George Alexander Munro
George Alexander Munro was born on February 4th, 1900 – the sixth child in the Munro family. He was named after Alexander’s brother, George Walker Munro, who emigrated from Scotland to Chicago and lived out his life there.
George W. Munro with Margaret & Cathy – 1917
From an early age George was extremely intelligent, curious, and overflowing with fun. Of all the Munro children, he had perhaps the highest understanding of “quality of life” and he lived his life in a way that allowed him to enjoy every day to the fullest.
As a youngster, he helped in the Munro Store, delivering ice and groceries to neighbors up and down the beach.
After graduating from the Eighth Grade at the Crystal Springs School, he went on to Queen Anne High School in Seattle. The Munro kids would “take the boat” to Coleman Dock in Seattle, walk to the counterbalance at the foot of Queen Anne Hill and then take a streetcar up to the High School. In the afternoon they would reverse course for home. Sometimes they would walk, to save the nickel for a candy bar at the Hershey Candy Company at the foot of Queen Anne Hill. George remembered doing chores in the morning before he left for school and again when he came home at night. It was a long day.
In high school he was a “Yell Leader”, cheering on his team with a large “Yell Horn” that looked like it was borrowed from an early Victrola.
George with two friends and his Yell Horn
In August of 1917 George went to work in the Puget Sound Navy Shipyard in Bremerton, where he apprenticed to become an electrician. He and his buddies got tired of commuting by rowboat, so they lived in a tent on Bill Munro’s lot at Manette (on Telegraph Avenue, now East 11th Street). They hiked on Mount Rainier, joined the Masonic Lodge, organized an Apprentice Football team, and chased girls. Some of the ladies “chased back” as well. Referring to George’s red hair, one girl wrote “Dear Carrot-top, it must be so cold in that old tent. Why don’t you come to my house where it is nice and warm!”
The Tent at Manette – George Munro and Gordon Dunn both lived here during their apprenticeships. Photo by Gordon Dunn (courtesy of AnnaBelle Dunn Robert-Smith)
George earned college money by putting electrical wiring into many Island homes – their first electric lights. He used the money to attend Washington State College in Pullman, but he returned from the Palouse after only one year because of illness. He was a loyal “Cougar” the rest of his life with lots of stories about his college days.
George Clowning Around at WSU. “Every photograph needs a dog”
George and his boat-tailed speedster – the “Bug” he drove to Pullman. The car had no fuel pump, so they had to “back up” over every hill. And there were LOTS of hills.
He returned from college with a new view on life and a healthy respect for indoor plumbing. He soon set to work adding the first bathroom to the family home. The “outdoor bathroom” was located off the back porch and adjacent to the kitchen. It had a sink, toilet and claw foot tub. With some instruction from his father, he tiled the floor in marble, set in a beautiful pattern. The Munros were coming up in the world!
George A. Munro
Betty Troll
Betty Troll came to the Island to teach school in the early 1930’s. She and her good friend, Ida Lewis, began double-dating with George Munro and Ken Thatcher.
Betty and George were married in 1933 and Betty became a much-loved member of the Munro clan. She was the daughter of Harry and Mary (Davies) Troll. Her father was a purchasing agent for the City of Seattle. He came from a long line of German “coopers” or barrel makers. Her Davies relatives were Welsh coal miners who settled in Carbonado, Washington, when it was a booming “company town”.
Receipt for Moving Betty’s Piano and Possessions from her Parent’s Home to Bainbridge
Betty taught kindergarten and first grade on Bainbridge Island for many years, and was a much-admired figure in the community. Many of her students’ parents were farm workers. When she bought strawberries in the spring, the workers wouldn’t let her pay. They knew that when times got rough in the winter months, Mrs. Munro brought sandwiches from home to feed their children. Betty was known for her homemade bread, her fun and generous nature, and for being “a step above” as a parent and a teacher.
Betty, Dave and Ron Munro – abt 1936
Betty and George remodeled and expanded the Munro Store building and turned it into a beautiful home where they raised their three sons, David, Ronald and Ralph.
George & Betty’s Home – about 1941 Note the wooden driftwood “pig” in the yard.
George with David, Ron and their dog Franklin on a snowy day.
Betty, George, David and Ron
George and Betty’s house had two small bedrooms. When Ralph arrived in June of 1943, George set up a tent in the backyard for David and Ron to sleep in during the summer months. In the evenings, before the boys went to bed, he would conscientiously spray it down with DDT. No bugs in there!
Longtime neighbor and friend Harry Hansen, George Munro & Ralph – 1943. The Munros and the Hansens have been neighbors at Crystal Springs since 1895.
George worked as an electrician at the shipyard for many years. Every morning he would catch the boat at the Gibson’s Landing pier in front of his home and ride to Bremerton. When the original pier was destroyed in a storm in 1934, George had a new pier built, charging an extra five cent toll to the people catching the boat, until the costs were covered. It was a necessity. The bridge at Agate Pass wasn’t built until 1950.
George and Betty were very active in the Community. Betty was a devoted teacher and public-school supporter. George was a Scout leader, founder of the Bainbridge Island Sportsman Club, active in the Good Roads Society and supporter of the Navy League. Later in life he was a valued member of the Power Squadron organization.
Munro Beach with New Pier Under Construction – 1935. Gordon’s Catboat to left, in front of remains of original Gibson’s Landing.
George & Ralph working on the Driftwood – March 1947
For many years George’s consuming hobby was his wooden cabin cruiser, the “Driftwood”. He built it on the beach in front of his home, from mostly salvaged materials. George and Ralph would walk in the woods behind the Munro farm and look for tree “knees” to bolt to the sides of the ribs. The bottom was Philippine mahogany and had to be steamed in a large “steam box” George built in order to bend the boards and screw them to the boat frame. When the project was finished, he and Betty enjoyed cruising the waters of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands with family.
George, Ralph & Cousin Jerry Miller beside the Driftwood
George on the Driftwood
George, Ralph, David, Ron & Betty – about 1948
George & Betty Munro – Christmas Day 1951
Ralph – 1953
Betty, Marjorie, Gordon & George on the Morning Light
George was devastated when Betty died suddenly from a weak heart in 1962, and he never again tinkered with the Driftwood. It has aged in place on the beach at Crystal Springs ever since.
When Betty died the Bainbridge school system closed early for her funeral. A scholarship was established in her name at Bainbridge High School. Today it is called the George and Betty Munro Scholarship Fund, managed by the Bainbridge Community Foundation. It will give scholarships to Bainbridge High grads in perpetuity.
James Munro’s “Lady Eve” & George Munro’s “Driftwood”
In his later years, George was a curious enigma to some. He lived a very self-sufficient life in his little house on the waterfront. When a log washed up on the beach he would quietly tie or chain it in place. He would pull any nails and salvage them to use later. Then he would saw up the log to burn in his cook stove. He would go fishing in his rowboat nearly every day the weather allowed, with fishing line wrapped onto a piece of salvaged board that he held in his teeth while he rowed. He was stopped once by “Fish & Game” and he thought they were going to ask for his fishing license – a problem, because he didn’t have one. The agent asked, “What are you fishing for?” and George said “Supper”. They waved and went on their way.
George – 1976
Ralph and Karen Munro moved back to Bainbridge in 1977 just in time to welcome George’s grandson and namesake, young George Alexander Munro. He was the last in a line of much-loved grandchildren, including Jim, Robert, Scott and Elizabeth. But having a young grandson right next door brought a new dimension to George’s life. He made a point of spending time almost every day with the baby – “Well, I try to stop by every afternoon and give Karen a little break.” Soon they were taking long walks together, a beautiful blond baby in a fold-up stroller and a calm, content old man in an old patched shirt and well-worn trousers (Jean Cook: “Oh that George! His trousers look like venetian blinds!”), cruising up and down Crystal Springs Drive, chatting with neighbors and stopping to identify flowers, berries, plants and birds along the way.
George made a small wooden boat for every child that visited. He would take a piece of dry cedar from the woodpile and with about six strokes of his ax he would hew it into a rough boat shape – pointed at both ends, hull shaped on the bottom and flat on top. Then he would tie a string to one end and attached it to a long stick. All this would take about ten minutes with the child watching and a rambling conversation going on between the two. Then George and the young person would walk down to the beach together to see if it would float. These little boats are still family treasures.
For a simple man, living a simple life, he would amaze people with his depth of knowledge on so many topics – from poetry to mechanics to history. And he had an amazing memory. In the early years he taught ‘navigation by the stars’ to local sailing enthusiasts. In later years he gave Island history talks at the Bainbridge Island Historical Society. The following is an excerpt from one of his history talks:
I found another little article in the paper, Last Veteran Spanish American War Celebrates his 104th Birthday… And he tells a story here about how he fought in the Spanish American War. It was the insurrection that he fought in. I didn’t know much about insurrections, so I looked it up in the dictionary and I learned that apparently an insurrection is not as bad as a revolution, but it’s not so sweet either. Why ah, in an insurrection people are just opposed to the kind of government that’s been set up for them, but they’re not so opposed that they are setting up another form of governments. Because if they’re setting up another form of government, that would be a revolution. Well, this little thing reminded me of one time my sister Mary and I were playing down on the beach and were about, I was about six years old and she was about eight, I guess. And we were playing in this big old skiff that we had. We weren’t supposed to go out and row around in the Bay, but we could play on the beach and swim in it. It was summertime. So ah, well pretty soon we looked up the Bay toward Key Port and we saw a cloud of smoke coming down there and pretty soon we saw some white things coming. And down the Bay came destroyers, white destroyers. And they were these old four stackers and they were burning coal. They came right down the Bay and we didn’t get wise early enough. We were in this boat and when the first wave hit us it ran us away up the beach and then when the wave went out, we went away out. And that kept up for a little while. Then the second and the third boat came through and we began getting waves from them and we were getting water in the boat and so we jumped out and got out of there. Well, that was when Teddy Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet off around the world. That was the White Fleet heading into Bremerton…
The White Fleet at the Bremerton Navy Yard
For many years George was primarily responsible for the great clamming on the Munro beach – quietly ridding the beach of the Moon Snails that decimate clam populations. At the same time, he would clean the beach of trash and he was always scouting for driftwood or other treasures to be stored here or there for later use. He made small planters out of the moon snail shells, filled with Sedum and hung along his porch. Early mornings on July 5th he could be found at the beach quietly picking up spent fireworks and other trash, burning it in the remains of the family bonfire, and generally putting the beach back in order.
George Munro’s Home as it looks today
George’s house was about 30’ x 30’. If you went inside you would find piles of books, magazines and newspapers – he was a voracious reader. You would also see a beautiful stone fireplace, Betty’s piano along the living room wall, a wood burning cook stove in the kitchen and an ancient refrigerator, about four feet tall with a round compressor unit on the top. The dining room had a few teacups, figurines and lacey curtains on the windows. It felt like it had been left untouched from the time Betty died, although it also had stacks of books and papers here and there. George claimed to have a bad case of “Flat-surf-itis” – a fear of clean flat surfaces. In the wide hallway leading to the back door was a wringer washing machine that might have been brand-new in about 1935, and along the ceiling were wooden “trolley” racks that lowered down to hang laundry to dry. Out back he grew raspberries. The very sweetest seemed to grow in the shade beside the garage. In the early years he raised ducks, but had a horrible time keeping them away from predators. Eventually he was down to one lonely duck and he kept it closed up in a barrel at night to keep it safe.
Some of the neighbors would worry about him if the power went out after a storm in the dead of winter. But when they stopped by, they would find him reading by lamp light in a warm living room heated with a gravity fed oil stove – far more content and comfortable than most. Yes, far more than most.
George passed away on February 14th, 1999 at the age of ninety-nine.
George’s Clam Chowder Recipe. Illustrated by Ron Munro for Elizabeth Munro Goodwin
Note from Dave Munro:
Our family was having lunch at Grandpa’s. He was serving clam chowder. Everyone loved it. A couple of weeks later we were having canned clam chowder at home. My daughter, Elizabeth said “I will only eat Grandpa’s clam chowder!!” Elizabeth wrote Grandpa a letter to get the recipe and he sent the recipe. Years later we asked Ron to illustrate the recipe for a birthday gift for Elizabeth. She has the original of the drawing.
