Page W Portland Observer, September 15,1962
Aaron M itchefl and
Son Plum bing
* Experienced P lu m b er
* Licensed and Bonded
Established in business for 25 years
Have lived in the Portland Area for 40 years
W E S T A N D B E H IN D A LL J O B S
B-4040
1703 N .E. A lb e rta ,
¿Ralpífe ^ÌnU^fnooò flo rist
^ lo b e ra
^ r o m ^ i o H j ji D o o b
I n YAW S R esta u r a n t
2005 N.E. 40th
P o rtla n d , OR 97212
249-1888
W e D eliver
A n y w h e re
Intrigue
by Nathaniel Scott
her loneliness, she became very active
W hen she arrived in Portland, she
in the Daughter o f Scotia Lodge W hite
Southeast M orrison and 13 th A ve
Heather Lodge — “ an organization
was shocked over V i’s life s ty le .. .her
lack o f wealth. But the bond o f friend
nue, to some, m ay just be the junction
o f tw o avenues — points to be passed
while en route to some other destina
tion — but to those w ho patronize the
for ladies o f English and Scottish de
ship that had begun at the turn o f the
scent — those born in England and
Scotland.”
Then in 1936, V i met her silent m ov
century turned bewilderment and con
fusion into acceptance, and subse
C afe Society or notice it while passing
ie idol, whose name she can’ t remem
by, M o rriso n and 13th Avenue South
ber, and after a w hirlw ind romance,
they got married at C ity H a ll in dow n
east are, in a sense, avenues o f unique-
I ndia- lan r
town Portland. A fte r the ceremony,
they went to the Rex A rm s Pharm acy,
Mackenzie and Violet " V i ” Badgeriy,
which in later years became the Cafe
both 82 years old, reside at the C afe
Society. Except fo r when d r y take an
Society, and m arital bliss turned into
Two
charming
ladies,
occasional outing to the Lloyd Center
to browse and shop, or when they go
to Reno to play Keno or 21, they can
be seen sitting at their favorite table
chit-chatting and whiling the time
away.
N o t being the type w ho take kindly
to reporters, they were reluctant to
speak and fo r the sake o f this interview
they chose Lydia W elden as their
spokeswoman.
India-Jane and V i were b om in
■Maryport, England in the year 1900.
M aryp ort is a seaport tow n near the
Scottish border and they were child
hood
friends as well as
next-door
horror.
quently the Burleighs had tw o flesty
old ladies as patrons and dwellers.
Being independent ladies, they en
tertain patrons o f the cafe and keep an
eye on the plants in exchange fo r room
and board. A n d as an extra added a t
traction, fro m tim e to tune, they dress
in their old English style clothing and
suitors,
where they always get in an uproar
over the current fashion fo r young
ladies — minis, spät skirts and tight
in the window o f the C afe Society,
jeans and such — they take o f f for
Lydia W elden, fro m tim e to tim e, can
bergasted to say the least, and while
smothering a cough in his handker
chief, he pleaded the need to m ake a
phone call. Bolting hastily, he disap
peared — never to be seen by V i again.
T he marriage had lasted all o f three
hours.
takes care o f social activities. She al
dressed. I wonder i f they talk about
ways manages to corral a fellow or
two.
India-Jane M ackenzie and Violet
“ V i” Badgeriy are personified dolls.
that too?
they
visit
Reno,
India-Jane weighs about ten pounds
void. A n d that’s exactly what she did,
ing the reign o f King George V , were
including forgetting to notify the veter
made by Lydia W elden.
Their
Their faces, which bare a striking re
dered bride o f M ister w hat’s-his-name.
name.
W ith the w idow ’s pension secure, V i
o f the imagination o f L yd ia W elden.
lasting friendship with the Burleighs,
brother and sister Frederic and Sylvia,
owners o f the C afe Society, and they
took her in. Lydia adds that “ being the
kind-hearted and generous people they
married her and took his new bride to
all o f the popular places o f the day
on the streets (a ‘street person') and
they took her in .” The Burleighs
and, in addition, taught her proper
decor — including the art o f dressing
that was so essential to her new status
opened the C afe Society in 1979.
A n d that’s how V i became a patron
and resident o f the C afe Society.
A fte r settling in, V i read an artid e
in a newspaper about M aryp o rt,
she was 17 and he was in his 70s, lasted
England,
until M r . Badgeriy died in 1926, well
11,600, and she began to think about
her childhood friend. She wondered
into his 80s.
A young w idow with no business
eight.
semblance to real people, are figments
are, they couldn’t see little old V i out
The marriage, which began whet
approxim ately
Charles’ widow, but only the bewil
Being rich and kindly, M r. Badgeriy
in life.
Vi
wardrobes, complete fro m sun dresses
ans department that she was no longer
managed until 1979 when inflation
forced her to consider other avenues.
Fortunately for V i, she had acquired a
population
approximately
how the years had treated her next-
Lydia, 36, says, “ I ’ve been telling
stories all o f m y life. M y brother and
sister were eight and ten ye an older
things sort o f became m y props.”
Bom in O regon C ity and raised in
Canby, she graduated fro m
N o rth
western Business College and has been
employed at the Oregon Health
Sciences University fo r the past eight
handles a lot o f the records o f the chil
dren
at
the center
w ho
are being
treated for bladder infactions, as well
as those w ho have bladder and kidney
malfunctions. “ I feel real close to the
children,”
she says, adding that “ I
can’t remember when I first picked up
a needle and thread and sewed a piece
o f d o th , but it does s o o th e .. . . ”
out to trace her. She wrote to the old
address that had marked her frien d ’s
birthplace in 1900 and — low and
A student o f music (piano), Lydia
also studies dance (ballet and tap), and
(cooking) she finds time fo r com m un
She bought a house, sparsely fu r
behold — she was still there. But th at’s
her story, the story o f India-Jane.
nished it, and like m any Americans,
India-Jane had married when she
a lot o f volunteer w ork at Saint Paul
survived the depression. It was during
the depression that she met and m ar
was 18. The marriage bore tw o chil
dren, a boy and a girl. A n d she, the
and Peters Episcopal Church on
Southeast 82nd and Pine where stories
ity service w ork. She says she has done
same as V i, was now a w idow. H er
by little old ladies encourage h a to
for convenience’s sake, one Charles
Brown.
husband had died o f a heart attack in
1970.
continue the age-old art o f storytelling.
love with
V i,
In the intervening years, she had ac
proved to be a good husband and the
marriage lasted until the m id ’40s.
D rafted into the Seabees during W orld
complished something she was very
W a r I I , Charles was killed on the is
land o f C orridor in 1944. H e was one
o f the many unfortunate casualties o f
a bombing raid.
proud o f. She had rubbed shoulders
with royalty.
H er father had been gameskeeper
for George V , King o f England, from
1910 until 1938, and in 1917, at age 17,
she had been presented to the Royal
Finding herself widowed again, with
only a small government w id o w ’s pen
Court in South H am p ton .
sion, V i once again sold out, packed
bag and baggage, moved to Portland
and V i, whatever her reason, weaved
tales o f richness and refinery, to say
and settled into the Rex A rm s A p a rt
nothing about the young people who
ments. The year was 1946.
were constantly seeking her advioe
about theatrical careen. A n d after
W ith very little money and practical
ly no friends, V i began to realize what
India-Jane heard how good life had
been for her friend Vi in A m erica, she
O ne o f the kinds o f people w ho keep
come a boarding house, and moved to
Am erica — bag and baggage
the world going.” A n d to overcome
just about anything/
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Lydia is also into m aking “ vintage”
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Naturally she told Vi about that,
a good person Charles had been.
“ Steady. Honest. N o t flam boyant.
A n ts , roaches, ellverflsh, m oles, gop hers, rats, m ice —
when not pursuing her other hobby
ried fo r the second time, more or less
in
M o n -F rj: 9-6 Sat 9-2 pm
yean as a medical secretary.
Through her secretarial w ork, Lydia
door neighbor India-Jane and she set
Charles, avidly
it KEMI-KIL PRODUCTS ★
2030 N. Willis Blvd. (in Kenton)
than me, so when I was growing up, I
1930 and, using w hat money would be
gathered from the sale o f the house
Am erica and settled in L im a, O hio.
how to use it.
was alone quite a bit and m y dolls and
acumen, Vi found herself penniless in
and household goods, she came to
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Eliminate your pest problems like the pros
FFe can tell you what to use and
They are almost fo u r feet tall and
London to try her luck on the stage.
with her that he virtually proposed to
1300 SE M orriso n , and their creator.
be seen at the cafe too. A fte r all, the
festive old ladies must be groomed and
W henever
and beach attire to gowns, including
the one India-Jane wore to court dur
her on the spot.
Violet
Reno.
thought it would serve all parties best i f
tears, V i was accosted by "Stagedoor
Johnny” Badgeriy, w ho was so taken
and
India-Jane manages the money and V i
she considered the marriage null and
em barkation on the other.
W hile leaving the theatre in blinding
M ackenzie
had to unburden herself o f that aw ful
In 1916, when they were 16-year-
olds, V i’s father died and she went to
she lost the jo b . “ C R 1917,” which V i
India-Jane
be. M ister w hat’s-his-name was flab
neighbors.
refuses to speak about, proved to be
her undoing on the one hand and an
n » ' Sky A t N ig h t,” says one patron o f
the C a fe Society, “ is a thing o f beau
ty ”
nomical
mings, and now that the catch had
been reeled in, so to speak, she just
Call: 286-6252
the big and tittle dipper hand-worked
into the fabric. Its name, " T h e Sum-
glamorous mansion with all the trim
servants,
For D o -it-y o u rs e lf
H o m e o w n e rs
including throw pillows. A ll o f the pil
lows have designs, such as one that has
“ V i” Badgeriy can be seen day and
night. They sit chit-chatting at a table
and
on her right thigh which showed
through her tights — “ C R 1917” —
L yd ia’s sewing covers a wide range:
tea cozies, vintage dresses w ith access
ories, shirts, all o f India-Jane’s and
V i’s clothing, and many o t h a things
had spun a great tale about her astro
wealth:
Professional Pest
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good at all times, not in current fash
ion, but to look g o o d ,” she says.
throw lavish parties fo r whomever
wanders in , or by. Then, after the
drudgery o f shopping at Lloyd Center,
It seems that during the courtship V i
V i recovered fro m that, or rolled
with the punch i f you will; in fact, she
A year later, she was dancing in the
Follies. But because o f a tattoo she had
clothing. C urrent trends discourage
h a . “ I t ’s im portant to me to look
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