCH nicer area. Down the road from a £10,000 a year private school in contrast to down the road from a playpark full of broken bottles, empty cans and sectarian graffiti... so a GOOD move away from somewhere that we hated... I can honestly say it's been horrendously stressful, I've been near breaking point 4 or 5 times. If I was in my 80's it would probably have killed me. I can fully understand her not wanting to uproot at that age - she might have been perfectly comfortable with the money and life that she had, and if so, then staying put would certainly be much more comfortable than having $1million in the bank. It's not like she'd have been jetting off to the Maldives or buying a sports car. What use is that sort of money at 84?

[Tom4784]

That was a lovely story, she seemed like quite the character.

[Josy]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Having just moved house - and only 6 miles from my old house - and to a nicer house in a MUCH nicer area. Down the road from a £10,000 a year private school in contrast to down the road from a playpark full of broken bottles, empty cans and sectarian graffiti... so a GOOD move away from somewhere that we hated... I can honestly say it's been horrendously stressful, I've been near breaking point 4 or 5 times. If I was in my 80's it would probably have killed me. I can fully understand her not wanting to uproot at that age - she might have been perfectly comfortable with the money and life that she had, and if so, then staying put would certainly be much more comfortable than having $1million in the bank. It's not like she'd have been jetting off to the Maldives or buying a sports car. What use is that sort of money at 84?

Having moved home myself 4 times I know it can be stressful but if they were offering her 1mil and to build an exact replica of her old house then I'm sure they would have been willing to do all the diffcult work that moving involves too, infact I would say she probably caused herself even more stress with all the noise, working, dirt and dust that went on round about her not to mention the worrying.