~Father: Arthur Edmond Burgess 1876-1949
~Mother: Lydia Olga Kobi 1880-1954
~Spouse: Weston J Betts 1894-1973
*Stories were recorded by Lauree’s daughter Barbara Betts Englund
~~1900~~
On January 5, 1901, Arthur Edmond Burgess 25, married Miss Lydia Olga Kobi 21, in Ankeny, Iowa.
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Lauree Evelyn Burgess was born to Arthur and Lydia on February 22, 1902, in Ankeny, Iowa
She was the eldest of six children. Her sibling stories can be found on their father Arthur’s page.
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*When Lauree was little she could not walk and wore a leg brace. Her father was a carpenter and by 1907, he was looking for a better and more prosperous life for their growing family. They arrived in Tacoma by train on April 7, 1907. And in true Northwest fashion, it was raining. Lauree’s mother Lydia was homesick. He built the family a house on Thompson Avenue in South Tacoma.
-Side note, Lydia had a big family in Ankeny and was close to her sister Anna. I can see why she got homesick.
~~1910~~
A young picture of Lauree with her brothers Elden, Kenneth, and Merle along with their mother Lydia.
Great family photo of the Burgess family. Lauree is holding a doll.
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Snow day at the house on Thompson. Merle is in the wagon.
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Lauree first attended the Fern Hill School in Tacoma Washington.
Lauree is standing, the third girl on the left
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Young Lauree on the left with friends
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In 1914 her father moved the family to Weyerhauser, on Old Mountain Highway, 80 acres on a lake (The farm is now at the bottom of Alder Lake).
Lauree 16, with her sister Myra 6, and their friend Lyle in 1918.
Does anyone know who Lyle is? Look at how long Lauree’s hair is. Wow!
Lauree graduated from 8th Grade at Weyerhaeuser in 1918. It was a long list so I just posted the graduates from her school.
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Lauree, Kenny, and Eldon won prizes for their Weyerhaeuser School Exhibit entries.
~~1920~~
*Lauree attended Eatonville High School for one year. 1918-1919
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Lauree and an unknown friend playing in the water. Possibly at Alder or Tanwax Lakes
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I don’t think Lauree liked Eatonville High School. In the 1919 to 1921 school years, she boarded with Charles Davis and family in Tacoma and attended Lincoln High School. Maybe she liked living in the big city that was Tacoma.
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Now we know where Grandma Evie got her sewing skills. October 10, 1920. The Tacoma Daily Ledger. Lauree’s Eatonville High School textiles entries. *She made several doilies by “tatting” them. They were so delicate. I don’t know how she did it. I still have a couple of them. Lauree and Myra would sew a lot.
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*On the morning she was to get married, she left the Alder house and walked down the path to catch the bus at Soderberg’s store to Tacoma.
Soderberg’s General Merchandise Alder, Washington
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On August 13, 1921, she married Weston J Betts at the Tacoma Courthouse. *Her sister Myra (9 at the time) was watching through the window and thought to herself, “I wonder who is going to do the dishes now?”
*Uncle Noah, Little Grandma’s (Mary Ellen Horning Betts) brother said if he were younger he would have married Lauree as he thought she was so special.
This picture is a really great Betts and Burgess gathering along with a couple Hornings mixed in. Weston might have taken the picture since he’s not shown.
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Great pictures of Weston and Lauree in front of a gigantic tree that was cut down probably on its way to the Eatonville Lumber Yard. Part of me wonders if this is that special tree that is part of the display at Northwest Trek? I’m going to have to do some digging on this one.
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I’ve never seen Weston with a beard. Maybe this was a dress-up occasion?
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On October 25, 1922, Weston and Lauree welcomed their first child Evelyn Carol “Evie” Betts
And another great family photo of the Betts, Burgess, Hurd, and Horning families. This time Lauree might be taking the picture. Evelyn is the fourth generation on both sides of her family in this photo. Not too many people can get two of their four Great-Grandfathers in a picture with them. Also special is getting all four of your grandparents in as well.
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Little Evelyn
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*The Dorcas Ladies Aid Society would come for lunch at the Betts’ house occasionally. Maybe 12 or 20 of them. Lauree would set up card tables and use the odd china cups and saucers she used to buy in Canada to serve coffee.
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On August 2, 1926, Lauree and Weston welcomed a baby boy Byron Lee Betts, born in Tacoma, Washington.
Evelyn looks like a good big sister
This is one of my favorites! Lauree hugging Byron. Such a sweet photo
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Weston and Lauree welcomed a baby girl, Barbara Jean “Bobbie” Betts on October 30, 1930, in Tacoma, Washington
This is the only photo I have of young Barbara “Bobbie”. She is pictured here with L-R Ernilie (Lauree’s youngest sister), Evie, Bobby, and Byron on the beach at Redondo. Circa 1935
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*She (Lauree) was a good cook. She made noodles by putting them on the tile drainboard and cutting them in rows. For dinner they sometimes had brains. She would cook rabbits. Mom and Dad would get live chickens in crates. They would take them to the empty lot next to Little Grandma (Mary Ellen Horning Betts)- chop their heads off- dip them in boiling water to remove the feathers – cut them up – and take them to the cold storage in Auburn to freeze them. They didn’t have freezers at home. On Sundays, Mom would often make rice with cream, sugar, and cinnamon on it for dinner. Lauree’s special dessert was bread pudding with sugar and egg sauce on it- also bread pudding. Weston liked her strawberry shortcake with cream.
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Along with raising the kids and keeping house, Lauree would sell Admission tickets at the Amusedrome and play the Hammond organ. *At one time Mom played the Hammond organ for skaters to skate to. Archie Carasino and I were doing the waltz on skates and mom almost fell asleep playing, and she slowed down so much -so did we – and ran into the wall of the lunchroom. Mom could fall asleep anywhere.
-Side note, all of Lauree’s children, all of her grandchildren, many great-grandchildren, and now some Sixth-generation great-grandchildren (Charles Betts was the start of our entertainment family) have held that same position of selling Admissions, either at Roller Skating Rinks or Amusement Parks. I don’t think many of us could play the organ though? You could say Family Entertainment is in our blood.
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Back Row Left to Right- Unknown, Lauree, Unknown holding Carole Pattison, Evie Pattison holding Barbara Pattison (?), On the floor Barbara Betts, Unknown. If you know the unknowns please help me out
~~~1950~~
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And in an instant, the Redondo Amusedrome was gone. Lauree and Weston were on a road trip to Califonia when they received word. More of this story can be found on Weston’s page and I’m working on a strictly Redondo Page coming soon.
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F.A.G.# 21047550 · View Source
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* Stories told by Barbara Jean Betts Englund
A very special thank you to my cousins once removed Sheri, Teri, and Gary for sharing their mother Bobbie Englund’s family scrapbook.
As always Lauree’s personal story isn’t finished yet. You can find more about her on her husband Weston Betts or her father Arthur Burgess page. Thank you for reading. Let me know if you have Pictures, stories, or favorite memories of anyone on this page.
-F.A.G# are FindaGrave.com reference numbers if you to start your own virtual cemetery.
-I find most of my information in State or County books, Family genealogy books, personal stories and pictures given to me, libraries, and websites like
I do this to preserve our family history for us and future generations. I keep the website ad-free because who wants to see ads. I do take donations and I truly appreciate everyone who has donated so far. You know who you are 🙂 We have a Venmo set up now @Eric-Puryear-3 to make it easier.
Thank you for reading and always remember how special you are. If you count back 10 generations, that was 2,046 people who came together at different times in history just to make you!
If the Genes Fit... 